Eye twitch

[Damaged]

I have a perpetual twitch in my left eye. I have had occasional facial twitching but this does not go away. It has been at least a week now. Should I be concerned? Is this a side effect? I do still have Rituxan in my body. It is exhausting. I get such a strange array of symptoms. I never know what is illnesses and what is drug effects. I had a good day yesterday. I managed to clean bathrooms, kitchen and windows Wow. Paying for it today lol. My husband is not a housekeeper or cook. Sometimes I think he deliberately does it badly so that I am forced to do it myself. He is such a mama's boy. She is the only one who can get him to do anything. I take full responsibility for perpetuating the women's role in the home. But I still did all cooking and cleaning while bringing in three incomes and working fourteen hours a day. If he cooks, it is microwave , processed poop. Even my dogs will not eat it. They love chicken but will not touch this stuff. I have finally convinced him to limit the level of processed foods he consumes. All that lunch meet. Now he has salmon, eggs tuna. I think the key to to be balanced. I do not do vitamins etc, I try to ensure our diet is well balanced. I grew up on a farm. I have tried vegetarian diets but it is not for me. I do try to limit foods that promote inflammation.

I have three new appointments next week. I seem to only leave the house for medical reasons. At least it gets me out. I keep a fit bit on. I walk an average of three miles daily. I definitely feel better with excersise. That seems limited to walking but it at least keeps my weight under control. I am keeping it to 110. A good weight for me at 5'3". But the drugs make it very difficult. They are all drugs which create weigh gain. There was a lovely young nurse in the infusion room with me. She gained over 300 pds on Prednisone. She is as round as she is tall. She is 400pds and 5'2" tall. She is still very physically active. She recently walked a marathon. Being in the medical profession she is very conscious of the risks associated to weight but is powerless over this drug. It keeps her alive but at a tremendous cost. I know from reading posts you are all incredible. The way you manage your life with these debilitating , painfull conditions is an inspiration. Women are so very strong 🏋️‍♀️ Hang tuff . Anyone with knowledge of twitching, contact me .

[sylvi]

If your worried ask your dr darling.xxxxx

[Hidden]

I get a lot of eye twitching - including in my eyebrows and top of cheeks. Mainly it is when I blink and is due to my Sjögren's dry eyes and related fatigue.

I find that treating the Mybomean (oil secretions from eye) Gland dysfunction with warmed heat eyepads (no more than 15 seconds in microwave) for 10-15 minutes daily and massaging with fingers or special tool around the eye muscles has really helped the dryness and twitching. I do also have to use drops or one sort or another hourly too though. My opthamologist tells me the twitching is just benign from muscle spasms as part of the disease (s) - possibly a sort of secondary Fibromyalgia - which is very annoying but won't do any harm. Hope this helps.

I'm very lucky because my husband is by far the best cook and cleaner I know and I'm rubbish at all things domestic so it isn't always gender specific!

Twitchy

[Damaged in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Twithytoes, I get nervous regarding neurological symptoms. I prefer to remain invisible. I do not want facial paralysis. I am likely over reacting. It sees so many area's are affected. Systemic is hedious, it seems everyday brings something new. So many lovely surprises.

[Hidden in reply to Damaged]

I understand your anxiety but really don't think you should be overly alarmed. Everything is systemic with me and has been from day 1. Sometimes I panic about one thing and then the rheumy or neurologist focus entirely on the wrong symptom and I lead them on a false trail while the important symptoms and signs get missed.

I have had many contradictory things said to me by various rheumatologists over the years - but all have at least acknowledged that my disease(s) are multisystem and unusual/ rare. Increasingly I just work things out for myself and then seek confirmation if they recur or get worse. This is what I have done for spasms around my eye plus twitching. I worked out I was forgetting to use my hourly eye drops and once I improved the twitching eased. Stress and exhaustion always make it worse.

So I really don't think your neuro fears are warranted re eye twitching. I m think this is most probably just a common manifestation of stress and exhaustion and possibly, dry eyes - as this problem goes hand in hand with RA.

But as Sylvi suggests, seek confirmation from your GP if you are still concerned. Optician too.

[Philip]

HiHi Do you have fibromyalgia? Just a question because I've been through the eyes twitching like there's no tomorrow lol?

[Gigi71]

I had this start not long after starting mtx. Also my left eyelid wouldn't open on its own in the night and when I was very tired. I do have glaucoma, but it was confirmed that was ok, when I eventually saw a consultant at the eye clinic he confirmed a ptosis, but not bad enough to operate, he prescribed eye drops for dry eyes, 3 times a day and a gel at night. This seems to have done the trick. He confirmed it was RA related and I will have to keep this up for life. My rheumy had wanted me to see neurologist, however so far the drops seem to work. Always best to get a proper dx to see what you are dealing with. Good luck. X

[Damaged in reply to Gigi71]

Thank you I will bring it up on my next appointment

[Ali_H]

Hi,

I live with blepharospasm which is kinda eye twitching on speed. I've been exploring the use of magnesium supplements since October and my twitching is reducing enough to reduce the quantity of injections at my last two clinic visits. Also I have noticed my fatigue has reduced (due to the magnesium? Less energy spent blinking like mad? Less stress/anx over the eye condition? - who knows - not me and that's ok cos I am at the age where I don't need to know why any more and am happy to just enjoy the relief 😎).

