I was able to sleep last night, although I had very strange dreams. I woke without a headache but it started coming back the more I moved around...not at all bad like yesterday though. My temperature was back to my normal 97 F.
Middle of cheek and just above temple and a few spots on my head feel bruised. Behind my ear and jaw is really painful especially when I put any pressure on it. That's where the damage happened/is happening to my facial nerve. Need to see if I can get epsom salt here, since hot compresses of it can help reduce inflammation.
Here's an image of my nerve that's temporarily out of order.
Image from drugs.com
Also found this on that same page: "Taste returns before facial strength. If taste returns within five to seven days after symptoms began, it's more likely you will recover completely."
So I'll be monitoring my return of taste, hopeful that it happens sooner rather than later!
I went to the doctor today. He said it's not normal to have had that much pain but because of the fever it could be related to the infection. He said the fever wasn't high enough to be concerned about, but that I shouldn't be taking fever reducers, because I need to be able to watch the fever without altering it, so that I know if I should be taking an antibiotic. He gave me a prescription for Pregabalin which is not a fever-reducer and works directly on the nerves to reduce pain. I looked it up and it is more for seizures and fibromyalgia and shingles. It's not the kind of thing you take whenever needed for pain - it's a regimen you have to stay on... going to look into it further. I may not take it. The acetaminophen wasn't really helping the pain anyway, so I'll probably just take nothing.
I also found out that the pharmacist had read my steroid prescription wrong (I couldn't decipher it, so I was trusting her to) and I wasn't taking enough of the Prednisolone! I was supposed to be taking 60mg/day not 40mg! So that could be effecting things too. I got more and I am taking the correct amount now.
I happened to mention (when explaining why I'd come in earlier than 10 days as he'd told me) that my doctor in America wanted me to see a doctor soon because of these developments. I think that made him feel defensive. He said that he didn't think it was necessary to have a CT scan and he's quite certain it would come back normal, but to appease my doctor in America (I hadn't said he thought I should have one!) and to put my mind at ease, he would give a prescription for one and I could get it if I wanted to.
I wasn't sure what to do with that...but decided to get it. It wasn't too expensive and I'd rather have done due diligence rather than find out later there was something more serious going on and wish we'd found it sooner. I'll get the results tomorrow. I just walked in and it only took about 20 minutes, so it was quick and easy.
Eye gel is proving to be quite elusive, but I haven't given up yet. I'm going to go out again when pharmacies open back up after lunch and I'll check a few more to see if they have it. And I'm ready with translations:
Gel in Arabic: maddat halamia
Gel in French: jel
Ingredient in eye gel, in French: Carboxyméthylcellulose sodique
to be continued...
Victory! I found eye gel this afternoon! And it works so much better than just saline drops! I finally went at the right time, to the right location of the ParaPharmacie (which is a rare thing here in Morocco...we just have one in my city and it's new. It sells things like vitamins and non-prescription medical supplies, kind of like the non-pharmacy part of a CVS in America - except it's the size of a large walk-in closet. I'm so glad we have a one here! And it's only a 5 minute walk from my house!)
I also got hypoallergenic paper tape, which will hopefully be easier on my skin when closing my eye at night, and I got a vitamin B complex to help nerve re-growth.
Bell's Palsy-induced cultural tidbit for the day:
When buying bananas (they're high in B vitamins) from my fruit vendor friend, he eyed my bag from the pharmacy, and I think noticed my face under my sunglasses, and asked, "Are you tired?" I said, "Well, yes, but I'm sick". He said, "That's what I meant. That's what you're supposed to say when you're sick - you're tired". (note to self: tired means sick). "What's wrong?" I lifted my glasses to show him and explained that I have a virus and it damaged the nerve in my face and now my face is temporarily paralyzed, and I'm taking medicine for it. He said, "Oh, you know what caused that? The wind. You were hit by the wind. You really should not be going outside now while you're tired!" Bless him!
