In February 1993, I began blinking excessively and uncontrollably. As it
became worse, I went to a number of eye doctors. They all agreed that my
vision was not impaired and thought the problem was dry eye and
prescribed drops. They did not help. The others thought the cause was
allergies, but it was not that either.

My Focal Eyelid Dystonia Symptoms Intensify

When I coached my sons' basketball games, I not only would miss half of
the games caused by the blinking; I would wear a baseball cap and
sunglasses to hide my eyes. When at a restaurant, my sons, sitting
opposite me, would turn away to avoid looking at my eyes twitching. They
joked about it, not realizing the discomfort and embarrassment I felt. My
wife had to do the weekend driving since I could not. The eye twitching
always seemed to intensify when I was in a moving vehicle. It did not
matter if I was driving or was a passenger. My 90 mile daily round trip to
work became a nightmare. Thankfully, I was able to avoid having any
accidents.

Two Years and Not a Solution

Two years later, I was quite concerned and upset. By this time my quality
of life had become worse. Being a corporate controller, I felt my future and
family’s financial security were threatened.

In June, 1995, I found a local doctor who diagnosed my symptoms as a
rare neurological disorder called focal eyelid dystonia or blepharospasm. It
is the result of “faulty” brain signals sent to the optic muscles, forcing them
to contract, hence the twitching. With the cause being unknown, there
was no hope of relief. (I would later find relief by accident). It is not life-
threatening but could be debilitating. In the worst cases, the sufferer would
be considered legally blind even though their vision may be 20-20.

Injecting Botox Resulted in Some Relief

A neurologist told me that the preferred treatment was injectiing small
doses of Botox (Botulinum toxin) into the eyelids. This would later become
popular to get rid of wrinkles. I had it done, but a short time later I noticed
my eyes looked different. I then also noticed the side of my face and smile
were affected by the botox. After the second round of injections, six weeks
later, I decided to stop.

A Healthy Solution Seemed Hopeful

Several weeks later, I learned of a natural and organic whole food.
This whole food has been available for the last 30 years. I decided to try it.

When I would back out of my driveway to go to work, the spasms would
begin. They would not stop until the car was parked. Six weeks after taking
this natural health food, my wife made me realize that I had not had any
spasms all week. I said, "Could it be that the focal eyelid dystonia is caused
from a nutritional deficiency?"

The Quest to Prove That I Had Found an Alternative Solution That
Really Worked

I spent the next twelve years trying to convince the medical community
that I had discovered something remarkable. No one would listen.

Sometime later I was offered a double-blind study at the Wilmer Eye
Opthomological Institute of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in
Baltimore, Maryland. I was overwhelmed and flattered. Six years later the
results of the study, where I was mentioned twice, was published. The
article appeared in The Journal of Ophthalmology, July, 2004 Issue Volume
138; Issue 1 pages 18 – 32.

It was stated to me that “The food is safe and I expect it to help many
more people. I would recommend it for all who wish to try it for several
months.”

The results noted that the food was safe, helped some, with no side
effects.
Am very thankful to have overcome my dystonia and am able to encourage others.

Steve Zarren

Good thread!

Im glad the OPs twitchy eyelid has settled; its really not that uncommon for it to appear for no clear reason then spontaneously disappear. In some people it can be progressive and spread to involve other parts of the face and neck and in these individuals there does appear to be a genetic basis for a group of conditions known as the cranio-cervical dystonias, of which essential blepharospasm is one.Botox can help here but the body can eventually develop antibodies to botox which reduces its effect.For the really severe cases it seems that deep brain stimulation can be of benefit-but this is not a treatment modality to take lightly.

Heres a fine article about these dystonias:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih....pmc/articles/PMC2743078/

Sadly it went away for only that day... and indeed it is spreading down and to the left. It is no longer just a twitch of the eyelid, but a twitch of the cheek sometimes, or rathing like a pulsing under the skin. Never both at the same time however, it's either the eyelid that flutters or the cheek.

I have an appointment with a neurologist in January. Hopefully I will get some answers, but as stated above it sounds like it may not be so simple as it is spreading. I probably will pass on the botox if it is offered unless it starts interfering with my vision/daily life. I have never had a health issue like this before and it has caused me some psychological harm in the last month, but I've gotten used to it and accepted the fact that it's there and there is nothing I can do about it. I am saddened that the few people who know of my interest in this may now attribute the ailment to spice, but I know that is not the case.

I've been so hesitant to journey lately because of it. I still have not had a breakthrough, and with this ailment I do not feel comfortable attempting. Some small part of me wants to go for the gusto and see what happens, but my problem is I don't want the experience to go south because I'm thinking of my possibly damaged brain and expiring.

Thanks for your stories and advice though guys, really helps!

Much love

Hi zeroflight. Did your eyelid twitch stop in the end? Going through it myself for the last 10 days. Thanks

I have had eye twitching on spice journeys before. The most lasting effect was a change in eye sight after a breakthrough.

I honestly do not mind it but at night time lights are extremely bright and vivid to the point that night time perception is a bit more difficult/beautiful to navigate. Been that way for more than a month after fifty mg breakthrough. Not to mention sleep is a bit of a different experience after it as well.

Something similar happened to me some time over a year ago. Whenever I would shut my eyes they would be sort of wiggling and my eyelids would be twitching especially my left eye and when they were open the left eye continued to occasionally twitch.. I took a modest dose of two tabs of lsd and shut my eyes, I felt every single layer and detail and molecule in my eye lids and they repaired themselves.. I've never had the problem since and I thank lsd for it.. it's truly magic