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Brain Shakes and Dizziness

I have read multiple descriptions of "brain shakes" on this forum but none seem to describe my experience. I have gone to two different general practitioners and they tell me that I am suffering from vertigo but my symptoms do not seem to completely match vertigo either.

I am a 27-year-old, healthy and active woman. Several months ago, I began experiencing these random episodes of brain shakes that are followed by dizziness. The "brain shakes" feel like a jolt and vibration that last about a 1 second. These "brain shakes" are sometimes violent and because they are unexpected, I react by placing my hands to my head. But my head does not actually "shake", its is merely an internal sensation that I'm reacting to. The "brain shakes" are immediately followed by dizziness. I feel like the room is spinning and sometimes I become flushed and nauseous. The dizziness lasts less than a minute. The dizziness is initially severe and then it fades away and is completely gone in about a minute.

These episodes have occurred approximately 6 or so times. They appear to occur randomly and they are spaced out; sometimes a couple weeks and other times about a month apart. I am almost never moving when these occur. In other words, they don't seem to be caused by sudden movements or physical fatigue. Most times it has happens when I'm sitting at my desk working or in a car or at lunch with a friend. When they occur, I am immediately fine when the dizziness wears off as if nothing happened. They also occur one at a time; I've never had more than one per day. Also, these episodes to do not appear to be stress or mental health related. I am a mental health practitioner and was able to rule that out.

Although these episodes have not significantly impaired my life functioning, they are certainly scary and concerning. Any insight about what might be happening would be greatly appreciated!!
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Avatar universal
Wow, I have just had this and it is proper scary stuff. Never had it before. The very first second I go it I thought that we were going  through an Earth Quake but it stopped as quickly as it started but then followed by a feeling like I was on a platform which was elevating upwards with some sort of parallax zoom effect.

So scary I immediately searched for what is was.
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I just had almost exactly what you described about 30 minutes ago. I've spent that time doing some of my own research, and the best thing I've found is that it may very well be a symptom of anxiety commonly referred to as head/brain zaps. I suffer from anxiety, but I'm not good at actively expressing it, so it often comes out physiologically, usually in the form of stomach gas and jitters. Hope this helps
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Wasn't physically doing anything stressful, but am generally very stressed due to schooling complications.
Avatar universal
I confess when i was just a young boy i had sexually intercourse with th a teenager and it resulted into other sexually activity with young boys while i was young
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Hi, I am not certain if you are still having these problems...it is my prayer that you are not being that it is now Dec, 2016, and this post is from Dec, 2010..

I have been having these exact problem for about 6 months now and at first the doctor..student...laughed and said she had not ever heard of that without being accompanied with physical shakes as in an outright seizure.  

Well then continued and the next month I went back to the doctor and had another...student...but this time I told her to make certain that she writes everything down because when something happens to me that is directly related to my...vibrations...I needed to have it on record.

She scheduled me for an MRI (probably to calm me) and that test had shown where I was having seizures, however mild, they were seizures.

Now they are scrambling to find out why because I have no other symptoms. They have done an ultrasound of my carotid artery...numerous phases of blood work...have me seeing a Neurologist ... and an audiologist to see what, if any damage is being done to my hearing.

I feel that I could have lost my life, or a portion of it had this doctor would have been as derelict as the first.

I am loving this doctor for listening and not laughing at my "vibrations" symptom.  

Hope this helps you, or anyone else to seek what next can be done.
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Hi. Firstly I can safely say that the doctor...student who said they'd never heard of seizures without physical shakes should change professions. It's called Petit Mal and I've suffered with it as far back as age 11, and it usually comes on during times of great physical and mental stress. One specialist figured it out without testing me and the other confirmed it with accurate testing. I did acupuncture coupled with electrical therapy after which I showed no symptoms for 7+ years. So that may be an option to explore.
I have searched my whole life for a way to describe what I feel, what it is,  and what causes them; you described it perfectly. No doctor has ever dug deeper than to say I have vertigo.

If you can explain further or tell me what I need to tell my doctor, I’d be so greatful.

