Brain zaps: Anyone else experiencing this?

Greetings, everyone. I’ve spent some time searching through the forums to see if anyone else has dealt with my specific issue, or perhaps something resembling it, but since my search came up empty, I figured I would start a new thread. Lately, I've been experiencing a peculiar sensation within my head—much like the electrical currents or tremors described in the title—that seems to migrate through my skull. It starts near the base of my brain and radiates upward, eventually settling around my nose and creating a distinct sense of pressure. Interestingly, when I monitor my blood pressure, the readings remain perfectly within the normal range, which leaves me wondering why I feel this intense cranial pressure despite having no hypertension. Has anyone else here encountered a similar phenomenon, or does anyone have any insight into what might be causing this?

Man, I don't even know how many times a day that kind of thing can happen to you. If you start feeling those hits coming one after another, you seriously need to get down to the ER and demand a CT scan. This isn't some minor thing you can just shrug off, it's actually pretty heavy.

It could be anything, really—cervical vertebrae, spinal issues, maybe something neurological, or even psychogenic in nature...
The diagnostic process needs to begin immediately.

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Apparently, it’s just my anxiety acting up. I constantly have this weird sensation in my head—like something is crawling or prickling against my scalp all the time. I went ahead and got everything checked out, including a full MRI with contrast and an MRA of my brain.

Larry Scott43 said:How many times does this happen in a single day? If you’re getting hit with several of these in a row, shouldn't you just head straight to the ER for a CT scan? This isn't something you can just brush off as harmless.

It varies; some days I don't experience it at all, while other days it hits me multiple times. Interestingly, I've noticed that when I'm fully preoccupied with something else, the issue seems to vanish—it's only when my mind finally has a moment of downtime that these problems decide to resurface.

Jacob Lopez51 said:Supposedly, it’s just anxiety. I constantly have this sensation of pins and needles or crawling under my skin. I've gone through all the tests, including a contrast MRI and a brain scan.

And what did the scans actually show?
I suspect I might be dealing with anxiety myself; there was a period where I dealt with full-blown panic attacks along with all the usual symptoms. As I mentioned in my other post, the issues tend to vanish when I'm actually occupied, yet they seem to intensify the moment I have a spare second to sit around and dwell on them. It's currently a bit difficult to get an appointment with a doctor around here given the whole COVID situation, but I still intend to schedule a checkup regardless.

dustyfalcon4 said:So, what did the tests actually show?
Honestly, I think I’m dealing with anxiety too—there was a stretch where I was having full-on panic attacks and all those other classic symptoms. Like I mentioned in another thread, when I'm actually busy with stuff, I'm fine; it's only when I have downtime to sit around and overthink things that the whole issue starts ramping up again. It's a bit tough to get an appointment with my doctor right now because of everything going on with COVID, but I'm still going to try and schedule a checkup.

I went ahead and got an MRI of my brain, neck, thoracic spine, and lumbar spine—plus a brain scan with contrast. For the most part, everything looks normal. My brain scan showed some tiny lesions, but they're just migraine-related or microcirculation issues—nothing to worry about—and the angiography was totally clear. My neck has some minor degenerative changes and my thoracic spine has some lordosis. Basically, the results were pretty okay. Of course, I was convinced I had MS.
The neurologist, after looking at the scans and doing a color Doppler, diagnosed me with benign fasciculation syndrome (basically, my muscles twitch). Also, bloodwork came back positive for H. pylori and I was severely deficient in Vitamin D. Everything else—immunology and Lyme disease testing—came back negative.
I've done every test under the sun and I'm officially calling it quits. Antidepressants didn't really do much for that tingling or "pins and needles" sensation—maybe an anxiolytic would help more, but honestly, I think I'm just chronically anxious since that's pretty much my default state.

Jacob Lopez51 said:I went ahead and got an MRI of my brain, neck, and thoracic and lumbar spine—brain was done with contrast. For the most part, everything looks fine. There are just some tiny lesions on the brain, likely migraine-related or microcirculatory in nature, which aren't significant, and the angiography came back normal. My neck shows minor degenerative changes and there's some lordosis in the thoracic spine. In principle, the results are okay. Of course, I had spent all this time convinced I had MS.
My neurologist, following a clear EMG and color Doppler ultrasound, diagnosed me with benign fasciculation syndrome (those muscle twitches). Bloodwork came back positive for H. pylori and showed a massive Vitamin D deficiency. Everything else was immunologically negative, including testing for Lyme disease.
After running through every test imaginable, I’ve finally given up. Antidepressants didn't really do much for the tingling and crawling sensations; an anxiolytic might be better, since I suppose I’m just chronically anxious most of the time.

