Strange pulsing sensation

[username5927]

I'm writing this in the hopes that someone else has experienced this before. I've had a panic disorder for more than half of my life. I'm 31 now. I feel down awhile back, but with the help of medication and therapy, I'm getting back up. I've been able to rationalize and explain every symptom that I've experienced before. However, there is one that I've never understood and wonder if it's something non-anxiety related.
It's pulsing, ebbing, numbing, electric shock like feeling that waves through my body. It only last for an instant. Long enough to notice and dwell on though. It's super hard to explain. Like, if my body was made of water, someone would be dropping a pebble in me and the waves would flow throughout my body. Or like for a split second, parts of my body are being lightly electricuted and the top layer of skin has a numbness that washes over it.
I don't know. It's really weird. It usually just happens more in my hands and in my face. It only lasts a split second and it's not like my body goes completely numb, just a little. It's just, wierd.

Anyone?

Thanks!!

[mom1982]

I've read & heard a lot of people(in chat) with anxiety talk about electric shock feelings & pulsing. You might find it in this forum if you do a search for those key words. Take care.

[Ronny]

Hi, these are all symptoms of anxiety,the numbness in the face hands and head are all common,i know i have the same strange weird sensations,my therapist told me that i shallow breath,and that causes the tingling.........don,t worry about them.......you will be ok.

[andrea thompson]

hi hon

i get numb feelings in my hands and face... its awful but it doesnt last long... i have in the past aswell hd little elec shock feelings in my head... i am sure its all caused by anxiety... try not to worry ... you will be fine i am sure... its just your state of mind making you dwell on these weird sensations.... i know cos i do it...lol

take care

andrea x x

[RLR]

Okay, this is most often observed in patients who are either undergoing therapy with drug agents that impart changes to serotonin reuptake and the more prominent drugs are those like Paxil. Patients desrcribe either brief pulsing effects from head to toe or electrical shock sensations as they move their eyes from extreme gaze side to side. The sensation is very brief and patients often have difficulty articulating all that they feel taking place and are unable to reproduce it at will in most all cases.

Realize that the problem is due to influence on the oculovestibular network which is a sort of shared activity between ocular gaze by the eyes and the vestibular system that work in concert to maintain balance. Drugs that impart changes to serotonin reuptake often produce a lag in response that normally is extremely short within the oculovestibular center, causing patients to feel a latent pulse of shock that is most often produced by movement of the eyes from center position to extreme gaze or even sudden movement of the eyes or head that can produce a response by the vestibular network.

It is not a sign of disease at all. It can also take place in some instances in the absence of treatment by the drugs mentioned.

You'll be fine. Depending upon your circumstances, the effects usually dissipate over a period of weeks, but can sometimes extend for several months in rare instances.

Best regards,

Rutheford Rane, MD (ret.)

[warren-david]

ive had this too.i guess its due to my medication... the only way i can describe it its as if i have a moble phone vibrating on the skin for a couple of seconds..ive gone to grab my phone and it not be there... weird ,but i guess its just a small side effect of medication.

[username5927]

Thanks everyone for the information! I'm sorry it has taken me so long to respond back. Sometimes I forget about things. Actually, i forget about things a lot. I didn't even remember I had posted this until I started feeling that weird pulsing sensation again today.
It does make me feel better (as you all know) that I'm not the only person on earth (lol) that is/has experienced this. I can just chalk it up to annoying instead of scary now.

Thanks so much everyone!

-Will

[looking4answers]

Its anxiety yes I have felt this but you are dwelling on it too much..Just forget about it and say to yourself its just a feeling it will go away and it will .. take care. hope you feel better. Michael