Muscle tremors/shakes, "electric shocks" before sleep, constant ear ringing, memory loss

[seekmedhelp]

Physical info: 27 year old white male, 6'1, 160 pounds, non-smoking, non-drinking, with no previous serious health issues.

For about three months I've been having the following symptoms:

1. Tremoring/shaking muscles upon exertion. When resting they occasionally twitch, without being strong enough to actually my limbs. Walking down stairs has become uncomfortable as my thighs tremor when my muscles fully engage.

2. violent head shocks/zaps that have left me awake for 36 hours at a time. They occur the moment I am about to "cross over" into sleep. Sometimes sharp noises trigger them (wood, plastic cracking), but it only happens when I'm sleepy, accompanied by my vision going from black to bright gold.

3. Constant ringing in my right ear for about a month and a half. The tremors started occurring about one month before the ringing. About two days after the ringing started the head zaps began. They occur on average of 2-3 days a week. During the worst episodes I cannot sleep for 36 hours, and one time for 48. I only pass out from sheer exhaustion.

4. My short term memory and concentration have been slowly fading.

I have no insurance and no money. I am exhausted from sleeping only 2-3 hours a day for over two months. Is there any way I can get help from the government? I live in NJ, USA. A person can only endure so much.
Brian

[Rudanna]

A related discussion, Sleep loss and tremors was started.

[okeefed]

A related discussion, zaps was started.

[yesmom]

A related discussion, Sleep Tremors - something to consider was started.

[hockey41189]

i am a 18 year old male

Once in a while I will have this weird thing happen to me in my sleep. I will be sleeping, i will be in the middle of dreaming and all of a sudden i will feel sort of light headed. And all of a sudden I will go into what you guys call the "electric shock feeling," My brain will feel like it is vibrating at 100 mph nothing else feels like it is moving. It feels like my brain is ready to explode. I hear a very loud buzzing noise with it to. I cant talk. I want to yell for help, but i cant. I cant move and everytime i try to move my my arm the vibrating sensation will get worse and faster it feels like. The buzzing noise gets much louder. I will sleep from 11-6:30 wake up go to the bathroom. go back to sleep and it usually happens from 7-10. it even happened when i was napping on the couch with my mom right next to me and she didin't notice a thing. I try to explain this to my parents, but it is so hard to explain. like i said i will be dreaming i will shoot right into it and wake up like nothing happend. I am confused about this.

I dont drink. I dont smoke. I dont do drugs. i am not allergic to anything. I am healthy as they come. I am deathly afraid to go to sleep now. This has happened the last 2 nights, but usually occurs once a month. I am going to see a neurologist in a few weeks. PLEASE HELP!!!

thanks

[seekmedhelp]

coordinatorinpink,

I've had an MRI of brain and c-spine, Sleep Study, blood tests, ear exam, and all came back normal except the sleep study. (read above)

For the last three weeks my shocks have calmed down, but the ringing is about the same or louder. My shocks tend to have "off" and "on" periods. I will be shock free for about 3-4 weeks, then have a series of attacks that last just as long. It gets to the point where I don't sleep for 4 days, due to being hit by what feels like a cattle prod just before i'm about to doze off.

I have also developed a lot of neck pain as of late.  My c-spine MRI showed minor bony changes and levoscoliosis but "no significant stenosis".

I'm at a loss and so are all the doctors I saw. They have a god-like attitude and talk to me as if I'm faking it. I am sick of hearing the diagnosis of stress or that these symptoms are typical of former drug use. I am not a druggie never was!!! Its just a cop out for god ego doctors. Just say "I can't diagnose you based on today's science", but please don't insult me by saying i was on LSD or am stressed out.  

Sorry for the rant, but a person can only take so much...

I hope you spontanerously remit, thats what I hope for myself, because there seems to be no treatment for our condition. If you want to correspond, my email is ***@****    Maybe we can find a common link.

[Coordinatorinpink]

Have you found anything as of yet? I am going through the same thing. I have these "jerks" that have been getting progressively worse and tinnitus all day..sometimes I can't even hear anything other than the loud hum. I've also been getting headaches. I am currently seeing a neuro after going through several other specialists including an endo as my thyroid was a concern..my mother has hypothyroid. Those all came back normal. Frustrating and hoping you can shed some light...