It seems we are dealing with the exact same issue: anxiety. At first, I was certain my heart was failing whenever those panic attacks hit, so I convinced myself I needed cardiac clearance. I ended up seeing three or four different cardiologists and even wore a 24-hour Holter monitor, only to find every single test perfectly normal. Then I moved on to my stomach, where they found a hiatal hernia. All my bloodwork was within range, aside from cholesterol being slightly elevated. Once all these tests were finished, I think I finally settled mentally; the panic attacks stopped, though now I'm dealing with these dizzy spells. :-)
"Quality of life" used to be such a vague, almost humorous concept to me—something people talked about without really grasping how it's eroded—but now, thanks to this anxiety, I understand the term completely.

Anxiety and hypochondria... I honestly can't figure out what's actually triggering these sensations. Maybe it's a dopamine spike or just hyper-sensitive nerves—who knows? No doctor seems to have a straight answer for what's happening inside my head. My psychiatrist even tries to claim none of it is actually real, but let me tell you, it feels like something is constantly digging around in my brain—it's enough to make me want to scratch my head like a madman.🤔

Jacob Lopez51 said:Anxiety and hypochondria... I honestly can’t pin down exactly what triggers these physical sensations. Is it a dopamine spike? Or perhaps just hyper-sensitive nerves? Not a single doctor seems capable of offering a coherent explanation for this internal rattling; even my psychiatrist insists that nothing is actually happening, yet here I am, feeling like my brain is being physically agitated while I scratch at my head like a restless primate.🤔

It starts with that sudden chill, and then I’m left feeling this dull, nagging pressure right around my nose. I find myself reaching for the blood pressure cuff because I’m convinced my levels have spiked, only to discover they’ve actually dropped below my usual baseline. Is there any logic to it, or am I just chasing shadows?
To be perfectly honest, I am at a loss for how to even describe this situation when I finally sit down with my doctor. Is it something serious? I suppose there is no way to know just yet, though I can only hope for the best. It feels a little easier, at least, to vent these thoughts to someone who might actually understand what I'm going through.

Do you happen to have any amalgam fillings in your mouth? That could actually be the culprit behind those electrical sensations you're feeling in your head area.

briskscout10 said:Could you perhaps have some amalgam fillings in your mouth? That might actually be the reason you're feeling electrical sensations around your head.

I do, and quite a few of them at that. It certainly hadn't occurred to me that they could be the culprit.

Let me paste this here for you: "Aside from the issue of toxic vapors, there is a less discussed problem regarding electrical activity. Every mercury filling essentially acts like a tiny, inexhaustible battery that constantly disrupts a person's biological equilibrium through an acupuncture-like system.
The voltage produced by amalgam fillings far exceeds our body's own action potential. Along the nerve trunk, for instance, it sits at about 20-40 mV and a few nanoAmperes.
Those dark mercury fillings can produce currents of several microAmperes (which is over 1,000 times higher) with voltages reaching as high as 468mV in recorded cases.
Whether viewed directly or through an acupuncture-style mechanism, this interferes with facial muscle function, which then triggers reflexes through the neck and into the back and spinal muscles. Eventually, this affects the spinal shock absorbers and discs, indirectly forcing the body into specific postures to relieve muscle spasms, which can lead to permanent deformities or even disability."

My suggestion would be to look into replacing those amalgams with composite fillings.

briskscout10 said:Let me copy that over for you: "Beyond the issue of toxic vapors, there is a much less discussed problem involving electrical activity; essentially, every mercury filling acts like a tiny, unexhausted battery that constantly disrupts the body's biological equilibrium through an acupuncture-like mechanism.
The voltage produced by amalgam fillings far exceeds the action potential of our own bodies. Along the nerve trunk, that potential sits at roughly 20-40 mV and just a few nanoAmperes.
Those dark mercury fillings generate currents of several microAmperes—which is over 1,000 times greater—with voltages reaching as high as 468mV in recorded instances.
Whether viewed directly or through an acupuncture lens, this interferes with facial muscle function, which then triggers reflexes through the neck and into the back and spinal muscles, eventually affecting the spinal discs. This creates an indirect need for certain postures to relieve muscle spasms, ultimately leading to permanent deformities and disability."

My suggestion would be to look into replacing those amalgams with composite fillings.

I haven't heard anything about this before. Thanks for the heads-up.

I dealt with this exact same thing a few years back. I went through the whole ringer—MRIs, CT scans, everything. Turns out, I was perfectly healthy. Just told it was anxiety. Honestly, it hasn't hit me like this in ages, probably not since the doctors looked me in the eye and said, "Physically, you're fine." 😉

Anyway, just go get the tests done.

Amanda Anderson87 said:went through this exact same ordeal a few years back. I had every test under the sun performed, including MRIs and CT scans, and everything came back perfectly normal—healthy as a horse. They just chalked it up to anxiety. Honestly, it hasn't hit me like this since the moment they told me, "Physically, you're perfectly fine." 😉

In any case, getting those tests done is the way to go.

The more I read about anxiety and listen to other people's experiences with these attacks, the less frequently they seem to happen, which leads me to believe it’s primarily psychological; nevertheless, I intend to schedule my own checkups as soon as the situation with COVID stabilizes... assuming it ever actually does.