Strange sensations while falling asleep - surges, zaps, jerks

[MaryMoo429]

@Patti2057This seems to be very similar to my own experience. I have a handful of them just about every night. Two of them last night were so intense that I jumped up and gasped for air in a panic. Rather than zaps, however, mine present as a surge of warm anxious energy, as if its being injected into my upper body, quickly washing over me...

 

I'm so sorry that your experiencing this symptom as well, but hope you can find some comfort in knowing you're not alone. 

[Patti2057]

Thank you, it does help to hear from you. I pray we'll get through and past this. 

[zen81]

@MaryMoo429

I am pleased that you are getting back your confidence. I can understand why you are hesitant with the sertraline.

Have you tried propanalol? Thar will also help immensly as it controls the migrane. I have a strong feeling its 2 things that are troubling you.

please try the massager. the key is your brain tells u it will happen and it does. you need something to distract you. so a book and massager wil help lots

i will pray you feel better. Also you need good sleep. What i have seen is that long duration of sleep also reduces them. I tried taking zopiclon for 7 days to help me sleep

then it happens automatically. also please take omega 3 tablets. they will help with rebuilding the damage.

[ChessieCat]

2 hours ago, zen81 said:

Have you tried propanalol? Thar will also help immensly as it controls the migrane.

 

Please do not make suggestions about drugs to other members because it might be dangerous for them.

 

It is generally better to tell a member what you have tried and how it affected you.

 

Edited February 21, 2021 by ChessieCat

[zen81]

Hi ChessieCat,

 

I tried it with the doctor's suggestion and it worked.

 

Thank you

[Ripley]

Hi @whatshappening

 

I read your posts above about energy surges as you're relaxing and trying to sleep and this sounds very similar to something I'm experiencing. I get a surge in the brain and chest that lasts only a second or two as I'm trying to fall asleep and, when I get this sensation, I'll usually have a night of total insomnia or very little sleep.

 

(Strangely, this is triggered even by gentle walking in the day or normal activities. Anything more than just being at home or in the garden seems to give me this weird surge like a 'blocking sensation' and no sleep.)

 

Anyway, I've struggled to find this described anywhere else but your description has some similarities. I'd be very grateful to learn how you're doing now and whether these surges have diminished or perhaps gone? Or did anything help you manage them? 

 

I'm sort of 'waiting for them to pass' but as time goes on this gets harder and more worrying.

 

I hope to hear from you,

R

[Ripley]

Hi @MaryMoo429 and @Patti2057

 

How are you? I was wondering if the surges when you were trying to sleep had improved at all? I have the same problem. When you had/have them, are you able to sleep after them?

 

R

[Patti2057]

@Ripley Hi. The sensation I have is like a startle and then I feel extreme anxiety in my stomach. It wakes me in the early morning and,  usually, I can’t fall back to sleep. I generally have no issues falling asleep when I go to bed at night. 
 

How are you doing?

Patti

[Iman]

I have a solution gor those suffering from the surge of energy waking u up right at the moment of transition to sleep.

[Kevman2112]

I have something similar.  I have had them twice during my taper.  When I am falling asleep but seem to be still awake I get extreme chest pain and extreme panic.  I tell myself to get up, your having a heart attack.  As soon as I fully wake up, a matter of a few seconds, the chest pain is completely gone and the panic immediately begins to dissipate.  It’s very similar to waking from a nightmare but not actually being asleep.  It feels incredibly real up until I sit up for a half a second.  Luckily, it hasn’t caused many issues for getting to sleep or back to sleep. It has been helpful to tell myself, and believe it for that matter, that this is withdrawal related and not dangerous.  Sometimes I will drink a cup of chamomile tea before bed to ward off these experiences but can’t say for sure if it works at all.

[PsychologicalSafe15]

@lowan @Iman Do you experience vivid dreams?

[Iowan]

4 minutes ago, PsychologicalSafe15 said:

@lowan @Iman Do you experience vivid dreams?

I can't say that I did or do, but my mind would be racing a lot. Like permanently stuck in fight of flight mode. I haven't had a 'jerk' for a while now, but I still don't sleep very well. Things have improved nicely over the past year + off Lexapro.

[LondonGal]

On 10/7/2020 at 11:57 PM, whatshappening said:

So I've tried to search the forums before posting this and so far I've only seen topics on adrenaline surges and cortisol spikes. So I'm not sure if what I am about to explain is really that?  I've been experiencing these weird energy surges (like electrical shocks) that happen in my upper body when I'm trying to relax in bed and close my eyes. I'm not asleep yet but just trying to close my eyes and clear my mind when these happen. I've read elsewhere someone describing it like starting off as that butterflies feeling you get in your stomach and then a rush/surge of energy to the brain which gives you a 'jump' and an electric feeling.  These definitely aren't brain zaps as I've experienced those before. This one is more the entire upper body and only during relaxed states. 

