Sleep problems abound--Brain Zaps anyone ???

I've had that. It feels like you're falling off a cliff. I had that though BEFORE MMs.

Since MM I've gotten the "brain zaps." I sometimes think it's my eyeballs rolling back in their sockets, which happens when we sleep. Other times, during REM, especially if I allow myself to fall back to sleep after waking up, when I'll get some rotational vertigo, but that's different from the zaps. If someone wakes me from a nap while I'm in the middle of REM, forget it. I feel totally confused and dizzy.

 

Hi Andrew ; Sounds like your another member of the "brain zap club". There really doesn"t seem to be that much information about this subject . If you Google "brain zaps" , you get mostly references to the anti-depressants Effexor or Lexapro . I have never tried these drugs ( and frankly don"t want to either) but suspect this is why jip60 is having them . Mine developed shortly after my Menieres diagnosis and seem to be progressing and taking on a life of its own . The other members that have posted here seem to have their own unique stories to tell , although we seem to share a common thread ; they mostly happen when we are drifting off to sleep , last 1 to 2 seconds , and they are more intense when we are fatigued . I think we are all learning more about this unknown phenomenon together, so hopefully we will all be able to cure ourselves together in the future . Keep us posted - ;D ;D ;D Eric

 

To jip60 ; I would suggest giving the Lexapro a break to see if the brain zaps stop . This is one of the most notorious meds for causing brain zaps . Effexor is another one . There are other anti-depressants with-out this side effect out there . Get in touch with your ENT. Post back. ;D ;D ;D Eric

 

I can't figure out if my brain zaps are due to SSRI use or not. I haven't been on one in four years now but have taken them numerous times in my life. I came off it slowly and didn't experience any zaps during use or for a long time afterwards. It's only been since the mm that I've been experiencing the zaps. Seems to me that in my case it's the mm not the SSRI's...but who knows.

 

Hi Amethyst ; Yes , there seems to be two groups here , those who are on or was recently on anti-depressants , and those like myself and you who aren"t on any anti-depressants/SSRI meds currently .The symptoms seem to be the same though. I was on Paxil for 14 months about 4 years back , and this is on the brain zap "hit-list" too. Could it be ?......... ;D ;D ;D Eric

 

My doctor explained to me that brain zaps are a well known phennomen when coming off of SSRI's. It took me 6 months before mine disappeared coming off of Lexapro.

Last night I woke up to sudden noises. Sat bold upright and walked around my home to see if anything was amiss. It sounded like an airplane had crashed on my roof. Cats were all snoozing, nothing amiss. Then later on, I woke up suddenly for no apparent reason to being fully awake and found myself sitting up in bed. These is such odd sleep behaviors. I thought of taping myself to see what I do in my sleep, but not sure if that would only resemble a very scary movie, lol, and I don't watch scary movies anymore, lol.

Sparrow

 

I get brain zaps too. Great info on the Exploding Head Syndrome. I started getting this with my first bad vertigo attack in 2002. Never had it before that time. I asked my neurologist about it because I thought it was a symptom of what was happening to me. He told me that lots of people get that and that it had nothing to do with what was wrong with me. He never told me what it was. (I never liked him. He was very dismissive of all my concerns.)

I tried googling it but all I came up with was the drug connection and I had not been on any of the meds which caused brain zaps. Over the years I have learned to accept them as the new normal. They are usually associated with sleep, although I have a vague sense that I might have had them during the day when they first started happening.

Thanx All for the great info!

 

Welcome to the "Brain-Zap Club" Gwendelyn , grab a pillow and come on in ! I hate to read about people having to accept this curse , and accept it as normal . There"s got to be some type of meds out there for this disorder , I"m still looking ; when I find the answer , I"m going to pass it out to all my "new friends"......LOL ;D ;D ;D Eric

 

...Like I said before, the brain zaps stpped about the time I started the GI diet so maybe the zapps are just another of many manifistations of excess insulin. Rember that insulin is a hormone and hormones are very powerful drugs. After I had been on the diet, I saw my triglycerides drop from 350 to 97, the distortion went away in my bad ear, the hearing in my bad ear improved from a 50db loss to a 30 db loss, my blood pressure dropped from 135/80 to 118/75, and it stopped the vertigo attacks I was getting from hypoglycemia.
Rick

 

Hi again Rick ; I am hypoglycemic so this makes sense , yet after cutting out much sugar/salt/fat from my diet I have seen little change.( Of coarse I cheat a little ) I have an appointment next week for another glucose test , I might be going the oral/IV insulin route this time around , my doc thought I could manage it with just diet , but I don"t think its working . Anyway I googled GI diet , it makes sense and will try to incorporate in my diet plan. Right now I am ready to try anything to climb out of this hell I"ve been cast into...... Thanx Rick :-\ :-\ :-\ Eric

