sz activity or pain attack?

[carla123]

I started having rt.arm weakness 11/04, Dr. said wait and see. Feb.05 I started w/ h/a at the base of my skull with burning sensation & wrapped to top of head. The arm weakness got worse & I started w/ shaking symptoms. I had MRI, CAT scan =negative but for c5c6 rupture & c7 buldge. I would get a blank stare see few black spots & images looked like they were in a bubble. I felt limp/weak and my puipls became very large. My toes on both feet start to twitch and climbed up my legs. I felt like I had chills an uncontrollable shaking internally but I was sweating. I griped onto anything with my hands to stop the internal shaking while my legs became very tired from the constant spasms. I felt everything was in slow motion including speech. These attacks would last 15-20 min left as they came. EEG neg. I would have them just sitting & talking or after a steroid injection into c5c6 rupture. I had my third inj. into the side of my neck & the needle hit the nerve very hard. I immediately saw the weird vision and felt funny. The doc/nurse were aware of the previous shaking episodes. No big deal, this time it came on and it was stronger & climbed up into my chest, the whole body shook. I don't remember a lot but I could hear them all talking. I felt I couldn't get air & I was dry heaving. I require a lot of meds for procedures & they gave me fentenyl, ativan,versed. The one constant ingnitor is the nerves on the rt. side of my neck being stimulated in some form cause the episodes. My vision/remembering things has detoriated in last 6 mon, I transpose leters/#s. Sz. vs panic attacks?

[Rescuepoor]

Hi Frenny,
There is a chance of Lyme disease, come to think of it!  Spent my first 30 years in the south and ticks were an all-too-frequent experience.  I will have the test done.  Thanks for the insight!  Rescuepoor

[Frenny]

Many of your symptoms are found in Lyme diesease, any chance of that?  Good luck!

[Rescuepoor]

Hi, your post was very interesting to me.  Many of the symptoms you describe, I have also experienced.  My disks at C 5/6 and C 6/7 are herniated.  Similar symptoms: dilated pupils, nausea, dry heaves, black spots in vision, difficulty focusing mentally and visually (frequently), tremors, all-over shaking, freezing cold but sweating at the same time.  I would get these symptoms when my head/neck was held in a particular position too long.  Find it fascinating that we have the same damaged disks and the same symptoms.  Please don't let anyone convince you it is psycological.  When I received my only cortisone shot in the neck, the doctor told me to sit up and tilt my head down. When I explained that it would cause these symptoms, he scoffed and told me it was my thyroid and I would be fine.  Sure enough, all the symptoms hit with my head tilted downward--blood pressure dropped to 80/50 and the nausea and elimination feelings were overwhelming.  The doctor told me I was having a panic attack, but they did put me in the horizontal position before I could pass out.  The panic attack miraculously went away (although the tremors last awhile).  I didn't have a "panic attack" when he subsequently gave me the injection with me in the horizontal position.  We are obviously having nerves pinched which is triggering these symptoms.  It is so frustrating to have doctors dismiss this as "all in our head". I empathize with you--hope they figure out what is going on.  Mine is self-controlled by laying down whenver I need to and not tilting my head in certain positions.  Good luck!

[CCF-Neuro-M.D.-PW]

Of course, any focal neurological symptom like right arm weakness needs to be evaluated thoroughly, including MRI. If the weakness occurred after a shaking episode, the cause may be realted to post seizure exhaustion in that part of the brain

Its possible that these events are psychological in origin, but the possibility of epileptic seizures needs be evaluated in the setting of an epilepy monitoring unit - here over several days your episodes can be recorded on EEG, and the the nature of them defined. If there is no epilepsy monitoring unit close to you, perhaps the Cleveland Clinic Epilepsy monitoring unit could help.

Good luck