hello randy and welcome to neurotalk ... there are lots of friendly and supportive people here and i see you have already been given a link to our TN forum ... i also see you have already been given some great advice ... if you need any help please ask one of use ... we are all here to help ... and again ...

Thank you all very much for your suggestions and warm welcoming messages... While it's turned on and waiting all the time - I've not even been able to get near my computer all weekend due to the flare-ups and loss of sleep. I'm only getting 2 - 3 hours per night total right now.

Sodium / B12 -
I've had my blood work done pretty regularly and they've found that I am within tolerances on all and right in the middle on Sodium. I do get a monthly B12 injection since I've had a Gastric Bypass 10 years ago now. I take a single Centrum Silver multi-vitamin daily and Iron supplement 3x a week.

I do like Cherries - however - I need to control my sugar (even natural sugar) intake since the Gastric Bypass eliminates the duodenum <sp? from the digestive tract - but - I still enjoy a dozen or so fresh Cherries or a small juice glass of non-sweetened Cherry juice as well as Cranberry juice.

I'm not a vegan as I can't seem to get enough paletable protien in that diet. I enjoy Chicken, Turkey and fish as well as very lean ground beef. Not a pork eater with the exception of the odd slice of bacon from time to time.

I have an appointment to see my Neurologist but he can't see me until the 13th.

Thank you all again.

WOW! Bigfoot your letter is the first I've read on this site. I just joined myself. I'm glad I did. Call your doctor tomorrow and get a script for a B12 test. I'm a B12 deficiency survivor. You may very well have it. Pain, memory problems, being lightheaded and stumbling are sure signs! Test level below 300 causes neuropsyciatric symptoms. Let me know how it goes. Gastric bypass is also cause of B12 being low. Do you know if your doctor has checked B12 level since your surgery? If not, SHAME ON HIM! Look for what I've been through with B12 in a day or two. See if it sounds familiar. Peace

Hi there.

I just had to respond to your post. I felt so bad for what you have endured.

I remember the pain I went through when I had Bells Palsy. this was in 1995. I thought I would lose my mind. I remember being up all night, calling the doctor's line. He of course wasn' there, and I kept telling the answering service to HAVE HIM CALL ME, I'M GOING CRAZY!!

And when the doctor called me back I remember her saying "it's not unusual to have facial pain with Bells Palsy".

I had friends who had gone through this, and none of them had facial pain and they looked at me like I lost my mind.

I can assure you that I almost did. I later looked it up and the trigemical nerve in the face gets inflamed, blah blah blah.

Who cared? I thought I would die. I would lay on my bed with warm compresses.

The whole thing lasted 2 weeks.

Then it all went away. I have very little symptoms that I ever had Bells Palsy.

My left eyebrow is a bit higher than my right eyebrow.

But that pain, oh my god, I'll never forget that.

And....I know exactly how you feel about the teeth.

I kept getting toothaches in the back of my mouth. Same tooth. Got it x-rayed SEVERAL TIMES. They never found anything wrong. They also gave me antibiotics (just in case).

Then I discovered that TMJ can give you toothaches.

In my case, when the weather changes, that's when it hurts.

I've learned how to live with it.

But YOU, Oh my god, you poor thing. I don't know how you can still be as upbeat as you are.

I hope things get better for you.

Please keep posting.

Take care,

Melody