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Eye Care Archive  (Expert Forum)
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eyelid twitching etc
Our Ask A Doctor Ophthalmology Forum is where you can post your question and receive a personal answer from physicians affiliated with the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

eyelid twitching etc

by nice young man, Feb 01, 2007 12:00AM
I have constant twitches all around both orbits such as my eyebrow area and and my eyelids all day every day sometimes as much as a 50% of my waking hours.  I also have spasms in other areas of my body but less frequently.    The other thing is I have a constant headache (2 years) behind my forehead that a neurologist hasn't been able to help cure.   I have a stable 3.5 cm bone tumor above my left eye and the vision in that eye is not obviously effected but sometimes when I cover my right eye I think that my vision is generally slightly dimmer in that eye..but I did have a normal opthamologic exam about 14 months ago.. So what do you think about all this?  Thanks.

by Forum-OD-MP, Feb 01, 2007 12:00AM
dont know.  twitches could be from facial nerve damage, but probably not.  twitches from facial nerve damage are 24/7.  not '50%' of the time.  more likely myokymia...benign lid twitching from lack of sleep, stress, too much caffeine, or other systemic problems.  can be helped with warm compresses, topical antihistamines like the newly-over-the-counter drug ZADITOR, and obviously treating the underlying cause in the case of systemic disease.  possibly related to your bone tumor.

dont know about the headache.  probably is neurological even if the neurologist cant diagnose it.

dimmer vision in one eye implies some sort of nerve damage to that eye.  thats definitely neurological.  one of the big causes of 'dimmer' vision in one eye is MS.  i am certainly not diagnosing you with MS or even suggesting that you have it.  just pointing out this this, too is probably neurological.

Member Comments (3)

by aimee37, Feb 01, 2007 12:00AM
To: DOCTOR
Hi thanks for the reply.. I forgot to mention that when I look left and right my eyes feel very stiff deep inside like some sort of pressure builds up  but it is not so bad looking up and down.  do you think this would add anything else to what you think?  thanks again.

by aimee37, Feb 02, 2007 12:00AM
To: DOCTOR
I actually think that sometimes it may be triggered by yawning..

by aimee37, Feb 02, 2007 12:00AM
Hello, I saw this and thought I would add a comment about magnesium.
Low magnesium within the cells can cause muscle twitches and other symptoms.
If you decide to take a supplement, you need to pay attention to the form of the mag, as the intestines have difficulty absorbing many forms.
Magnesium glycinate is one form that is more easily absorbed...you need to look at the list of ingredients.
For example:
http://www.iherb.com/store/ProductDetails.aspx?c=Herbs&pid=SNS-00803

Almonds are high in magnesium.  You can buy a pound of almonds at the grocery store, and eat several ounces per day.
You might need to take magnesium for quite a while, or the symptoms may come back.

Wishing you the best,
Carol
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