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moonlightlady
24-01-09, 05:40
Hi, I am new here as of just a few moments ago. I am very glad I found this site! I'm really not sure what's wrong with me right now, but here goes....
Since I was in my early 20's I've had anxiety problems, and panic attacks.
I've had 3 kids, and been married 32 years, and am right now dealing with perimenopause as well! Now, that alone, brings on INSANE symptoms!
However, the other night, when my husband and I came home, I was standing by the couch, and suddenly without any warning, my legs just gave out, like they weren't even there, and i sort of collapsed onto the couch, and held my arms out in front of me to sort of hold me upright, and it felt like my brain was vibrating, and I was going to pass out, I also had those dark circles around the eyes, like donuts, which is a sign of getting ready to faint. I sat there on the couch like this , for about maybe, 30 seconds or so, which doesn't sound like a long time, but when you're brain feels as if it's REALLY vibrating, it feels like forever. I was struggling to stay conscious, and not pass out. My husband had gone upstairs, so he didn't even notice. When this "episode" was over, I jumped up, to test my legs and they were ok, and all I could do, was pace back and forth fast, and see if I could speak,(which I could), .... I felt slightly off balance, and VERY detached and panicky, obviously.

Now, as of about 2 weeks ago, we started to have a SMALL exhaust leak in our car, in the engine in the front of the car. But we took it to our mechanic, who has us penciled in to have it fixed in a week, but he listened to it, and said he DID smell exhaust, but that with our car, the exhaust CAN NOT get into the inside of the car, and even if it did, it would be so darn minimul there wouldn't be any harm from carbon monoxide.....and that if I felt weird, to just open a window, until this is fixed. Now this guy, is good! He's been in business for many years. He "knows" our car. Well, to be honest, while we were there, I began to feel really panicky, and whacked out, and tired. So, then, i began to think....carbon monoxide! His place is only a few min.s from our house, so we drove right home. When we got home, this little "episode" happened. I called a friend of mine, who is a nurse, and she said, it could be the carbon monoxide, OR a severe panic attack! WOW! I didn't know it could do THAT! I have a dr.s appt. now set up for 2 weeks from today, but I would like to know, if anyone else has had anything like this. She went onto describe, how the central nervous system works, and the vagus nerve, and EVERYTHING! She seems to think it's the vagus nerve, due to the insane amount of stress we've been under latley, since my husb. was laid off! Yes, I have been very very worried, and am taking xanax presently, as needed.

Now that was yesterday. I had a really bad nights "sleep" if you can even call it that. Crazy weird dreams......I even had three seperate incidents, where, I knew I was AWAKE, and yet, i felt the covers being sort of pulled of of me, from my legs ... as if someone were pulling the covers off me,and I could feel the covers being pulled downwards, towards my legs. I laid there, frozen in fear.! I finally got the nerve to "look" and it was nothing!
OK, so I decided to try to go back to bed. Well, within about 3 or 4 minutes, it began again! I KNOW i was awake, darn it! Again, i froze in fear. Again, I got the nerve to finally open my eyes, and nothing! Covers were fine, and my husb. was snoring away. Then, i decided, to try it again, determined to go back to sleep! Yep.....once again, here we go!
Now, i was mad, and scared! This all happned, by the way, while i was laying on my right side....NOT my left side, or my back. I was able to finally fall back to sleep! Can anyone please tell me what the heck that was? MY friend, who is the nurse, said that was nerves! She said my nerve endings may have been affected by the carbon monoxide, OR the SEVERE panic attack. (I should include here, that, after that "collapse" episode, I could speak normally, but NERVOUSLY and kind of stumbling over my words until I stopped and said it again slowly..........but, I flew into this crazy wild panic attack! I felt like I was "dying", which I know is common for panic.........i wanted to run around outside and scream and just keep running. My husband had to sort of grab me, and tell me it was ok, and i'd be fine.....i was crying by this time) .....

