3rd facial nerve paralysis

Hi Margyo68,

Sorry to hear about your stroke. Recovery with vision and the eye can be trickier to predict and often time is the best predictor. Is the eyelid fully closed? Has your vision been affected significantly as well? I have contacted someone who may be better to comment on your question although I'm yet to hear back. It will be interesting to see if others have any experience of recovery with third nerve palsy. When this happens, unrelated to stroke there is good recovery - up to 90%, however if this is due to your stroke the recovery may be very different. Has your specialist said it is different linked to your stroke or caused by other inflammation or infection? I would be guided by your eye specialist and your neurologist and continue to liaise with them about any new treatments.

Closing both eyes, relaxing your body and using visualization or mental rehearsal is something you could try out. Imagining in your mind the eye, eye lid and pupil healing and being able able to open again. There is some evidence that this technique helps in return of movement of the arm and leg so I can't see why you couldn't apply it to your third nerve palsy.It is free and would also bring about general benefits of relaxation.

Feel free to call us if you ever have any other questions on StrokeLine 1800 787 653.

Simone (Occupational Therapist for StrokeLine)

You might find these links helpful although there is quite a lot of medical jargon and we recommend asking your specialists for more guidance and information:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3353675/

http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/24/4/581.full.pdf

Taken from page 585: "As with peripheral lesions, the prognosis for these patients is generally good, and ocular motor dysfunction tends to improve or resolve within several months."