Donate SIGN UP

Uneven/Drooping eyelid...

Avatar Image
Thesilentone | 20:29 Fri 24th Oct 2008 | Health & Fitness
19 Answers
Hi ya
I am 28 years old and for the past two years my eyelid have started to change and become uneven and almost drooping. I went to my doctor and was refered to my local eye specialist at the hospital, who admitted that there was a difference with the left eyelid to the right and that I should just go away accept it and nobody would notice and wait for it to get worse! I was devastated as people are noticing and asking me if I am ok!! Not only that I have to push it up when I have my photograph taken, I am constantly raising my eyebrows to lift the lid.. this has caused me to get tension headaches ( i had my eyes checked by my optition about 3 times this year and they are fine!!) I am loosing confidence so fast, constantly turning down going out unless I have too. I was wondering if anyone could help me. I looked into going privately however the surgeon at the private hospital is the one I was refered to at the NHS hospital.. I feel so let down and I dont know what to do.
I hope someone can help me
Thank you xx
Gravatar

Answers

1 to 19 of 19rss feed

Best Answer

No best answer has yet been selected by Thesilentone. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.

For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.
This could be myasthenia gravis, especially if it is 'better' in the mornings and gets worse throughout the day, or when you are tired or stressed.

Google it, and if the symptoms fit you, ask your GP to refer you to a neurosurgeon.

Question Author
Yes it is "normal" first thing in the morning and gets progressively worse through out the day.. like now its is really bad and my partner keeps telling me off for lifting my eye lid!! I have not had any blood tests or anything from my doctor. I have read the symptoms on myasthenia gravis and they sound scarey.. but kind of true. It is something I will bring up with my doctor.
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. :-)
Thesilentone, your treatment has been disgraceful! I hope you get the treatment you deserve! xxx
Question Author
Thank you sachs
I hope I get ot sorted x
Your doctor will not give you blood tests for MG - that is done at the request of the neuro consultant.

It is incredibly rare -my GP has been a doctor for nearly 30 years and he has only ever come across one person with it - me.

Some people get ocular myasthenia where it affects only the eye, others get it all over.
Question Author
Ethel - Thank you for your advice.
Can I ask how long you have had it? And has it got better through treatment? Is it your eyelid that is affected?
Ethel is quite correct in that Myasthenia Gravis should be a consideration, but it is incredibly rare and there are many less sinister causes of a "drooping eyelid". Your consultant would have clearly thought of myasthenia gravis ( Ethel did)! but decided to take a "wait and see policy" It you did go privately of course you would see the same consultant, but he would have more time to answer your questions.
Squad - it doesn't work like that. Last year I saw my GP because of drooping eyelid, and was referred to an ophthalmologist who suspected MG and referred me to a neurosurgeon.

I waited two weeks to see the neuro and was in hospital for 8 days for tests a week later. Had the eye specialist not encountered it before I may still be waiting for a diagnosis now.

Thesilentone - I have MG all over but the drugs have made a huge difference with my eyes, both with the eyelid droop and the double vision I was getting.
I say Horner's Syndrome is a possibility, and I have it. it means the muscles in and around my right eye don't work well. mine was caused by a car accident (some idiot in a Jag who ploughed into the back of my car, causing nerve damage to my eye) but there are other causes. are your pupils matching? if the "bad eye" pupil is slower, or just doesn't dilate, I reckon it's Horner's.

mine doesn't look too bad, unless I'm very tired or have cried.. but I get completely paranoid about it sometimes. "everyone can see it!" but apparently, they can't :o)
Sorry that I have miised the point Ethel but am still confused. All I said was:
1) Myasthenia gravis is not the commeonest cause of lid droop.
2) MG is extremely rare,
3) The consultant ophthalmologist would consider MG but for reasons best known to him would rather follow a policy of " wait and see".

I am also confused as to why you had an appointment with a neurosurgeon, as MG has nothing to offer the neurosurgeon to treat.

Sara3 highlights yet another cause of drooping eyelid.

