Want to hear from those that saw improvement after 15 months post op

[CROOKEDSMILE]

I'm having a down day and really wanted to read something good from folks that have seen facial improvement after 15 months.
Angie

[Chambo]

I'm having a down day and really wanted to read something good from folks that have seen facial improvement after 15 months.
Angie

Absolutely Angie. I think it was around the 18 month mark when I started to get a lot more confidence with the continued improvement. Now nearly 2.5 years post op, I'm pretty much back to normal apart from my slow to recover left forehead. Will prob just pump a dose of botox into my right forehead to even things up next time I see my neuro and she'll be right to go...

I saw my PT last week (hadn't seen her for 3 months) and she was like "wow" with respect to the improvement she had seen. I think a lot of that had to do with the botox in the overactive chin and neck muscles which was hampering my recovery (ie - muscles were trying to move but were breing pulled in the wrong direction by these 2 buggers). She now doesn't want to see me until Feb next year...

Patience is the key but I understand your frustration. Docs and PTs have always said as long as you continue to see ongoing improvement, there's no reason why impovement won't continue indefinitely.

[saralynn143]

Angie, don't forget to reread Jeanlea's awesome post entitled Facial Progress at
http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=7247.0

This is one of the most inspiring facial paralysis posts I've read.

Sara

[jazzfunkanne]

hi angie i think i said before, i am 22 months and have just seen big improvements in my face over the past few months.

[Jeanlea]

Hi Angie,

We all have our down days from time to time.  I hope you feel better soon.  I'm at 3 years and 2 months postop now and I continue to see positive changes in my face.  (I can't believe its been that long already!)  In the beginning my corner of my mouth hung down a bit all the time.  I was a 6 on the Brackman Scale.  By 18 months I had seen some good progress and could make a smile if I thought about it.  Now I can smile rather easily.  The interesting part is that I saw the most progress after I accepted the fact that my face would not get any better.  And then it got better! 

Don't give up, Angie.

Jean

[CROOKEDSMILE]

Jeanlea,
Made me think when you said "had to think about smiling then you could do it" and now you can do it rather easily. That is where I am right now. 15 months....mouth wants to droop at times...I can smile after I think about it and make a very conscious effort........I miss the spontaneous smile that use to come so easy. Glad to hear that with time it comes back to that.
Angie

[Patti]

hi.  it's been 8 years for me, still have wierd sensations and twitching which hopefully means i am still regenerating nerves.  when people see me after a long time, doctors too, they insist my face looks much better.  what's more important is that i have accepted my looks-but i am sure my adoring husband has helped with that.  patti