Help Brain tremors inside my head causing severe sleep depreviation
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I cannot sleep.... the moment I attempt to fall asleep it's almost as though a something gets released and I start feeling Tremors inside my head these tremors are very annoying very strong they stay with me I can barely fall asleep and then when I do it's very lucid dreaming at the most I wake up within 45 minutes to an hour and the tremors are still there. I also have very intense jerks when I try to fall asleep with the tremors nothing seems to stop the tremors. During the day my brain feels like it's not working correctly at all feels very Spacey surreal....just to give you a background on what's been going on with me I am 46 years old I had a full hysterectomy 6 weeks ago within days of my hysterectomy I started getting severe headaches I was concerned after 5 days of having these headaches I called my doctor and they got back with me and said they forgot to tell me about my hormone patch that was sitting at a pharmacy that I don't even go to so I got on Miniville estrogen after several days in the meantime my vision was also blurry and I started feeling very surreal foggy and unusual brain tingling pains electrical zaps and a type of mental decline. Honestly it felt like I was coming down with Dementia or something. I felt like every single day my brain was either under attack with an infection or I was losing some of my cognitive abilities. I also started having trouble sleeping shortly after this.... having trouble falling asleep waking up with tremors in my head couple weeks ago and then last week I had a stressful week and started getting the Tremors before I fell asleep not just after I woke up I did not sleep for 4 days solid. Went to the ER because everyone was closed for Christmas they sent me home with Ambien... tried that and it did not work already tried Benadryl it did not work tried melatonin it did not work try breathing exercises it did not work. At best right now I am getting maybe an hour asleep at night usually about 45 minutes. Like I said the brain Tremors are inside my head and to be clear my head does not Shake itself just inside and I'm getting lots of jerks muscle spasms with my body that wake me up immediately...then wake up and my blood pressure goes through the roof my normal blood pressure is 110 over 60 lately my blood pressure after I wake up is 170/100. I cannot figure this out I have tried different hormones over the last couple weeks nothing is working I don't even know if it's hormone-related. I went to the doctor he ordered an MRI gave me lorazepam that's not working either but it does make the Tremors feel softer. I am very concerned lately I am actually scared to even fall asleep because of the nightmares and jerks that immediately ensuing wake me up. Just wanting to know if anyone has ever gone through anything like this very scary thank you for anyone's time or advice it is appreciated.
3 likes, 54 replies
lily65668 Proudmom
Edited
So sorry to hear you're going through all this. I'm not banging the drum here but I think it's relevant to mention I'm a former neuro nurse.
What you're describing is all symptomatic of severe anxiety. And severe anxiety is unfortunately one of the immediate after-effects of hysterectomy for quite a lot of women. Some sail through it with no ill-effects at all but for many others this can be a difficult time. I could wish that gynaecologists would warn women about this possible consequence, but I know their answer: "If we start warning women, they'll all imagine they're getting these symptoms".
I'm glad to see you're going to have an MRI - not because I believe you have a neurological condition, but just as a precaution and also to reassure you.
I'd suggest avoiding the Ambien (zolpidem) altogether. In my experience, it often causes more problems than it solves! By all means continue with the lorazepam if it helps a little, but bear in mind it's in the benzo group. Taking it for more than a month (more than two weeks in some cases) can lead to dependency, with worsening of the anxiety symptoms on withdrawal. Keep the dose as low as possible.
Try and wait this one out, while being kind to yourself. I know how upsetting the disruption to your sleep can be. (I've suffered from a variety of sleep disorders all my adult life, which have led to hallucinations, sleep-walking and all sorts.) Neither the dreams nor the tremors nor any other sleep-related symptoms will do you any harm. Unfortunately you've got yourself into a vicious circle at the moment. As you say, you're scared to fall asleep, which in turn generates more anxiety and more symptoms, leaving you even more scared to go to sleep the following night. (And yes, I've been there too!)
Proudmom lily65668
Posted
Thank you so much for your reply. Last night I did try lorazepam and combined took it with some melatonin did get about 3 hours sleep which was awesome! I also wanted to mention that I am autoimmune Hashimoto's thyroid I take synthroid and I have been for 10 years .I am cautious and not really a pill taker normally so this is a big change for me but at this point I just need to sleep because it is causing my blood pressure to rise due to the sleep deprivation and increasing the anxiety I'm sure.
