This sounds like Lyme.  I have many of the symptoms and have Lyme too.  It is a GROWING EPIDEMIC and very few docs and neuro's realize and know about this.

There is much to learn about Lyme and it is VERY involved on many different levels.  Read a book called "Unknown Cure" by Pamela Weintraub and buy a DVD called "Under Our Skin".  This is just for starters.  The more you read about this the more you will know and realize what is going on with you.  Otherwise, unfortunately you will spiral and get worst with all the medication they prescribe to treat the symptoms and not the root cause.

Best of luck.

I would consult with a Neurologist and a Cardiologist r/t your symptoms.  I would document how often the episodes are happening, time of day, etc.  Your problems are either Neuro or Cardiac.  

Have you ever had an MRI, echocardiogram, etc.?  

You may want to also check your thyroid.  Hypo thyroid can cause a lot of neurological symptoms (check out hashimoto's encephalopathy).  Systems can be exasperated because of stress.  If you do look at your thyroid, make sure you also test for the thyroid antibodies and not just your thyroid levels. Hope you guys find some answers

i see that this post is from 2007.
I am experiencing the same sympthoms did you find out what you have,  i am going to see a neurologist.
thanks,
Josef

any history of family strokes / migraines / dimentia in
( parents ; grand parents ; aunts ; uncles ) ?

Hey, I sent you an e-mail in response. It is from my Yahoo! account. It is titled "similar symptoms," so please don't delete it if you see it!! It isn't spam!!! I am glad to find somebody with the exact same symptoms as me, for better or for worse!!

I look forward to talking with you!

~Crystal

Crystal, Your story is identical to what I am going through. About two years ago I had awful chest pains (went to the ER a few times) and everything came back normal.  After months of this I dropped out of school for a semester to go to some doctors. They ran a bunch of tests and decided that I had MVP.  Just like yourself they started me with the 25 MG toprol and then moved to the 50 MG. For two years now I have struggled with weakness throughout my body, head tingling, head vibrating, dizziness, dry eyes, and pain in different areas of my head, neck, and spine. Now, two years later, all symptoms have gotten considerably worse and I have been back to the doctor.  The doc has run more tests (more to come) and everything is coming back normal as usual.  The doctor just started me on Welbutrin for the anxiety and depression.  I am 25 and was physically active up to the point when I started feeling bad and have since felt unable physically to do the things I love. I feel like the last two years of my life have been taken from me and I am eager to figure something out.  My email address is ***@**** and I would love to discuss this further with you if don't mind.  This is the first time that I have come across someone with the exact same symptoms and would like to pick your brain if possible. Thanks.

Also, I just wanted to point out that sometimes during the day I get episodes where I feel dizzy, my head feels heavy, pressure in some parts of the head, etc. Could just be a tension headache of some sort, yet it is really debilitating.

I think whatever is causing this though is related to my other problems. :(

I HIGHLY doubt it is seizure disorder. As I said, these attacks came on SUDDENLY at the START OF LAST MONTH, and have been on and off since. The attacks last from 10 min.-over an hour. I usually tense up during an attack and it just makes the symptoms WORSE!!

From my frustration, it causes me to cry and convinces me something else is wrong, and that it can't just be anxiety. Although I know anxiety and stress (both physical and mental) CAN cause these symptoms, it just stresses me out SO much that I am convinced it is something else...

I was having a rough time trying to finish college last semester, looking for apartments and whatnot and all it was doing was piling up stress. I really did not deal with stress well, and would freak/stress if I felt like I could not get something done or accomplished.

It was around this time my FIRST symptoms happened, namely the heart-related ones. I felt the clenching chest pain in my chest I panicked when I first got them, thinking I was going to die or have a heart attack or something.

After the first initial attack on Oct. 30th into the 31st (it was 3am Oct. 31st, exactly), I was getting the same problems EVERY DAY. One time it was SO bad, that I went to the Emergency room.

It was then I was put on Toprol XL. It worked GREAT for awhile, yet the problems again persisted. They weren't as frequent, yet they STILL continued.

Later, by this time well into December, I was put on Zoloft, since my doctor thought it was probably anxiety.

I was skeptical about taking the Zoloft, yet went with it. After 2 days of taking it, I felt my FIRST attack with the head tingliness, dizziness, lightheadedness, I PANICKED thinking I was going to pass out, head pressure, I began seeing blotches/wavy vision (possibly from hyperventilation), etc.

After that one attack, it left me tired and exhausted. It rarely (practically never) does that anymore though, even though attacks are as severe. It can sometimes leave me still a little dizzy or a tad tired afterward, and my muscles are constricted and tense.

