Hi everyone,

It seems all my questions lately have revolved around the subject of blinking and here I go continuing my trend.

Even though I am almost completely back to normal, my eye is still lagging behind the rest of my face. When I look at myself on video, I can see both eyelids moving in tandem, and it isn't obvious at all that the BP eye does not go down all the way. At first I even thought it was blinking fully until I looked more closely and slowed down the image. Another giveaway that it isn't blinking fully is that it is always drier and less comfortable than the good eye.

I am nearing 9 months now and was sure I'd be blinking fully by this point. It causes me GREAT concern that I will have an incomplete blink for the rest of my life. For those of you who have recovered your blink, I hope you can tell me if your blink continued to improve up to or past the year mark once it started coming back. I also wonder if you experienced a better blink in the morning than in the mid-day or evening as this seems to be happening to me whereas the rest of my face works more or less better as the day goes on (???)

Thank you so much for your help

Hello all,

I, too, am at the 11 month mark.

I'm with grs; I am also assuming to be blinking completely as my eye no longer plays any kind of role in my recovery. Don't even think about it. Actually, I started wearing contact lenses again after nearly 10 months about 1 month ago.

I presume my healing continues full force as the under-the-skin stuff goes on consistently. For the last few weeks, the "stuff" concentrates on the outer most fringe of the affected side.

One interesting note though .... the "rumbling" in my ear also goes on.

Regards to all,

GR

I also have that rumbling sound in my ear when I try to move my facial muscles. It's not very loud, I can hear it at night when all is quiet but not during the day when it's noisy.

I figured its a result of my brain trying to move my face and missing the mark a bit.

I get the ear rumbling as well when I try to move my face. I either read on here or got told by someone that its probably the muscles twitching close to your ear.

I also have a question about blinking/eye closure. Does your eyebrow muscle make you blink, or could you still blink if your eyebrow was paralysed? Basically I'm wondering what kind of things I should look out for that show my blink is recovering. Every now and again my eyelid kind of feels tingly like its a bit twitchy, anyone else get this before their eye recovered? Its been happening for about 2 weeks but I haven't noticed any improvement.

I feel more relieved. Thanks for your replies and reassurance

Boyler - I also found the greatest indicator of blink recovery to be twitching and pulling around my lid initially and very soon after that my lid blinked about 40%. The twitching began around the 5th month and the improved blinking around the 6th.

Newmommy - I'm sharing your concern and fears -- I'm 5 1/2 months with no blink at all .. Maybe it bobs, but doesn't come close to closing. I don't think I can accept if I don't get that back. Is there such thing as the blink not returning. All you worst case survivors out there .. Does everyone have a blink? What's the latest anyone can report? I can't close it either btw except with a full scrunch using my cheek and eyebrow. My specialist said it has so much innervation that it's usually the first to return.. Doesn't that inspire me with confidence!

Hey Rebecca,
Just to clarify. You can't even close your BP eye together with your
good eye either? I find that I can completely close my eye way
better when i'm laying down, otherwise I can close it about 85%.
And GRS is right, the eye isn't alway one of the first things that come back.
It's all random. Your specialist is on CRACK. LOL

My blink is also quite weak after 3-1/2 months but I am getting better at closing my eye. Luckily, at night after falling asleep my eye will stay closed. I actually lay there in the morning opening and closing my eyes almost normally.

My BP eyelid has started moving with my non-BP eye when I blink and I hope it continues to get stronger. Time will tell.

Mine too, the blink, still not happening @ 3 months. I can close my BP eye if I concentrate, and it seems to stay closed as long as the other eye is too. this is much easier in the morning, but by evening, I can barely bring the lid all the way down, and often have to close my eye by hand. But there is no reflexive blink.

Sage, you mentioned using ointment. That is what I have settled on (refresh PM) and use it all day as well as night. The gels just didn't work for me, I still had stinging and burning, and the drops -- forget it! But the down side, of course, is not being able to see. So I'm wondering -- how do you live with that?

I find it MOST frustrating, and the ointment almost acts like a prism, making light painful. I tried to drive, but not having depth perception and, basically, seeing everything double and blurry, I think driving is not such a good idea for me. I'm finding it frustrating to not be able to do many things that I once enjoyed, because I can't see. It is very tiring, no? In my case, I'm still hoping that I will get better VERY SOON! But I realize this could go on for quite a long time. I admire those of you who learn how to go on. Is there an adjustment that happens over time? How do you - and others? - deal with this??

Thanks! I'm not really in the bummer mood that this post sounds like I am BTW. It's just something I've been wondering about. I'm actually enjoying a beautiful Vermont summer day just now. Cheers everyone, and speedy healing to you! ~Carie

Carie, I too am at almost 3 months (11 weeks this week) and I still get days where I feel totally crippled by my eye! I attempted to pot some flowers last weekend and apparently I only filled the pots half full with dirt exposing some of the roots! LOL I think I need a chaperone sometimes!!!

What I have done, is bought some tinted bikers goggles, like these (http://cgi.ebay.ca/Flare-Global-Vision-Skydive-Sky-Diving-Goggles-Smoke-/180532839602?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a089884b2#ht_1436wt_759 and they are great for keeping wind, dust, bugs, sun light out of my eyes while I do outdoor activities! I have tested them with gardening and biking and they work great for both!

I know this seems like a long time, but I know we will get better sooner then we think! Hang in there!!!

Sorry it took me so long to get back to this thread and post a reply. Hi Carie- yes the eye does get blurry with the ointment as you know but the eye seems to adjust in the long run.

I used to use lots of eye ointment in the beginning all the way upto a year or two...and then still used to apply a generous amount in subsequent years. I continued to do large amounts of reading and computer work throughout those years with one eye having a blurry vision.

I always keep tissues handy and wipe off any excess ointment that spills out. Once I apply the eye ointment, it is thick in the eye so the vision is more blurry, but as time goes by the excess ointment spills off, which I wipe off with a soft tissue. In an hour or two there is a medium-thin film of eye ointment which is still much thicker than the gel or drops. With this thinner layer of eye ointment, though the vision is not as clear, but it is not as though you have only one eye. The BP eye does participate, but the clarity of the vision is mostly supplied by the non-BP eye.

Regarding driving, I would say that if you can avoid it, do so. When you can't avoid it, just put drops/gels and drive and when you get to your destination, apply the eye ointment.

These days I still use ointment, but I can see better from the non BP eye than before though not as clear as the non BP eye. My vision is not as blurry. I think I am able to wipe off most of the excess and the medium-thin film is thin enough to protect my eye and also allow me to see.

I hope, like the majority of people, your BP will be a temporary annoyance and hopefully you will have to deal with eye and eye ointment issues only briefly. Best wishes for full recovery!

Carie, I can totally relate to the weeding issue! Gardening just isn't the same without both eyes
The wrap-ariound tinted goggles have been a blessing for me! I can now be outside in the sun and pull weeds and garden for hours without my eye freaking out due to sun light, wind or dust/debris getting into it!

Let me know how they work out for you!

As my blink returned, the percentage that I was able to close my eye slowly increased. It gradually gained enough strength that I could keep it closed while the other eye was open. It still doesn't feel completely normal, but it seems to be able to do everything it needs to even if it's not as strong or as finely controlled as my other eye. I don't recall anyone who posted that they woke up and suddenly realized that they could blink.