Waiting to hear on the MRI on tuesday to see if that gives me any clue on the bazaar headaches high-pitched ringing in my ears and blurry vision issues as well I should find out soon please stay around if you can I really appreciate your Insight I have never gone through anything like this before ....you were so helpful and calming ...thank you for taking the time to listen and reply you are a blessing
on the bright side I have lost 12 pounds in 7 days.
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lily65668 Proudmom
Edited
Glad to hear you managed to get a little sleep last night. Once you've convinced yourself that you can sleep, it often breaks the spell. Though don't get too downhearted if you have another couple of bad nights. Restoring normal sleep is a long process, and it's usually a case of two steps forward one step back.
I don't think your Hashimoto's in itself would be causing your sleep problem. However, it could be that since the hormonal changes that would have happened after your surgery, your thyroid function has changed. Some of the symptoms you describe could fit with hyperthyroidism, in which case your dose of synthroid might have to be reduced, at least for the time being. I'm assuming you've been getting regular blood tests for TSH and T4 since your surgery, as well as reproductive hormones. Even if you were put on HRT, your reproductive hormone balance will still have changed, as the hormones in HRT aren't identical to your own natural production. This might be having a knock-on effect on your thyroid hormone output. I'd advise getting this checked again, even if it was done at the time of surgery.
Interesting that you have an auto-immune condition. I do too - Sjogren's in my case, which also affects my thyroid. However, I only have to take a low maintenance dose (50mcg) of levo-thyroxine, which I believe is the European equivalent of synthroid.
Good for you for not wanting to take too many drugs! I'm the same, having seen too many of the side-effects. I don't count levo-thyroxine as it's only a synthetic replacement for something my body doesn't make enough. However, I recently had to cave in and start regularly using a steroid inhaler for the asthma that's been creeping up on me for the past couple of years. (Another of the gifts of Sjogren's.) I was very resistant to this at first, but earlier this year my doctor started issuing dire warnings about how even lifelong non-smokers like me could still develop COPD due to untreated long-term inflammation of the lungs. I must say that concentrated my mind!
Stay as positive as you sound right now and be patient. Six weeks is still early days after a full hysterectomy so it's not surprising you're having problems. I suspect your hormones - reproductive and otherwise - are all over the place right now, and that's what's causing your symptoms.
Proudmom lily65668
Edited
Hello. Lily Not so good news I did not get any sleep last night again I was awake the entire night it all started when I was at a family member's house 10 o'clock came and all the sudden the trebling started in my brain as soon as as that started I started getting ringing in my ears which is typical when they start feel my blood pressure start to rise so I told my husband I wanted to go home when I got home I lay down from 10 until 6 everytime I start to doze off a jolt of energy or movement will wake me up probably my blood pressure it seems as though my mind does not want me to sleep it's so scary I woke up this morning exhausted from not sleeping again. I was having some stage one sleep for a few moments hallucinating while awake and then instantly wake up. Like my body forgot how to fall asleep or doesn't know how or doesn't want to. I am so sad about this right now I thought I had seen some light at the end of the tunnel but it was just a mirage.
Proudmom lily65668
Edited
Lily I also wanted to let you know what really has me nervous is that my blood pressure Rises as soon as I try to go to sleep it gets really high last night it was running around 159 / 114 like I said previously before this surgery my blood pressure was almost always 110/60 ish. I cannot seem to get past stage 1 sleeping this is literally the worst thing I've ever been through in my entire life. I am at a loss for words.
lily65668 Proudmom
Posted
Sorry to hear that but like I said, getting over a phase of sleeping difficulties is always two steps forward one step back. You had seen light at the tunnel the other night when you managed to get some sleep. It's just that it comes and goes in the early days, and sometimes you'll feel like you're back to square one for a while.