I thought I had some bizarre vertigo and no doctor has ever looked further than that.
Avatar universal
Listen I have been thru a hell of a lot in two yrs..all my family had died on me and.I lost my only brother two months ago..I get these really bad shaken in my brain and I know.my head is not moving cause.I am holding it but my eyes are and if I can get to the pressure that's in the back of my head and push as hard as I can it will sooner or later east up..please help me..my brother died.from a brain andirisum
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I have lost my brother and the rest of my family in two yrs.very sudden..I have these shaking of the brain.and eyes.I can push on the back part of my head where it hurts and about two or three mins it seem to easy
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I have shaking inside my brain to wear my eyes are shaking also and I can push on the back of my left side to use it
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My mother has been dealing with the exact same symptoms for the last few years, and was seeing a neurologist who couldn't pinpoint what the issue was. Then one day while at work, it hit again, only worse, and the limbs on her one side started flailing. She drove herself home from work (we still give her a hard time for this, she admitted she had trouble sticking to the road), and my sister immediately called 911. Long story short: the neurologist she had been seeing was called in and kept insisting on a seizure, which was later proven to be a misdiagnosis by another doctor who was brought in after her blood work came back odd. It turned out she had a TIA (transient ischemic stroke), and was diagnosed with APS (antiphospholipid syndrome). The worst part about this was that doctors were so adamant to stick to "it's not a stroke b/c she doesn't have weakness in one side, she has the opposite". Stroke isn't the same in all people, and we later learned by the blood doctor that if her situation had been taken more seriously and she had been given blood thinners when she was brought in with a stroke, she wouldn't have lasting brain damage like she does. So consider having your blood work done and have them test for APS and any other clotting disorders.
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Hi, I am 67 years old and have just started having these 'brain shakes' and reading these many comments has helped knowing a lot of others suffer from this.  Mine appeared to have been triggered by a lack of sleep and hours spent on a computer (doing a special project) but the dizziness could be stopped right away if I got down on the floor and lay flat for a few seconds.  Since then I have noticed if I lie in bed on my left side my brain seems to 'shake' if I lie on my right side it doesn't.  As I had a headache when the dizziness first started I put it down to some sort of migraine but the headaches have gone but the brain shaking hasn't.  I notice it a lot more in periods of activity, especially using a computer. I have also had the dizziness if I got up out of bed in the night.  This seems to be different from 'vertigo' which I had badly 20 years ago, but at this stage haven't been to a Dr or specialist.  But I'm going to take up the suggestions made of 1.drinking more water 2.more exercise..... thanks for these posts.
Avatar universal
Any answer from the doctor? I have just suffered from the exact "brain vibration and consciousness sinking". It's the second time for past two years. And this time i can feel exactly it happened to the right hemisphere and lasted less than 5 seconds. And before this, i had suffered a "brain sinking and consciousness sinking" when i lied down on the bed for sleeping.
Hope it's not AD omen or cerebral thrombosis.
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i am only 30!
Avatar universal
Hi , Even i feel same  for at least twice in a month .
I guess all should mention what are the other medical issue they have ..i guess we can figure it out if we have all have same.

1>I have Sinus
2>Nasal septum deviation
3>Heavy head

Otherwise i am healthy with my daily routine
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Avatar universal
Interesting note on the migraines.. But before I comment on that just want to say I take NOTHING prescription.  I am taking more vitamins.. just a good general women's health one and I take extra B every day b/c I have a fatigue problem.   So it's not a medication side effect.

Relative to migraines.. I see that as a common thread.  I have never, to my knowledge, had migraines.  THAT said, my daughter, who is now 10, developed something called Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS) at around 18 months old.  Even now from 8 years ago there's is more known and it's more definitively tied to?  Right, migraines.  That's one of the things when she finally got diagnosed (after 2 years and finally a trip to the hospital where they labeled her "blue and non responsive" when the ambulance picked her up) that they asked was "do you have a history of migraines".. I don't.. her father's grandfather did and his father did.  Me?  None.  But some women do develop migraines in perimenopause and I would say in the 6 months or so before this started I would get monster headaches that would take me 6 to 9 advil to kill (and I'm normally someone who can take 3 advil for monster menstrual cramps and be all set for 24 hours).  