 

...What makes the GI different is that it recognises that white starches are worse than sugar. Sugar has a GI of about 66, potatoes are about 80, glucose is 100. That's why a low sugar diet never worked for me in the past. It was the taters and rice that was doing me in.
...A friend of mine has type 2 diabetes and he was able to cut he medication (metformin) in half after he started the diet. He also lost some weight because of the diet, and I'm not sure but he may be off his meds completely now since he lost the weight.
Rick

 

I somehow got onto a website that talked about gut issues. One thing in particular that caught my attention was that some professionals refer to the gut as the second brain. It stated that 90% of serotonin is stored in the gut and certain food groups, like tyramine's (an amino acid) will bind to the gut wall and cause absorption issues which in turn affects the serotonin levels. It is all a little confusing to me, if anyone is interested in this, I will post the websites that addressed this.

Just a different twist to the brain zaps which are serotonin in nature.

Now I just confused myself, lol :

Sparrow

 

I have these too! I get the 15 sec spurts of vertigo!! Does this mean i have MD??

 

...The 15 sec bursts of vertigo is usually related to a condition called BPPV and is a lot more treatable than Meniere's. http://www.tchain.com/otoneurology/disorders/bppv/bppv.html

Rick

 

Hi Guys ; I think your both right , theres some connection with hormones and brain zaps . I am also thinking hypoglycemia and being overweight plays a part too . Are most of us that post here also have weight issues ? I am 5"5 and 182 lbs. but have been as high as 205 lbs. --Thats around 40-50 lbs. over ideal weight. I know that theres a tie-in with the intensity of the zaps at night and the food I ate that day . Last night was mellow with only a few mild zaps , I only consumed low GI foods too. My sodium intake was also very low . Maybe our insulin and serotonin is just unbalanced ??? ??? ??? Eric

 

...Based on what you've said about yourself so far, I think you'll find (just like I did) that the overwieght and hypofglycemia were symptoms and not causes. Just by going on the GI diet I lost 20 lbs rather fast without lowering my caloric intake. I then levled off and just recently I started lowering my calories and have lost a little more weight.
...The hypoglycemia disappeared completely. I've gone as long as 8 to 10 hours without eating with no ill effects whearas before, I would start getting dizzy and eventually get a vertigo attack after 3 hours after my last meal.
...Our metabolism changes all carbs into glucose, period. It doesn't matter if it's broccolli, pure table sugar or that potato, all carbs are turned into glucose.
...When our glucose starts to rise, insulin is released to change the glucose into glycogen and it's stored in the liver. The liver is like a water glass for excess glucose (glycogen.
...As the time increases from our last meal, the glucoes levels start to drop and the pancreas is supposed to release glucagon which takes the Glycogen that is stored in the liver and turn it back into glucose.
...But if there is still to much insulin floating around, the pancreas will not release the glucagon and the insulin continues to convert glucose into glycogen and continue "filling the glass".
...So now the glass is full, our blood sugar is low, and our body tells us to eat (super hunger pangs). So we eat to get our blood sugar back to normal but if we eat the carbs that spiked our insulin, then the process repeats.
...The problem now is that, since the glass is full, our metabolism takes the glycogen and turns it into fat so that more glycogen can be stored in the liver. That's the visious cycle that causes weight gain and as long as a person (who overreacts to high gi carbs) continues to eat those high gi carbs cannot ever possibly lose weight except through exercise.
...The GI diet just controls the insulin release so that the normal cycle can take place.
Rick

 

Don't fall into the weight issues category myself. Most of the time I have had this I have been at my ideal weight. Only recently have I gained weight again, mainly due to the Neurontin. But many of us in this thread have migraine type issues.

Here's another one. Anyone experience small muscle twitches. It usually happens to me after a day of doing something. I'll sit down to relax on the couch or whatever and I'll get this little muscle twitches in either my arms or my legs. You can actually sit there and watch them flutter. Anyone else on that one?

 

Hi Tumbleweed ; The days I don"t get adequate rest I get muscle twitches in the day . I watched my deltoid twitch and flutter around for half an hour the other day . Thanx Rick for explaining the insulin process to me , that makes alot more sense to me (layman terms?)than some of the medical website explanations . Now if I can only shed another 30 lbs.............. : : : Eric

 

I get the muscle twitching when I take my diuretics or after alot of exercise.

Sparrow

 

Wow, so that's what it's called! Great, now on top of everything else, I also get exploding head syndrome hahaha! Of course I do!! Yes, I get them at night as I'm trying to fall asleep. Not very often, but when they do come, it's very startling and happens about 2-3 times in a row and then it's done. Very weird.