Hang in till your MRI. I'm pretty sure it won't show anything but it might give you some reassurance. And you really need to discuss your high BP with your doctor. It's natural for anxiety to raise the systolic but the high diastolic suggests to me that something else might be going on. Is the 24-hour test available where you live - the one where you wear a monitor at home for a whole day and it periodically takes your BP? I still suspect your altered hormones (or possibly even a reaction to the HRT) are at least partly implicated. Are you seeing a general doctor as well as the gynaecologist and neurologist? Specialists often tend to focus just on their own area of expertise rather than seeing the patient as a whole?
I know this is all very upsetting but try and stay as calm as you can. Getting in a panic is the best way to make all your symptoms worse.
Proudmom lily65668
Posted
Yes I have a GP all of these severe symptoms has been occurring over Christmas and New Year's but I still have had a lot of the symptoms since my surgery over six weeks ago . Where can I get a 24-hour test like at a pharmacy or store? I also have a high-pitched ringing or tinnitus sound when my blood pressure is running High lots of tension pressure in trembling in my head. I'm also getting the jerks as soon as I start to fall asleep and then we wake up again...
lily65668 Proudmom
Posted
I don't know how things work in the US, but in Europe or the UK the 24-hour test can only be ordered by a GP. In any case, it doesn't provide a cure so there's no immediate urgency about it.
Please try and calm down a bit, or you risk driving your blood pressure even higher. This will pass, or at least improve, if you can only ride out this storm of anxiety. You're not going to die.
Proudmom lily65668
Posted
Thank you for you support...it certainly is feeling like I could literally die from this. I'll take child birth any day over this many times over. Worst day today pressure in brain feeling like I can't turn it off and it's exploding in my head. My head is fighting to keep me awake at all cost.
lily65668 Proudmom
Posted
Just sorry that your gynaecologist didn't prepare you better for the possible short-term effects of hysterectomy. But they rarely do, in my experience. It's not a very major operation as surgeries go, but the general hormonal and emotional effects in the aftermath can be devastating. Even women who really looked forward to their hysterectomy as a way of relieving their symptoms can be struck by the emotional effects.
You will get over all this. In the meantime, I would reiterate that you should be getting your TSH and T4 blood levels (thyroid function) checked every couple of months at the moment, to make sure your body isn't over-reacting to synthroid in its current state of upheaval. It may also be that you need to try out several different HRT formulations before you find the one that suits you. Worst-case scenario is that none of them will suit you. That's very rare, but it can happen and some women just have to go cold turkey on the menopause. Incidentally, that's what I did - though it was by choice and following a natural menopause - and 30 years down the line from then I'm absolutely fine!
Try to do something calming before you go to bed, and don't get in a panic if you don't get to sleep or if your body throws a few jerks and spasms. The more anxious you get about all this, the worse it will get. You'll feel exhausted and ill while you're going through this period, but it won't kill you and you'll eventually get back to normal.
borderriever Proudmom
Posted
We are in the throws of New Years Eve so you cannot do anything until Tuesday/Wednesday.
Try and relax, take it easy
Happy New Year
BOB
Proudmom borderriever
Posted
eleanor20461 Proudmom
Edited
Hi, have just started with tremors in my head that are so fast and persistent I have to be exhausted and taking a sleeping tablet to get to sleep which looks like being every other day now. The problem is sleeping tablets loose their effectiveness over time. Its my quetiapine (anti psychotic) that's doing it. I can put my hear on the pillow for a short while before the tremors start and it makes me frightened and desparate.
Kathryn226 Proudmom
Edited
Hi, I really hope your better now, I'm hoping you might be able to help as im going through the same thing and i am totally terrified. The only difference is that the tremors are in my body, arms and chest and not my head and i haven't had a hysterectomy but I am still breastfeeding a bit and started bleeding mid cycle so I'm wondering if it could be hormone related. I just can't sleep because every time I relax and try to sleep the jerking, muscle spasms, twitching and tremors start and it's torture! I'm so so scared and the doctors say they can't do anything except refer me to a neurologist but that will take months and it's getting worse every night. I'm so tired and weak my muscles hurt and the twitching is all day now. I'm desperate for it to go away I feel broken and terrified I'm dying from some horrible disease
LyLy Kathryn226
Edited
I have the same symptoms also in my brain, it's scary makes me very exhausted. Sometimes I think I might have a seizure with all these vibrations and tremors. Have you figure out what is causing this?