Has anyone ever had bells palsy? how long does it usually last?

can someone tell me how long it last? has anyone permanantly had it? is it common for it to be permanent?
what are the chances of it fully recovering?

My neighbor had it. It is fairly common and usually lasts a few weeks to months and then most people slowly recover. A small percentage do no recover completely. There is controversy as to whether oral corticosteroids like prednisone can help aid recovery. Some Drs think yes while others say it makes no difference. Zovirax, a herpes medicine, can also be helpful since it is thought that a type of herpes causes the nerve paralysis. My neighbor was very upset about how the Bell's looked and the problems associated with it. She recovered completely. I hope the same for you. good luck

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/bells...

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bells...

http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic56.h...

bells palsy usually reverses itself how long depends on what actually caused the bells palsy and the type of nerve damage that it caused. there could be some permanent facial droop, but on the other it may be permanent. that conditions is hard to say. the majority of bell palsy cases see recovering take place about 6 mos to a year some sooner some later some never.

I have had it twice. First time, I was 13 and it resolved within 4 weeks or so, Second time, I was in my late 20's and it has not totally resolved.

With that said, almost nobody but me notices it, and it is only evident when I am very tired.

As it was explained to me...if you get Bell's Palsy once, you have a small chance of getting it again (less than 10%) and a very good chance of total recovery. If you get it again, the likelihood of you getting it a third or subsequent time rises, and the likelihood of total recovery dimishes.

So, to give you a simple answer, pretty good chance of it going away totally, bit of a chance it could come back years from now, not something to get your knickers in a knot over, though. It was 15 years between bouts for me, and understanding of the condition has improved so much in that time, treatment has totally changed.

Most important thing, though...protect the eye on the affected side while it is acute - that is the most likely source of long term problems.