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

I am desperate for answers!

I've been battling this sleep disturbance for about a year now. I'm a 35 y/o female that works out and eats healthy, healthy weight and blood work checks out just fine.

My experiences sound just like yours. I close my eyes to fall asleep and just as I'm about to pass out i get this sudden surge that rushes to my head. Only lasting but a second long, I immediately wake up to grab onto something to "ground" myself and control my breathing as it FREAKS me out. Sometimes, ill subconsciously feel my head twitch and then the ZAP wakes me up. This is such a sick cycle that is actually causing me to have anxiety.

Anyone receive help for this??

I’ve been dealing with this since April of 2020 and I have to say I haven’t seen much positive progress of it from my side….I’ve learned how to deal with it more and manage it a little bit better but there still very much there. The second I slip into unconsciousness for sleep…ZAP! That surge rushes through my head…unfortunately now it radiates through different party’s of my body and hits my heart area sometimes. It’s scary. I have a lot of anxiety before going to sleep now. I noticed when I drink And get drunk and fall asleep I NEVER get the zaps. That tells me one thing…that it could be all in my head with anxiety and depression. Obviously I can’t drink every night to avoid them. I wonder if anyone is smoking weed at night to alleviate them? That’s an option I was considering to try…but weed makes me very paranoid and I’m afraid it might get worse. I’m sorry you are going through this….it’s really difficult to understand to people who don’t experience it. Sometimes I’m frightened to even go to sleep. I’m afraid if it happens that one zap will kill me. I am also desperate for answers. Haven’t found nothing yet.

I’ve been dealing with this since April of 2020 and I have to say I haven’t seen much positive progress of it from my side….I’ve learned how to deal with it more and manage it a little bit better but there still very much there. The second I slip into unconsciousness for sleep…ZAP! That surge rushes through my head…unfortunately now it radiates through different party’s of my body and hits my heart area sometimes. It’s scary. I have a lot of anxiety before going to sleep now. I noticed when I drink And get drunk and fall asleep I NEVER get the zaps. That tells me one thing…that it could be all in my head with anxiety and depression. Obviously I can’t drink every night to avoid them. I wonder if anyone is smoking weed at night to alleviate them? That’s an option I was considering to try…but weed makes me very paranoid and I’m afraid it might get worse. I’m sorry you are going through this….it’s really difficult to understand to people who don’t experience it. Sometimes I’m frightened to even go to sleep. I’m afraid if it happens that one zap will kill me. I am also desperate for answers. Haven’t found nothing yet.

I suffered from Lyme disease in 2013 and it took me a year to recover. In 2019, I was diagnosed with IBS and began having similar symptoms as you. I suspect my Lyme symptoms returned as a result of the new illness. I recovered for 2020, but the same condition has now returned in 2021. This summer, I began feeling extreme fatigue, possibly from the jolting feeling you describe. I have the tinnitus in my left ear, too. My mouth tends to be very dry and sometimes I have a metallic taste. Sometimes I awake with palpitations. It leads to a sick feeling all over. Sometimes I feel as if my chest and throat will seize up. I have the tingling and pulsing sensations in my arms and legs. Occasional twitching. My doctor placed me on metronidazole and ciprofloxacin for elevated PSA and white blood cell count, so I know the antibiotics are rough, but the symptoms predated those medicines. The nervous jolting feeling when I sleep started as I got worse during the summer. The tinnitus before that. I can't help but believe the IBS is unrelated to this. When I receive B12 shots, it goes away for about a day. When I received IV fluids from the ER, I felt perfectly normal the next day before relapsing. If it is the phantom Lyme symptoms, I don't know if it can be helped, which is worrying. I do know the shot of Ativan the ER gave me knocked me out and I can generally sleep without interference if I take acetominophen. But during the day, the fatigue still returns. I hope this might help.

Just wanted everyone to know I’ve had several check ups lately and the doctor can’t find exactly what it is that’s causing my zapps…However, there is something concerning I have to report. As I’ve said before the zaps have now gone to the point where it’s radiating near my heart area every single night now…Having said that I had a stress test done and and echocardiogram test done and the doctor has said that there is slight damage to my heart. It’s not bad to where my heart can’t function but it’s bad enough to be concerned about it. There was mild LAE, T-Mild TR…there is moderate increases wall thickness…and the left atrium is dilated….I never had issues before I started having these problems… I don’t mean to scare anyone but these are results and facts of my recent test. I still continue to get my zapps every single night. Probably around 4-5 zapps a night. They happen more often when I lay in certain positions. It happens a lot when I lay on back…anyway…I hope we can get this thread more talkative and more discussions on here from now on.

This all started months ago. Firstly Tinnitus in my left ear mainly. Months of tests and nothing unusual.. i still have the "jolts" at night until i take a sleeping tablet. If i don't take a pill i wont sleep. I was worried about having to get a brain scan but after reading this thread i see there's many in the same boat. From what i have read of your replies it seems as if it has something to do with Antidepressants. I went on them for a month and then stopped abruptly, which i know the doctor said not to stop suddenly but i hate taking pills. I went back on them and i still get the Zapp" or Hipnic Jerk" at nights. It's like the damage has already been done. Bow i only take a sleeping tablet at night or i wont sleep. I have never liked Antidepressants but i tried them because of my depression. I think the pills starved my brain of Dopamine and now my brain is starving for the right balance. let me know if anyone comes up with a cure.

I have never been so happy to finally find this discussion. I have been experiencing similar issues for the past month or so and it appears to be getting worse, or at least more frequent. It sometimes wakes me up with what I can only describe as mild brain 'zaps' but it feels like the point of origin is my eyes. It's very strange and though I have mentioned it to Drs in the past I have gotten no real help with it. I have an appt this coming Monday to really talk more about it and hopefully get some answers or at least set up for some tests. It's very unsettling, to the point lately where I kind of dread going to sleep. Scares me too I have to say, fearing it might lead to in terms of a seizure or even a stroke. I am 58, taking meds for high bp and cholesterol and have had afib in the past. Despite that I do exercise, eat well, drink moderately and do not smoke but I suspect this is anxiety related, something more difficult to deal with than anything else really.

Hi, have you ever found out te cause of all this yet?

I am presently experiencing this weird electrical shock wave and it is very painful. I am surprised that others don't find it painful. I can't sleep and I have taken several sleeping pills but to no avail...I am presently trying out some walking exercises within my home just to get tired enough...One interesting thing I have noticed with my own experience is that it becomes noticeable worse whenever I approach the area of my house where the electricity Mains is located. I don't know if it has to do with the fact that perhaps my home is not wired with an Earth wire to the ground. This is really terrible, I feel like I am dying...Can someone please suggest any fast remedy before I overdose myself with sleeping pills