Personal
Information
| Login: |
mlbeck |
| Name: |
Mary Lou Beck
|
| City: |
Delray Beach |
| State: |
Florida |
| Country: |
United States |
| Gender: |
Female |
| Marital Status: |
Married |
| Occupation: |
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| Age at HFS Onset: |
54 |
| Side Affected: |
Left |
| Year of HFS Onset: |
2005 |
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 |
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Treatment History
Symptoms Experienced:
started with eye twitch, progressed to eye spasm and then to eye and facial spasms
Medications Tried:
Alternative Treatments Tried:
Tried Botox?:
Yes
Still Using Botox?:
No
Botox Comments:
first time was effective. the next six times, over the course of two years, had undesirable side effects of some facial paralysis, especially at the left side of my mouth. I had a distorted ,one sided smile.
MVD?:
Yes
Number of MVD's:
1
Date of Last MVD:
August 7, 2008
Doctor's Name:
Drs. Jannetta and Sekula
Facility MVD Performed:
Allegheny General Hospital
Pittsburgh, PA (USA)
Spasm Free?:
Yes
Any MVD Complications?:
Comments:
pdate as of 11/18/08 - My surgery was an immediate success, I am totally spasm free. Now for the downside. I had two compressed nerves. The #7 facial nerve creating the HFS and my vestibular nerve which created an equilibrium problem. I had complete facial paralysis on the left side of my face for about 4 weeks. Then very, very gradually I started to get some movement return. It has now been 15 weeks of recovery. My forehead, eye and upper cheek area appear normal. The lower half of my cheek and around my mouth have yet to return to normal. I've been assured that it will fully repair itself within due course. At least I see continuous improvement every week albeit very slowly. The recovery to my vestibular nerve has been a nightmare. For six weeks it felt like I was living within a tornado because it was the nerve that controls your equilibrium. I am happy to report that now, 15 weeks later, I am almost back to normal with my standing and walking. Bottom line - I would do the HFS surgery again in a heartbeat. I'm thrilled with the results.
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