Aa
Head vibrations/electrical sensations through brain and body (esp. spine), leg and body numbness..HELP!
Hey all. Perhaps I should introduce myself.
My name is Crystal, and since October 31st around 3 am, I have been in a constant struggle with problems ranging from clenching chest pains, heart palps, increased heartrate, head jitters/electrical vibrations/sensations through head and spine (like a painful electrical current that radiates up and down my spine), I have had my limbs go tingly, and even one time my right leg went numb and it kind of cocked up a little and went limp, so I was unable to move it...
I went to the ER numerous times, where they did a CT with contrast of the chest, thyroid tests, electrolyte blood test, etc.
I have also gone to Psychiatrists, Neurologists, Cardiologists, etc. The only real physical thing they could come up with was my Mitral Valve Prolapse, but said it was too minor to be causing any problems.
The doctors issued EEGS, another echo (I had one 2 years ago), EKGs and haltar monitors, ya name it. I have had bloodwork for my B-12 levels, thyroid tests I can't even count anymore, Lyme Titer, ANA Titer, etc...
They concluded possibly anxiety and panic attacks, but these problems are too PHYSICALLY severe to possibly be. Many doctors are still scratching their heads at me and don't know WHAT's GOING ON!!
My name is Crystal, and since October 31st around 3 am, I have been in a constant struggle with problems ranging from clenching chest pains, heart palps, increased heartrate, head jitters/electrical vibrations/sensations through head and spine (like a painful electrical current that radiates up and down my spine), I have had my limbs go tingly, and even one time my right leg went numb and it kind of cocked up a little and went limp, so I was unable to move it...
I went to the ER numerous times, where they did a CT with contrast of the chest, thyroid tests, electrolyte blood test, etc.
I have also gone to Psychiatrists, Neurologists, Cardiologists, etc. The only real physical thing they could come up with was my Mitral Valve Prolapse, but said it was too minor to be causing any problems.
The doctors issued EEGS, another echo (I had one 2 years ago), EKGs and haltar monitors, ya name it. I have had bloodwork for my B-12 levels, thyroid tests I can't even count anymore, Lyme Titer, ANA Titer, etc...
They concluded possibly anxiety and panic attacks, but these problems are too PHYSICALLY severe to possibly be. Many doctors are still scratching their heads at me and don't know WHAT's GOING ON!!
Hi Crystal,
I am not a doctor, but have been reading several sights. Have you checked out any sights on Parkison's disease? Some of your symptoms sound similar. I don't remember if it was you or the other one who responded to you had the arched back, but that was a symptom as well. I pray that's not what is going on, but thought there was a similarity in symptoms.
Hope you are better very soon!!!
dabreleu
I am not a doctor, but have been reading several sights. Have you checked out any sights on Parkison's disease? Some of your symptoms sound similar. I don't remember if it was you or the other one who responded to you had the arched back, but that was a symptom as well. I pray that's not what is going on, but thought there was a similarity in symptoms.
Hope you are better very soon!!!
dabreleu
Thank you for your concern, but it is DEFINATELY NOT Parkinson's disease. I am aware of the symptoms and the like of Parkinson's, and it is far from it.
I had another meeting with my psychiatrist today, and he is as puzzled as I am as to why my body has reacted in such a way to the serotonin in the SSRI anti-depressants, especially as quickly as I did.
What he has deduced SO FAR is he seems to think there is something in my GENETICS that is causing that adverse reaction to the SSRI's. He asked me if I had any relatives who were BI-POLAR, since he said it is often individuals who are BI-POLAR or exhibit the BI-POLAR GENE that have that QUICK and that bad of a reaction to the Serotonin in the SSRI's.
Yet he may also think there is some other underlying problem, and we just can't figure it out. Whether it be just a gene or something else going on along with my Panic Disorder, he just doesn't know WHAT to think of this. For now I am just sticking on the Lorazepam, and he is UPPING that to 2 MG since he does NOT want to risk any more adverse reactions to the other anti-depressant meds.
