Electric shock feeling in my head

[cbaker05]

Good evening!

I just had a very frightening symptom that I have never experienced before (at least not to the degree that I just did) but before I go into much detail I think I should give you all a little bit of background so you'll be better informed.

I am 51 year old and male. Although I do take a long walk each morning (and 25 pushups), I have continued to sit at this computer ALL day/EVERY day for about 7 years straight. I have hypertension (160/90 usually), anxiety attacks and some mild depression. I take Atenolol and Hydrochlorothiazide for the high blood pressure, xanax ("as needed") for my anxiety. I am by nature, a "type A" personality and am very easily irritated and often get impatient. I am also a work-a-holic.

Anyway, I was sitting at my computer earlier today eating a bag of salty pretzels and all of a sudden I get this really intense feeling like low-medium voltage/current going through my brain and I was getting dizzy. It was'nt as much like a "jolt" or "shock" but more like someone had implanted an electrode in my brain and then turned the current on for about 30 seconds. It felt "electric" and tingly inside my brain and I was VERY scared!!.

I've also had sensations from time to time (but not recently) where I get this feeling inside my brain/head like I am withdrawling form something but the thing is...I'm not addicted to anything. It kind of feels like the sensation you would get if you crossed your eyes for a few minutes and you get that dizzy/bug-eyed/spacey feeling, you know what I mean?. Sometimes my head just feels like it's going forward and I am about to momentarily lose consiousness (but not that bad).

Anyway, I don't know if these two sensations are related in anyway but I know when I got that tingly electrical feeling surging through my brain about an hour ago, I KNEW I was in trouble. I'm still reeling from it.

Can anyone tell me what this is or if it sounds familiar?. I just took a Xanax so I'm hoping it will go away but I'm not sure this was anxiety because it was REALLY freaky and scary. Come to think of it, I have had this sensation in the past but not very often. It continues to baffle me and I continue searching for answers.Did I just have a stroke?. Anxiety?. Side effects from meds?. Deep Vein Thrombosis (a clot) that went to my brain from sitting too long at the computer?. I'm totally stumped ???

Thank's in advance

[pmhoran]

Hi ... I am kind of new here too ... Welcome.

I am no expert ... but with the "electric" sensations you are describing I would suggest you see your PCP (General Practitioner, Primary Care Physician, Family Doc) and tell him/her what you are feeling.   It might have something to do with your blood pressure ... if its decided to start fluctuating randomly instead of remaining fairly constant.   OR ... maybe something to do with the inner ear.   If its the BP chances are they just have to make an adjustment to your meds ... and if its the inner ear maybe you just have a wax build up or a slight inflammation due to a cold or maybe an allergy going on.

My philosophy ... if something new shows up ... do not assume ... go to your doc and be honest & upfront about the new symptoms.   Let them tell you what it is.   Otherwise you could (pardon the expression) drive yourself nuts trying to think what it "might be".

JMHO
Peter

[twodogs]

Sometimes certain drugs (or withdrawl from them) can cause the "electric shock" sensation you describe. Other sites on the internet are full of people describing this exact same thing. When I was on Paxil many years ago, I also had these weird sensations that dissapeared shortly after the Paxil was discontinued. I'm not a doctor (not even on TV!) and I'm not saying that this is what's causing your electric shocks but it might be something you would want to look into(?).

I definately agree with pmhoran, you need to explain how you are feeling to your doctor. He or she is the only one who can really diagnose you and treat your underlying symptoms ;).

[MameyK]

I agree with the other posts on seeing your Doctor to rule out anything serious. But, I wanted to respond to the thread because today actually I had this exact thing happen to myself. I however am low on medications one of them being paxil and I think it is a side effect of withdrawl for myself anyhow. Good luck! K  ;)

[Emily]

I have also had this sensation occur.. it feels like you have a back massager on your head? It scares me too.. I was told it's the paxcil I take.. Keep us "posted"..

Emily

[anxietystricken]

I ave had this happen a few times and paniced..I thought it was a anurism or something...I went away...but sometimes I get it in my figer or small toe....weird

[deztynee]

Hi there! I have also had that "electric shock" feeling in my head before. I went to the doctor and have read several posts on the net and it was because of the medication I was on. I was cutting down on them and if you don't do it properly thats exactly whats going to happen. It scared me to death, but once I knew what it was and dealt with it properly it went away. I would check with the doctor and research the medication that you are on. Take care  :)

[-RED-]

growing up i get this rush down my back not alot "not constinant" but mom refered too it as someone walked on my grave.as i got older they stopped.out of blue i was in excelsior youth center n 1 day couldnt get up half my body refused too move.then i seem normal except head hurts.
ok age 18 i starten haven balance problems like everyone walking into me n i walk straight amoung other things like driven too store end up almost in denver along high way cant recall who or what i doing.then i was normal again.dr sceats in colorado said i got tumor n it dont bug me.said cant test tumor make sure not cancer cuz of location,i left very mad.over a few more years my tumor name went too cyst then arachnoid cyst "location cant be touched".so in 2004 my right side face got hot so i was slappen it hard.dr not listen "in enid okllhoma".then in family dollor with friends i started with this rushen fellen from head too fingures too legs too toes "somone walked on my grave" but this time i was twitchen and this went on for 30 min,my friensd laugh at me.then i started too get records and found out 1 neurologist i colorado that said nothen bothering me go see psych "head dr".but according too his notes i tested positive for hoffmans in upper extermities.
these "somone walked on my grave" r getten worse more longer each time,twitchen getten longer too.family dr sent me too the new neuro dr here too make sure i aint got ms.this neuro shoock my hand said i aint got it.charges alot for a 5 min talk and 30 min wait.of course i was mad again.this time my family dr was confsed why no test done.

my speech seems ok at times others is worse,my comphrension is very different day too day i seems.
redjoker1972@0201     if anyone can realate about dr's not caring now days,or symptoms the same.cuz of how i think i type so cant run spell check wants too fix too much where it make no since too me on what i saying

[sneakygirlamy]

I get the tingely sensations too, my head, arms, torso, and legs...I decided to cut the MSG out of my diet (gluten free) it's seems to help so far...

