Bristol Palin, reality TV personality and daughter of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, is currently recovering after a health scare. On Wednesday, the 34-year-old Teen Mom alum shared on her Instagram Story that she had woken up nine days earlier with a “little weird sensation” in her face. However, it soon progressed into something far more serious.
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“My mouth was pulling this way, and it just felt a little off. So I went, looked in the mirror. I’m like, ‘Wow. This is looking a little weird,’” Bristol recalled. She added that “within a couple of hours, the entire left side of my face was numb and just paralyzed,” and that she “couldn’t really blink [her] eye” and had “no movement on [the left side] of my face.”
Palin shared a series of photos documenting the progression of her facial paralysis. By 10:30 a.m. on the first day, she described feeling as though “everything is pulling to the left.” However, by 5 p.m., the sensation had shifted; the left side of her face felt “just numb” with “delayed” reactions.
“It’s so bad, dude,” the former MtV personality added.
Bristol Palin, the daughter of Sarah Palin, says she has been suffering from a neurological disorder that is "pulling her face" to the left.
— TaraBull (@TaraBull808) January 30, 2025
Where have i seen this before? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/GGeDdkKk2B
Palin eventually consulted a doctor and underwent tests, a CT scan and X-rays. However, the results revealed nothing conclusive. As a result, she was prescribed steroids along with other medications. She added that doctors suspected she may be experiencing Bell’s palsy.
According to Johns Hopkins, Bell’s palsy is a condition characterized by sudden, unexplained facial muscle weakness or paralysis caused by damage to the facial nerve. In Bristol Palin’s case, her doctors suggested the paralysis might be linked to stress or lack of sleep—an explanation she seems to believe.
Bristol Palin Credits “Eastern Medicine” For Her Recovery
In addition to her prescribed medication, Palin credited “Eastern medicine” with helping to relieve her symptoms. She also had “multiple” rounds of acupuncture she credits with helping “speed up the process of recovery tremendously.”
“I know I look crazy right now, but this has been such an improvement from what I was looking like,” she detailed. “I’m finally starting to get some of the sensation back. It’s been a little painful the last two days, which is a sign. It’s a good indication that it’s getting better. Praise the Lord!”
However, Palin, who now works in real estate, admits the ordeal gave her a fresh perspective on worrying over her looks.
“The next time that I look in the mirror and I pick myself apart where it’s like, ‘Oh, my nose is long. I want a nose job, I want to do this. I want to do that,’ I am going to remember this, and I am just going to be so thankful for a normal functioning face ’cause this has been wild,” she said.