All the best

Ali

[Thegreywitch in reply to Ali_H]

I brought soon some epson salts from ebay (cheapest) I have not used them but my husband has . He found a marked reduction in pain and stiffness the next day.

I brought a big bag 5kg for only £7 the high street where too expensive.

[wowzerbowzer]

Typically eye twitching is caused by stress.....do you have any of that??? lol I had it go on for 2 weeks and eventually went away. Ophthalmologist stated they can inject botox to stop it but it would take several shots to get the right area. It will eventually go away.

[Damaged in reply to wowzerbowzer]

Well stress is a reality for anyone with chronic illness and pain. As previously mentioned, I lost two businesses when I became so ill I could no longer walk. Financially , we have been devastated. However, stress has been a constant in my life. I would far prefer to live with the twitch than get Botox. My only concern was that it may indicate a neurological problem. I do have Bletharitis so I called my Opthomologist. He is on leave for six months. I see my GP on Thursday. I will mention it but many other concerns take president. I have not had a bone density done in over ten years. My hips are on fire continuously. DTC has decided they need more medical evidence to go back ten years. He has all my records so I need to ensure he completes the needed forms without bias. DTC unlike CPP disability. The fact that he has been treating me for chronic pain, migraines injuries and depression all qualify for DTC. Doctors do not understand they are different programs. So I will come armed with DTC qualifying criteria. This way he does not need to admit he missed the diagnoses for so long. There is a clear conflict of interest in these processes so I intend to fight for what is right. Like many of you this disease has dominated every aspect of my life for many years. I bought a business because I could no longer manage financial planning. So my group disability was minimal as I lost more than 70% of my clients over three years. I simply could no longer continue seeing clients. Fortunately, many clients were fiercely loyal. They refused to let me go. So I still had benefits. I have since transferred my clients to a colleague I have worked with for fifteen years. Now they are in good hands but I am ruined financially. I have Critical Illness insurance but have the wrong labels. While it covers MS it does not cover RD. I have Non Hodgkin Lymphoma but apparently not severe enough to qualify ? Sorry for the dialogue, just frustrated. It is hard being alone all the time. All I do is worry about everything. Dogs are great companions but not great conversationalists lol

[Damaged]

More direct answer would have been , yes I have a lot of stress lol

[jjnz]

Eye twitching is common in healthy people, there is a condition called benign fasciculation syndrome that many people with autoimmune diseases have, my guess is it's more related to inflammation, around nerves. Either way it seems like its harmless. Stress does seem to be a factor but it won't be the only one.

A week is nothing for an eye twitch, don't panic.

People try to supplement with magnesium, sometimes transdermally, mixed evidence this works, eggs also have choline which turns to acetylcholine in the nerves, again mixed evidence this helps.

I gave up worrying about neurology a long time ago, I got essential tremor, bfs and headaches all in one fowl swoop after some dental work. My neurologist basically said it was all a coincidence and that you only need to worry about tremors when you are totally at rest (parkinson) and rapid loss of muscle strength as in ALS. For the last two points I agree with him

[Damaged in reply to jjnz]

Thanks jjinz, that was very helpful. I have had so many strange experiences at this point nothing frightens me. Just curious. It seems anything goes. I have been watching BBC Inside the human body. It is fascinating. It literally takes you inside the body. They can shows brain development, immune system response, blood circulating etc. Awesome technology we have these days. UBC has been working on a 3D printer to make cartilage for knee replacement. This way there is no risk of rejection. They intend to move onto more complex organs eventually. Alberta has also developed nano bots that enter the heart to kill faulty cells , without open heart surgery. It is amazing. Who knows what is around the corner. Nano bots will soon be used to kill cancer cells as well.My daughter just wrote her MCAT's and killed it. She was in the 96 th percentile. She has remained on President's list each year of undergrad. I am so very proud of her. But I still would prefer she look to marine biology or oceanography. I worry that medicine will consume her life. But whatever she decides I will always be there to support her. Even when I am gone. I will be that little voice telling her she can do anything. I have been blessed with wonderful children , now all adults.

[jjnz in reply to Damaged]

You've obviously been an excellent parent, thats probably enough to give anyone an eye twitch

Yes, medicine and technology is moving ahead in leaps and bounds, it's mind-blowing just how complex we are. The placebo effect and mind-body connection amazes me, we can make our selves sick and better just by thinking about it.