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

just been reading about brain surges.  About  12 months ago I was walking into a supermarket when I felt a surge to the brain.  It lasted about 5-6 seconds, expirenced butterflys to stomach if i remember  rightly.  My intial reaction was it felt like a sudden surge  Once I found my girlfriend in the store I was chatting 2 minutes later, had no problems with smiling and was lifting items and putting them in shppping trolley/  Some may call it a sudden shock i suppose.  Havent had it since.  I may have had some anxeity at the time.  These days I work out on a Wondercore excersise machine which has helped my anxiety. After reading whats on here I better get it checked out.   I     

Hey everyone, I have went thru these exact symtoms plus like 100 more. Please please go get tested for lyme disease and all the co infections. Do not get the western blot test, its only accurate maybe 50 percent of the time. Go to a lyme specialist. I don't know where each of u live of course but in Houston tx is the one i went to. After a yr of symtoms I finally found answers. Please ask questions if u have any. I know how miserable and scary this symtom is. 9792482744 plz text so I know who u r and we can talk about it. Don't hesitate

Hello. I am from Bulgaria and I have severe insomnia from 4 years. Sometimes I have electric shocks just before falling asleep. Also I have some skin issues (dry skin, peeling of the skin). 

?I sleep with sleeping pills from 4 years and no body can give me any answers what is going on with me. 

?Doctors think that It is psychological issue. I have remembered that 7 years before onset of Insomnia I have had a Bull's eye rush ( it is the same rush like Lyme's disease rush) and It gone away on its own for 2 weeks. But I didn't developed neither Fever nor any other symptom except the rush. 

?Now I read your post and think about testing for Lyme disease. What tests should I do ? 

?I have done a lot of blood tests, MRI of Brain and so on except for Lyme disease. 

?King Regards

Hristian Dimitrov

While I agree anxiety can cause odd symptoms, it insults me when a physician jumps to a mental health conclusion, as if I just fell into this body yesterday and have no credibility in describing my experience with this.  If I had anxiety, it would have shown up with a racing heart or elevated blood pressure spikes during the moments while the episodes were happening while I was in the hospital this last summer.  My heart DID NOT race nor did my blood pressure spike as a result of these episodes. My cardiac events seemed associated with, but clearly "not in response too" the shock sensations. When these events happens I don't panic, instead I go into observer mode, trying to figure out the point of origin, which is not easy since it happens suddenly and only when I am in that twilight space dozing off.  One doctor suggested I was dreaming! That really made me feel like slapping his smug, uninformed face.  My reply was, "Sure doctor, I have nothing better to do than come in here and get poked by needles, irradiated by your tests and obligate myself to years worth of debt, sure great fun". He was not amused, but neither was I. They flatter themselves with the thinking "if I can't find it, it must be in the patients head".  As if it isn't frustrating enough, we have to deal with this attitude from the physicians. Thankfully, not all are like this.

Hi,

Do you have higher ESR in blood besides brain zap symptoms? I couldn't the reasons for my high ESR. Thanks

I’ve Have had this feeling now for 15-20 plus years... 62 now.  Always been healthy ... starts on my Lower left side sleeping or resting ... and grows and SHOOTs to my Chest / heart area, sometime mild, sometimes knocks me out of bed ...seem like it’s getting more  frequent ...I’ve had tests on heart and all healthy .. 3 years ago I had my first panic attack (weird)  on meds now ... I. Sometimes get them while awake or driving ( minor).  I think they are nerves and  anxiety ... I’ve always been hyper ... I’ve also have had ticks on me and went to hospital because of  symptoms that I have Lyme disease / it came back negative ... and also they started in my 40s. Before the Tick  episode .. I now can feel them build now on my left side and expolode to my chest .. some a little shakes other that almost blow me out of bed and gapping .. SO weird !  But 20 Years or So .. I’m still Alive and kicking. .. i just had another one tonight and finally decide to look on Line ... some nights or two in row night I may not have any.   Also on vacations Most night I won’t ... It’s Nice To Know I (we) Arnt Alone ... Thanks 