[angellore]

Hello! I have these electric shocks too. I get them if i eat much yeast, mushrooms, vinager (made with yeast) msg (made from yeast) and a little bit från wheat and other things like that (shares building blocks with yeast). I also get cracking joints from eating these things. For me, it is probably hashimoto's, i am attacking what i eat and also at the same time the thyroid when i eat these things which makes my joints crack. I am not sure if the brain "shocks" also are because of attacking of the thyroid or if it is something i do at the same time. It also probably has a link to a candida overgrowth and yeast sensiticity for me since candida shares proteins with all of these things. I get depressed when i eat gluten and stopping "serotonin rising supplements" too soon as well as stopping antidepressive medication too soon also gave me these brain shocks. Serotonin is a down-regulator of glutamate in the brain. Glutamate is a neurotransmitter. High levels of glutamate is caused by low serotonin levels. High levels of glutamate in the brain can cause epileptic seizures. When i have these brain shocks when resting, i start moving my jaw back and fro. It is automatic and i can not stop it. Epileptic seisures can be very small and can be caused by food allergies. I think all of this is connected somehow. I hope you try excluding these things and see if the problem is corrected.

[aletam7745]

i read this thread and knew i had seen something about this somewhere as i get these feelings as well and everytime i get any sort of feeling in my head, which is where most of my anxiety symptoms occur, i fear i have a brain aneurysm or brain tumor.  when i read these i understand more what it could be from.


Head (anxiety symptoms commonly associated with the head):
Burning, itchy, tight scalp
Dizziness
Dizzy
Dizziness or light-headedness
Frequent headaches, migraine headaches
Feeling like there is a tight band around your head, pressure, tightness
Head, neck or shoulder pain, tightness/stiffness
Head zaps, head tremors
Giddiness
Numbness
Numbness tingling, numbness and tingling
Shooting pains, stabbing pains, and odd pressures in the neck, head, or face
Shooting pains in the face
Shooting pains in the scalp or head
When you close your eyes you feel like are beginning to, or will, float upwards
Sore jaw that feels like a tooth ache
TMJ (Temporo-Mandibular Joint) - clenching of the jaw or grinding of the teeth

to get more information i got this at a site i like to back to because they have so many different symptoms that can be associated with anxiety and they describe them as well.
http://www.0110.com/anxiety-symptoms.shtml

hope this helps you as it does help me....i refer back to this quite often

[sparkeybird]

I get this electric Zap feeling in my head sometimes.

At first it started off when I was withdrawing from Zoloft when I stopped taking my 75mg a day cold turkey.  That also resulted in seizures and other bad side effects where I had to go back on my ZOloft to wean off.

I am now back on Zoloft 125MG but not lowering or withdrawing from it.

I started having seizures so I think it's Epilepsy related for me, but I'm not sure.  There are so many things that these zaps could be that it's crazy and the thing is that it seems like some of these doctors just don't care or don't kow what it is so they don't try to help really except just by pressing medications on you.

I have anxiety, "Depression", panic disorder, seizure disorders, possible PTSD from a recent car accident in May that left me with a broken back, asthma, and a few other issues.  I'm on Klonopin, Ativan, Zoloft, and Lamictal at the moment for all these issues.

It could be food allergies, blood pressure, heart issues, brain issues, so many things.  I am trying to get hold of my neurologist but for the last 3 days he's not called back and it's really annoying.

When I get them they last a few seconds and make me feel like blacking out, then they go, then come back every 15 seconds to 1 minute apart and can last for an hour, sometimes more, I also get twitchy alot with them as well.  It's horrible

[BruiserBear]

Cbaker05,

I think it would be a good idea for you to have yourself checked out by a doctor.  Only they can tell you for sure if something more serious is happening right now. 

[Nikki_3]

Just wanted to add my input, ....I am no doctor or anything close to it!, but I also get these zaps too, I am on NO medication ,I find mine come when I have had a rough week (anxiety,panic,or just plain stressed out) and not enough sleep!

[sixpack]

Just a heads up here but the original post on this was 4yrs ago.     So hopefully the OP has found the solution by now.

[BruiserBear]

Just a heads up here but the original post on this was 4yrs ago.     So hopefully the OP has found the solution by now.

I didn't notice the date yesterday when I replied.  

[bluepedro]

hi all i am 49 and i am new hear. re the elect shocks in the head.i tend to call them volts as that is what they feel like.(like someone has put electric wires on my head and turned the power on).i mainly get mine as i am just dropping of to sleep. i lie there thinking am i going to have one tonight. just as my eyes close i am awakened by a massive shock in my head. also my heart beats very quickly after this happens. sometimes i have 2 or 3 a night sometimes small ones but mainly massive shocks. I was heavily into the club scene in the late nineties early 00 and did a lot of Ecstasy. this i believe started it all off as i never had them before. i have also just given up smoking cannabis after 20years. i am now suffering from something else now as well. since stopping smoking cannabis i have a constant spacey feeling in my head, no dizziness just a constant spacey feeling with a very high pitched noise. its not tinnitus as i sometimes get that and it subsides after a while. these things are driving me crazy i think i may have physics or some other brain illness. can anyone help me PLEASE.

[bluepedro]

hi i mean physcosis, thank you