Saul Rubinek : Does he have Bells paulsey?

I was just wondering because half of his face doesn't seem to work. he always talks out of one side of hi5b4s mouth

Damn, I came here because I was wondering the same thing and hoped someone else knew.



"Great, just jump all over me, why don't you?
What about the nine kids I DIDN'T lose this week?"

I'm assuming he most likely had a stroke. My friend's brother is a paramedic and when we talked to him about it he said Saul matched the description to a tee, so that's what I think might have happened.

Bell's Palsy actually. I got it about 10 years ago. I know the look too well. He's had it also. No big deal, like I've always said, If this is my cross to bare, I'll take it and run!

I had a co-worker whose child was born with Bell's Palsy and it does differ substantially from the affect I've seen in stroke patients, which are many.

Bell's does not seem to affect the working of the tongue as a stroke does but only the nerves affecting the mouth and side of the face.

Of course I will happily be corrected if I'm wrong; I'm just going by what the mom told me, as best I remember.

When the child was born the palsy seemed to affect one whole side of her face but as she grew older it seemed to begin to localize to right around her mouth, as does Mr. Rubinek's. It sure doesn't effect his acting, he's terrific.

The last time I saw them the little girl was about 8 and seemed to have little affect at all.

As I said, I'll be happily corrected if I'm wrong in my observations. :)

"As the Philosopher Jagger said, you can't always get what you want."

I've had Bell's Palsy, but totally recovered from it. It's caused by a swelling around the hole in the skull where 5 nerves pass through. These nerves control the mouth, eye lids, salivation glands and tear ducts. The opening swells and puts pressure on this nerve bundle.

When you get it, it's very, very sudden. I woke up one morning and the left side of my face felt like it was asleep. However, after about 30 minutes it didn't wake up. I went to work, and to the company nurse who recognized the symptoms. I left right away and saw a neurologist who first checked me for stroke symptoms (I had none), and agreed on the BP diagnosis. I got a shot of steroids to reduce the swelling and some pills to continue the treatment.

For about 6 weeks, I felt like I got a huge dose of Novocain at the dentist. My left eyelid would not close, even to blink. I had to use drops in my eyes and be careful when taking a shower. I had trouble eating and drinking because stuff would come out of my mouth. Ever try eating or drinking right after going to the dentist and getting a Novocain shot? Just like that.

The nerves grow back at the rate of about 1/2 inch a month, and about 2 inches of nerve were affected. I was back to normal in about 8 weeks, but I was lucky. The doctor told me that people who don't get treatment right away sometimes have their nerves get jumbled. They will try to smile, but it will cause their tear ducts to water. Or their mouth will turn up when they try to salivate. You get the idea.

If Saul's mouth is still messed up (I just saw a 1990 episode of Star Trek and he was talking out of the side of his mouth), it's possible that he didn't get treatment soon enough and the damage was permanent. If that's the case, he probably has other problems as well.

Anyone can get this, and if you have it once you have a good chance of getting it again. If you or anyone you know says their face feels like it's asleep, it's very important that you get to a doctor right away. I woke up with the symptoms at about 5:30am, and had the shots at around 11am, and I recovered. Don't let it go for a day or two.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bells_palsy


I'm just a patsy!

BP effects 1 in 10,000 people. I got mine over 10 years ago and went to the hospital immediatly. They checked me for stroke too and ruled it out. They suggested steroids also, but the doctor said that its helpfulness was questionable and that some studies showed that steroids can actually hinder recovery. I decided not to take the shots or the pills for fear that they would make the condition worse. Sooooo, 10 years later and my eye closes fine and I eat and drink fine, the onlt lingering effect is that the left side of my mouth still can't smile. Its not that big a deal, but if a treatment was available to correct I'd probably look into it and if I ever have a second attack ( A one in ten chance for those who have had it once already), I would get the shots and take the pills.

Thanks for the info. I don't know if this was the case with Saul (as you've pointed out he always talked this way in whatever I've seen, as do several other actors so maybe it's not Bell's at all); however, I only had a very vague knowledge of it. My mom had it and the doc told her it would come and go and it eventually went away. I think she had one more bout of it (don't know if they gave her drugs or anything) and never got it again, but she also had MS and I think back then the docs were attributing her sensitivity to BP as being related to her MS.

isn't it funny that there is NO mention of it anywhere on line? i does look like Bell's Palsy, but i can't find anything about it..

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hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.

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I was just watching The Family Man and it does look like Bells Palsy. I got it about 5 years ago and it's very similar.

It's a *beep* thing to get and even *beep* if you don't recover 100% like most people do.

I contracted Bell's about 5 years ago and mine never went away completely, either. The left edge of my mouth still doesn't cooperate and when I get tired, my eye won't shut like its supposed to. Bell's Palsy comes from the same Herpes virus that causes Chicken Pox and Shingles.

"She's, like, a biscuit older than me"

I'm not aware of any surgery that can correct it or I probably would have tried it. I wish I had never got mine, but as I've said since the week it hit, if this is my cross to bear I'll take it and run. I've had too many friends die from cancer or car accidents. In the final analysis, there are lots of worse things that can hit you.