He DID ask me if I knew of any blood-relatives with Bi-Polar disorder, and all I know is that my half-brother has ANGER issues. Yet I do not know if he is Bi-polar or not, nor if it is even on my side of the gene pool (since he is ONLY my half-bro. via my biological mother), and I don't even know his father or his background. The only things I DO know are that I got my MVP (Mitral Valve Prolapse) and Panic Attacks from her. Aside from that, I really dunno what else I could have gotten from them.
However, in reality BOTH the Psych. and I are clueless as to what is going on. The neuro. I went to see said he couldn't help me, and the psych. WANTS to help me figure out what is going on, and he is scratching his head on this as well.
ANY other advice/help would be greatly appreciated!!! PLEASE!!! :(
Here are the tests I did get done, and my family I know is through with testing, but at least wants to figure out what is going on:
ANA TITER: clear
B12 Levels: FINE
CT with contrast of chest: FINE
Head CT- NO contrast: Only showed some minor calcium deposits and asymmetry of the two hemispheres, but seems to be normal/of normal origin.
Head MRI - NO CONTRAST: Only the asymmetry. The calcium deposits didn't show up on the MRI.
20-min. EEG- NORMAL
EKGs: NORMAL.
ECHO: only the Mitral Valve Prolapse, otherwise CLEAR. No clogged arteries, etc.
LYME TITER: clear
Thyroid - COMPLETE CHECKUP: CLEAR
Electrolytes: CLEAR/FINE
Plus some other tests I can't remember...I had WAY too many done....but that's what I can recall seeing on the paperwork.
So any other help or advice anyone?? Any help or advice you can provide is GREATLY appreciated!!
~Crystal
I had another meeting with my psychiatrist today, and he is as puzzled as I am as to why my body has reacted in such a way to the serotonin in the SSRI anti-depressants, especially as quickly as I did.
What he has deduced SO FAR is he seems to think there is something in my GENETICS that is causing that adverse reaction to the SSRI's. He asked me if I had any relatives who were BI-POLAR, since he said it is often individuals who are BI-POLAR or exhibit the BI-POLAR GENE that have that QUICK and that bad of a reaction to the Serotonin in the SSRI's.
Yet he may also think there is some other underlying problem, and we just can't figure it out. Whether it be just a gene or something else going on along with my Panic Disorder, he just doesn't know WHAT to think of this. For now I am just sticking on the Lorazepam, and he is UPPING that to 2 MG since he does NOT want to risk any more adverse reactions to the other anti-depressant meds.
He DID ask me if I knew of any blood-relatives with Bi-Polar disorder, and all I know is that my half-brother has ANGER issues. Yet I do not know if he is Bi-polar or not, nor if it is even on my side of the gene pool (since he is ONLY my half-bro. via my biological mother), and I don't even know his father or his background. The only things I DO know are that I got my MVP (Mitral Valve Prolapse) and Panic Attacks from her. Aside from that, I really dunno what else I could have gotten from them.
However, in reality BOTH the Psych. and I are clueless as to what is going on. The neuro. I went to see said he couldn't help me, and the psych. WANTS to help me figure out what is going on, and he is scratching his head on this as well.
ANY other advice/help would be greatly appreciated!!! PLEASE!!! :(
Here are the tests I did get done, and my family I know is through with testing, but at least wants to figure out what is going on:
ANA TITER: clear
B12 Levels: FINE
CT with contrast of chest: FINE
Head CT- NO contrast: Only showed some minor calcium deposits and asymmetry of the two hemispheres, but seems to be normal/of normal origin.
Head MRI - NO CONTRAST: Only the asymmetry. The calcium deposits didn't show up on the MRI.
20-min. EEG- NORMAL
EKGs: NORMAL.
ECHO: only the Mitral Valve Prolapse, otherwise CLEAR. No clogged arteries, etc.
LYME TITER: clear
Thyroid - COMPLETE CHECKUP: CLEAR
Electrolytes: CLEAR/FINE
Plus some other tests I can't remember...I had WAY too many done....but that's what I can recall seeing on the paperwork.
So any other help or advice anyone?? Any help or advice you can provide is GREATLY appreciated!!
