1. Community
  2. Symptoms
  3. Sleep Problems

Electric/Energy surge to brain when trying to fall asleep.

Posted , 373 users are following.

GD10
GD10

Hi guys, I'm new to the site but glad I found somewhere to share my symptoms.

I'm getting a sort of electrical shock when trying to fall asleep. This electrical shock seems to be described on other sites as 'jumps' or 'zaps' or 'surges of energy'. It happens not when I'm sleeping but the moment I am about to fall asleep. Its like a sort of butterflies feeling in the stomach and then a rush/surge of energy to the brain which gives you a 'jump' and electrical feeling in the head and sometimes upper body. The more extreme they are sometimes produce a twitch in maybe the arm or leg. Its not painful but I guess is quite scary when it happens. These can happen numerous times a night.

Many friends/family I have spoken to say this is normal and they are familiar with the symptoms (I understand what they mean as it can be quite similar to when you suddenly wake from a bad dream) but mine seem to be a lot more often and extreme. I know my symptoms don't seem to be normal.

I've been having these for about 5-6 weeks now (some nights are worse than others) but generally its been more or less every night. This has turned into a vicious cycle because when you actually close your eyes at night to go to sleep you are actually waiting for the 'shock' to happen instead of trying to sleep. Obviously the less sleep you have, the less functional you are the next day and so on and so on. You then get sleep deprived which I believe also may trigger this.

The only other thing I can add to my symptoms is sometimes during the day I get a spaced out/empty/dizzy/cloudy feeling in the head (hard to explain). Sometimes this can turn into a sort of brain/head sensation where you feel you need to kind of 'shake it off'. Again, its hard to explain, something like if you have restless feet and you need to kick out of it but its in the head so you need to give yourself a shake to snap out of it.

I have read quite a bit about anxiety/stress and these symptoms may fall into this category but the issue I have with this, is that I have nothing to be anxious/stressful about! All is OK with job, money, house, relationship etc so I'm not sure how this all started. Could I be anxious about this illness? Again, a vicious cycle?

About me - I'm a fit and healthy 35 year old guy. I actually exercise quite a lot (go to gym/swim 4 times a week and have run numerous marathons over the past year). Although this fitness regime has stopped since I have started having these symptoms as I am feeling quite weak/tired due to not getting much sleep due to it. I have no major prior illnesses and I am not on any medication. I don't want to get in the habit of taking sleep medication.

I have been to the hospital and spent the night where they performed numerous blood tests/Heart ECG/X Rays/Urine and all came back OK. The only issue I had was slightly high blood pressure (but not high enough to be put on any medication). I have also been for an MRI scan and EEG epilepsy test. I will find the results with these in about 5 weeks time.

Anyway, that's my symptoms and hopefully someone might feel at ease that they are going through something similar.

Reading similar posts on the internet I don't think anyone has come to the conclusion on what in fact is causing these problems, even though a lot of the people actually been for tests and seen doctors. Has anyone experienced these issues?

Thanks guys, feel free to get in touch smile

27 likes, 695 replies

695 Replies

Prev Next
  • Andalso
    Andalso GD10

    Posted

    Hi, I don't know if this should mean anything, but I've had the same symptoms and I've recently been diagnosed with something called WPW-syndrome, werner parkinson white syndrome is a situation where your heart is shocking itself too much as a result of an extraneous connection between the heart bosom and the heartchaimber that excretes the blood back into said stream.

    It basically means that when the heart is collecting blood it is trying to eject it at the same time, because this extra connection between the two.

    I'm worried now, that they are singing it away using electricity, because basically; a shock in an already selfshocking system, like myself, could -I think- prove to have dire concequences. 

    Nevertheless, the specialists say that there's a lot of stuff they can't explain yet, and that it is going to be okey (próbably).

    The only thing that can go wrong, is that the shock they use to singe the extra nerve connection shut, is also transferring that electric shock to another part of the heart, now since I feel both brainshock and heartshock at the same damn time, I feel I'm at serious risk here.

    The two can be connected and thus collectively get the singing, heart and brain.

