Brain shocks

[Bearly]

Hello,

I have had social anxiety attacks in the past, with varying degree of intensity. Some attacks feel like my brain is being shocked, receiving a jolt of electricity, sometimes real bad, others are more mild. I read an article in the newspaper about a month ago, and it was discussing that such brain shocks (jolts) are sometimes experienced by people who withdraw too quickly off of anxiety medication. The thing is, i've never been on medication. Has anyone else experienced these type of jolts? Any thoughts?

 

[jixerkissme]

Woah!

YES. I just didn't know how to explain it.
This happened to me when I took Tryptophan 2 gm (I think this was the dose).

I tried to explain it to the psychiatrist, but he looked at me like I was NUTS!
I wasn't weaning off it then, it was when I was on it! And it happened at night..after I took it! Woah!

 

[Bearly]

Not surpisingly, I don't think you're nuts at all. Did you experience a rapid flow of thoughts prior to the jolt, like your brain is going into over drive? That's what happened to me by the way. As your brain workings are both chemical and electrical, this is not at all far fetched.

 

[jixerkissme]

..

No. Well, maybe. It was just as I was almost asleep. Then that jolt would happen, I'd feel a rush of adrenaline (maybe..), that and it made me a bit nervous because I had no idea what that was.
It was either a rush of adrenaline or anxiety. Not sure which.

I tried to explain it to him (lol) and all I could come up with was a 'firework' in my brain.

Are they harmful??

 

[Bearly]

Well, from my understanding, adrenaline and anxiety attacks (AA) are linked fairly closely. One rarely if ever has an AA without a surge of adrenaline and other stress related hormones. Some people speculate that AA's are from too much adrenaline. One hypothesis I have is that the adrenaline was speeding up my thoughts, thus the electrical activity along the nuerons, which may be causing these jolts that I have been experiencing. Or the reverse may be true (chicken or the egg), the adrenaline may be speeding up the electrical activity, thus speeding up the thoughts and a flow of memories (think about experiments when electricity is applied to the brain and patients experience past memories).

As for being harmful, I don't know, but it does hurt like hell, depending on the severity of the jolt. It messes up my nervous system for a good while also, as does any form of AA. I just started seeing a new psychologist, and he had never heard of these 'jolts/fireworks' either (dispite a recent article on the front page of the online Washington Post regarding these jolts as side effects of rapid med. withdraw. (some meds anyway). That is why I posted my question, and I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to respond. I hope that this makes you feel a little better about your experience trying to discribe your "fireworks" to your doctor. You truely are not the only one who has had this problem.

 

[jixerkissme]

..

You wouldn't happen to have a copy of that newspaper article would you? Internet or actual copy. I could pay you to send it if it's not on the net. Yes? I would LOVE to show the psychiatrist that.

I remember trying to research it online..but I could only, again, desribe it as 'firework'. Or a 'twinge'. I never thought of 'jolt'..

I think what would happen would be a jolt and then I would have a quick panic like "What the heck was that, am I dying?" Like, ..when..all is well when you are driving and then you have to slam the breaks on (that quick adrenaline/panic feeling that rushes through your whole body).

You know, it makes me wonder all the time how 'safe' drugs really are. What braindamage are they doing to us..like when we are 80..

 

[Bearly]

Hi Jixerkissme,

No, I don't have the article, but I just did an 3 minute online search on

'anxiety attacks medication withdrawal jolt'

and found these links which all speak of these jolts or electric shock experiences, some page discribe both.

go to these links and search for the word jolt or shock, and you'll have plenty to read

http://www.drugs.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7826&whichpage=2


http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/Depression/treatment/antidepressants/article_withdrawl.asp

http://www.socialaudit.org.uk/5106-990.htm

http://www.labelmesane.com/about/brain_zaps.htm


http://www.medhelp.org/forums/mentalhealth/messages/30790.html


I am sure that if you put in a little time, you can find plenty more, but these already make the point. One article talks about during withdraw from SSRI, there is a sudden decrease in seratonin as the uptake inhibitory effects are no longer occuring. They speculate this may lead to the shocks.

If these stories don't satisty you, I can try a little harder, but I think they make the point. The article in the post was about a month ago. I don't have much time right now, but if you want to read more links about this, do the search I did. I just scratched the surface of the results. Also try substituting the word shock for jolt and see what come up.

By the way, I read your post about having troubles with your in-laws, and I can relate to your situation. Except in my case, its my step mother who is being 'not nice' and has turned my father against me long ago. It is not good when SA problems are from family members, as you can't just ditch them like you can strangers, friends or co-workers.

 

[jixerkissme]

..

Thank you for the links and support. Those fireworks are no longer a mystery to me!

