I figured this could be a good of place as any to toss out this question.

I have a slowly progressing twitch issue that has been on on-going now for a number of years.

Originally I had thought it was the by-product of some of the trauma injuries I had almost 20 years ago, when I was shot in the head.

I was in and out of various medical facilities for the reconstruction and healing of that injury and a number of others (shoulder reconstruction both sides, poisoning, and other sundry odds and sods).

About a year to two years afterwards I began to develop a small facial tic.

Over the last 2 decades it has progressed to the point of a regular lack of effective control to the point where my face will spasm often for several minutes, my head will snap around and my arms/hands twist in on themselves.

I have been checked for such things as Tourette's, Parkinsons, etc with no tangible results.

It has had episodes to the point of being knocked unconcious on a number of occasions. And on 3 seperate occasions has resulted in the temp. loss of any control on one side of my body, which was very disconcerting. Speech also is seriously effected when in the middle of a full blown episode.

Do any of these symptoms ring a bell with anyone?

I am now again begining to work with a new doctor (I have had to move regularly over the years for my career) to look into the issue, but it can be rather hard at times to maintain a positive outlook when it always has to go back to ground zero for the Doc's to do their research.

Thanks in advance for anyones input.

yes they ring a bell! i saw a program on tv maybe a year ago about somone who had this problem. i cant remember anything on it but if i remember nething or find ne info out i will post here. uncontraollable facial twitch? yes i think thats what he had. some other ppl have it 2 so its not a freak case. he wasnt born with it he slowly developed it 2.

I would appreciate any information anyone may come up with.

The Doc's don't seem to think its a side effect of the shooting, but frankly they have yet to come up with to much.

im not doctor or anything. But who's to say maybe your nervous system developed a different way, sorta of like an attempt at evolving, only it didnt work. No offense, but maybe that could be it.Im not syaing your a "defect" or anything, just a thought.

Not ready to discount anything out of hand after so long.

I do know I used to be on the high end of the spectrum for reaction speeds, eye hand coordination, etc.

Before the injuries I used to be teased about being a mountain that moved. (6'6" tall) and quiet the athelete.

But a number of incidents occured very quickly over a 5 year period that pretty much took the wind out of the sails so to speak.

Granted the Doc's ended up giving me a nickname of Iron Man, because according to them I should not have survived most of those events.

Which side do you have problems with?

Which side of your head sustained the most injuries?

I'll try to help, but I need more information.

DE

How did it start? Your post is making me all nervous! Just about a week ago I started getting a spazm in a muscle in my nose, which would cause it to twitch. Over the course of this week, I've developed one under my eye, which causes my eye to go a little, too, and now the nose deal sometimes pulls my upper lip into the Elvis snarl. I was hoping it was a change in diet or stress...

Symptoms man, symptoms! You have to give good descriptions of what's happening or people can't diagnose things.

JJ- I have a lurking suspicion that you're getting mild electrical seizures, but I can't be sure.

Justicar, well answer what I asked and I'll try to help.

DE

"mild electrical seizures"? Never heard of those, but then, my search into the sciences hasn't really taken me into medical science. You have more info/links? Is it temporary, or something like epilepsy? And could that be what justicar is going through on a much grander scale?

almsot 40% of the population has them at one time or another. Not a problem. the human brain is a mess of incredibly complex electromagnetics, making it extremely fast and adapatable, but renders it inherently unstable. mild electrical siezures in the left hemisphere are particularly common. For isntance, I'm guessing that these twiches affect the right side of your body, right?

DE

My friend's father was shot in the head almost 20 years ago by some sniper in the roof who thought it'd be funny to shoot somebody.

He's still alive today, but he hasn't been the same since the shooting.

Originally posted by DeusEx
almsot 40% of the population has them at one time or another. Not a problem. the human brain is a mess of incredibly complex electromagnetics, making it extremely fast and adapatable, but renders it inherently unstable. mild electrical siezures in the left hemisphere are particularly common. For isntance, I'm guessing that these twiches affect the right side of your body, right?

DE

daaaaaaaaaamn, you're good! Although the eye twitch (much rarer) is on the left side. So it's also the right side of my brain mis-firing. Dang, maybe I need to put 120 volts through my head to reset it...

Actually, it's not. It's your temporal lobe trying to even out the charge through itself. The eye twitch must be fairly rare, and small, right?

DE

Both are very small. I've commented about it when talking to a person, and they have no idea it's happening, even if I point it out to them. However, it being my face, I tend to feel it. I have seen the nose going in the mirror, but all it's doing is a very faint pulse. The eye I've never seen, but it feels a lot more noticable. It's probably because the skin is a lot more sensative there, and controlling my eyelid, which I know does go when it twitches. It's extreamly faint, but I can see it when it happens.

So I don't know what to tell you, if the left side is more minor or not. But it definatelly is more rare.

So will my brain eventually even itsself out, or can I expect this for a while? It happened once before, but I had forgotten about it until it started happening again. I have no idea how long it had lasted.

Depends on environmental conditions, but it should go away fairly quickly. Don't worry unless it persists.

DE

Not really worried, just annoyed. I know it happened to me before, and it went away. Just annoying.

Originally posted by DeusEx
Which side do you have problems with?

Which side of your head sustained the most injuries?

I'll try to help, but I need more information.

DE

I was shot in the left side of the head, partialy crushing the left eye in it's socket, albeit not rupturing it (very lucky).

Majority of the symptoms for the longest time was with the left side of the face, hence my thought of it being related for the longest time.

Over the last year or three is has developed symptoms on both sides. But the left is still the dominant area of effect.

Originally posted by Illmatic67
My friend's father was shot in the head almost 20 years ago by some sniper in the roof who thought it'd be funny to shoot somebody.

He's still alive today, but he hasn't been the same since the shooting.

It does take quite a bit out of you and no you are not really the same afterwards.

Okay. Before the incident, did you have damage to the right side of teh head as well? Or did you have the problems with teh left side of the face the better part of your life?

DE

Originally posted by junglejake
How did it start? Your post is making me all nervous! Just about a week ago I started getting a spazm in a muscle in my nose, which would cause it to twitch. Over the course of this week, I've developed one under my eye, which causes my eye to go a little, too, and now the nose deal sometimes pulls my upper lip into the Elvis snarl. I was hoping it was a change in diet or stress...

It started sometime after the shooting, but was very mild for a very long time. Now it has a tendency of being very common, and having the facial tic being very pronounced, often with the head itself jerking.