I'm starting to be tempted to turn this into a cultural anthropology experiment and be more brave about sharing my condition and then gathering peoples responses of what they think it is and what caused it and what should be done about it!
Middle of cheek and just above temple and a few spots on my head feel bruised. Behind my ear and jaw is really painful especially when I put any pressure on it. That's where the damage happened/is happening to my facial nerve. Need to see if I can get epsom salt here, since hot compresses of it can help reduce inflammation.
Here's an image of my nerve that's temporarily out of order.
Image from drugs.com
Also found this on that same page: "Taste returns before facial strength. If taste returns within five to seven days after symptoms began, it's more likely you will recover completely."
So I'll be monitoring my return of taste, hopeful that it happens sooner rather than later!
I went to the doctor today. He said it's not normal to have had that much pain but because of the fever it could be related to the infection. He said the fever wasn't high enough to be concerned about, but that I shouldn't be taking fever reducers, because I need to be able to watch the fever without altering it, so that I know if I should be taking an antibiotic. He gave me a prescription for Pregabalin which is not a fever-reducer and works directly on the nerves to reduce pain. I looked it up and it is more for seizures and fibromyalgia and shingles. It's not the kind of thing you take whenever needed for pain - it's a regimen you have to stay on... going to look into it further. I may not take it. The acetaminophen wasn't really helping the pain anyway, so I'll probably just take nothing.
I also found out that the pharmacist had read my steroid prescription wrong (I couldn't decipher it, so I was trusting her to) and I wasn't taking enough of the Prednisolone! I was supposed to be taking 60mg/day not 40mg! So that could be effecting things too. I got more and I am taking the correct amount now.
I happened to mention (when explaining why I'd come in earlier than 10 days as he'd told me) that my doctor in America wanted me to see a doctor soon because of these developments. I think that made him feel defensive. He said that he didn't think it was necessary to have a CT scan and he's quite certain it would come back normal, but to appease my doctor in America (I hadn't said he thought I should have one!) and to put my mind at ease, he would give a prescription for one and I could get it if I wanted to.
I wasn't sure what to do with that...but decided to get it. It wasn't too expensive and I'd rather have done due diligence rather than find out later there was something more serious going on and wish we'd found it sooner. I'll get the results tomorrow. I just walked in and it only took about 20 minutes, so it was quick and easy.
Eye gel is proving to be quite elusive, but I haven't given up yet. I'm going to go out again when pharmacies open back up after lunch and I'll check a few more to see if they have it. And I'm ready with translations:
Gel in Arabic: maddat halamia
Gel in French: jel
Ingredient in eye gel, in French: Carboxyméthylcellulose sodique
to be continued...
Victory! I found eye gel this afternoon! And it works so much better than just saline drops! I finally went at the right time, to the right location of the ParaPharmacie (which is a rare thing here in Morocco...we just have one in my city and it's new. It sells things like vitamins and non-prescription medical supplies, kind of like the non-pharmacy part of a CVS in America - except it's the size of a large walk-in closet. I'm so glad we have a one here! And it's only a 5 minute walk from my house!)
I also got hypoallergenic paper tape, which will hopefully be easier on my skin when closing my eye at night, and I got a vitamin B complex to help nerve re-growth.
Bell's Palsy-induced cultural tidbit for the day:
When buying bananas (they're high in B vitamins) from my fruit vendor friend, he eyed my bag from the pharmacy, and I think noticed my face under my sunglasses, and asked, "Are you tired?" I said, "Well, yes, but I'm sick". He said, "That's what I meant. That's what you're supposed to say when you're sick - you're tired". (note to self: tired means sick). "What's wrong?" I lifted my glasses to show him and explained that I have a virus and it damaged the nerve in my face and now my face is temporarily paralyzed, and I'm taking medicine for it. He said, "Oh, you know what caused that? The wind. You were hit by the wind. You really should not be going outside now while you're tired!" Bless him!
I'm starting to be tempted to turn this into a cultural anthropology experiment and be more brave about sharing my condition and then gathering peoples responses of what they think it is and what caused it and what should be done about it!
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