Dear K.,
I personally don't know what you are going through, but my husband just recently recovered from Bell's. I know it was very hard on him - sent him into depression and everything. I would try to keep the mood light about it, but he just wanted to be miserable. There were times when it would be SO painful for him. It was a horrible time.
Not to scare you or anything - I am sorry if the above paragraph did scare you! I guess I'm just trying to tell you that it is very difficult on your loved ones as well - so please don't feel like you are alone in emotions when it comes to your bells.
Okay - some good news? Like yourself, he took those medications very early after onset. He was almost fully recovered after a month. But I will tell ya - when you can start to see some improvement (about 1 1/2 - 2 weeks for my husband), celebrate it! It feels like a very, very long journey, so you just have to celebrate the little victories!
It has been about 3 months now since the onset, and there is still a LITTLE bit of effect on the side of his face. If you didn't know him, you would never notice it. In fact, I barely notice it in my hubby unless he is tired. He still has SOME twitching from time to time.
One thing you should know is that the doctors don't know a whole lot about this yet. There are "common" symptoms, but they don't acknowledge the "uncommon" ones. Like my husband had intense "headaches" in his neck. There was no other reason for this except the bells, but the doctors would not relate the two. You will find a lot of support online, but please don't get wrapped up in some of those message groups! There are, unfortunately, people on there who have been dealing with this for years. That is so very uncommon, and you need to surround yourself with positive thoughts! You can find some great message boards, but stay away from the ones that make you feel bad!
Here is what we did:
1. the meds early like yourself
2. unbleached/uncolored flannel, soaked in castor oil. This goes directly on the affected side of your face, warmed up, and put aluminum foil over it. Let it set for 30 minutes for 4 nights in a row. (we have no idea if this actually worked or not, but after the 4th night is when he started seeing some improvement)
3. facial exercises
4. visualize it getting back to "normal". (my hubby is NOT a visualizer by any means, but he actually did it with this.)
5. tylenol for the pain.
6. after the 4th night of castor oil, we started using alternate heat / cold compresses on his face.
7. Waited. Waited. and Waited.
I know this can be a very tough time. If you would like to hear from my hubby personally, send him a letter through PM. I will have him reply. (He won't mind!)