I need help with an issuse,having twitching in my face,my eye,cheek,chin and lip.

Sheila,

It sounds like you have hemi-facial spasm.  I just had surgery a few months ago for this condition.  I hope you are scheduled to see a neurosurgeon. That is who you need to see.

Sue 

Hi Seila,

I'm so sorry to hear that you are having all of these symptoms.  When I first started having the twitching in me face (left side) I went to my General Practitioner and he prescribed me muscle relaxers.  After realizing that it was more that tense muscles he referred me to a neurologist.  The neurologist diagnosed me with HFS and over the next 2-3 mobths prescibed several medications that didn't work ... I'm not saying that they won't work for you.  I also had two dosages of botox (didn't work).  When I had HFS it was worse when I was tired or stressed, So, get as much rest as you can.  The reality is, I gave up on all of the neurolofists in Spokane, because none of them were a specialist in microvascular decompression surgery.  For over eight years I lived with HFS and I wish that as soon as I was diagnosed that I would have been told straight up about the percentage that medication would control the spasms.  If the doctor would have said, "We can try medication, but there is obly an 8% chance that the medication will help," I would have requested that he refer me to a surgeon.  Good luck and prayers..

Hi Sheila,

Sorry to hear your news. It does sound like early onset of HFS and would try to see a doctor earlier to then get a refereal to a consultant. I have had HFS for over 10 years and it has now got so bad I am insisiting that I am referred for surgery. Even though this isnt life treatening,HFS needs to be treated as a serious condition because unfortunately their is no cure apart from surgery at the end, however some poeple respond well to botox injections and other medicine so you may be fortunate to be one that reponds. A MRI will clear anything horrible going on but it does seem from what your saying HFS is your symptoms.

Good luck

Hi Sheila.  Sounds like you badly need an MRI scan, but some of these symptoms are typical of HFS.  The tickling sensation is not usually associated with HFS which means MRI is even more important.  When I first developed HFS I got frustrated by the waiting times and misinformation and so went to see a neurosurgeon privately (much quicker than NHS); it was the best £750 (cost of MRI and consultation) I ever spent and put me on the road to recovery.  I don't know where you are in the world but I went to see Nik Patel at the Spire Hospital in Bristol, UK.  The most important thing is to get a proper diagnosis and definitely to have an MRI scan to rule out causes other than HFS.  If you do have HFS it is not life threatening but it is a progressive condition which may require treatment with Botox or even surgery later down the line if you want it.  Hope you get some answers as it must be very worrying and frustrating for you, especially the long wait.

Hi Sheila. I'm going through the same thing and can't get anyone to even pay attention to me or diagnose me. I get twitching in all the same spots you do, and on both sides of my face- along with tingling. Do all those twitches happen at the same time? Or do they fire randomly at different times? Mine will be bad in one spot for days, then move to a different spot. My left is worse than my right side. I've seen a neuro and had two MRIs and nothing. I've sent scans to an HFS specialist in Pittsburgh, but haven't heard back. They did see a loop on my scan on the rt side, but it was next to my trigeminal nerve, not my 7th nerve. All in all, I'm about to lose my mind trying to get someone to take it seriously. I see a rheumatologist on wed to rule out autoimmune causes. I hope you have some better luck! Let us know!!

Sheila,

After mulling over your situation overnight, and seeing some more of the replies, I agree with Roseann that you definitely need an MRI.  If the neurologist that you see diagnoses that you have HFS, be very proactive for yourself.  Ask questions like, "Is the medication that you are prescibing me going to cure the HFS, or will I eventually need microvascular decompression surgery?"  My doctors were just giving me a "bandaid cure;" something that would ease the pain and spasms, but ultimately it was the surgery that stopped the twitching.  In my case the twitching affected my trigeminal nerve, which after eight years of continuous twitching, I still have considerable pain.  If I would have had a doctor that thoroughly explained what caused hemifacial spasm and what the alternatives were, I would have went immediately for the sugery.  The majority of the neurologists that I have seen were very arrogant.  Luckily I found a "down to earth" nerosurgeon" at the University of Washington Medical Center, and I am currently seeing a very nice neurologist in Spokane for the pain that I am still experiencing.  Educate yourself as much as you can about HFS and the long and short term damage that can occur to the nerves/muscles involved.  In my case I lost all muscle tone on the left side of my face.  It's been over three years since the surgery and I can finally say that the left side of my face is looking normal.   

I am not a doctor but was having this issue. I kept looking up online what it could be and freaked myself out. My neurologist told me that it was benign vasiculitis (not sure I'm spelling this right) but basically, 70% OF PEOPLE have this. It's from stress. Have you been stressed out? People don't think to come back to these forums to let people know that everything was okay and it was a minor thing but after a month+ of panicking, I got put on some mild antidepressents to help me with my stress. I hope this comment helps someone

I was put on Prozac in May 2017 for anxiety disorder with panic attacks. I noticed in July I had pretty bad twitching in my legs and then arms. I decided to get off Prozac thinking that was the cause. In December 2017 I had “pressure” in my forehead accompanied with twitching in forehead, cheek, and other parts of my body. I do notice the more I stress the worse it is. I haven’t really spoken to anyone about this issue because I’m embarrassed and I feel like people close to me will just think it’s all apart of my anxiety. 

My face has a tingling feeling in my cheek and chin and I find if I apply something cold it helps. The pressure is sometimes still there but not as much. The “tic” or “twinge” probably happens every hour multiple times but it’s not something anyone else would notice. I have also had the normal eye twitching which will go on for hours. I have a neuro appointment scheduled for April but I really really need some advice. Is this hermifacial??... I’m scared. 

Hi Sheila, sorry to hear you're still experiencing these problems 3 years on.  I was going to write something but realised that I wrote this to you 3 years ago.  I'll just copy it here because the advice still stands.  

Hi Sheila.  Sounds like you badly need an MRI scan, but some of these symptoms are typical of HFS.  The tickling sensation is not usually associated with HFS which means MRI is even more important.  When I first developed HFS I got frustrated by the waiting times and misinformation and so went to see a neurosurgeon privately (much quicker than NHS); it was the best £750 (cost of MRI and consultation) I ever spent and put me on the road to recovery.  I don't know where you are in the world but I went to see Nik Patel at the Spire Hospital in Bristol, UK.  The most important thing is to get a proper diagnosis and definitely to have an MRI scan to rule out causes other than HFS.  If you do have HFS it is not life threatening but it is a progressive condition which may require treatment with Botox or even surgery later down the line if you want it.  Hope you get some answers as it must be very worrying and frustrating for you, especially the long wait.

 

Hey have you checked out BFS? if you have twitching at other parts of your body other than your face, you might have something called BFS. I am not a doctor but that might be something you can look into.