Thanks for sharing this. That's a long time. It's comforting to know that it hasn't gone into some serious neurological disease, which has always been a concern for me. Since it came out of no where I worried that it might get worse. Mine seem to be tapering off some. I took steroids for 14 days to knock back a major sinus infection, and within a day or so after starting the steroid WHOSH it's back full force. Connection? Who knows. I often feel I am chasing rabbits trying to figure out the cause, (it's this, no it's that, no it's somewhere else).  Maybe together all of us on this board can come up with some clues.

Hello I have been reading all the posts on this thread since I started with this over a year ago. Mine started out of the blue after a really stressful time in my life....the usual working far too hard, stressful relationship etc etc. I was basically mega stressed and then it started that every time I tried to sleep it would force me awake as soon as I passed from wakefulness to sleep. Then I started to fear it happening and it just got worse and worse. Now a year later it doesn’t happen. I went to see a therapist for CBT, took magnesium changed my diet to eat more healthily tried to cut sugar and alcohol as much as possible and tried to relax more. I also used distraction while falling asleep like watching TV or reading my phone which I know are not healthy habits but they allowed me to sleep without it happening. I also allowed it to happen and kind of went with it to lessen the fear aspect. I also suffered palpitations with it. At one point I would get them as soon as I even lay down to sleep even though I didn’t feel nervous. Anyway  I do believe for me it was anxiety and bad diet/lifestyle that caused it. It could have been a vitamin deficiency eg magnesium but I am not sure. Anyway I hope this helps someone. Sleep zap girl and everyone else you are not alone. I still think of it every night before bed because it really scared me. Take care. 

Hello I have been reading all the posts on this thread since I started with this over a year ago. Mine started out of the blue after a really stressful time in my life....the usual working far too hard, stressful relationship etc etc. I was basically mega stressed and then it started that every time I tried to sleep it would force me awake as soon as I passed from wakefulness to sleep. Then I started to fear it happening and it just got worse and worse. Now a year later it doesn’t happen. I went to see a therapist for CBT, took magnesium changed my diet to eat more healthily tried to cut sugar and alcohol as much as possible and tried to relax more. I also used distraction while falling asleep like watching TV or reading my phone which I know are not healthy habits but they allowed me to sleep without it happening. I also allowed it to happen and kind of went with it to lessen the fear aspect. I also suffered palpitations with it. At one point I would get them as soon as I even lay down to sleep even though I didn’t feel nervous. Anyway  I do believe for me it was anxiety and bad diet/lifestyle that caused it. It could have been a vitamin deficiency eg magnesium but I am not sure. Anyway I hope this helps someone. Sleep zap girl and everyone else you are not alone. I still think of it every night before bed because it really scared me. Take care. 

Hi,

I wanted to respond to some of the posts I have been reading.  I started getting these out of the blue about 7 months ago, just as I fall asleep.  I am going to do as the gentleman mentioned and get checked for Lyme disease.  There is no other explanation.  I take 600mg mag. every night and started tryptophan before bed as well and still happens.  BUT, if I keep my ipad laying next to me in bed and put a show on, the flickering of the tv lights seems to keep the zaps from coming.  I have never had one during the day.. only just upon falling alseep and once I have fallen asleep I never get one.  If I nap during the day, I don't get one.  Only at night, in the dark.  I so badly want to know what is going on!  I am scared to go to sleep at night.