[Forum-M.D.-SH]

First of all, keep in mind that I am unable to diagnose you because I am unable to examine you, this forum is for educational purposes.
    The financial department at the hospital should be able to help you apply for medicaid (if you qualify, I am not an expert in this area). The symptoms of ringing in your ears and violent head shocks associated with visual changes are of unclear etiology, but I would consider trigeminal neuralgia, seizure disorder and possible tumor as likely causes.  Trigeminal neuralgia is a condition that causes shocks of pain down one side of the face and is often triggered by contact with skin of the face or sensation around the teeth.  This is often treated with medications such as tegretol.  Seizure disorders can also cause the symptoms that you describe (although the pain you describe would be less typical). Seizure disorders can also cause loss of memory and concentration, but this can also be caused by lack of sleep.  The tremors that you describe might also by attributable lack of sleep, seizures or a neuromuscular condition.  Tumors in the brain can cause pain, visual disturbances and seizures and although rare, this should be evaluated in your case.  I woudl suggest an MRI of the brain with GAD contrast (to evaluate for tumors or other structural lesion), an EEG (brain wave test for seizures).  You also need to see a neurologist to evaluate you for medications to treat your pain/shocks and to stop your sleep deprivation.
I hope this has been helpful.

[Skelly88]

Are you under a lot of stress? stress can do horrible things to your body, i have similar symptoms as well when i take hydroxyzine which was prescribed to me for anxiety (its only a antihistamine though which they said would possibly calm me down) whenever i take that medicine though, after a couple of hourse i get the same thing, if someone slams a door i'm jolted awake, and i cannot sleep, although its not as severe as your case...its still there, i dont take the medicine anymore and i dont have the problems either.  Also, do you have an anxiety problem? along with stress it might be possible that your body is jolting you awake due to being in a state of panic when you hear a noise.  I'm no doctor, nor do i know if this info will help, buuut....perhaps you should do more to keep your mind occupied? or just relaxation techniques before you sleep, meditation is PRICELESS.  Can't hurt to try no?

[Jmm2]

I noticed you said you were in NJ and  have no insurance.  There is a great doctor at Saint Peters University Hospital in NJ who specializes in seizures. I believe he also teaches at UMDMJ.   (Saint Peters has programs for those who are financially unable to pay and without insurance. But I would get all the finance info from them.)  They have an in house 3 or more day video EEG, if the doctor deems appropriate, to diagnosis Seizure disorders.  What your symptoms appear to mimic are the seizures many of us have.  Be aware though, if you are diagnosised in NJ you will most likely lose your DL for a year or more.  If you go to NY and get diagnosised & treated, they do not report to NJ MVD.  Which means, no loss of License.   Best of luck to you & I hope you feel better soon.

[seekmedhelp]

Here is the Radiologist's report of my MRI:

"MR of the brain and IAC's was performed in multiple planes using multiple pulse sequences. Post-contrast images were obtained following the administration of 15 cc's of Gadolinium. Comparison is made with some of the images from a previous head CT of 6/2007.

Diffusion weighted images were obtained as well as postcontrast images of the brain.

The vestibular cochlear nerve complex is normal and symmetric in appearance. The are no masses in the CP angle cisterns. The pons, brain stem and cavernous sinus regions are normal. There are normal flow voids in the carotid.

Postcontrast images of the brain demonstrate anomalous draining vein in the left parietal lobe likely representing an incidental venous angioma.

There are no acute infarcts. There is no mass effect or shift. There is a normal gyral pattern and gray/white matter distribution.

Some minimal chronic frontal and ethmoid sinustis is present.

The pituitary is within normal limits.

IMPRESSION:

NORMAL IAC'S

INCIDENTAL VENOUS ANGIOMA LEFT PARIETAL LOBE

NO ACUTE INFARCTS.

-----------------------------------------------

Sleep Study Report:

"Mr. X's study was notable for the presence of significant sleep architectural abnormalities namely severe reduction in REM sleep and increased deep sleep. There was also mild sleep fragmentation related to some respiratory effort related arousals. The was minimal sleep fragmentation related to some respiratory effort related arousals. There was minimal sleep disordered breathing, however, no cardiac arrhythmias or other abnormal findings were seen."

There are also 3 pages of data, which is too much for transcription, I'll have to scan it later and upload to a free server.

[tiffycan]

My husband has the same thing and they found he had partical seizures

[Merilee123]

I haven't had the MRI yet because I'm on a waiting list. I live in Canada so I don't need insurance, but sometimes getting these tests done is a bit of a wait.