     

  • sally85877
    sally85877 GD10

    Posted

    I've had these painful brain zaps for 10 years. They started out

    of nowhere. I wasn't on any meds or anything. They happen any time I try to sleep. Day or night. As I fall asleep I get a painful

    shock at the base (occipital area ) of my head and it is more on

    the right side of my head. Sometimes I have had the pain travel down my arms and in my chest, but not very often. If I rouse

    myself from sleep, it stops, but starts again as I drift off to sleep again. I have it every night! It is very painful. I too have been to

    numerous doctors, sleep clinics, mri's, EKG's, Mayo clinic,

    chiropractors of different kinds, accupuncture, physical therapy. You name, I've just about been there. Nothing has helped. Im 58 and female. Im so tired of the pain and sleeplessness.

    • dawn19609
      dawn19609 sally85877

      Posted

      Wow Sally... I had to look at your name to be sure it wasn't my post that I put on here a while back! My situation is EXACTLY the same! I've had the brain zaps for about 5yrs now. Same thing with them starting out of nowhere. I wasn't on any meds either. It's "only" when I'm trying to fall asleep, never happens while I'm awake. I dread going to bed every night because of it. Only thing you didn't mention is if it ever causes an "adrenaline rush" at times. Some nights it doesn't but then other times it will set off this surge of junk throughout my body. It makes me feel like I just drank a cup of coffee or something. It's a very uncomfortable feeling and I absolutely hate it! I keep hoping this will stop, but after seeing you have had them for 10yrs it doesn't give me too much hope. I've also had every test imaginable (probably 5 times each) because I keep telling the doctors to try and figure out what the heck is causing them. Unfortunately the majority of doctors/specialists I've seen have either never heard of it, or if they have it's very limited exposure and they offer little to no help at all. I've tried just about all the supplements and even quite a few meds to try and help and nothing really stops them. It's just so weird that it's tied to the time of "drifting" off to sleep. It's like there's a transition from wakefulness to sleep that the electrical pathways are messed up with. Well if I ever find the solution I will try my best to come back here and let you know! I just had to write because your post hit very close to home with me. Take care.
    • shawn45888
      shawn45888 dawn19609

      Posted

      I went through the holidays with it happening everynight.It was getting worse.But I had messes up glasses,I have a bad astigmatism in both eyes.I could not sleep more than 2 hrs a night.I went to another eye doctor which gave me a new set of glasses in january.It took about 6 weeks to get used to the new prescription.But it gradually stopped.It hasn't happened in 3 weeks.If I had to take a guess of what it is,because the doctors don't have a clue,it would be nerve related. Be it strained eyes,nerve racked from problems,or just worrying yourself from it happening.It really was horrible,it was a very strong and uncomfortable feeling.
    • sally85877
      sally85877 dawn19609

      Posted

      Hello dawn19609, I've never really had an adrenaline

      rush. Just the painful shock like jolts in my head as I go to sleep and upon waking. The electrical pathways do seem to be messed up. I used to only get them when going to sleep, then about a year ago I started getting them upon waking also. I will sometimes have a headache when I get up. Im ok once I'm awake. My health is really starting to suffer though. My memory is being affected, and no energy. I ve tried diiferent meds but didnt like the side effects and was afraid of long term use. I do take benadryl almost every night to help me get to sleep. Im usually awake at 3 or 4am, then try to get back to sleep if I can. Please let me know if anything works for you, and I will do the same. Thank you. Im glad at least we are not alone. No one understands. Doctors have been no help at all.

    • must35488
      must35488 sally85877

      Posted

      sally and dawn hope this msg finds you both well. as i have felt more at  ease knowing that other people go through the same suffering, i thought of sharing and letting you know that i face the same symptoms as sally have described going on into my 3rd year now. but what i do hope more of is that if any one of us does find a break through, let us come back and share so we may help each other and others suffering of the same. for now, god bless and hope to hear from you in the future.

