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296334 tn?1237638424

Electric Shock sensations

Does anyone ever have electric shock sensations?  It feels as though someone is zapping me with electricity in the back of my head.  The feeling starts at the base of my skull and travels down the back of my neck.  The sensation only lasts a few seconds, but sometimes it does it over and over for several minutes.  I have had these before, but it was very few and it very infrequent, but they have returned and now are happening every day.  

I have googled this and all I can find is withdrawal from antidepressants, or something related to MS.  I have never taken antidepressants, and I haven't been on anything else recently either.

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Avatar universal
I HATE IT!  I could see how someone might go crazy from this disorder (or whatever it is...)  Mine comes at night when I'm laying on my back or if my back is being touched be something. The electric current flows through my arms so strong I bet I could lite a light bulb if I touched it!  Sometimes it helps if I lay on my stomach and tuck my arms under my belly. I tell my family its EXCRUCIATING, but they don't understand - nor can they do anything to help - it's not their fault, just wish someone could help me! It feels like my nerves are hooked up to am electric barbwire fence! I have found that taking Clonidine (a receptor blocker) does help a little. Mine started after I had a Bells Palsy attack in the right side of my face; now I have the shock sensation, daily headaches, and chronic neck pain. I do take an antidepressant which seems to play into the shocks if I miss a dose or something similar... The other thing that I have found that seems to help is when I limit my caffeine intake and take a regular pain management medication; Tramadol, Hydrocodone, etc.
Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
I have the shock going on too and it starts in my head and radiates thru my whole body. It is very annoying. I also have neck pain snd my heart feels like it flutters when this happens
Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
Have you considered dietary interventions? The gut functions as a second brain, and dietary interventions such as eliminating gluten, including prebiotic and probiotic foods, have promise for improving brain function. I have TBI and experience many of your symptoms. You may have an autoimmune disorder, to a western medical model really has not a lot to contribute; however functional modalities like dietary changes and craniosacral therapy have led to profound and surprising improvements for me. Don't underestimate them, check them out. You can find a lot of info about the brain-gut connection on TEDx (YouTube). Find a good craniosacral therapist and have a consultation. I was skeptical at first, but desperate, and finding no answers. I finally consulted a good friend who is a craniosacral therapist and I had tremendous results. Just amazing. It was from him that I learned about the important role our gut plays on brain function, too. Good luck!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I see many comments and many symptoms...all of which I have and then some.  Electrical, buzzing shock sensation is actually the most recent over years of symptoms that started with fatigue, musculoskeletal pain and muscle spasms, then dizziness and random cognitive sluggishness, tingling/itching hands, feet, face, and head, digestive difficulty, vision changes, and now this super charged brain.  I actually have this in spurts...I'll get several shocks in a row, then a pause, then more.  Sometimes they stop for several hours, but I never have a whole day without any shocks.  I hear a tapping sound with the shock sensation when I'm especially tired.  I've have had every blood test, an MRI of my brain and entire spine and a CT of my brain.  I've seen many doctors, no diagnosis yet.  This latest pair of doctors, the best and most compassionate so far, have scheduled me for an abdominal CT. I've tested positive in high levels for several viral antibodies, as well as antimitochondrial antibodies so they're definitely looking at autoimmune disorder of some sort.  My questions for all/any of you are these...how long did it take for you to get a definitive diagnosis? Once you had a diagnosis, have you been able to get treatment and begun to feel better?  I'm really tired of one symptom after another, I'm overwhelmed, scared, and looking for someone to share something hopeful.
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1 Comments
I’m sorry to hear you are going through (or went through all these symptoms. My question is if you were ever diagnosed with anything? I too suffer from electrical shocks and have a brain lesion. The docs know I have an autoimmune disease and they are leaning towards MS but not everything lines up in the “correct boxes” to diagnose me yet. The shocks are incrediblely painful and unpredictable. Thanks for any information.
1831849 tn?1383228392
Welcome back :-)

Kyle
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi.  Sorry I never replied.  I'm just seeing these now 5 years later.   I was diagnosed with MS.  I have 6 lesions.  It started as 3 when this first began.  One in each area - Brain, C spine and T spine.  
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi I broke my back and neck in '76 and after that I would get what I called numb-shock explosions if I landed hard on my left leg and turned slightly. I tried very hard to avoid the things that would case this. In the early 90's I had a flare of spinal problems and at about that same time I got severe Bell's palsy (or possibly another cranial type palsy) on the left side of my face. Since then I have dealt with Lhermitte's flare-ups in various and changing ways. I wonder how many others have begun having Lhermitte's after a bad case of Bell's Palsy?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi I broke my back and neck in '76 and after that I would get what I called numb-shock explosions if I landed hard on my left leg and turned slightly. I tried very hard to avoid the things that would case this. In the early 90's I had a flare of spinal problems and at about that same time I got severe Bell's palsy (or possibly another cranial type palsy) on the left side of my face. Since then I have dealt with Lhermitte's flare-ups in various and changing ways. I wonder how many others have begun having Lhermitte's after a bad case of Bell's Palsy?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi I have similar feelings. I was diagnosed with many different things and treated in Alberta then returned to Manitoba and it is like starting over. I am so very tired of it all. I was injured in 5 car accidents and from the first on have had damage throughout my body.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Mine started after a chiropractor adjustment!
The adjustment help tremendously but the strange sensation from my neck to my the top of my left shoulder is very bothersome,
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I am not a doctor but I think this could be from a disc issue from damage around your 3,4, and 5 in your neck. They could easily do a scan of your neck to see if there is any damage.
Helpful - 0
1831849 tn?1383228392
HI Mom of 11- Welcome to our group.

