bell's palsy postpartum update (diagnosed at 38wks pregnant)

The craziest thing that happened to me this pregnancy of all my pregnancies was that I was diagnosed with Bell's palsy at 38 weeks pregnant. I'm still having symptoms. I am one week postpartum. I had my baby, my third baby, my surprise baby girl exactly at 40 weeks. I was diagnosed with 38 weeks. So I took one round of medicine um after going to the emergency room, rolling out that it wasn't a stroke, thank God and um getting this diagnosis. Of course since I was at the end of my pregnancy and see, they um felt confident that I was able to take this medicine, but at the same time, you maybe don't see the exact results you would if you were not pregnant because your body is just like more used to fighting things off and like doing everything to keep your baby safe. My baby is completely healthy, perfect, beautiful, closing that chapter of motherhood, all that has been very bitter sweet. So, anyway, well. I'm in the hospital delivering my baby and obviously wanted an offer. I've always needed an epidural. I'm not going to fight that fight. Um and the epidural. You can see it coming out. Um definitely warned me and we spent more time and it took me longer to get the epidural in and get it moving and they were slower and everything. So it was a very painful experience to be honest, but um they warned me that it could re- trigger the symptoms I had had from Bell's palsy like the beginning. Plus the stress of labor it's just like such an intense, you know, if your mom experience like can re-trigger the symptoms. So I was getting better, go to have the baby, got the oral and then basically immediately after having the baby, I sometimes started getting worse again. Um, I was discharged after 24 hours. We wanted to go home, baby was healthy. I was healthy other than my face. And um, luckily we have friends, we have a doctor and they were to do a home visit and essentially prescribe me for another round of medicine. So, I'm now trying it again, post-partum, save for breastfeeding, but yeah, it's been a wild journey and I'm really starting to like kind of get sad about it because in the hospital I didn't take any photos of myself. I didn't take any photos of like the delivery experience or me with the baby. I haven't really taken any photos yet of her and I because I've just been so self-conscious of my face and like feeling like not like myself. Um, so I'm hoping that I can get this thing back. I don't know. I hope I can get back to normal or whatever normal is going to be for me. I feel relieved that it's getting better or not worse. Now that I'm back on mens, but it's still obviously noticeable that this whole right side of my face just like moves slower and isn't like my eyes don't blink together and my this side of my mouth is more pronounced when I talk. especially when I'm talking quite a bit or if I'm laughing, um, and I just hope that I can get through this and like, uh, it's been a journey. So if anyone else has gone through this, that's just kind of like my pregnancy to postpartum experience with.