If I have missed the point Ethel, please let me know.
Question Author
Hi ya
Thank you al for replying.. I have just googled Horners symdrome.. they have simular symptoms. When I saw the specialist at the hospital a week ago he told me he thought there was a possiblity of nerve damage.. but that was that.. no reasons why?!! I even said "is it drooping as I am getting older??"..I mean I dont know.. Im just cluctching at straws. to which he laughed and said "oh no you are a young attractive woman you should just get on with your life and not worry about the differnece, its definatly not getting older (im 28!).. easily said when you arent the one with a problem!!!!
I am going to see my GP on tuesday morning and I am going to print off both MG and Horners syndrome and question her.
Thank you guys once again.. I actually feell better just getting some responses on what it could be as leaving teh hosp last week i felt so unsure and like I had no answers! xx
Silentone, please step back and re-assess your intended next move. To arrive at your GP�s surgery with printouts of both disorders and then to question her is not, in my opinion a good idea. Why don�t you ask your GP to read the letter send to her by the Ophthalmologist which may clarify the situation, if not ask for a revisit to see him or go privately for that extra bit of time.
I have to agree with Sqad.

I was pretty sure I had meniere's disease a long time back as my mother has it and I was getting the same symptoms.

My first GP in Leeds just laughed at me for the suggestion, said I did have some hearing loss but not really bad but it would probably get worse.

A few years later, another GP was very sarcastic when I suggested it. I did, however, ask for a referral and he did honor that. It wasn't until I saw him while having a medium vertigo spell he realised something was wrong and started medicating me.

A year or so of ENT appointments later then referral to a neurologist and appointments there, my neurologist referred me to a specialist friend of hers.

About 5/6 years after suggested what I thought it was, I got the diagnosis, menieres.

Sorry to waffle on but I hope you can see my point. I'd ask her to review the situation so far, tests, your condition etc.. and make a plan with her where you go from here, tests, referrals etc...

Unfortunately things can take time and there can be wait and see times, tests and all sorts which need tobe done.

If you're desparate for some kind of resolution then going private may be the best solution.
Question Author
I very much appreciate you time and comments on this matter.
I am not going to go in all guns blazing to see my GP, I am merely going to ask her to consider the options people have suggested in the hopes that a solution, to what is now affecting my emotional well being can be found.
I am reluctant to go privately to see the same surgeon to pay that much and be fobbed off I believe will be a waste of my time and money.
My whole issue really is that although my GP recognised that my eye was drooping and she was brilliantly sympathetc.. other than refering me to see the eyelid specilist thats all that has happened.. I have had no diagnosis no tests nothing.. I feel that this isn't normal as 2 years ago I DIDNT look like this and I am at a loss at what to do.. and when something begins to affect your confidence and emotional state I think it becomes something the GP should look deeper into??
Thanks again guys xx
Question Author
well what can I say.. the doc wants to leave it 6 months and review the eye situation again! She wants to keep and "eye" on the situation and see if it progressivly gets worse!!! She said defo not Horners and no to MG!! So I am still at a loss!..Holding my eye up for photos on saturday for a good friends birthday was the most confidence crushing moment of my life so far! Guess I am destined to look horrible for ever more!
Thanks guys for all your help xxx
Well, I am very glad it is not MG but sorry you are nowhere nearer a diagnosis.

Take photos now, and every three months, for comparison. If you have some clear photos of you before this condition started, add those to your collection.

You say you are not so bad in the mornings - take photos early morning and late night so you can show them the difference.

Thanks for letting us know, and good luck
don't get too hung up on it. you're probably far more aware of it than anyone else.. and may even be drawing attention to it.

chin up, girlie :o)
Question Author
Thank you Ethel,
I have photos, I went to see teh consultant at the hospital very prepared with them last time as my appointment was at 9.30am ... so the lid was fairly normal! I will definatly take regular photographs and keep a record of whats happening.

Thank you once again for the support and help.
( I am feeling much better this morning after a good nights sleep I was feeling rather down yesterday after feeling I was getting nowhere fast!!)

xxx
Question Author
Thank you Sara xxx

1 to 19 of 19rss feed

Do you know the answer?

Uneven/Drooping eyelid...

Answer Question >>

Related Questions

Sorry, we can't find any related questions. Try using the search bar at the top of the page to search for some keywords, or choose a topic and submit your own question.