 

Naw. It happens anywhere I try to sleep. But, this is almost a good answer for me. 

hello i suffer from of balance felling all the time brain fog bogged ears heavy head fatigue and them brain zaps what is this the list alao goes on

hello i have all the symptoms to just got out the doctors ive had blood test for lym disesse

what was the result of the test? I get the brain zap ONLY if I go to sleep on the left side of my body. I usually sleep on my right side as this is what is most comfortable for me. However, whenever I try my left i get the brain zap just like everyone describes when I am on the verge of being asleep. Just in between states I get the sudden "zzzzztt" in my head that jolts me awake. I find it kind of interesting and if I want to make it happen I will just go to sleep on my left. Its been happening for about a year now. At first I thought it was aliens until I made the connection that it only happens when I lay on my left. I know something causes it. Wish someone whould make the connection as to what it is.

Any luck figuring this out I have been having these issues off and on for 2 years. Sometimes the shock in chest sensations sometimes my legs. All keep me from sleeping the weird thing is that i have been under more stress in the past 2 years and it has not happend. Dose not seem to be stress related or anxiety.

no, 63 now , over weight, 30 lbs .. all Avg in All Aspects... Business owner, high stress never had anxiety until five years ago...30 years of Zaps now ... sometimes ill have 5-7 each night and sometimes Zero ... i vacation alot.. seems it Happend Less .. i think Mine is Stress related .. mine happen almost Every Night or More than Not ... good luck

OMG, I have exactly the same Zzzzzt sound that jolts me awake. I then get a massive adrenaline rush through my body. I wait for it every night..... I do get it more when on my left side. Doctors have just put it down to stress! I just want it to stop...

yep ! on my left most of time Too ... Weird .. i Really don't mind them... its when im really Relaxed and Just Starting to doze off .. other Times its that Building in my lower left stomach .. sometimes i Think its getting Worse ... but Lately ive Not Have as Many ... how old are You ? and over wght ? over Busy, stressed, nurvous type, male ???

Are you doing anything different that has helped ease the "zaps?"

I am a 49 year old female. I am slightly overweight. Am very busy with 4 kids and a fulltime job. In my heart i feel its stress and anxiety related

Okay I'm only 15 but I am trying to find why I get this Shock or Tasering feeling In mainly my sides, I can barley find what the cause is. I've been Having these feelings since like I was 10 years old, I mainly got these feelings after a nightmare, The first time I felt these feelings also It was in my right thigh. Last night I felt this feeling again, it has always been in my sides, Its kinda painful to me and kinda scary, I kinda wake up but I can't move or talk, Since i've gotten older I try to Ignore the seconds it happen. I'm stilling going to look for more information

stress and Anxiety ... i Hate it ... Hang In There ... also probably Coffee , Diet.... if you Find a cure For Anxiety in Day and Age please let me Know ... lol

oh my, your To Young To Go though This ... have your Parents Take you To see a doctor ... it may Be something Medical .. not Saying Its Not stress .. but You need to Talk to Your Parents .. good luck .. report Back ..

Go to your ophthalmologist, ask then to prescribe a medication called

Acetazolamide, sold under the trade name Diamox among others, is a medication used to treat glaucoma, epilepsy, altitude sickness, periodic paralysis, idiopathic intracranial hypertension (raised brain pressure of unclear cause), and heart failure. I am not a doctor, however this worked for me. I take 125mg 2 times a day and it took 3 days to start working.

Thanks Brett 11/16/2020

I have been having almost identical symptoms now for a few months, very wierd. The zaps come on just before I sleep maybe 4 to 5 times. When they first appeared they freaked me out because they were very strong to begin with. I would get them while sat down relaxing or in the morning but now I just get them before I sleep. They did seem to come on after I started a new upper body exercise routine-light yoga and light weight training so I stopped, thinking maybe I had some kind of trapped nerve. I also took anti inflammation tablets which seem to help. Oh and another thing they seem to be combined with an increased level tinnitus in my left ear. I am going to have another talk to my Doc and see what she thinks, but wondering now if it's stress related to work and C19?? Really good to hear I am not alone.

All the best H

still getting these symptoms tracey?