      regards,

    • dawn19609
      dawn19609 sally85877

      Posted

      Hi Sally & must35488, 

      I guess we can all find comfort in knowing it's not some "isolated" condition that we have. For a long time I thought I had some sort of brain disease that was plaguing me and that I may not live much longer, but thank goodness for forums like this that let us know it's not life threatening. It's definitely life-altering, but not as bad as it could be I guess. Sally, I wanted to clarify that I do get the brain zaps upon awakening too. It's usually when I'm just waking up but still groggy enough to drift off back to sleep. Sometimes the zaps are so strong in the early morning that I can't get back into a good sleep. It's right in that transition of wakefulness to sleep like I mentioned before. Once I'm up for the day I fine, although I fight fatigue, low energy, headaches just about every day too. I think not being able to sleep properly just doesn't allow the body to restore like it needs too. Most mornings I get out of bed thinking "how in world will I ever get through the day?".... but amazingly I manage to pull through. There are days though where I feel like I'm going to pass out from being so tired. I also take benedryl off and on. It definitely helps me get to sleep but doesn't always make me feel the best the next day. I get the bad hangover until mid-afternoon of the following day and don't like feeling all goofy-headed like that. The most recent sleep specialist I saw last month gave me 2mg of valium to try but I've had nasty experiernces with benzo's so I'm pretty afraid of them. They either mess with my heart, or end up giving me anxiety when I stop them. I never took one more then a few weeks. I keep praying something more natural will come along that can help. I am 50yrs old and post-menopausal and really think all these issues are rooted in hormonal imbalance. The low estrogen/progesterone can mess us all up too. I've tried bio-identical  hormone replacement and even that didn't set well with me. I had anxiety and mood swings something terrible so had to stop. That's been a few years ago so maybe I'll give it another shot. My endocrinologist wants me to try creams this time instead of pills. I feel like a constant science experiment! Ugh... well it's a sunny day here today and I'm thankful to be alive. All these struggles make you appreciate life on a whole new level. I long for the day of feeling like myself again, as I'm sure you do too. Let's keep praying and not give up hope. God bless you both!

    • must35488
      must35488 dawn19609

      Posted

      Hi dawn19609,

      just wanted to highlight that i am a male 38 years of age, so your process thinking should not take you in one specific direction of this being rooted in female hormonical imbalances only. however, i am sure as you mentioned it maybe causes for other body and mental imbalances( this is where i thank god i am male lol)( but at the same time you should be thanking god for being female, as us Men naturally have mental imbalances without these horminical effects anyway.. lol)

    • dave14099
      dave14099 dawn19609

      Posted

      this is very close to home for me. 1 year now and every night. you ever solve it ?

      dave

  • anamnesis
    anamnesis GD10

    Posted

    I have noticed that Patient is deleting quite a few posts on here including a couple of my own. When someone writes a long and detailed reply to someone in need of help, it is usually because they have experience of those particular symptoms and they have potential or outright answers. What the moderators may not understand is that by deleting useful information this could set back those who are suffering by YEARS. Mainstream science is a way off from admitting certain facts that actually, quantum science has been showing us verifiably i.e.science, for many years now. I am assuming this site is tied in some way with the allopathical industry, I could be wrong. But the health of humanity is in serious danger right now and it's about time we were 'allowed' to make our own minds up when presented with a wide, scientific and healthy debate on present findings.
  • anamnesis
    anamnesis GD10

    Posted

    I have noticed that Patient is deleting quite a few posts on here including a couple of my own. When someone writes a long and detailed reply to someone in need of help, it is usually because they have experience of those particular symptoms and they have potential or outright answers. What the moderators may not understand is that by deleting useful information this could set back those who are suffering by YEARS. Mainstream science is a way off from admitting certain facts that actually, quantum science has been showing us verifiably i.e.science, for many years now. I am assuming this site is tied in some way with the allopathical industry, I could be wrong. But the health of humanity is in serious danger right now and it's about time we were 'allowed' to make our own minds up when presented with a wide, scientific and healthy debate on present findings.
  • anamnesis
    anamnesis GD10

    Posted

    Also, I would urge those on here to check their proximity to wi-fi stations and other emf emitting devices. I have just had to have the two smart meters that my mum had installed, removed. I am electro-sensitive and during the first night had heart tremors, electrical impulses all over twitching muscles, had flashes of light in my peripheral vision, ringing ears. It was three nights of hell and not least because of the disbelief of my own mother. Why am I electro sensitive? 7 years ago, a combination of living in a flat with black mold and working in a studio with 10 high powered imacs. But that took me 7 years to work out and I know a lot about bio-electrics as a result. Hence my point in the last post.
  • clara15000
    clara15000 GD10

    Posted

    Hi ya I feel like saying omg. I have been having the same

    Experience. It's been going on for 3 years. I go to see the doctor

    He has no idea what to do. He now has given me 2ml diasipam

    Only 10 a month it's no help to me.

