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183202 tn?1219853659

Head Vibrations/Tingliness, numbness, clamminess, lightheadedness/dizziness, etc...

Hello, let me introduce myself. My name is Crystal, and I am a 23 yr. old female, and for the past 3 months I have experienced bouts of clenching chest pain, head vibrations/tingliness, my face feels like it goes numb, there is usually pressure or pain in one spot of my head, I get extremely lightheaded, the numbness/tingliness usually spreads to other parts of the body, and sometimes there is knot pains in the back of my neck and even middle and lower back. The clenching chest pain seems to have subsided in the past month, yet the other symptoms (particularly the head vibrations/tingliness, numbness and severe tingliness/numbness in other body parts) continue. The problems come on sporatically/spontaneously at any time of day..

They are NOT CONSTANT: they usually last in bursts from anywhere from 10 min. to an HOUR or more! As you can imagine, it is EXTREMELY stressful when I feel the physical symptoms come on so abruptly! It
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Avatar universal
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.
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183202 tn?1219853659
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. :(
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183202 tn?1219853659
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.
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183202 tn?1219853659
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~
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Avatar universal
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
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176722 tn?1193378258
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
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