Internal vibration sensation - caused by stress??
Posted , 91 users are following.
I've found several forums where there have been posts from people experiencing this disconcerting feeling of an internal quivering or vibration but none of them are current, so I wanted to see if anyone else out there is having the same experience and can share an insight into what might be causing it.
I started to get this feeling of internal vibration when I was mainly lying in bed and then occasionally if I shifted position it might last for 30 seconds or so before disappearing. That was about 8 months ago. Now I feel it every night and during the day as well quite often. The other day after a short walk of a few hundred yards followed by a period of standing still it felt like the ground was vibrating because it was in my feet. It seems to move around to different areas of the body - sometimes I feel it in my legs, an arm, torso - it's quite random but often felt when I've shifted position in bed. At first I thought it was circulatory but now I think it's probably neurological. I thought I was having palpitations but an ECG showed nothing abnormal. I've also had a full spine & brain MRI as I've been having other strange symptoms of occasional numbness and sensations of burning and cold areas of my arms/hands and legs/feet and a sore tongue which comes and goes and often feels like I've just cleaned my teeth with menthol toothpaste when I haven't. I thought I had all the signs of MS, but it hasn't been diagnosed. I've also had a number of blood tests for immune issues, evoked potentials and nerve conductivity tests. Nothing! The MRI does show a lot of wear to my cervical vertebrae and two anterior spondylolisthesis - one cervical, one lumbar, so I wonder if my spinal issues could be the cause. My neurologist was doubtful. He also couldn't explain the vibration sensation except to say that it can be caused by a migraine, which I certainly haven't had.
I just don't know where to go with this now. My GP isn't interested and puts everything down to stress which I AM under it's certainly true to say, but I don't think she's right. I've had to pay for all my neuro investigations as a result because she won't refer me or do any more blood tests etc. I'm trying homeopathy, osteopathy and acupuncture as I want to find something that will relieve these weird symptoms and prefer to avoid drugs if I can.
I'm 58, eat reasonably heathily, no alcohol, only 1 cup of coffee a day and my weight is normal. I broke my wrist badly at the end of August last year which is when my problems all seemed to start. i
I also wonder if the metal plate that was used to fix the fracture could be causing some kind of strange reaction.
If anyone else is having these symptoms please let me know if you've been able to identify the cause and how to deal with it.
7 likes, 240 replies
studavey Sally4Edgar
Posted
nope i dont get a watery eye. but i have for a while now got migraine with aura, insane headaches, massive sweats after weird arrythmia of heart, various insane sensory things.
nervous system under stress, no idea of cause, these are just expressions of it in my view
studavey Sally4Edgar
Posted
its so mental, i honestly think the bodily anxiety is cause by nerve hyperexctiability inadvertently triggering adrenaline release at the most inappropriate moments. horrible
emilio85511 Sally4Edgar
Posted
I've got the same internal vibration/quiver, almost exclusively when I'm laying down just about fully asleep and almost always find it whenever I wake up. So that means I don't know if I'm quivering while I'm sleeping. I would say I do have anxiety, related to work and health. I know for certain the internal vibrations have never occurred during and specific episode of anxiety. It seems to come about all on its own. If it is possible for the internal vibrations to come about by simply suffering from anxiety in general, then I'm okay with that, because I can work on my anxiety. But if I were to find that the vibrations would have to occur during a specific bout of anxiety or panic, in order to diagnose the vibrations as anxiety related, then I'm worried. I've never had the vibrations during a specific tense moment or anxiety episode. Can any one confirm the correlation?
jsm33 Sally4Edgar
Posted
Hello ;
I feel the same symptoms , especially when I lay down and close my eyes, it feel like my body is shaking and full of electricity , I wake up in the morning and feel lightheaded and anxious . Sometimes I feel my chest tight and discomfort. I stated using Medical Cannabis specially at night to help me relax and sleep but even when am relax at night still feels the vibrations. This really sucks this symptoms stated like a year ago and it looks like it will never be the same. i hope it goes away one day and I can be the same person again .
I wish the best to everyone.
Cristabell49 jsm33
Posted
So sorry the Cannabis did not work for you. Have you tried Melatonin? It seems to help me fall asleep more quickly and stay asleep through the night, but alas, it does not quell the internal quivering and shaking I experience every morning when I am just waking up. I think it must be related to anxiety/depression, and I feel it could be caused by a rush of adrenaline and other stress hormones that are secreted into the blood stream upon awakening. It's just a theory, but I have been living with it for several years, and have yet to find a remedy.
Best of luck, and hope it goes away one day soon!
mary56368 Sally4Edgar
Edited
I started getting tingling in my left leg which I just ignored to start. Then I started getting intense vibrations in my abdomen, then up my spine and into my brain. Also for the first month I had a lot of weakness of my arms and feet and lots of burning sensations along my spine and across shoulders. That is less now - although I still feel like I can't control my feet so well. Now I have mostly loud tinnitus and this pressure/vibration in my brain, sometimes spine, then this is intense vibration in my left abdomen and most of the time the tingling in my left leg. MRI of brain all fine. Still going to have MRI of my spine. All Drs say its stress related. But yes, for me its also worrying and stressful. Its been mostly non-stop now for just over 2 months. I often feel like my days are numbered. I swing from trying to really accept that it might be stress related and want to do just good things for myself, to feeling like I need to find out whats wrong by googling endlessly or think I should book myself into hospital to have more tests. Does anyone also have this brain/spinal cord tingling/vibrating and the tinnitus, like I do?
