Personal
Information
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JBell |
| Name: |
Janine Bell
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| City: |
Maple Ridge |
| State: |
British Columbia |
| Country: |
Canada |
| Gender: |
Female |
| Marital Status: |
Divorced |
| Occupation: |
Office Manager |
| Age at HFS Onset: |
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| Side Affected: |
Right |
| Year of HFS Onset: |
1997 |
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Treatment History
Symptoms Experienced:
Started with eyelid twitching, then a month or so later below my eye began twitching and then a month or so later, my cheek began twitching. Over the next two or three years it seems to come and go for months at a time. Then, in addition to the eye and cheek twitching, the corner of my mouth began pulling and eventually my neck as well. The year 2000 and 2001 were the worse years for my symptoms - the twitching and spasming were really quite violent and constant. The past year or two it has calmed down somewhat and I have short (blessed) periods of twitch and spasm free. I believe the chiropractic sessions I received were the reason for the relief.
Medications Tried: None
Alternative Treatments Tried:
Chiropractor, accupuncture, homeopathy, physiotherapy, myofacial treatment, Cranial-Sacral therapy, TCM - none of these helped - except Chiropractor - he has done spinal adjustments, cranial manipulations, laser therapy and soft tissue release - these seemed to bring the spasms and twitching down in frequency and a little in strength. I also take vitamins, the ones I thought may be pertinent to this condition are: Co Q10, B Complex, Multi-vitamin, Magnesium, Gingko Biloba, Cal/Mag, Folic Acid and Selenium. I found the Magnesium may have had some benefit.
I quit drinking coffee mid-October 2003 hoping that would help but didn’t notice a difference (even though I only had 1 -2 cups of decaf a day).
Tried Botox?:
Yes
Still Using Botox?:
No
Botox Comments:
June 14, 2001 (24 units) this worked well except for my eye was stuck open for three months or so. I had more Botox Dec 03, 2001 (11 units) and Dec 17, 2001 (4 units) and again March 15, 2002 (24 units), but these did not seem to work.
I just had 12 units Nov 22, 2004 so I am waiting to see if it worked.
MVD?:
Yes
Number of MVD's:
1
Date of Last MVD:
July 18, 2005
Doctor's Name:
Dr. Chris Honey
Facility MVD Performed:
Vancouver General Hospital
Vancouver, British Columbia,(Canada)
Spasm Free?:
No
Any MVD Complications?:
Comments:
Update as of 05/06/08 - I had been completely spasm and twitch free since my surgery in July 2005 until a couple of months ago when HFS reared its ugly head. It started gradually, but in the past couple of weeks some days the spasms start every time I blink. That may last for 5 to 20 minutes and then nothing for a little while and then all of a sudden my face will just start twitching in full spasm. Some days it's worse than others but it's not nearly as bad as before I had the surgery. I am just fearful that it will come back full force because it started off slowly a couple of months ago and seems to be getting worse.
Click here to see my "MVD Diary".
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