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Bristol Palin Shares Experience with Facial Paralysis
Bristol Palin has opened up about her recent struggle with facial paralysis affecting one side of her face.
The former reality television personality took to Instagram Stories to disclose that the troubling symptoms began approximately nine days prior to her post.
In her recounting, she described waking up with an unusual sensation on her face, noting, “I woke up nine days ago with a weird little sensation in my face. My mouth was pulling this way and it just felt a little off. So, I went and looked in the mirror. I’m like, ‘Wow, this is looking a little weird.’”
Within hours, she experienced significant numbness and paralysis on the left side of her face.
Bristol, who is the daughter of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, further explained her condition: “I couldn’t really blink my eye, definitely had no movement on the side of my face. So crazy. [I] went to the doctor. They ran tests, they did a CT scan [and] they put me on steroids, put me on other medications. Nothing came back with all the results. They think it’s just a case of Bell’s palsy maybe brought on by stress or lack of sleep.”
While she couldn’t directly identify specific stressors, she expressed the belief that stress played a role in her condition. “I think it was brought on by stress,” she added.
Bristol acknowledged her appearance during this challenging time, stating, “I know I look crazy right now but this has been such an improvement from what I was looking like.”
She also shared positive developments, mentioning, “I’m finally starting to get some of the sensation back. It’s been, like, a little painful the last two days, which is a sign… a good indication that it’s getting better, so praise the Lord.”
The 34-year-old reflected on her experiences, noting that the next time she considers critiquing her appearance, she will appreciate having “a normal functioning face.”
In addition to conventional treatment, Palin mentioned her exploration of Eastern medicine, stating, “I’ve been getting acupuncture multiple times and that’s helped speed up the process of recovery tremendously.”
Over the past week, she has shared several videos documenting her journey with paralysis.
According to the Mayo Clinic, “Bell’s palsy is a condition that causes sudden weakness in the muscles on one side of the face. Often the weakness is short-term and improves over weeks. The weakness makes half of the face appear to droop. Smiles are one-sided, and the eye on the affected side is hard to close.”
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extratv.com