im a 52 year old woman who, 18 months ago, woke to find my tatse altered and the right side of my face distorted. These symptoms lasted for three days whilst l was away on holiday. on returning home my GP thought l had Bells Palsy but did no tests to confirm this. Since this time, ive suffered from severe frontal headaches which dont respond to pain killers and these are reducing my quality of life greatly. Ive had a recent MRI which showed no tumours or vascular dysfunction but did show a lot of thickening of both sinuses. The right side of my face still distorts daily especially in bright sunshine or during exercise and the headaches are almost constant. Can you help me at all/
Hi, Thank you for posting your query. The clinical symptoms suggest Bells palsy, and it is mostly a clinical diagnosis. However, in cases of doubt, a nerve conduction study (facial conduction and blink reflex test) can help us confirm the diagnosis. Symptoms such as facial distortion and pain may occur in a person with past history of Bells palsy. In any case, other conditions have been excluded as your MRI brain is normal. You may benefit from medications such as pregabalin (to reduce neuropathic pain) and trihexiphenydyl to reduce facial distortions. I hope it helps. Please get back if you require any additional information. Wishing you good health, Chat Doctor. Ly/