bilateral eye twitching

[twitch83]

Ten days ago I noticed a annoying twitch that started in my right lower eye.  It would come & go but would be really persistant at night & even while laying down.  It has sinced moved more into the inner lower part of my eye but it still quivering or twitching.  Today I've noticed sparatic times where my left upper eye lid is twitching.  I would not say that I'm stressed, other than raising little ones & dealing with the stresses of daily living but I do like my caffeine ( 2 cups of coffe every morning.)  Should I give this more time to resolve or do I need to have it looked at?  Also, I notice more persistant twitching after running or lifting weights.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

Annoying isn't it? I had the same problem for several weeks last week. The problem is "Myokymia" (not the same as superior oblique myokymia).  It is a harmless irritation of the orbicularis oculi muscle that closes your eyes. It's really no different than muscle twitches elsewhere on your body (face, hand, legs, etc) except about 10 times more bothersome. It will go away in time (days, weeks, months). Unless something else develops it doesn't need to be checked out.

JCH III MD

[Nancy T]

For weeks, every time I sneezed or opened my eyes wide or squeezed them shut or just ran my hand over my face (like you do when you're tired)--in other words, any time I stimulated the face muscles--I would INVARIABLY get a twitching ABOVE my left eye, and 2 seconds later a twitching BELOW my right eye. It was quite amusing!

The twitches are indeed annoying, but very common. Mine seem to have no relation to stress, caffeine, or whatever--they just happen. And they go away eventually.

Nancy T.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

Maybe we should form a 'myokymia support group'  (kidding)

JCH III MD

[Nancy T]

Wouldn't that be a sight... twenty people sitting around trying to hold a conversation with eyes twitching wildly! :)

[twitch83]

Thank you for the quick response to my crazy twitching.  To continue my exciting eye twitch story it has almost completely disappeared in my right lower eye lid but is more annoying in the left upper lid.  Also, I have occassional lt brow twitching & lt upper lip twitching.  Am I losing my mind or do I just need to take to relax.  I am a nurse so at times I feel I suffer from a tad bit of hypochondriactism (is that even a word?)  

Thanks for reading.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

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