 

[Bearly]

You're welcome. Our exchanges have been helpful to me also. I am glad that you found this thread helpful, and I appreciate your replies, especially as I haven't heard from others yet. Considering people may be on meds, this should be a relevant subject to some. I don't want to scare people off meds, just recommend caution while using them, especially coming off them.

 

[jonnyC]

I find that when just dropping off to sleep, when very tired I get like jolts running through my body that will make me kick my leg, twitch an arm. It is like a shot of adrenaline is shot to my brain and it almost jump starts my body.

It's really weird, and I think I twitch in my sleep, but this is linked more to nervous exhaustion and relaxing of the mucles. Simply like a way of exerting knotted energy.

 

[Danfalc]

I find that when just dropping off to sleep, when very tired I get like jolts running through my body that will make me kick my leg, twitch an arm. It is like a shot of adrenaline is shot to my brain and it almost jump starts my body.

Ditto,i get them quite a lot and when all my sp and that first started it happend when i was really anxious around people which made me even worse,to much tension in the muscles or somthing i really dont know but i still get it when im out which makes me feel awfull.

 

[Bearly]

I find that when just dropping off to sleep, when very tired I get like jolts running through my body that will make me kick my leg, twitch an arm. It is like a shot of adrenaline is shot to my brain and it almost jump starts my body.

I am not sure that I completely understand what you're saying. I get a lot of muscle twitches, tingles for weeks after an anxiety attack and/or brain jolt, but I never get muscle twitching/ tingles first and then a brain shock. Are you getting your muscle twitching first and then a brain shock (by brain shock i mean it feels like a current of electricity is passing through your brain)?

Ditto,i get them quite a lot and when all my sp and that first started it happend when i was really anxious around people which made me even worse,to much tension in the muscles or somthing i really dont know but i still get it when im out which makes me feel awfull.

Sorry, but I don't know what sp stands for, could you explain?

Are you getting brains shocks first and then muscle twitching or the other way around? I know what you mean about feeling awful, I feel that for months after an anxiety attack and I hate the tingling/twitching in my feet and legs.

 

[Driel]

SP is refering to social phobia, which i belive basicly refers to SA- social anxiety. someone please correct me im wrong and the two are diffrent?

I find that when just dropping off to sleep, when very tired I get like jolts running through my body that will make me kick my leg, twitch an arm. It is like a shot of adrenaline is shot to my brain and it almost jump starts my body.

i commonly, almost nightly that is, experiance something similar. Im not quiet sure what you mean by twitching an arm or leg, but alot of the time when im going to sleep after, oh 10 maybe 15 minutes sometimes, i start to drift into sleep i can sort of, "feel" my mind slipping away and whatever i was thinking about just evaporates from my mind. i dimmly realize i cant remember what i was thinking about, and sometimes instead of drifting into sleep my whole body jerks along with my brain. I would have to say it almost feels like my mind is being ripped from someplace, maybe sleep or a dream or... its hard to describe but i feel extreamly disorianted for a few seconds after, sometimes i have to rationaly think and work out where i am in my room what is around me in the dark and what direction im facing in my bed.
i rather like the refrence that its like a bolt of electricity, since all my muscles contract just like they would if you were shocked with electicity but i never thought of that comparison before. in an instant im wide awake and have to start trying to go to sleep all over again. i think this has alot to do with why i have such a hard time getting to sleep most nights.

back in highschool the few times i started to fall asleep in those really boring classes this would happen to me and i would suddenly just jerk my whole body, always thought it must have looked so werid and made me worried and nervus for the rest of the class.

i would very much be interested to know if this sounds similar to what you mean by twitching an arm or leg.

 

[Bearly]

Hello Driel,

It sounds to me like you are experiencing a hypnagogic jerk. Read what these links have to say about H-jerk and see if it sounds like what's happening to you.

http://digg.com/general_sciences/That_Strange_Falling_Sensation



http://digg.com/general_sciences/That_Strange_Falling_Sensation

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-hypnic-jerk.htm

There is a similarity as far as electrical shock sensation, but I am talking about going through during anx. attack experiences.

 

[Driel]

wow, i didnt know that, that does sound like thats what that is, yay me i fall into another 10% catagory :roll:

i realized when i posted it that i was not what your main topic was about, i just thought it sounded so very similar to what JonnyC and Danfalc had mentioned i wanted to understand what they were talking about a bit better, i guess it isnt really related but, thank you for the good information.

after looking at those and thinking back i realized i do on occasion have a strange sense that my bed has just vanished from under me right before this happens :wink:

 

[Bearly]

Hi Driel,

No problem about being slightly off topic, we both learned something new, and I was glad I could help a little. I have had similar experiences (h-jerk) which I had read about a long time ago, the article said were supposed to be caused by falling asleep so fast, the body thinks something is wrong. Now that you know what it may be, you can research it and see if you can correct this problem, and then a good nights sleep.