Arm weakness after bells palsy

[tomkat18]

I have left arm weakness (along with my pinky and ring finger) and a sore on my hard pallet.  The left arm weekness has been happening  since I had bells palsy last october.  I am 39 and healthy.  I had a contrast mri which was clear.  Blood tests came out neg. for Lyme and Lupus.  What can be causing my arm weekness?

[Bicbut]

I currently have facial palsy, you may have Ramsey Hunt palsy it's different. I am sat here with a wrist splint because I have pain and weakness too. In fact I have ms and have lots of symptoms but my neurologist appointment is months away

[aforsteri]

Actually a bells palsy can cause contralateral upper extremity weakness.  Was the Bells Palsy opposite the side of arm weakness?  Its called cross signs and is indicative of a brainstem stroke.  Of course age would go against this possibility unless there is other risk factors ie diabetes, high blood pressure and smoking

[FRC23]

You arm weakness is probably cataplexy associated with narcolepsy!

[FRC23]

See a sleep center. It sounds like narcolepsy with cataplexy. Viruses and some vaccines (namely the H1N1) can actually precipitate it, but it can happen seemingly in random fashion, too.

I went undiagnosed for about 15-20 years, until I finally saw a sleep specialist and she nailed the diagnosis right away. The vast majority of doctors have absolutely no idea what it is or what it looks like, and no routine lab tests, MRI, CT scan, x-ray or anything of that nature will detect it. 75% of people with narcolepsy never get diagnosed in their lifetime.

It doesn't look the way you think it looks. Common misdiagnoses are depression, epilepsy, and migraines. I struggled for years to find an answer, and was misdiagnosed several times. I had it with just sleepiness during the day and what looked like insomnia at night for probably about 15-20 years before I ended up with more serious symptoms of narcolepsy that actually included cataplexy (random muscle weakness that can either be isolated, or widespread).

The cataplexy manifested first in my face, as what looked like episodes of Bells Palsy that came and went when I was tired, stressed, or even when I was happy and smiling.  But when I paid closer attention I realized I got weakness and twitching (not uncommon) in my other muscles sometimes too, though I chalked it up to clumsiness until I paid attention. I also had issues with my vision randomly and sleepiness.

I was tested for epilepsy, migraines, MS, all kinds of things. But nope, it turned out to be narcolepsy!!

Get seen by a sleep center!

[LivingInHope]

Mayo Clinic doesn't list arm weakness as a symptom of Bell's palsy.  Can you tell me your source of that information?

[Dr Sharma]

Hi there. Any facial nerve problems or bell’s palsy can cause a person to have weakness in the arm. Other symptoms are facial weakness and droop to one side, trouble tasting foods and dry eyes. Physical therapy along with neuromuscular retraining helps a person with Bell ’s palsy.Strokes, diabetic nerve damage, multiple sclerosis, endocrine disorder like  Addison’s disease, ALS, etc are other serious causes of arm weakness. Guilaain barre syndrome also needs to be excluded. Consult a neurologist and take care.

[LivingInHope]

Bell's palsy does not involve the arm and from what I can see, a sore on the hard pallet of your mouth would not be a typical symptom either.  My grandma suffered from Bell's palsy, but thankfully, with God's help and regular massage, her smile came back!  I am wondering if you were correctly diagnosed with the Bell's palsy, since you say this left arm weakness has been happening since the same time.

  When they did the contrast MRI, did they do the MRA/MRV type of MRI, looking specifically at blood vessels in your brain?  Have they checked your heart?  

You might also want to think about your elbow and whether you might have an impinged upon nerve.  Once, when I was having a tingling pinky, a physical therapist asked me if I'd been leaning on my elbow a lot.  I didn't think so, but later realized I WAS leaning on the computer chair arm a lot on that left side.

Regarding the sore on your hard pallet- have you seen a dentist about this to get a proper diagnosis about it?  Have you tried holding plain yogurt against it with a spoon for five minutes a couple times a day to see if that might help it?