I know this is a very long post,...sorry about that, but i wanted to really explain this. I am so darn scared.....today, for most of the day, I still felt VERY DETACHED and weird, and not myself..........my speech today is better, but for the early part of hte day, my speech was still very fast and nervous. I had NO HEADACHE, but i do feel nauseas. UGH! this is to much! Yes, I am under TERRIBLE stress latley, in reality, i've been under SEVERE stress for years now.........

Thank you everyone for any help you can give me.....I need encouragement and suppor right now!

Sincerely, moonlightlady

McKay
24-01-09, 06:14
Sounds to me like a drop in blood sugar or blood pressure - both can cause sudden weakness in my experience, and I'm familiar with the "vibrating brain" sensation (though in my case it was a side effect from an antidepressant.)

They also could be part of perimenopause:
http://www.project-aware.org/Experience/symptoms.shtml

Symptoms of acute carbon monoxide poisoning wouldn't come and go like that, I wouldn't think. And a lot of it does sound like anxiety. When I'm freaking out, I can't speak well either. (Sometimes I think I'm having a stroke, but so far, nope!)

moonlightlady
24-01-09, 16:32
Hi McKay, thank you for replying! Yes, a lot of it sounds like anxiety or PANIC perhaps, but the VIBRATING BRAIN? I mean, when I collapsed onto the couch, I had to hold myself up with my arms, and my brain "felt" like it was REALLY REALLY vibrating in there!!! This wasn't mild,this felt very intense, as if my brain, inside my head, was vibrating intensely! I've learned that during perimenopause, your body can sometimes MILDLY vibrate somewhere, and i've had that...that's hormonal. But this was like some kind of "seizure" and yet, it didn't leave me with any after effects,..not really. I am still nauseas, even TODAY (Sat.), not badly, but there. I still feel that "off" feeling, and DETACHED! I do have an appetite, on and off. I have never had anything wrong with me, that would bring on any kind of "seizure" let's say, such as epilepsy, or whatever, and nobody in my family does either. In the last 2 yrs. i have become VERY WELL ACQUAINTED with perimenopause and it's very frightening symptoms, all of which are attributeable to hormonal swings...but this was different! Can a SEVERE panic attack, cause this?
I know panic can cause wild things, but THIS? It came out of nowhere! Unless, it's carbon monoxide from my car? (but even the mech. said it was a small leak, nothing that would harm me, and that even if i should feel a LITTLE bit weird, just open a window, no big deal..till it's fixed).

So, i don't know what to think.....now, like I had said, both my sons feel this way, but my second oldest who is 24, REALLY feels it, just like me! I don't know then, if it's a bug or not.

thank you to everyone!!!!

LucyR
24-01-09, 18:20
Do you mean your sons also suffer this vibrating in the brain and legs giving out? If it was me, Id make an emergency appointment and not leave this for 2 weeks.

moonlightlady
25-01-09, 06:03
Hi ... no, I didn't mean my son had the vibrating brain thing also, i meant he had the same anxiety symptoms as I do ... and he seems to be having the same symptoms as I have now, w/o the brain vibrating thing, that's what i meant. He suffers from a LOT of anxiety, so much so, that he really can't even work, or hold a job very long. So, we are very familiar with anxiety and panic attacks around here! This is why, I wondered if this brain vibrating thing was PANIC or perhaps hormonal, or even an allergic reaction. I do know that a SEVERE panic attack can mimic many diff. SEVERE health conditions, so, I guess I wouldn't be surprised if it could bring on something like this too, such as the vagus nerve being OVER STIMULATED from stress and anxiety. That's what my friend had said, she used to work for a psych a number of years ago, and now, she is a nurse in the local hospital, but she said to me, that the vagus nerve can send over stimulated impulses to the brain, and create sort of a "brain storm" of electricity, when over stressed. Thank you all for any help and info.!!!!!