    I thought I was odd as when I tell family and friends they have

    No idea what I'm talking about.

    So to read this made me say allowed omg.

    I've been up all night as I don't want to go bed as I hate that

    Feeling of electrical paulse all over my body.

  • ibrahim22971
    ibrahim22971 GD10

    Posted

    Hi GD10. Did you find an the answer. I started experiencing the same symptoms lately. Just trying to find out what's going on..
  • susan95644
    susan95644 GD10

    Posted

    I was getting pains in my head and I had to scream and sit up in bed and they would stop.  Then they were in all different places in my body.  Last night I had surges going up through my body to my head, and I had to sit up to stop whatever would happen if I stayed lying down when it got to my head.  it happened once tonight already.  Yesterday I was looking up appendicitis because I was lying on my left side and felt a pain in my left side that went away when I sat up.  I don't have a fever or vomiting, but tonight I felt a pain in the lower right side of my abdomen.  Also, now my eyelids feel swollen, and all parts of my body feel swollen, including my abdomen, like when your stomach feels too full after you ate a lot.  I did eat a lot, but normally I can eat that much, but it seems now that I have a fatter stomach it hurts more when i eat.  I ate a lot of artichoke hearts for a couple of weeks, and now I am worried that they got stuck in a clum p by my appendix and aren't passing through me, so I don't want to eat a lot more artichokes.  It seemed to shrink the lower part of my abdomen, but the upper two thirds got fatter, so it sticks out over my pants, so I have to be careful to wear big enough shirts.  I just felt a rush, similar to the head rush, but in  my nose this time, and after I felt it, I now can breathe a lot easier.  The swelling in my face and around my eyes seems to have suddenly gone away.  My stomach is still fat, but it doesn't feel taught and swollen like it did just a few minutes ago, and I can move around without feeling stiff.  My fingers were also swollen earlier this evening...it's now 2:30 a.m., and they were swollen about 11:30 p.m., but now they are back to normal.  I ate a bunch of parsley when I noticed that my body was retaining water and my fingers even were swollen.  I guess it suddenly worked, and took the water out.  I don't know where the water went.  I don't have to urinate yet.  But I can breathe a lot easier than before.  I can't find the place to the right on my abdomen  that hurt before.  They say the pain can come and go with appendicitis.  I won't rule that out yet, entirely.  I'll just keep watching and looking up the symptoms to see how I feel.  How did it ever get to 2:29 so soon?  I must have been sleeping while I was reading stuff on the computer, because I can breathe really much easier than before.  Also, I took 5 mg. olanzapine at around 8:30 or 9:00 and I feel now the way it seems to make me feel which is like there is nothing the matter in the world.  I was thinking of skipping taking it for a few days, just to see if it wasn't masking some other aches and pains that are really there that are symptoms of something that needs treatment.  I ordered some pills that are supposed to help you lose weight in your stomach, and I took a couple of pills that are supposed to help you clean out your liver so you can lose weight, but I didn't have any self-control and I ate lots of breads and potatoes and macaroni salad that supposedly prevent you from losing weight while you are taking the pills that clean out your liver.  I think they even prevent the pills from being able to clean out your liver.  Now I'm getting sleepy, so I'm going to b ed.
    • Zeranon
      Zeranon susan95644

      Posted

      It has nothing to do with your food. It has nothing to do with appendicities. That's not it.

      What your experiencing is something we're all going through. What you need to do when you feel it coming on it take deep breaths untill the feeling goes away. That works for me. And I mean deep breaths.

Back to top
Prev Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.