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

[seekmedhelp]

Thank you guys for your comments.

emgscot & flyin2006, I would like to further discuss our symptoms by e-mail or messenger if you aren't against it.

My e-mail is  ***@****

Feel free to contact me at any time.

Here is an update on my situation:

I went to the emergency room again once my ambien ran out. I tried to sleep without it but got a nasty jolt in my head when trying to fall asleep. The ER doctor seemed very angry I came back and her words were "You can't keep coming back here like this" quote. ( i was there two times, my muscles shaking like an old man's at age 27)

She flat out said they won't do anymore tests and that she could send over a crisis counselor to see me. I told her I wasn't depressed, suicidal or anything of the sort. But did remind her that not being able to sleep for 72 hours at a clip is pure psychological torture. I asked her to write me a prescription to help me sleep, but anything other than ambien, as after 3 days it stopped working. I was given 1mg of Ativan.

That night I took the Ativan and it made me feel anxious and paranoid for about an hour, than extremely exhausted. I got a couple electric shocks before falling asleep and also a sensation that I couldn't breath. Once the sedation kicked in it did so very hard because I don't even recall when I fell asleep.

My right ear continues to ring and the tremor in my left wrist has gotten worse, though it only tremors on the counter-contraction. My left leg has a cramping sensation as if someone had kicked me in the thigh.

I finally managed to arrange to see a neurologist in a free clinic, that will be on the 21st of June.

I also applied for NJ medicaid and was accepted, pending a 30 day review. The case worker said I would get the coverage short of them finding something false on my application. Hopefully I'll be now able to receive consistent treatment in the near future thanks to this state program.

Does anyone here have experience with neurologists who accept medicaid? Do they have long wait times? Are they allowed to authorize MRIs?

[dlhigh]

If this is the neurologist that the ER doc referred you to, then they should accept it.  Wait times vary, but generally free clinics can be a long wait.  The neuro can authorize MRI's as well as many other tests.  Sometimes it can take a while to determine etiology as emgscot mentioned, but patience and persistance are the keys.  Since you will be getting medicaid, you need to get a family practice doctor to follow your condition and refer you other doctors if/when necessary, as well as repeated visits to them often enough ensures that this is a continuous concern and not an occasional occurance.

[emgscot]

I have had those same electrical shocks for 10 years.   At first it was just before I fell asleep, then it progressed to sharp noises causing them.  The latest is that those little twiches and tics that everyone gets all over their bodies have now started causing the zaps.  I get a twitch in my ankle and zap.  
I do have insurance and have seen several doctors to ask what on earth is going on.  MRIs show nothing.  One nasty neurologist diagnosed dementia because I couldn't remember the firt of three words he told me to remember.  Guess he's never heard of sleep deprivation.  
The good news is that there is apparently nothing wrong!?!  If I ever find an answer, I'll be sure to let you know.

[dlhigh]

Here's a website I found with additional information on Myoclonus, I hope this helps. I've found that without insurance even ER's will do as little testing as possible.  You should use every means available to you to pay the Neurologist up front if necessary to get an answer, but equip yourself with as much information as you can find online to take with you.  Hope this helps and that you can rest better soon!    http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/myoclonus/detail_myoclonus.htm

[flyin2006]

Other than the Ambien that was given to you, have you been on any other meds, such as antidepressants, anticonvulsants, or antianxiety medication.?Many of these meds can have nasty and prolonged  withdrawal symptoms.
I know because I've been there and felt almost every symptonm you have described!

[seekmedhelp]

I went to the ER on 6/1/2007 at 9PM because I had no slept for almost three days. Anytime I layed down and tried to sleep, that zap/electrical shock would keep me from crossing over into sleep. They did a CAT scan and said it was negative, though an emergency doctor reviewed it not a specialist.

I overhead my young ER doctor talking to an older doctor, probably her supervise, and she said "it sounds like myoclonic jerks". But after my visit was over the discharge paper said "insomnia".

They prescribed 5 pills of Ambien 10mg. On the first night, when I came back from the hospital, it put me to sleep right away, and I woke up about 6 hours later.

Last night I felt like my awake brain was battle with my sleeping brain for dominance. There was no electric shock but my legs would jerk. This happened twice that I can remember before falling asleep. I woke up 7 hours later with a loud ringing in my ears. The ringing is loud during the morning and at night, but is only moderately loud to sometimes almost gone during the day.

They referred me to a neurologist. Whether he will accept "charity care" coverage I don't know. I'll call on my Monday and find out.

Due to these shocks when trying to fall asleep i've become afraid of sleep. Anytime my eyes are closed I cant help but fear a shock will hit me at any moment.

Noises also trigger these shocks/zaps. Especially sharp noises, like plastic or wood cracking. I've come to fear sharp sounds, since I now associate them will being zapped. I turn off every electrical device in my room, because monitor, computer, printer, speakers, as the plastic their made of tends to crack as the temperature in my room goes down at night.

Luckily ambien puts me to sleep without a shock, but my legs still jerk uncontrollably. My daytime muscle tremors are just as bad as they were when not getting any sleep. Also I have a strange buzzy/wired feeling when awake, especially when I focus on something, like looking at a monitor, or reading a book.