moonlightlady
25-01-09, 06:32
Also......i should add here, that my husb. just lost his job, he was laid off, and i'm SURE that is causing me MUCH FEAR AND WORRY right now! MUCH! I can tell it's causing HIM a lot of worry too, and the fear that he might not be able to get another job quick enough, worries me terribly! I also want to add that, about 4 yrs. ago, I had some kind of weird "episode" as i call it,....I was driving, at night, ALSO in a COLD month, February. We live in Miami, but we had a cold snap for a few nights. It must have dipped down to maybe 40 or so...that was COLD for us! I can rem. that night, because it was somewhat similar to the other night, when I collapsed onto the couch, in that, it was COLD! But that night, 4 yrs. ago, i was driving, and yes, still under a lot of marital problems at that time, lots of stress from that!!!! It was about 9pm, and COLD (well, for me anyway), and all of a sudden, as I began to sort of dwell on things, and my own anxiety symptoms.....lo and behold......suddenly, I got these two "waves" that came over me (yes, while i was driving!), it felt like I had sort of driven into some kind of time warp or something, it felt like i was in the ocean, where the waves just sort of begin, and so the wave just gently lifts you up as it passes by you....yes, well, that 's what this felt like, and then, I felt as if everything in my body STOPPED, came to a halt, and I got these "wreaths" of light around my eyes, .. I could see it, ...they were like a million tiny white lights (like say, the christmas wreaths with those tiny white lights) around my eyes, and I began to sort of shake, not violently, but I think out of fear. I was able to pull into a parking lot, and even managed to pull into a parking space very well..lol...and I jumped out of the car, and just walked around the car, pacing, talking to myself to calm myself down. By the time i had jumped out of the car, the whole thing was over, but i was still very shakey! I would say that "episode" lasted about, 20 seconds or so......maybe 30. It was really scary, and it really DID feel like everything in my body, just STOPPED! Now, has anyone else ever had anything like this? Is this panic? I find it funny, that this happened to me AFTER I STARTED THINKING (for only a moment or so) ABOUT MY ANXIETY PROBLEM, and it's symptoms......well, THIS TIME, the other night...it was similar! I had been talking to my husb. about that "episode" i had in the car 4 yrs. ago (I had forgotten about that, till the other night), and for some reason, the thought just popped into my head .... well, that was a few nights before the night I collapsed onto the couch....in other words, it would almost seem, as if, just like the incident 4 yrs. ago......ONCE I STARTED TO THINK ABOUT MY SYMPTOMS THAT I'VE HAD...then, something drastic happens again, either right away, or within a few days (like this time). I find that very coincidental.

*D*
25-01-09, 14:38
Hello,
First let me say welcome, secondly I am sorry you are going through a tough time. I have a question, have you ever had an adrenlin rush? They can be pretty powerful, is it possible it could have been that, I have had one almost took me off my feet, when we are under a consant state of anxiety the adernalin has no were to go if we do not burn it off, so it gets absorbed into our muscles, and our blood stream. That is why we sometime feel that internal shaking our body is trying to burn off the adrenalin. There would be times when I was shaking so much on the inside but if I was to put my hand out straight it wasent moving. This over time has an affect on our muscular system, that causes muscle tension, pain in our joints. It is a vicious circle.

I am not sure if this is what is going on with you, but I do hope you start to feel better. I also hope your husband gets another job. It is a very scary time here in the US. were I live in the North East we have the highest unployment rate in the country. It is @ 10 % So I no what you are going through. Good luck to you.

Oh just a side note I thought your comment of being cold @ 40 was very funny, it is 8 below zero here this morning. :ohmy:


Take Good care, and welcome!:hugs:

D

moonlightlady
26-01-09, 08:54
Hi....well, thank you everyone! It's so good to have a place to come to with these weird scary symptoms! That's a good point about adrenaline rushes....yes, I have had MANY of them! But if that was an adrenaline rush, then WOW! I mean, my legs just literally collapsed, and my brain, was REALLY vibrating! Now, i'm sure my brain wasn't TRULY vibrating in my head, but it certainly felt that way....must have been the "electrical" currents in there or something, going wild. THAT WOULD BE AN ADRENALINE RUSH? I guess it's possible, but I' never would have thought that. However , when i see my dr. i will definatley bring that up. Good info. on what happens to the adrenaline that doesn't get used up!
Thank you to everyone that replied, I really do appreciate it, i need the support right now!!!! thank you!