Two women who have experienced Bell's Palsy have both said they thought they were having a stroke when they fell ill with the condition. 

Bell's Palsy is when someone experiences facial muscle weakness or paralysis. 

The condition can impact anyone but is most common in people who have diabetes, influenza, a cold or a respiratory ailment. 

Lunchtime Live listener Sasha said when she started feeling ill that “shock is definitely the right word”. 

“Back in March I had a really long string of intense work periods - lots of stuff going on,” she said. 

“I was really looking forward to midterm with my kids - getting some time off - and I just started to feel a little bit unwell with a bad headache and that progressed quite quickly over a few days till I felt really quite unwell.” 

Sasha was out with her child when she felt a “sudden paralysis” and she rushed herself to the hospital, fearing she was having a stroke. 

“It was quite scary,” she said. 

The doctors told her it was Bell’s Palsy - which she had never heard of before. 

“They were quite reassuring that it was something that was fairly tame and common enough,” she said. 

“It’s facial paralysis on one side usually - so, for me, it was on my left side. 

“Basically, you can’t use the whole side of your face. 

“Then also your eye won’t close - which is a really strange and unusual sensation. 

“Because your eye can’t blink, you have to be very careful with the care of your eye and making sure you’re using eye drops.” 

Scientists are unsure why people suffer from it but Sasha stressed that it “stops your life in its tracks”.

“They gave me steroids and they gave me antiviral pills - a lot of them,” she said. 

'Completely inhibited'

Another listener, Hannah, also woke up one morning, felt ill and worried she was having a stroke. 

“One morning I just woke up and just couldn’t move the right side of my face,” she said. 

“Completely no movement… and I was thinking, ‘Am I having a stroke? Am I going to die - what is this?’ 

“I went to the doctor and they said it was Bell’s Palsy.”

At the time, Hannah was only 13 and she feels, with hindsight, the condition triggered a lot of ‘anxiety, insecurity and anger’. 

To this day, she still worries about how she is perceived when she meets new people. 

“Your expression of emotion is completely inhibited,” she said. 

“You look like you’re normally going to start crying when actually you’re laughing.” 

Despite this, she now feels “at peace” with herself and accepts herself for who she is.

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Main image: Sasha. Image: Supplied.