Hi! I also have been having increasing brain zaps/sleep paralysis for the past year. I've had them happen occasionally throughout my life, but much more rarely, and I've been through worse stress in the past than I am now. Your post interested me because you mentioned tinnitus in your left ear. I have recently developed the exact same thing, same ear! Last night as I was falling asleep, a zap hit me so hard it felt like someone shot a lighting bolt in the back of my head and it traveled forward through my arms, lol. I've had it happen while awake and relaxed as well, but very rarely. I've found shifting sleep positions will help when the zaps are a bit more relentless (I tend to get it while on my right side, and shifting to my back worked last night.) I definitely can correlate mine to times I've had less sleep than usual the night before, and also have wondered if it's a hormonal imbalance as I'm probably nearing menopause. My mother had a similar thing happen at about my same age. Anyway, curious if you found out about the tinnitus/if there's possibly a relation. I'm hoping the zaps haven't actually caused the tinnitus. I've read in some places that there's a theory it's actually a middle ear thing. hmmm

I am experiencing EXACTLY what you have described. Has your doctor recommended anything that might help? I firmly believe that there is a relationship between the tinnitus and adrenaline levels. The surges send my tinnitus into overdrive. Neither my primary physician nor my ENT have been of any help They both keep telling me it is stress related. This is ruining my overall health and well-being. I hope you are able to find some answers.

hi, i have symptoms similar to you did you get answers? thank you

hi!

So lucky to find this forum and that it is still active!

Been experiencing this for almost 2 months now... So exhausted! everything started at the end of June when experienced my very first panic attack (that's what i think it was tho...). after sleepless night and thoughts that I am dying or having a heart attack, the next day I went to meet my GP. He did ECG, got referral to Cardiologist for heart ultrasound but everything came out normal. Blood test showed elevated white blood cells (meaning my body was fighting some kind of infection), apart one night of a panic, i felt good. But after a week I got sinus infection. Tho no fever, physically felt ok, just stuffed nose, runny eyes, ear pain . It was more intense like for 3 days than mild symptoms staid for another 3... however.. since then I started to feel same brain zaps, electric shock or whatever it is!!! almost every night when trying to sleep... some nights were very bad... want to sleep but cannot as once I close my eyes-boom! so many sleepless nights... due to lack of sleeps my days, mood is affected too... Been 2 weeks now that I am experiencing tinnitus as well. Again just when going to sleep. Adding to this sometimes my ears feels full and clogged...

3 weeks ago my GP said it may be related with Labyrinthitis which is due to my previous sinus infection. All he said was to clean my sinuses, stress less and gave me some drugs for 'motion sick'. But never used them as my dizziness is just at nights... But again I am calling for him tomorrow... As my symptoms still persist.. maybe can get some referral to check my ears or to see neurologist...

would love to know how you go ! im getting my heart checked next. ms ruled out from scans on brain and brain wave patterns normal. maybe consider nuerologist for yourself? could rule somethings out. will let you know how i go.

just after a call with my GP. So he said nothing new... he still thinks it is related with my previous sinus infection (which was more than a month ago and not that severe..!!). He said to keep clean my sinuses with special pump bottle, and use nasal spray as it may be still sinus blockage. He will call me in a week to see how I feel, may prescribe antibiotics(which I really dont want if I am not sure what is the issue...). And so, if the symptoms will remain, just then he will give me a referral to the ENT... as my both ears starting to be blocked...

so yeah.. never ending issues and no valid solutions yet...:/

it seems that you and i are having same issues im 22 about to be 23 in few months. been having weird heart palpitations and had these zap issues. they come and go and they suck a lot. i havnt figure out my issue and i never mention these zap issues cause i thought it was hypnic jerk. i would like to chat more about this just dont know how to reach you but you and i sound like we are dealing with same issue heart and brain.

