Eye recover?

[Jessica000]

Hi all,

I just have some queries on eye recover.

I am a little confused by what I am experiencing right now. My right eye ( paralyzed side) can close with the help of my left eye. It's incomplete closure with a little gap in between. I can also blink, again with the help of the good eye. Is that synkinesis? I've been able to do that right after my operation without any massage or exercise.

I am just wondering how is eye recovery like? Is it like my case,being able to close with the good eye assistance first and slowly proceed to acquire more strength on it's own? Should I be exercising my eyes at this stage? I am not even sure if it is considered "moving" or not. I am 4+ months post op.

[nancyann]

hello kaiwa:  Well, great news that you have partial closure on your right eye.  It should get better & better.
Synkenesis is an unwanted movement - one example is you're eating & everytime you chew your eye muscles scrunch up.
Doesn't sound like you have that.
The most important thing right now is to make sure you keep your cornea moist while you wait for your full eye closure.
Many of us here use eye lubricant or drops - most prefer Refresh brand.
I would also make sure you see an ophthalmologist regularly.
Continued healing my friend,  always good thoughts,  Nancy

[Tod]

Kaiwa,
The process for me was similar, although it was several weeks after surgery before I could make any real movement of the eyelid toward closure. You seem to be on the road. Do be patient was it simply takes time. As for exercises, that is probably best decided between you and your ophthalmologist. As Nancy said, you should see an ophthalmologist regularly. I saw one about every six weeks for awhile and am now on a six-month cycle.

Good luck with your healing,

Tod

[Jessica000]

Hi all,

Thanks for the sweet reply. 

Does you guys experience closure with aid of the good eye first or when the paralyzed eye begin to work, it is fully functional on it's own?

[Tod]

As I recall, I was first able to close both eyes together. With time and practice, the left eye became more independent. It could be different for you, but again, the key thing is patience....and a positive attitude.

One of the hardest things is learning to recognize those muscles which aren't working, and that you likely have never been aware of in the past. Try laying a finger gently on your temple near the eyebrow of non-affected side and move your eyebrow. You should be able to feel the movement of the muscles under the skin. Repeat on the other side. Feel the difference? Doing that occasionally will help you know when affected side is starting to work on its own vs being dragged along by the unaffected side.

I hope this helps,

Tod

[Jessica000]

Hi Tod!

Thanks for the advice!

Just hope to share my experience too.

I usually feel the muscle of my paralyzed side move for a few months when I put my finger on it. At first I thought my functions are back but when I look at the mirror, I realized that the skin doesn't move. So it's like just the muscle inside having some movement. That happened for my cheek for awhile before the function came back. As of now, I've been feeling that mild movement inside my forehead. I am still waiting.

One thing I always practice is to remember how my face move when it's normal. I would try my very best to imagine that my face is well when I am doing my daily work so that the muscle wouldn't forget their roles. When I think of how I look in my head, I would think of the normal face too. When I smile, blink, talk, I'll imagine the muscles moving. I guess it's a mental therapy. Now that my cheek function is back, I would also alter habits of chewing of the better side by letting the reactivated cheek have a feel of movement while chewing too. It helps really. Now when I smile, I spread my lips at both sides together instead of one after another and my friend told me that my movement is getting more natural.

My eyelid is just getting heavier recently. It's hard to explain. Some mild internal tugging and stretching. I hope that this is recovery. The exercise I do now is to look at the mirror and try to slowly close my lid to it's maximum effort without pressure or rolling my eye upwards. I wanna quit that rolling up habit.

I hope my advice works and benefit anyone reading this