About a year before I got my dx, my dental specialist noticed the muscles inside my mouth were "tight as a drum", so he dx'd me with TMJ even though I'd noticed nothing unusual other than a lot of bruxhism grinding/clenching which seems to stave off most temporal lobe seizures in me...he recommended trying ALA (Alpha Lipoic Acid) a powerful antioxidant for tension relief together with OTC pain pills. There was no change. This turned out to be the start of very painful full on TN (Trigeminal Neuralgia) prior to the sudden dx of YOPD, caught due to a severe freezing gait & slight pill roll tremor in the left hand which occasionally does it on the right too now - Sifrol ER seems to be calming it all down including RSL/severe neuropathy in feet/lower legs which are becoming number. Currently, I have a "resting b*tch face" which I can barely feel. It just hangs expressionless with staring eyes (I've stopped blinking normally) and I've aged 10 years in a matter of weeks. I'm banning mirrors in the house for sure! To smile, I have to put in conscious effort and the facial muscles feel stiff, heavy and it's mostly numb. It takes a while to warm the face up in the mornings! I remember my Granny (who had PD along with her 5 siblings) having what she called a "deadpan moon" face. She had a mouth tremor which I'm already getting (chewing those invisible minties). I have a bit of drooling too now & then. The speed of progression in me is staggering. I thought PD was supposed to be a slow progressive decline, not over the course of a few months? I've clearly had it for about 10 years which was misdiagnosed as cervical dystonia (essential cogwheel head tremor) and ME/cfs - but some of the symptoms are becoming rapidly apparent. I feel as miserable & apathetic as my face looks. I used to be an Undertaker (mortician) so looking sad was a bonus. I can see now that it was probably a very early sign of my YOPD. Makes me wonder how many other ppl who were always told to "cheer up, it may never happen!" actually ended up with a dx of PD? I feel like there could be some sort of palsy going on. Does this all pass or are most PD patients stuck with the facial paralysis for good?