Facial Paralysis When Chewing?

[Radha]

i have been getting a new problem once in a while, after eating alittle food, i find just the action chewing harder to do, like the muscles in my face are getting more and more tense and will not work when i am trying to chew, its not total paralysis but muscles getting stiffer and tense and just not cooperating! could this be happening because of the POTS? i also getting very painful squeeezing of my head and throat as i eat too, but using oxygen helps relieve some of this pressure and even muscles in face relax somewhat after using the oxygen, if anyone has any idea or explanation why all this is happening i would really love to know about it! and if there is any med to help it, i do know that my bp and sugar are dropping as i eat and i have low blood volume too, thanks

Radha

[ajw4790]

Hi!

It doesn't really sound like facial paralysis, but more of muscle fatigue. Do you have TMJ issues or clench/grind your teeth? My dad has said he has had this issue in the past and it was due to stress, and fatiguing of the facial muscles. He also talks a lot on the phone for work.

The other sounds a little like GERD/LPR. Although I really have no idea. It sounds like you may not be getting enough oxygen and this may be causing more problems. There can be reasons for difficulty swallowing/breathing that need to be addressed by a dr.

I would say to make sure and discuss it with your dr. It the face stuff keeps up a dr. may or may not be of a lot of help, but a dentist that works on TMJ and associated issues may be helpful.

Good Luck!

[morgan617]

I get this occasionally, but it's not POTS related. It's a potassium thing with me. Not sure what to tell you, except so much of our tension is in our jaws, you know teeth clenching and stuff.

I used to be completely addicted to gum (dry mouth reliever) and I had more than one dentist say, I had the tightest muscles in my jaw, that they had ever seen. I couldn't get my mouth wide open. That's about all I can think of, sorry...morgan

[Guest tearose]

It sounds like TMJ if it is related to chewing however, I had a spell of facial neuralgia that was like trigeminal neuralgia but it was trigeminal neuritis. Look that up and see if it is more like that.

My symptoms were inflamed by not just eating though. The shower, the car seat belt, a long running SVT...all inflamed the neck and face and jaw on one side.

I hope you can get to the bottom of this and feel better.

best regards,

tearose

[Ernie]

Hi,

I have that problem but it's not only when chewing it's with any muscle that I use repetitively. And it's like Morgan, it's a K+ issue.

[flop]

Hi Radha,

one possibility (although it is extremly rare) could be Myasthenia Gravis - a condition where the muscles get fatigued on repetitive use such as chewing. I'm sure that there are lots of other possible explanations too but it would be worth asking your doctor about MG as there are treatments available for it.

I hope your symptoms improve soon,

Flop

[Radha]

thanks so much for all your input, no i never clench my jaw and never had any TMJ kind of pain or that kind of problem, so you think extra potassium might help? and yes oxygen does help so i dont know why it would and what the reason is that oxygen helps the facial tension and faigue and pressure headaches, but if anyone has any ideas to explain this, i would really appreciate it and thanks again for your thoughts,

Radha

[pearsjon]

i have this every once in awhile. but it is more like muscle fatigue for me also. but my k+ is fine. but i am verry stiff when i use muscles in repetitive moments as well. thank god it doesn't happen that often.

[Sunfish]

radha -

increasing dietary potassium or getting a bit more in a multivitamin would probably be okay to do on your own, but please be careful as too much potassium can be truly dangerous. if you're concerned about potassium being a factor perhaps asking your doctor to check your levels would be helpful (though i know that for some here, i.e. morgan & ernie, they shift rapidly so that the bloodwork is only part of the story).

i also wouldn't completely rule out TMJ as not everyone has pain with it or is aware of any clenching. some have only stiffness, soreness, fatigue, etc.

hope you find some relief soon,

melissa

[ajw4790]

Hi again!

Back to the TMJ type of issues, although it may not be anything like that of course. But, I thought I would share that my TMJ really doesn't bother me all that much like pain/popping etc., but in trying to figure out the migraines etc. He said that I had pretty much worn down the discs (cartilage) in both of the joints. They are all torn up and past the point of pain etc. you normally hear about. Much of it is likely due to having had braces and many oral surgeries in which I don't think they were very nice to my joints! But, because of this there is still alignment issues etc. So, this kinds of things are still possible without the pain etc. So then the muscles have to work much harder and can fatigue out, so it is not something to eliminate without making sure it doesn't have any impact for you.

As far as the oxygen are you talking like supplemental O2 from a mask or something? I think it could still be muscle fatigue, because your muscles need O2 and as they fatigue they use it up. So, maybe this helps you some in that respect. It also may help to relieve overall tension in your body making all body processes work better. They have those O2 bars for a reason! It helps to relax you etc. Remember that everything is somehow connected, so if your body is struggling to breathe, then muscles may tense up and fatigue. When you increase the O2, it may relieve some of this stress.

I think it is important to discuss this with a dr. because all many of us can do is speculate.

[morgan617]

Thanks Melissa, I didn't mean to imply that anyone should take potassium.

Mine is under strict control, a prescription, and with doctor's orders. Too much potassium can be very dangerous. Sorry if people mistook me to be saying try it. I never recommend drugs, or least hope I don't. People, especially ones already compromised, should not take things without discussing it with their doctor. morgan

[doctorguest]

As others have said, POTS is unlikely to cause this. This is not a facial paralysis, but rather facial muscle fatigue and stiffness. TMJ is a very strong possibility. Potassium problems are unlikely to result solely in facial muscles fatigue; you would be experiencing problems in other muscle groups as well.

[Sunfish]

no worries morgan! i didn't think you were suggesting it at all but rather was replying to radha's question re: whether K+ supplementation might help her.

melissa