So I think there may be a migraine link.. which for me would make sense because I'm getting the episodes now around my period.  Like I got my period yesterday.. 2 nights before I started.. not terrible but I noticed it.  I also think I don't react the same now?  You get used to and the violence of it seems to dissipate because you've learned to compensate.  Just my theory.
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Avatar universal
Same thing.. never standing.. ALWAYS sitting.. or coming from a sitting position but that's rare.

Someone mentioned looking at a screen when it happened.  Check.

someone mentioned having astigmatism.. Check.  I definitely feel my prescription has changed and I do know this, when it happens now, is I'm looking at my phone.. computer screen.. If I focus too long it seems, then it might trigger.. but not always.. Just sometimes..
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I knew there was something I forgot on my initial reply... Vitamin D.  Was tested as extremely deficient around June or July (when the episodes were full tilt).  16.6 level.  Retested again in.. October?  September?  episodes far less frequent/severe.  28.8.  

I also believe Vitamin D deficiency is a factor.

And to the poster who said it was like the brain moved up and then clicked back into place?  THAT'S IT!!!  In my case I'd say it feels like it moves left to right but it's just that one positional movement.. not a shaking per se..
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Avatar universal
You described it almost perfectly what I have been experiencing!  I know these are old posts but like someone else said did a google search and this thread came up :)  

I get the slight shake or I was calling it a slide.. like my brain shifted from left to right, then the slight dizziness (I don't spin, but it feels like I'm GOING to.. but it's like I catch it and stop it).  It started back in May of 2015 for me.  Bad to the point I was nearly afraid to leave the house for several months.. and didn't unless I absolutely HAD to.  I still am getting it...

I would say now it's cycle based for me.. which I find it interesting that many people are in their teens?  I'm 46 and pretty sure I am peri-menopausal.  The episodes seem to be daily in the days leading up to and the first day or so of my period.  When they first started turns out I was battling kidney stones.. the episodes seemed to dissipate considerably once I passed the last stone.

Dehydration has been mentioned.  I had a fainting episode on October 12, 2014 where I passed out and cracked my head on a concrete floor.. fell straight back and nailed it good.  The person who was with me said I had some kind of seizure right after.  Anyway, the cause of the faint was severe dehydration.  Whichhhh, I'm assuming also led to the kidney stones.  

And stress.. for the trifecta.  My life for the past 3-4 years in particular has been insanely stressful.  Toxic, emotionally abusive relationship.  My passing out episode was the day after I had moved out.. I ended up moving back in December of 2014.. but think the stress triggered, combined with the kidney stones, what happened starting in May.  

I've since moved out again.. and I feel much better.. trying to eat and drink better.  I do not sleep enough, I believe that is also a factor.  

Would like to know what it actually is though.. I did see an ENT last October.. Told me it was BPPV.  I don't think so..
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Avatar universal
I had one of these today (it is why I googled this lol). I think it probably has something to do with how hard you're thinking. Because it happened to me in class when I was trying to focus very hard on a math lesson on logarithms. It just felt like something in my head shifted, it was very weird. Not painful at all but I still felt it.
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Avatar universal
Finally all my friends, I got the solution of this consulting one of the best neurologist. 1st of all the good news is this is not a disease or at least big disease. It happens to a person who use to think about anything very deep i.e. dug into the matter or the person can have some problem (like financial prob etc.) about which he/she is thinking always. Actually when we think, neurotransmitter is emitted in our brain. When a person got the habit to think deep always, neurotransmitters gets accumulated over a long period of time and after that person feels this kind of syndrome.

Now the solution is simple. No medicine is required for this, but simply one hour brief walking is the simple cure for this. While walking try to take deep breath. Actually we have to burn our neurotransmitter accumulated like deleting junk files from computer. A good exercise, running or walking for a hour can do this. Doctor suggested me to do this for two months. After one month only, i am feeling somewhat relax. Although, I am not cured completely, but amount of dizziness and fear became low.

Few more things to be followed i.e. good amount of sleep at night (6 hour at least), no consumption of alcohol. I find that when I take tea or coffee, I find myself in frequent shaking and dizziness. So, stopped taking tea and coffee too. No smoking also is the need for cure. I don't know if someone is addicted, so how to manage all this. But one thing is sure , you can minimize alcohol and smoking as much as you can.

Further, the most important thing is never think too much. Solve the problem or Leave the problem, Never Live with the problem.

