I have had blepharospasm since 2002. Tried Botox once. No help at all. Some days I have to keep touching left brow/pushing it up to encourage them to open. Missed most of Black Panther when I tried going to the cinema for first time in years…having another go at knitting as it helps to keep fingers busy
Botulinum toxin in the management of blepharospasm: current evidence and recent developments Amy Hellman and Diego Torres-RussottoTher Adv Neurol Disord. 2015 Mar; 8(2): 82–91.
Blepharospasm is a focal dystonia characterized by involuntary closure of the eyelids
Blepharospasm often begins as excessive blinking, usually accompanied by feelings of dryness or irritation of the eyes
It is often exacerbated by bright lights, reading, and watching television. Like other dystonias, blepharospasm may be alleviated by sensory tricks including touching the eyes , the upper face, speaking, or even singing .
Sinemet Side Effects:
Tell your doctor if you experience unlikely but serious side effects including:
greatly increased eye blinking/twitching
uncontrolled muscle movements in your face (chewing, lip smacking, frowning, tongue movement, blinking or eye movement);
Nervous System/Psychiatric
extrapyramidal disorder -blepharospasm (which may be taken as an early sign of excess dosage)
Levodopa-induced Dyskinesia: Clinical Features, Pathophysiology, and Medical Management Sanjay Pandey and Prachaya Srivanitchapoom Ann Indian Acad Neurol. 2017 Jul-Sep; 20(3): 190–198.
Luquin et al . reported dyskinesia in 168 of 220 PD patients receiving levodopa treatment
. One hundred and fifty-two patients had on dyskinesia, 31 patients had diphasic dyskinesia and 60 patients had off-period dyskinesia. Eighty-four patients had one type, 68 patients had two types, and 16 patients had three types of dyskinesia.
Most common types of dyskinesia were
chorea ( n = 113),
dystonic posturing of the limbs ( n = 63),
repetitive movement of the limbs ( n = 24),
craniocervical dystonia ( n = 15),
blepharospasm ( n = 6),
mixed movement disorders ( n = 9),
myoclonus ( n = 6), and tics ( n = 1).[4]
Drug-Associated Facial Dyskinesias-A Study of 238 Patients Mauriello, J. A. Jr., Carbonaro, P. ; Dhillon, S. ; Leone, T. ; Franklin, M. . Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology: June 1998 Vol.18 Issue 2
Fourteen of 238 patients (5.9%) with facial dyskinesias had been prescribed a variety of antidepressants, antimania medications, antipsychotics, antihistamines, antiparkinsonian drugs, or a combination of these substances before their condition developed.
The onset of blepharospasm varied from 2 months to 35 years after, administration of the drug.
Three of seven patients who discontinued the presumed responsible drug had improvement in their facial dyskinesias.
Of the 11 patients who did not improve when their drugs were stopped or whose medication could not be stopped, all but one patient had a good response to treatment with botulinum toxin A.