Advice please - one-side facial weakness

Hi, if there's any nurses/midwives out there who can answer this question (or anyone else who's experienced similar) would appreciate some advice!

I'm 38 wks pregnant today and had a fortunate trouble-free pregnancy, very minimal bloating etc, although last few days i've noticed my feet have swollen slightly, BP normal 110/70 consistently.

This morning my hubbie brought me a takeaway coffee with a straw and I noticed some difficulty closing my mouth over the straw. Looking in the mirror my face looks normal, no droopiness, but when I purse my lips like to suck a straw or kiss, my lips are very uneven like my right side of mouth is slacker than left.

Is this a pregnancy thing that can get worse? I'm not sure if I should try and see a doctor today, gps are hard to get into on a sunday, or try and make an obstetrician appt for tomorrow (I'm next due to go on wednesday but maybe they can squeeeze me in)?

I did a quick google search and came up with Bells Palsy but dont want to jump the gun and get anxious if it's just something little. I've also had a bit of a sinus cold the last few days so maybe a nerve is getting irritated ?

Thanks for any advice

Sharon

If it were me, I'd go straight down to the ER. I noticed you've been checking your BP - the first thing I thought of was pre-eclampsia, and I'm not sure if you necessarily need to have high blodd pressure first, iykwim?

Maybe you could ring the Nurses' helpline for your state, but I'm pretty sure they'll tell you to go get checked out.

Good luck, and let us know how you go!

i would go in and see someone straight away too. i'm not sure that it is a pregnancy related thing though. i dont want to scare you or anything but the thing i first think of when there is facial weakness etc (especialy on one side of face) is a stroke! its probably not but still i would see someone ASAP!

Im no medical expert either - however i do work for the QAS and suggest u do get it checked out straight away!

I second what everyone else said! Please have it checked out a.s.a.p! Good luck darl, let us know how you go! :goodluck:

i have pre eclampsia. Swelling of the face is classed as one of the warning signs of PE. To be classifed as having PE u need atleast 2 out of the 3 things.. swelling (oedema), High BP hypertension,protien in ur urine.
I would head down to the Emergency asap and just get them to check u out. they will take ur swelling of the face seriously. While you are there you can be expected to have your urine checked.. BP checked.. Bloods taken and mayb a CTG.

HTH

I so hope you're at the doc now and not reading this...but if you are...GO!!!

My mum had bells palsy and you must be treated within 24hours to avoid things getting worse and taking many months to heal compared to a few! She was treated by an Ear Nose and Throat Specialist as the Gp and emergency didn't know much about it and if I hadn't kicked up a stink and contacted the specialist directly she wouldn't have had the correct treatment in time. My GF had it a few months later and remembered my mum's story and demanded she see a specialist as the emergency dr was just going to send her home. Good luck and hope you're feeling better soon xxx

Please see a doctor immediately - go to your nearest emergency room. Whilst it is unlikely, facial weakness is a common symptom of stroke, which can affect young people.

may be bells palsy which can often happen in pregnancy.

Its a paralysis of facial nerve.

get checked out.

Hi all,
thanks for your replies. I just got back from seeing an after-hours GP (2 hour wait !!). He says it's Bells Palsy, bugger it. Although no obvious facial droopiness you can see the weakness if i try to blow air out with my cheeks or shut my eyes tightly. Usually they treat with steroids but not when pregnant (makes we wonder what happens then with breastfeeding??!) My bloodpressure was up more than usual but the GP wasn't concerned enough to do a urine test today, he recommended I see my obstetrician tomorrow.

I also just phoned my obstetrician's mobile to tell him and he was happy to see me tomorrow.

Strange, i had a dream last night I had preeclampsia, I hope it doesn't turn out to be that, mind you I'd rather not have Bells either, but if it's temporary i can deal with it and it apparently doesn't affect the baby. Might just be drooling more than usual for a while :rolleyes:

So glad you got to see a doc Deni...hope you're feeling better soon :)

Isnt belly belly great its fab you took ya self tot he DR asap hopefully it settles down after birth my father got bels palsy once and it was very sudden and quite bad :)

i am glad you went to see someone too! now you can be monitored and find an action plan if needed!

Good work seeing a doctor straight away :) At least you now know what's going on. Keep us updated.

Thanks everyone. It's got a bit worse over the last few days, chewing food is difficult so certain foods I'm getting out the blender (blended steak and pasta, mmmm.) I now can't close my eye at all (it stays shut though if I press my eyelid down with my finger) ... but I've taken only a second dose of the steroids so I'm hoping i'll start to see some improvement soon! It's certainly made me take things easy.. i'm not particularly interested in doing work around the house or going out socialising, talking becomes tiring (especially words beginning with B !!)
Just got to keep reminding myself this is just a temporary inconvenience and something i'll just have to deal with if it's still around when bub comes!

I am glad you went to the Drs Deni. I have had Bells Palsy as well and it was really scary to begin with as my Mum had a slight stroke a couple of weeks before.

One thing I was recommended to do, was massage the areas that are affected, eg using two fingers massage all around your mouth and your eye, this also helps stimulate the muscles again.

Be careful about your eye not closing tho, as it will not produce enough tears/lubricant for the eyeball, the doctor suggested to me to put an eye patch on overnight, or tape my eye closed with surgical tape to avoid any infections.

Hope this helps

Sam

Thanks for the advice Sam. Can I ask, how long until you recovered, and did you go on the corticosteroids? I've got an appt with a specialist optometrist this week to talk about my eye so i'll be asking about how best to protect it!

cheers
sharon

Sorry Deni, I did not see your reply and I apologise for taking so long to reply.

From memory I think I was prescribed something but I cant remember what. Also I think it took about a month to get the full use of my mouth back and my eye.

One thing I forgot to mention was that the Dr also suggested trying to make Kissing movements with your mouth - no matter how funny it looked, as this would also encourage the muscles to work again.

I hope everything is going well and you are on the road to recovery. You may find down the track that when you are really tired or stressed, your eye may droop a little. Even now I still have this and those that know me will tell me to get some rest.

Good luck sweetie and I hope everything is going ok

Thanks for your reply Samoake, actually I've noticed some good improvements over the last few days. I finish my corticosteroid meds tomorrow, and I also went in for an acupuncture session which I swear made things move along quicker in recovery.

Hopefully within a few weeks I'll have full movement back, I'm feeling much more confident of a full recovery now my mouth is working heaps better and my eye, although not blinking properly yet, is able to close fully when I concentrate. yippee! At least the worst of it will be over when bub arrives (I'm due in 4 days!)