I do hope you were tested immediately for Lyme.

im struggling with all of these symptoms, its just horrid isnt it. awful ringing in head and brain zaps which stop me from sleeping. my white blood count is also a little raised. in holiday in tenerife and have taken myself to bed its that horrid.

hi have you ever found out what has caused all this yet. donna

sean46970, Did you ever figure out what was causing your brain zaps? I've been struggling with myoclonic-type jerks at sleep onset now since November 2019. Have been to multiple doctors, have had multiple tests, with no answer. Things have progressed now to where I'm having intermittent seizure-like episodes (with whole-body jerking/shaking). I'm reaching out to you because I get brain-zap type sensations, along with the jerks when lying on my left side. A few times I've gotten them while lying on my back. I don't get the brain zaps on my right side. I'm trying to figure out what is causing this because my sleep is really compromised and this is really affecting my overall health. When I've tried to tell a doctor about how I get the brain zaps when lying on my left side, but not on the right, they respond as if I'm making up the symptom or as if I have some other psych problem. To note, I've also seen a psychologist and psychiatrist in my desperation to find find a cause and resolution for this problem. Neither the psychologist or psychiatrist think these are caused by anxiety, etc. in my case, but they also can't offer any other possible solutions. Have you found out anything? Thank you.

I get the shocks so bad that I can actually hear them when they happen. anyone else experience this? I also get twitches in my temples. have gotten the mri and eeg and both came back negative.

2 or 3 years ago, I started having something similar happen. As I'm laying in bed, it's like a jolt and I hear like a donk sound. At first it alarmed me. Over time I realized that it for one, happened when I was either really stressed, or 2, when I was really tired. Now, I kind of look forward to it, as it usually means that I'll be able to fall asleep faster and won't be awake all night with racing thoughts. I had increases with this that actuallykept me awake when my father in law and then my brother passed. I got covid and lost my hearing for a month, it really increased then as well.

hi guys...I've been having brain zaps for almost 6 years and I'm 25 now.. it's weird that during the days where I drink or smoke it doesn't come and days when I actually stay sober it comes suddenly...and more I think about it it has the higher chance of coming back again...it usually stays for 4 to 5 days and goes off...but comes back anytime suddenly....DOES ANYONE HAVE TREMORS ASSOSIATED WITH BRAIN ZAPS?

I hear them too

I have been experiencing this since I was a teenager (now 34). Just as I drift off, I get a very intense brain shiver (or ear drum warble type sensation) usually accompanied by sense of losing my balance or falling. sometimes this joined with a dream of falling over in slow motion of fighting a strange kind of paralysis. it usually lasts for a few seconds but it can be up to about a minute. I don't get a 'jolt' or 'zap' as such. but the intense brain shiver always wakes me up with a high heart rate and with a ringing in my ears (probably due to the high heart rate). this onset is definitely correlated with prior sleep deprivation in my case. I am an otherwise healthy male with no medical conditions and I'm not taking any medications. reading these posts helps to calm me down so thanks all.

Hey,

You explained my situation perfectly. I get this sudden "zzzzzztt" in my head that jolts me out of sleep too. I saw an ENT and my results came back normal. Are you still experiencing this?

I get the noise first (sometimes) like electric static on hip or anywhere then the zap. Noise if loud can sound like star wars light saber (the zap in head) , these days it's not so loud and is just an electrical zap. Been happening since 2017 , when very stressed.. Stopped after 4 months then started again. Now it's intermittent mainly when I'm very tired.

I was bitten by 3 tics with bulls eye rashes in 1993 . NHS tests not specific (miss approx 50% of cases) . Bulls eye rash is now diagnostic of lyme , but wasn't back then.

get get the tremours with brain saps. not fun. maybe transitional sleep aopnea. you stop breathing your blood oxygen gets out of kilter and then you shake a bit as oxygen levela normalise.

hey!! I'm experiencing the same! I think I have tinnitus in my left ear. there is definitely fluid or something in there and the occasional fluttering. the past few weeks I've also experienced these weird night zings. has been a few months of high stress. I'm so glad I'm not alone in this. did you find out anything further about it??