twitchy eyelids
 

Hi Everyone!
I have a question concerning the twitchy eyelid effect I am having. If I blink my eyes or sneeze my eyelids will twitch for about a half hour after, severely. Is this a side effect? I am on Mestinon 60mg four times a day. Also, did anyone experience side effects when going off of Immuron? My dr. is going to take me off of it at next visit. Thanks!:cool:

I get the twitchy - actually spastic! - eyelid from time to time. It seems to come and go of its own accord in chunks of time (like fine for a month or more...then everyday for a while).

It does seem to happen when I'm overtired. But I've noticed no connection with medications or my activities. Drives me crazy tho!!

Oh boy! when I went off Imuran after 12 months I was a new man. My stomach issues cleared up and my appitite returned. I had to taper off but saw immediate results. My Dr apologized saying he knew the Imuran was making me feel really bad but he wanted to try the full 12 months. I lost 35 pounds while on Imuran. I am now on Cellcept, Mestinon and Prednisone. The first 4 weeks I felt like I could fly. Now I feel ok but have gone back to my weak state. It may be time for my IVIG, usually every 2 months.
Mike

Blepharospasm
 

I don't know, I'm not a doctor, but it is possible you could have blepharospasm. Usually, this presents in older women in conjunction with dry eye, but there are some doctors who feel that eyelid muscle problems in conditions such as Myasthenia Gravis may be an alternate trigger for this condition. This link offers an opinion on this, if you scroll down through the comments to the one by Roger Kurlan.

http://www.neurology.org/content/77/7/631/reply

Many people get dry eye, but only a small percentage will develop blepharospasm. I imagine it is the same with eyelid weakness; a small percentage of patients with ptosis, double vision, etc. may also develop blepharospasm. Unfortunately, the treatment of choice for blepharospasm is Botox injections, which are contraindicated in MG.

For more information on blepharospasm, visit the Benign Essential Blepharospasm Research Foundation at www.blepharospasm.org

Tatia

Something similar happens to me if I take too much Mestinon (which for me is a full 60mg pill). My eyes and my eyebrows get twitchy. It is a possible side effect, my neuro confirmed.

Thank you all so much for your input!! I'm so glad I found this forum and all of you! We can all help each other and make this MG journey a little easier to travel. Blessings!

More on MG and blepharospasm
 

Just in case someone else like me comes along and searches the forum for blepharospasm:


http://www.neurology.org/content/58/1/150.2.extract

In rare cases, MG can mimic blepharospasm, leading to misdiagnosis and improper treatment.

I did after being given the diagnosis of blepharospasm for my diplopia. The links are much appreciated.

MG can cause dry eyes because the lids don't always close properly. If dry eyes can cause your eyes to twitch, that could be the connection. I occasionally have the twitchy eyes too. It is worse in my right eye which is also the one that is most severely effected by MG.

I don't yet have a diagnosis of MG, though everything keep pointing that way in my opinion. And no specialist has come up with an alternative diagnosis.

I went to the Neuro-ophthalmologist, because of my Double Vision. Too much blinking, which she concluded was blepharospasm, was her diagnosis, and Botox the suggested treatment. I had never even heard of blepharospasm, and I didn't know that I was blinking too much.

How would you know if you had dry eyes?