~Crystal
Hey everyone...there is a topic about this on AnxietyZone.net, and somebody with the SN on there called "KING" posted his insight, and I wanted your all's input about the head jitters/electrical sensations caused by the SSRI's:
_________________________________________________________________
"Perhaps I can offer a biochemical focus on this....
As we know all medications for anxiety and depression work by balancing or selectively increasing neurotransmitters in our brains.
Our brains work via nervous transmission along infinite numbers of pathways linking one region to another. Nervous transmission in our brains is affected by the levels of 6 core neuro-chemicals, out of which 3 particularly affect mood - dopamine, serotonin and noradrenalin. GABA isnt a mood chemical but affects adrenalin production causing fight/flight responses. All these chemicals are targets for drug synthesis and effect.
However, its much more complex than that. As you affect one chemical the brain tends to correspondingly increase or decrease other chemicals via indirect mechanisms.
Anyway, because CNS (central nervous system) drugs affect neurotransmitter levels, they affect which pathways are used by the brain.
Or in other words, the change in neurotransmitter levels means that the brain is able to use different pathways than before - or pathways that it had stopped using. The same regions are linked as before, its just that they can be linked via an infinite number of different routes.
Its this switching or restoring of routes that causes a kind of 'rewiring' effect which is often felt as a "brain shock" or as an "electric shock" in the brain. These feelings will often come in the first few weeks or during tapering off for a CNS drug. Or they can occur without drugs.
I also believe that the jolts, buzzes and tingles are caused by similar bases. Although the tingles may be skin or muscle related which are typical anxiety symptoms.
These effects are nothing to be worried about although they have the potential to startle and unsettle us. The brain is designed to rewire itself as needed.
Over a period of time, as the brain gets used to using new pathways (and it does this all the time - its just that for some people taking drugs causes this happens more markedly) the effects felt will diminish. Remember, its the brain's ability to use new pathways or upregulate some and downregulate others at different times that makes it such a special and complex organ. And makes it quite self-defensive, like how a person who has had a stroke with loss of speech is able to speak again after a period of time as new pathways are used (and built).
Anyway, hope this is of interest
King"
________________________________________________________________
Nevertheless, PLEASE EVERYONE, I BEG YOU, I AM STILL LOOKING FOR INPUT ON THIS!!!
_________________________________________________________________
"Perhaps I can offer a biochemical focus on this....
As we know all medications for anxiety and depression work by balancing or selectively increasing neurotransmitters in our brains.
Our brains work via nervous transmission along infinite numbers of pathways linking one region to another. Nervous transmission in our brains is affected by the levels of 6 core neuro-chemicals, out of which 3 particularly affect mood - dopamine, serotonin and noradrenalin. GABA isnt a mood chemical but affects adrenalin production causing fight/flight responses. All these chemicals are targets for drug synthesis and effect.
However, its much more complex than that. As you affect one chemical the brain tends to correspondingly increase or decrease other chemicals via indirect mechanisms.
Anyway, because CNS (central nervous system) drugs affect neurotransmitter levels, they affect which pathways are used by the brain.
Or in other words, the change in neurotransmitter levels means that the brain is able to use different pathways than before - or pathways that it had stopped using. The same regions are linked as before, its just that they can be linked via an infinite number of different routes.
Its this switching or restoring of routes that causes a kind of 'rewiring' effect which is often felt as a "brain shock" or as an "electric shock" in the brain. These feelings will often come in the first few weeks or during tapering off for a CNS drug. Or they can occur without drugs.
I also believe that the jolts, buzzes and tingles are caused by similar bases. Although the tingles may be skin or muscle related which are typical anxiety symptoms.
These effects are nothing to be worried about although they have the potential to startle and unsettle us. The brain is designed to rewire itself as needed.
Over a period of time, as the brain gets used to using new pathways (and it does this all the time - its just that for some people taking drugs causes this happens more markedly) the effects felt will diminish. Remember, its the brain's ability to use new pathways or upregulate some and downregulate others at different times that makes it such a special and complex organ. And makes it quite self-defensive, like how a person who has had a stroke with loss of speech is able to speak again after a period of time as new pathways are used (and built).