[tlh1970]

Hi, I have been struggling with many of the same symptoms and was uninsured until recently also.  I have learned a few things that might help you, but am still searching for a diagnosis.

1.  I have a history of hyperthyroidism and even if your thyroid is slightly off it can do some very strange and unpleasant things to you!

2.  I have Polycystic Kidney Disease which increases my risk of stroke and heart attack.  I am also severely hard of hearing.  So far, with my cardiac tests have come back fine.  I do not have something called a carotid bruit but am worried about aneurysm.  I will have an MRI as soon as my new insurance approves it.

3.  One DR. told me he suspected an electrolyte imbalance.  I couldn't afford the test but after doing some research decided to try Magnesium supplimentation.  After a month, this seemed to really alleviate most of the zaps, but I still have the sharp pain in the top of my skull and the ear sound only when lying down.

4.  ER Dr's tend to think you are nuts and you will ruin your credit trying to get them to diagnose you.  See if your state has what is called High Risk Pool insurance coverage.  

5.  I too, have a history of pneumonia and have also had shingles even though I am only 35 years old.

6.  Try not to panic it makes the symptoms worse.  The way I look at it is that I have to just keep insisting that something is wrong.  The Dr's didn't catch my thyroid issues in relation to my kidney disease for 8 years!  During that time I was prescribed sinus meds and even narcotic pain killers when what I only needed a beta blocker.

Good luck, I will post more as I find out more.

[seekmedhelp]

For those who can't install a DICOM reader, I managed to convert all the images to JPEG format and uploaded them to a free server.

Directories are labeled according to the type of images taken and whether they had contrast.

http://one.fsphost.com/seekmedhelp/

[seekmedhelp]

Would one of the Cleveland Clinic MDs or any other qualified person please read my MRI?

It was taken today and they gave me a copy of the images on CD.

You can download the full DICOM series here (compressed as ZIP):

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WJPBT2MC

*note: I removed my name, dr's name, address, etc from the original file headers, using an anonymizer.

For those not familiar with MRIs, they write images in a special format called DICOM, so you will need to use a special file reader. I used DicomWorks, but there are many free programs out there.

Also you must decompress the zip file. Most windows systems have a decompresser installed, but if you can't open it for whatever reason, let me know and I'll try to figure out a different upload method.

I won't be able to see a neurologist for awhile, since the wait time at my clinic is very long. If one of the MDs reading this forum could take a look I would be very greatful.

Thank you,
Brian

[betsyb]

First of all I cannot believe I found this website with so much information relating to something I have had no idea what to call.
I've had the "shocks" intermittently for quite some time---several years---but pretty infrequently---usually proceeded by a loud buzzing noise in my head --which apparently could be labled "exploding head syndrome".
Anyway, was in the hospital on 6/26/07 with a fractured tibia, and had the subsequent surgery to put things back in place.  From the time I went into the hospital to the day I left I had these shocking jolts in my head that would literally jerk me right off the bed (the worst was when I was pre-op and my leg would go into spasms...try to explain that to the nurse).  So the entire time I was in the hospital virtually each time I'd drift off I'd experience only what I can describe as a loud electrical jolt (kind of like a transformer being hit by lightening) in my head and then going through my body.
I was on major doses of pain medication throughout my stay and only have had one episode since I've been home(occurred the first night home).  I'm wondering if mine had to do with obvious physical and emotional stress AND drugs, anesthesia, etc...PLUS, I usually take anti-depressants and did not get any while in hospital.
So, to read your accounts really takes my breath away as I thought I was just plain strange and/or somehow an alien test subject (that's a joke btw).
Anyway, I am very excited to read about the sleep study results as I have had sleep problems for about 10 years--am currently taking a prescription (xanax), but didn't have any in the hospital and haven't had to take any since I've been out and am pretty darn happy about it.
Thank you for posting this comment board...it will be interesting to see where it leads and I send you all the best as you continue to find solutions to your medical challenges.  And darn those bad doctors for being so rude to you seekmedhelp...I'm sure the four of you were crowded anyway in a room with that huge ego.
best of luck
betsy

[flyin2006]

LOL

[seekmedhelp]

Hi again,

The sleep study did not go as I had hoped. It took me four hours to fall asleep, and I only had mild shocks, mostly triggered by sharp noises. In this case it was the A/C switching on and off.

I wanted to showcase my worst symptoms, the violent shocks/jerks that make me convulse for a second. Unfortunately some days are worse than others and you just can't predict when they'll occur. Well hopefully they got some data from the noise triggered brief zaps.