I am completely conscious during these attacks, and aware of what is going on. I am able to react OK, yet when the problems strike, I tense up, shake, and it just makes the problems WORSE!! It also causes some of my limbs and muscles to tighten up, and last night I had an attack and it left my back sore and tense.

I also have this numbing/tingling sensation sometimes go up and down my spine or middle back, as well as up and down my left thigh occassionally.

I know anxiety CAN cause similar symptoms, but does it cause these EXACT symptoms? Or does it sound likely to be something more neurological than biological?

As for the Lyme disease, well I was never sick before these attacks happened. I got a cold at one point, yet that was DURING my attacks, and I had no fever or anything. Just an annoying sinus problem that went away in a week. I still suffer from some mild sinus problems off and on.

I also never had the "bull's eye" or anything from a tick bite.

I am not saying I am not going to look into these things, yet with how SUDDEN these problems BEGAN (NOT how SUDDEN they come and go), I highly doubt it is a seizure disorder. Again, I have only been fighting these HEAD-RELATED PROBLEMS FOR A MONTH 1/2!! And at first it was maybe once a week tops. Yet then I got another attack, and it seems harder to get rid of the problems now...it was every day at one point, and now can be every few days (2-3 or tops 4 days), or every day, depending.

Usually more stress/panic about the problems seems to increase my chances of getting it, as well as general stress from other problems and lack of sleep.

I rarely get any problems waking up from it. I do sometimes wake up feeling weird/off emotions or thoughts or anxiety, yet rarely from an attack. I did wake up maybe 3 times tops during an attack...yet I just tensed up when I felt it which made it worse.

Also, gracelyn, I can feel for ya!! Your symptoms sound a LOT like what I have had to suffer through... :(

I am sorry to hear that you are suffering through a lot of similar symptoms. Yet I pray and hope we can finally figure out the culprit. It could be anything from anxiety, to something more neurological caused from seizures or lyme disease.

Anxiety CAN cause a lot of our symptoms. Check out this site:

http://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety-symptoms.shtml

It shows a lot of the symptoms of anxiety. Some describe the symptoms I go through.

However, I want to rule out any other possibility first before concluding it in fact IS anxiety!!

Unfortunately, problems as ours are SO hard to diagnose that it can be one of several different things.

It can be something as simple as anxiety/panic, or something more severe as seizure disorder, or a neurological result of lyme disease.

Basically, the best thing to do is see a neurologist to rule out all the other possibilities.

I am thinking mine IS from anxiety, yet I just want to be SURE.

I will probably register to see a neurologist soon...I just want to rule out everything else first.

Good luck to you too, gracelyn! :) Let me know what comes up!!

~Crystal~

Crystal~    There is a possibility that Lyme disease could be causing your issues.   I have many neurological issues as a result of lyme disease.   17 doctors didn't recognize it...it took a trip to Columbia Univ. Medical Center in NY to get a diagnosis.   Read the following info and see if you match.   Good luck.    Timaca

A good symptom list on lyme is www.canlyme.com/patsymptoms.html.

A good article on lyme is www.canlyme.com/donta.html.  Another article on lyme is at www.lyme.org/conferences/98_abstract.html  (scroll down and read

I get a tingling/numbness that starts at the bottom back of my right leg it proceeds up my leg to my spine to back of neck to brain, then the swimming sensation starts at  the side of my head (brain) start, this last from 10 min to 45 min, I usually lay down right away to try and explain the swimming sensation is like their are fish swimming in water on the sides of my temples and forward to the front of my head. Sounds nuts, but like someone else had mentioned, she felt like her head was in a snow globe (you know those things you shake with water inside that make the snow with Santa inside)

I have had the head vibrations at times, but most of the time it was from getting off another drug mainly an antidepresent like paxil

Once my whole body got numb, I just thought i was gonna die then, having a stroke

I have had all the tests, i have 2 lesions on the right temporal lobes, the doc' seem to think they are nothing, but why are they there?

It seems mine all started when I got the birth control shot Provera, but no one will listen to me, or just dismisses it, I workded my whole life, then this started happening slowly and just got worse year after year.

I can sympathize with you, I just hate all of this

One other thing I forgot to comment: I have been OFF THE ZOLOFT for 2 or 3 weeks now. And the problems continue..

Hi Dragon Seizures can come on suddenly and no a cat scan may not always pick up a seizure disorder. I have seizures and was not diag. until I was 25 and I was having episodes for at least 11 years before we found out. There are many different types of seizures and not all make a person pass out and fall to the floor. I suggest that you read up on the different types of seizures that range from less then a second eye blinks to unconsious and convulsions. A EEG and MRI might be helpful.
Have you noticed what if anything makes it worse or better? For me stress and lack of sleep will bring on a seizure.
Let me know what the doctor says and good luck.
Christy

Thanks for your comment. I dunno if it could be seizure disorder though. When I got the CAT scan, had I had seizure disorder wouldn't it have picked it up?? Or no??