Anyway, hope this is of interest
King"
________________________________________________________________
Nevertheless, PLEASE EVERYONE, I BEG YOU, I AM STILL LOOKING FOR INPUT ON THIS!!!
Have either of you been to a neuro and been tested for MS?
head zings-L'hermittes
chest pains-MS hug(girdling)
leg pain-spasms
just a thought and good luck on gettinmg your answers!!!
head zings-L'hermittes
chest pains-MS hug(girdling)
leg pain-spasms
just a thought and good luck on gettinmg your answers!!!
Hey Crystal
Sorry to hear what you are going through. I can relate as i have been experiencing the same things going on 28 months. to give you a brief history, i went to see my doc regarding some heart palpitatons i was having. She precribed generic xanax. I had no idea what it was but i took them because i trusted my doc. while on the drugs i found myself coming up with the craziest symptoms. i started to get muscle twitches everywhere, ringing in my ears, vibrations in my head. i went to my doc and she told me to continue taking the xanax. well before you know it i was up to 4 mg a day and i still had no idea what the drugs were and my symptoms were getting horrible. after a month i thought i was going nuts and i finally went back to my doc and she prescibed lexapro not knowing what lexapro was. well things were getting worse and worse. i finally did some research online and found out what xanax and lexapro were. i was furious and told my doc that had she informed me what they were that i would never have gotten on them. i had became an accidental addict and was going throught interdose withdrawals mainly from the xanax. i wanted off the drugs and she basically told me to stop and that i should have no problems as i had not been on them that long(2 moths total). Big mistake. In additon to the symptoms above i now have sunburn and electric shock sensations, pins and needles, vertigo and constant feeling of being on a boat and 24/7 major heart pounding that reverbates and vibrates through my whole body and my head. In addition i feel as though i have liquid goo sloshing in my head when i move it from side to side .90 % of the people who go on these drugs have no problem coming off but there are some including myself who don't tolerate these meds too well. oh yes and i know that anxiety does play role. you need to be careful with your meds . i am considering going on an ssri like a paxil. i have been tested for everything at ucla including dysautonomia. everything is negative. my brain is firing incorrectly and i am hoping that one day it things get back to normal. hope things get better for you. if you need to drop me a line u can e-mail me at ***@****. thanks Johnny
Sorry to hear what you are going through. I can relate as i have been experiencing the same things going on 28 months. to give you a brief history, i went to see my doc regarding some heart palpitatons i was having. She precribed generic xanax. I had no idea what it was but i took them because i trusted my doc. while on the drugs i found myself coming up with the craziest symptoms. i started to get muscle twitches everywhere, ringing in my ears, vibrations in my head. i went to my doc and she told me to continue taking the xanax. well before you know it i was up to 4 mg a day and i still had no idea what the drugs were and my symptoms were getting horrible. after a month i thought i was going nuts and i finally went back to my doc and she prescibed lexapro not knowing what lexapro was. well things were getting worse and worse. i finally did some research online and found out what xanax and lexapro were. i was furious and told my doc that had she informed me what they were that i would never have gotten on them. i had became an accidental addict and was going throught interdose withdrawals mainly from the xanax. i wanted off the drugs and she basically told me to stop and that i should have no problems as i had not been on them that long(2 moths total). Big mistake. In additon to the symptoms above i now have sunburn and electric shock sensations, pins and needles, vertigo and constant feeling of being on a boat and 24/7 major heart pounding that reverbates and vibrates through my whole body and my head. In addition i feel as though i have liquid goo sloshing in my head when i move it from side to side .90 % of the people who go on these drugs have no problem coming off but there are some including myself who don't tolerate these meds too well. oh yes and i know that anxiety does play role. you need to be careful with your meds . i am considering going on an ssri like a paxil. i have been tested for everything at ucla including dysautonomia. everything is negative. my brain is firing incorrectly and i am hoping that one day it things get back to normal. hope things get better for you. if you need to drop me a line u can e-mail me at ***@****. thanks Johnny
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