Best of luck!!    
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I’m pretty sure this is my problem. Did the symptoms ever go away completely?
Avatar universal
This has been happening to me forever, almost as long as I can remember. I can feel it a few seconds before it happens and it last about a second or two and then I'm fine. It starts in like my ears and then my whole body shakes for a second. No dizziness or headaches after or before. And I would say that it almost happens daily.
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I have been having these for the past couple days. It started because I have been having anxiety attacks & then this starts. It really scares me cause everything just doesn't seem real too me anymore. I have an 11 month old daughter. I'm 17 years old and it scares me badly that imma die or something. I start prozac in thr morning & really hoping it works for me. & that this just goes away. I had seizures while I was pregnant but nome after that or never this brain shakiness so idk.
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I am suffering exactly with same disorder when I am sitting and reading or sitting and surfing on mobile or computer. I first experienced it a month ago. My BP is 130/90 and when I went to doctor , they started giving me medicine "Metoprolol succinate extended"  for BP control. But I think it is not related to BP or something. The first experience came when I was somewhat stressed about my project and sitting in front of computer and writing some mathematical equations on a paper put on the desk. How to get rid of this?
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Hi, I have suffered with these brain shakes for years. I call them "woowies" they come on suddenly with no warning and last for 5-10 seconds. I have to grab my head and stand completely still with my eyes closed. I know its silly as holding my head will make no difference but I do it anyway! I become dizzy if I open my eyes. I then get an awful headache afterwards and feel very sick. I have been put on some migraine type tablets that have been controlling it, topiramate but if a "woowie" breaks through as it has this week then thats it! Pain and shakes all day every day! I have never heard of it being related to vertigo before. Mt doctors have never really investigated beyond migraine. This thread has been very interesting, I have just discovered it as I am really suffering this time. 2 weeks without a  break this time.
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Avatar universal
This has been happening to me since I was in high school. At the time, it really scared my mom and me, so I underwent all sorts of tests, including an MRI. Nothing abnormal could be found. I have the same symptoms many of you are describing, usually when I'm doing something mundane like sitting at a meeting, sitting in front of the computer, and even while driving a few times. My brain feels like it "jumps" or "shakes" in one big movement that lasts less than a second. Then I am extremely dizzy and have blurry vision for only a matter of seconds. I then feel fine, although I do feel a bit "off" for a few minutes up to an hour afterward. But no headaches, no pain, etc. I also get a slight warm feeling, like you'd feel when you are really embarrassed or during public speaking or the like. This "condition" went dormant for several years, and I only started having these events recently. I am now 30 and it happens every week or so.

I wish I could get some answers because it concerns me to have something wrong with my health. I don't have seizures (that I know of, anyway), but I do recently have some chronic ear ringing issues. Not sure if the two are related, but I never had ear ringing issues before, so I doubt they are related at all.
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I have this same thing.  I am 34 femail, it's been happening for years, once every 6 months or so.  I had an MRI of the brain years ago with normal result.  I think it could have something to do with dehydration, inner ear or something.  I am also vitamin D deficient.  No antidepressants or medication taken.  
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Avatar universal
As you read my previous posts, we have the same complaints. I also feel that my brain shakes that lasted for 1-2 seconds. I am not dizzy, and my ent doctor ruled out vertigo. I consulted neurologist and advise to undergo MRI. According to the result, I have a little scar in my brain. (maybe because of the internal bleeding happened when i have a dengue fever). My doctor assures that nothing bad will happen, the only problem is, until I aged, I will experience this brain shakes..I understand how you feel., and I really wanted to get rid of this..

Please contact me if you are already okay..


thank you
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Avatar universal
For the past few months, I have also had these brain shifts/shakes that are completely random and last only 1-2 seconds without any other symptoms. A few months ago I was diagnosed with anemia and take iron supplements but the brain shifts are still happening. The sensation is different from being dizzy and unlike vertigo. Many years ago I discontinued the use of an anti-depressant and experienced the "brain zaps" that other people mentioned but this is completely different. Once the anti-depressant was out of my system and my body was back to normal the brain zaps stopped. Anyhow, the Dr. says next step is an MRI so I'm trying to research what it could be since it's expensive and scary.
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