This is a pretty old thread, and I'm pretty sure miss_latip no longer visits. I just didn't want you to think she was ignoring you :-)

Kyle
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi,
Sounds to me like you have Tourette syndrome. (not sure of spelling)
My son has a mild case of it. What you are experiencing seems like a tick.
Try to study that out. It really helped me to understand my son better,after reading about Tourette syndrome.
It never really bothers him, only those around him. It doesn't bother those that know him now, because we've tried educating them about Tourettes & they have a better understanding of it now.
Hope this helps.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I too have these. About 4 months it began with a burning in my neck that progressed to electrical shocks in random places (including my head), the progressed to sore weak muscles. It was so bad I lost 15 lbs in maybe 3 weeks because I got so depressed. My dr thinks I have ms. My chiropractor found herniated discs in my back. She never looked at my neck but i get severe tension headaches. I was given a brain scan and it was normal. I still get tingling, shocks and muscle spasms but just a few times per day. I am still scared of what it is. I am 25, i didn't think i would be having problems so young.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hello I am having these same sort of shocks that seem to start at my head and travel through my whole body.  Today they are frequent every time I take a step or turn my head.  I cant quite tell what I am doing when these shocks occur.  I went to the chiropractor and got adjusted because of a pinched nerve in my neck.  I was wondering if you found out what is causing your shocks?  Please let me know what you have found.  I am very concerned as it is very uncomfortable.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Mine started a month after I had a pacemaker put in. Getting tested Monday and Tuesday for the symptoms.
Helpful - 0
803451 tn?1390083422
Those electric sensations began in my back when I was age 8.  They occurred infrequently.  I thought nothing of them except that they were unique to me as my siblings never had them.  I also threw up a lot in cars due to vertigo.  Later there were other symptoms but nothing that 'floored' me until I was 32.  At which time I was misdiagnosed - aren't we all - and after the misdiagnosed was found to be bogus, I was labeled as hysterical, depressed and any psychiatric label that would stick to prevent any lawsuit for malpractice.  The Harvard Group and associates always protect their own!  For many years, I was held hostage to the wait and see if it is MS stance.  They eventually could not deny the MRI evidence which was not apparent until 3 Tesla MRI was employed in 2012.  Anyone going through similar trials must not be deterred from pursuing health.  I wish anyone in that similarly, if not identical,  situation the grace to persevere.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I was sick with shocking in my brain and through out my body for 7 years. I was so sick. Then went into remission for 5 years. As of 3 weeks ago I have been back to my entire head, spine, and all over body shocking. Leaving me completely weak and in the worst pain ever. I cant stand to go through this all over again. I feel like I am on fire and they never could figure it out before except that I was filled with mercury poisoning and was detoxed for years through IV. I am not sure why this is back or what is causing it all.  I was tested for MS three times and it was negative. Now I am not sure if I need to be tested again. But this pain has got to stop I have kids and a family to take care of.
Helpful - 0
5112396 tn?1378017983
Hi morenzo,

For your own security, your email address was censored by the comment posting software. It's generally seen as far safer to exchange any personal details with members in the relative safety of the private messaging system available here on MedHelp as anything posted in the forum is publicly viewable by anyone in the world.

Please remember, here on the Multiple Sclerosis board, we're all regular patients, not medical experts in this field.

This is actually a very old post that you probably found through a search engine. It's hard to be found at the bottom of a list of 213 comments, so perhaps you'd like to start a fresh question of your own using the 'post a question' button at the top. You're more likely to have people stopping by to try and help that way.

Are you concerned you may have multiple sclerosis? If you were raised in Cameroon too, this wouldn't be one of the first things to look for due to the proximity to the equator. There does seem to be a link with distance from the equator and prevalence of MS.

What you describe could be so many things, or indeed nothing to be concerned with at all. It would be up to a medical assessment to narrow things down a bit for you. It could be nerve damage, spinal issues, an occupational stress injury. Perhaps begin to keep track of when it happens and what you were doing when this happens and have this list ready when you visit a doctor. But I don't think you will be looking at MS as a likely cause.

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I get that sensation in my feet as well, I describe it as a buzzing sensation.  It doesn't hurt but it is annoying.  I also use it as a meter as to when I need to rest.  I also have had them in random locations that come on suddenly and are very painful but they go away quickly, thankfully.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
hello i am morenzo from cameroon. i have some light shocks sensations on my right palms. it happen to me at least twice a day. can someone help me to interprete that to me.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
The only sure way to get rid of it all is .........Prayer!!!!! Jesus said, if you ask for anything in my name and Believe it will be done. So why not give him a try? HE healed me from Asthma so he can take these zaps away to.
Helpful - 0
950452 tn?1246070028
All of your symptoms can be attributed to MS, and the muscle spasms are made more painful by the Fibro, My case is similar to yours. I have only 1 MS lesion on the MRI, so no local Dr. will put on my chart that it's MS until there is more than 1 lesion, hence the name "multiple' sclerosis. Its so very frustrating though, because I'm having so many of the MS symptoms that are worsening over time. Liquid vitamin B complex that you put under your tongue to dissolve into the  blood vessels there has helped a lot, and vitamin D has helped even more. It heals the CNS and vitamin B complex heals nerve endings and helps with various physical problems.Vitamin D is so strongly related to MS that the Northern countries that get less sunshine (vit D source) have the most MS incidence, and when they started getting people to take vitamin D in those countries, MS incidence went down dramatically.The sublingual (under tongue) vit B complex is mostly destroyed  by stomach acid if you take the pills, so the sublingual liquid or pellets are more absorbable. I buy both my B and D at iherb *******, (in case links are deleted here, I hope you can figure out that link the way I wrote it.) That's the cheapest site for vitamins/supplements/natural remedies I've found.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
i have this same sensation in my heal since yesterday. let me know what it is if you find out!  thanks, terrie
Helpful - 0
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