stella50250 mary56368
Edited
omg i have all those symptoms as well and tinnitis! mine isnt loud until
after i eat and it gets really loud even though i can hear everything around me. i have terrible migraines/headaches/dizziness especially after i eat mostly anything and i feel that constant buzzing all over my body. i get numb and tingling and sometimes really cold or hot feet. its driving me crazy and im only 37. ive seen multiple docs and i still have more lined up. its making me stress out more so than ever and im thinking about going on medical leave due to my problems. i broke down to the GI doctor because im incredibly frustrated and scared
Njc65 stella50250
Posted
Hi,
yes, I have wretched tinnitus, the ringing and the pulsing one, plus ear fullness and pressure as well as the internal vibrations, shakiness and buzzing feeling. it is in my chest and abdomen as well as legs, hands, eyes......everywhere! I have muscle twitches and numbness also. sometimes my fingers move on their own, but that has been the only visible manifestations of an otherwise invisible symptom .
it started with painful contractions in my calf muscles and then evolved into the symptoms above, amongst others. I have no reason to believe it is stress or anxiety related and, when I was seeing a GP, they weren't investigated as such.
my "vibrations" are worsened by exercise, which makes sense, and any situation that might cause a faint tingling, like sneezing, or cold, or listening to beautiful music, cause a much more prolonged response.
it is frustrating, distracting and complicates life.
Njc65 stella50250
Posted
....and they have been going on constantly, day and night since early July after a period of acute illness and fatigue. And yes, I have had two ocular migraines in that time, but never previously in over 50 years.
Sally4Edgar mary56368
Posted
I'm sorry to hear you're experiencing all this. Has your spinal MRI shown up anything that could be causing it?
To give you and others here some hope, for the last six months or so my vibration sensations and other odd skin sensations have virtually ceased. i'm not doing anything different - still not getting enough sleep, taking the same meds, no change to my diet or anything obvious when it comes to reduced or increased stress. I have no explanation as to why normality has returned just as I've no idea of the cause other than to believe it's due to an overstimulated nervous system and maybe a high level of cortisol. So it's possible your symptoms could lessen in time like mine have. Thank you for sharing and I hope you'll find things improve.
louise16695 Sally4Edgar
Edited
Sally4Edgar
Were you under drugs/general anesthetic for your wrist op?
Louise
Sally4Edgar louise16695
Posted
Hi Louise,
Yes I had a general anaesthetic and a nerve block in my arm when they fixed my broken wrist with the plate.
louise16695 Sally4Edgar
Edited
Hi Sally 😊
A few more questions for you - if you don't mind...?
Are you still experiencing the internal vibrations? (I experience mine 24/7). And did you or do you suffer from a/any balance disorders along with them? Have you been assessed by a dizziness and balance centre/expert or therapist? Those symptoms you have could be mild vertigo that could be treated/'cured' with the Epley Maneuver etc maybe?
I was recently diagnosed with something called PPPD (Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness) and one of the side-effects or symptoms is internal rocking/swaying sensation or vibrations.
I've been trying to piece together my situation since I had my ACL reconstruction and arthroscopy surgeries - in the last 2 years, and I've also asked around in the facebook groups that I belong to (one called chronic subjective dizziness & PPPD) to see if anybody's experience was like mine = if this all started happening to them since surgery or some kind of treatment/drug/general anesthetic (yes, dentistry too) and a lot of them came back to me saying YES! So they all reported back as saying yes after their c-sections, gall bladder removals, dental work etc. So my feeling is that this is a neurological thing - but brought on probably by the drugs (and the high trauma/stress to our bodies from surgery) affecting our nervous systems and sending them into overdrive.
I'm going to see an acupuncturist today for some acupuncture done via the scalp and I've told him the story of what's happened to me (the anesthetics during multiple surgeries, domestic abuse, Crohn's disease for 18 years (ie given LOTS of iv steroids) and I'm going to see if he can help me with my internal vibrations, balance issues and chronic fatigue. I read that this form of acupuncture has really helped people with tremors, so I'm going to see if it may help with internal tremors too. I'm trying to exhaust every avenue and if it helps, I want to share it with as many people as possible - because these symptoms are a nightmare and if we can help each other and help spread the word if we find something effective as a treatment, then hopefully more and more people can feel better sooner 🙏❤
Louise.
AnxiousEshhh Sally4Edgar
Posted
I definitely get the internal vibration feeling, especially when I am in bed. Sometimes I even feel like my teeth are quivering. I feel it mostly when I wake up in the morning or when I am trying to fall asleep at night. I often feel these numb, tingly, burning sensations in my arms/hands, feet and legs as well. I know how awful it is. I've been to my GP so many times and had so many tests including a brain MRI done but everything comes back fine. Do you ever feel off balanced by any chance? I hope you feel better soon, I know how hard it really is.
Sally4Edgar AnxiousEshhh
Posted
Oh yes, my balance is really poor! I'm easily the worst in my yoga and Pilates classes, while those older than me don't seem to have anywhere near as much difficulty. Sounds like we have many of the same symptoms in common so thank you for sharing. Do you have a lot of stress/anxiety in your life?
AnxiousEshhh Sally4Edgar
Posted
That is so interesting, especially because my balance has been off for roughly two months now and it's causing me so much stress. We do seem to have a lot of similar symptoms. I am currently waiting on an appointment with a nerve specialist because I am willing to try anything but I have a feeling that everything will come back fine, which is good but at the same time it leaves me not knowing where to go from there. I have quite a lot of stress and anxiety in my life, so I am beginning to believe it may be what is causing all this, but the physical symptoms have definitely caused me to develop a panic disorder. Thank you for your post and reply, although I am sad that you are experiencing all this, at least we know we are not alone. I wish you all the best.