Waiting for results after 12/7 jump graft

[Palsymum]

Hello,

I am a new user on this forum.  This forum seems to have lots of information on AN and facial palsy. I had my facial nerve cut during AN removal and now I have facial palsy on my left.  I had a 12/7 jump graft about 3 months ago.  Very little tounge weekness (gets a little worse when I am tired).  Only the right side of my face is animated.  Miss my smile so much.  My face is not too bad when I dont talk or smile but a total disaster when I do! This has affected my self confidence so much. 

I hope someone can give me information on when I can see results.  What will I see/feel first?  How long does it take?  Will I get to smile from the paralized side as well? Are there any supplements/food to enhance nerve growth?  Can someone recommend facial exercises?  Can we find before & after pics of a jump graft on this forum.

Thanks,
Palsymum

[satman]

hey there, i know exactly how you feel. i dont mean to rain on your parade but there really is no timeline.
i had the jump back in 07 and the only thing i have noticed is a little eye twitch every now and then.
my neighbors say they see a difference but i dont,probably because i see myself everyday.
the best advice i can give to you is try and stay poz [ focus on that].
ie- your walking,talking,you survived a very rough ordeal,your around friends and family,it was non cancerous,etc...
give it time sweetie and stay poz
one facial exercise i do is push up on your cheek and remove your hand and with your smile try to keep your cheek up [ it gets quite frustrating].
another one is try to make a mad face and get your forehead to wrinkle, i have no wrinkles and i want them back !
if you dont have a blink reflex make sure you keep your eye lubed.
and remember with or without facial animation your beautiful just the way you are 

[lori67]

Hi and welcome!

3 months out is pretty early to be seeing results after the 12/7.  I had mine done in 10/2008 and I'm actually still seeing some improvements at this point.  I don't think I saw any movement until about 4 months after the surgery, and that was very slight.  My doctor didn't expect any movement until about 6 months after.

What I have now is symmetry at rest.  Like you, it looks pretty odd when I'm talking (which is most of the time  ).  I can do a slight closed mouth smile by putting the tip of my tongue up against the back of my upper teeth, and my blink is getting better, slowly.....Unfortunately, like Satman mentioned, it's a slow process.

At the earlier points of this journey, I was very self-conscious too and was pretty hard on myself.  Now, most days I don't even think about it.  Yes, I wish I had my smile back, but people can still tell when I'm smiling.  I think I was more bothered by it than anyone else.  You've been through a lot and the people who care about you are grateful that you're still with them.

I take B-complex supplements because I read it can help with nerve healing.  I don't know if it really does, but it's not hurting anything and it's pretty inexpensive, so I keep taking it.

I hope there are better days ahead for you!
Lori