It took me forever to fall asleep, even though I had woken up the morning of my study at 6am. By 10pm I still was not sleepy. I laid there with 20 wires on my head, face, and in my nose, along with white surgical dressing wrapped all around them (think of that old twilight zone episode with the pig faces).

As uncomfortable as wearing so many wires may sound, you get used to the accessories. In about a half hour I forget they are even there except when rolling over. After four hours I finally fell asleep - I think.

The nurse woke me up but I felt like I had only slept two hours. I asked her "I think I slept, did I?" She replied, "Yes you did sleep, but we don't talk about studies in the morning because we want patients to fill out the post-test report with no preconceived notions."

So in a week I'll know what the results are and hopefully they will have a specific diagnosis, not just "insomnia" or "stress". I still don't know when my MRI will be because the nurse has yet to call and make the appointment.

[seekmedhelp]

Why haven't you had an MRI done? CAT scans are only good for hard tissue like bones and will not see neurological problems except perhaps a large tumor or extensive damage from a stroke.

You probably don't have insurance otherwise your neuro or family doctor would have already ordered an MRI. In that case all I can say is dig deep for state programs that offer assistance, be it a catholic hospital, medicaid or free clinic. Try calling Universities with an MD program of the state in which you are a resident. They almost always have a free clinics, but wait times will probably be months.

Our symptoms sound very much alike. Hopefully my tests will give you a clue as to whats happening. I truly feel your pain...

  

[seekmedhelp]

Chloe,

Your symptoms sound terrible. Not giving you an MRI is just plain barbaric. If a nurse bothers to fight for you, something MUST be wrong, because they can get in trouble for questioning a MD's judgement, who in turn must answer to an insurance company, which in turn gives out bonuses to MD's for saving them money. And so goes the merry go round.

Do your parents have insurance? I suppose not if you cannot get proper tests performed. Sign up for charity care if your state has it. Your parents should apply for Medicaid.

Ask to see hospital's social worker, who by law has to provide you with all treatment options available, both in the state and federal government. Many programs exist for adults, and even more for children.

You urgently need to see a neurologist and have an MRI performed. It took me five months to see one after much pain and paperwork. Hang in there...

[Merilee123]

I am extremely anxious to hear the results of your sleep study. I've been experiencing most of the same symptoms for eight months. I haven't had tremors but I jolt awake all night as I drift off to sleep and my ears have been ringing the entire eight months. (Which, I'm told sometimes causes hearing loss) I also get headaches and occassional dizziness, some muscle aches and a general feeling of being unwell and run down. I had the CAT and the blood work done. Everything came back normal. It's disheartening when everyone I've spoken to online or read about hasn't had it resolved. I sincerely hope you get to the bottom of it while I'm trying to do the same. Good luck.

[taherkody]

by the way. what are the normal ranges for your thyroid levels?? each lab has different normal ranges. sometimes you can be in normal ranges but high normal or low normal.

[chloestartzman1224]

Ive had tremors for 2 years a few night they got so bad i had to go to the hosbital the musles in my cheast were convulsing and i stoped breathing i had to be intabated my doctors never gave my a MRI or CT a few blood  test but thats it ive been hosbitalized for psycological problems and every time i stayed all the nurses and doctors always talked about how strange it was ive acctually had a few nurses fight for me to be put in some nero studies. My docter is concerned but the only thaing he does is give me a bottle of lorazapam and send me on my way its progressively getting worse im 15 years old and its so bad i havent gone to school in a year im forced to do home school i have them every day its in every part of my body my legs toes face arms fingers back neck stomach ...ext....i dont know whats wrong can anyone help me?

[taherkody]

Unfortunatly by the time The doctors knew my problem was from my thyroid ((2 1/2 months later) I was over the thyroid storm and I was moving into hypothyroidism ..My thyroid tests then were ;
Tsh 3.15 normal 0.4 -4
Ft4 1.2 normal 0.8 - 1.9
Ft3 3.3 normal 1.5 - 4.1
It wasnt the tests thats got my diagnosis ..It was the my fast growing goiter and high blood pressure and heart beats that finally got them to realise that I had a thyroid problem.. I think you should get you TSH tested also...It is also important with the freeT4 and free T3 tests.. I got those done and also ultrasound.  Im so sorry for what you are going through, Ill keep you in my thoughts and hope you get a proper diagnosis and get better soon..