I was sitting in the car today, waiting for my wife, when for no reason, I lowered the visor and attempted to smile at myself in the mirror. The left side of my mouth did not move. The right side pulled back, but not up. So I sat there trying to smile and looking at my reflection with a lopsided sneer. When Shanna, came to the car, I showed her. It was all I could do not to cry. My smile just one more loss to SBMA.

You may not be able to smile on the outside, but you don't want to let that keep you from smiling on the inside. I can tell from your avatar that you have at least nine reasons to smile every day.

WOW, Cam, what a great comment.

Jim, you need to start exercising your facial muscles. There are several exercises that are quite good. I do them every day. I have included several good exercises in my blog ( http://kennedysdisease.blogspo...e-of-prevention.html). Give them a try and see if they do not help firm up those muscles. It might not bring them back to full usage, but they will help keep the muscles functioning longer.

By the way, I am a little frustrated with my smile these days. It seems like one side fell this year a little. It is more of a sneer, but I continue to work on it every day and it seems to help.

Whenever you feel a little down, however, read Cam's comment again.

It was a problem with my smile early this year that eventually lead to my KD diagnosis. When I smiled the right side of my face drooped and I thought I had suffered a small stroke. I mentioned to the doctor that my maternal grandfather had die in the mid-1960s of complication with what I had remembered as being Parkinson’s or a similar disease. I found out later a more correct understanding of his problem; they thought he had ALS, but lived longer than expected. Now I know it must have been KD and it explains why I now have an opportunity to deal with it.
In response to the smile issue, my GP set up a series of blood tests, scans, etc and then a referral to a neurologist. The neurologist ran another series of blood tests and various muscle response tests. He ruled out Parkinson’s on my first visit. After one of the electric nerve/muscle tests he set up a “special” blood test, that one I learned later was the DNA test for KD.
Until reading this post I had just accepted the smile incident as an unrelated anomaly. I was told it could have been from an infection and since it went away after a few weeks that seemed to make sense. Now I think it is all related and as I’ve mentioned before, it is good to know why and what I can do to make the best of the situation.

Hi Jim,First of all thanks for your reply and prayers for me.I was away for sometime in connection of my vacations.I hope and pray that you be able to smile again.Say hi to your family.Facial exercises recommended by Bruce will hopefully help.
Wish you the best

Hello Jim! I wanted to tell you that my sister is an SLP and works with various patients in communication skills. SLP's do help with facial muscles and could guide you with exercises. Please look into area colleges that need volunteers so that undergrads can gain experience. I was used for this one time and the girl did laryngeal massage to help my voice. Did not help much but the experience was worth it, and it was free. Plus they learn just as much from you. Now this is my idea...carry in your pocket a pair of wax lips that are smiling, (instant pocket smile and chewing on it excercises your facial muscles!), or when no one sees you put a red foam clown nose on and be very serious until someone sees you and starts laughing. The price of making one smile = Priceless.