Anyway, these problems were SUDDEN and now are persistent. They occur in spells, and I usually get an attack at least once a day to once every few days.

As I said before, they last from 10 min. to an hour or more.

Also, I am 23 years old, and I think had I had seizure disorder I would have picked it up a LONG time ago, right?

I want to see a neurologist, just to be sure it IS all anxiety, and not something more severe.

Some of the symptoms for seizure disorder fit, yet I REMEMBER everything as I am having it, NOR do I fall on the floor and pass out as in people with seizures/epilepsy. I just feel the lightheadedness/dizziness, vibrations/tingling, etc. I have a friend who has epilepsy, and she usually falls unconsious and goes into convulsions, yet when she awakens she has to acknowledge where she is.

Any other comments are greatly appreciated!

If I were you I would try to get in a question on the doctor-patient forum to see what they have to say.  Did you have an EEG done?  You might want to read up on seizure disorder.  Just type in your symptoms and see if you think they fit at all.  You could ask your doctor about that possibility.  

You might have a couple different things going on; might be having panic attacks plus something neurological.  You can have tingling with panic attacks.  You can also have numbness and tingling and sudden strong emotions with seizures.  Also, Zoloft can exacerbate seizure disorder.  I'm not suggesting you go off it (!), just that there might be some connection.  I might be off the mark, but you might be surprised when you type in seizures and your symptoms and see what you come up with.  Let me know what you find.  It will be interesting to hear.

I want to clarify a few more things, yet since the post restricted me to how much I could write, I am going to try explaining more:

BEFORE starting on the Zoloft, the problems were situated more with the heart clenching pain. It was then that I was put at FIRST on Toprol XL since I had been previously diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse, and my doctor, assumming possibly the MVP would be causing my symptoms, put me on the Toprol.

It seemed to work GREAT for awhile, and there was maybe a whole week I had NO PROBLEMS since the start of the symptoms. However, the problems continued, so they UPPED my med. to 50 mg of the Toprol from 25 mg. Again, the problems seemed to decrease, yet STILL the problems continued...

This all started back in November, and the heart related problems continued well into December. It was at this time that my doctor recommended being put on Zoloft, since ALL my bloodwork, echo, and EKG's were coming back fine, so she assumed it was Panic Disorder or Anxiety. The ONLY thing that had come up was a slight hear murmor, along with my minor case of Mitral Valve Prolapse.

I started on the Zoloft sometime at the beginning of Jan. About 2 DAYS of taking the Zoloft is when I began experiencing my FIRST symptoms of the head dizziness, tingling, numbness, my body and limbs would shake, my hands would get clammy, the tingling and numbness spread to other parts of the body, etc. Of course, I PANICKED, since all that was knew for me, and I was wondering WHAT THE HECK WAS GOING ON!!! It was all completely new for me, and totally petrified me.

Since then, I started getting problems maybe once a week. The SAME symptoms would occur. It also makes it hard to walk/wobbly in my legs, and I also get electrical surges, pain, and tingling sensations up and down my spine during episodes. The episodes last for maybe as short as 10 min. (usually the more minor ones) to OVER AN HOUR!! :(

The symptoms then INCREASED, and I was getting it EVERY DAY for about a week!!! :( Sometimes it wasn't so bad, but other times it was UNBEARABLE!! :(

I got taken OFF THE ZOLOFT, and have been off it for 2 or 3 weeks now. However, I am STILL getting these episodes, and it has just really been debilitating.

A few times it led to fear/panic, yet most of the time it is just the pure physical symptoms which debilitate me. After the first episode I got, I felt EXTREMELY tired, blah, and like I had NO energy adn I could barely do anything!! I felt like tha the next morning too!! :( I would walk slowly, felt like I could barely talk or want to talk, etc. However, rarely does it result in that.

Sometimes (also rarely) I feel weird emotions during attacks, anywhere from anger, depression, fear, etc. Yet I acknowledge the emotions aren't real, even though it seems to try to convince me they are. I experienced the anger one time after waking up from dreaming, and I felt the anger and anxiousness and then an attack came on. :(

Usually though, as I said, the attacks are more PHYSICAL. It can sometimes lead to fear/panic, yet only in rare instances.

Yet is this all anxiety/panic?? Or something that maybe the doctors aren't seeing??

Could the Zoloft have triggered the more neurological related symptoms that I am still fighting now??

I AM convinced that the heart pains were probably anxiety, yet these head numbness, pressure, tingliness that spreads, etc. is unbearable! :(

PLEASE HELP!!

Thanks!

~Crystal~