 

This keeps me from settling down and actually falling asleep because when it happens it literally feels like electricity. It hangs on for a bit until I find myself alert again then it will fade. Almost like it's saying "oh no you don't! Don't you dare fall asleep!" So it's a vicious cycle of relaxing, getting electrocuted, relaxing, getting electrocuted etc. I'm sure by now lack of sleep makes this worse. So I'm wondering if there are any remedies that may help lesson the severity of these energy surges so that they aren't so disruptive to sleep?

I get this currently most nights. Exactly as you describe and they are different from brain zaps and only happen when I am falling asleep. It'a not the same as the jerks either, it's different. Starts in my stomach and is like a wave / surge - lasts around 5 to 7 seconds each time and sometimes I gasp for breath. Extremely overpowering. Did you find anything that helped? Hope so.  I am listening to guided sleep meditations but it doesn't stop them always. Warmly, LondonGal

[ChessieCat]

1 hour ago, LondonGal said:

Did you find anything that helped?

 

Did you read the first post of this topic?

 

  

On 12/22/2012 at 5:47 PM, UnfoldingSky said:

ADMIN NOTE If you get twitches or jerks in your legs when you want to sleep, stretching exercises may help, particularly if you site at the computer a lot.

 

Playing very soft music while you're sleeping may calm the hypnic jerks or other strange jolts interrupting sleep or relaxation, see

Music for self-care: Calms hyperalertness, anxiety, aids relaxation and sleep

 

Tips to help sleep -- so many of us have that awful withdrawal insomnia

 

Hypnic / hypnagogic jerks when falling asleep

 

 

[zen81]

to all here,

 

There could be many reasons why you are getting these surges/zaps. In my case it was excess anxiety to the point i thought i would not recover. I genuinely thought something was damaged in my brain as its something you only feel and cannot see.

Please Please Please do not despair. They willl go. Promise. Mine were brought on my anxiety. I was prescribed Propanalol and Sertraline. Sertraline sp really helped to ease this phenomenon. The thing is when you tell your mind not to think of it while you fall asleep it will most likely happen. Drift off and you wont realise. However the drift off is where it gets tricky.  For me the surges practically reduced to 10% mild in the second month of taking sertraline which I started in April 20. I was on it till April 21. Tapered a little and stopped cold turkey in Julyish timeframe. They never returned as in my cases it was excessive anxiety that the brain does not let you sleep. This is not the same as surges in brain or zaps. This is the adrenaline ( butterflies in chest ) almost.

 

Here is what worked for me in addition to Sertraline back then.

1. Affirmation before going to bed that all will be fine and I am improving and these horrible feelings have gone.

2. Audio Books (to help drift off to bed )

3. Walks very Long walks in the park. Exercise will make u sleep. no matter what. I went even when i didnt feel like. 

4. This forum helped tremendously as lot of encouragement stories.

5.  Bedtime routine. Anything that works for you. E.g my case daily bath, lavender massage and then affirmation/meditation.

6. Lots of Omega 3  6 9 to calm the brain.

7. Eating proper food. good / healthy meals. Its fine to eat junk once in a while.

8. Music ( although it didnt work for me ).

9. Writing down that this is not permanant and its gone on a piece of paper ( might seem silly but there is a great power in writing positive thoughts )>

10. Yoga ( calming stretches will ease muscles ).

11. Faith ( Lots of Faith whoever you pray to. I prayed to the Universe as well ) - its a very powerful mantra. 

 

Anyone suffering with this be assured it will go. I am happy to help anyone who wants to know the detailed routine i followed. PLease note however sertraline really did help me.

When i had a bit of anxiety again, propanolol on its on did the trick and it took a few days to reduce these surges. 

It took me 3 anti-depressants to get rid of these. so please dont give up hope. Antidepressants are a crutch you need to get over a bad phase but you dont need them forever.

Now I have started a supplement called Mensana , Bacopa all herbal supplements.

 

Please keep faith this is not permanent but it took me a while to realise that. 

 

[MaryMoo429]

When I first started getting these last winter I had them almost every night and they totally freaked me out. For me they occur over my chest/heart area and feel like a warm rush of anxious energy that often times caused me to sit up and gasp for air and check to see if my heart had stopped beating. They always happen right as I'm about to fall asleep. It's almost like as soon as my body is about to relax and drift off to sleep, my hyper-vigilant nervous system doesn't want to let go of control and lose awareness, so it jolts me back to being fully alert.

 

I thought that something was wrong with my heart so had several ekgs done as well as and echocardiogram. When these all came back fine, I was able to better assure myself that the sensations were just a (very scary) physical manifestation of anxiety and were not going to kill me.

 

Once I was able to relax into them more and stop fighting them, it was like my body was better able to bridge the gap between being asleep and awake without experiencing them so frequently and intensely. I had these every night for a solid few months but now only get them every once in a while. This is the one symptom that I have seen significant improvement with. I actually had them three nights ago for the first time in at least a month and I was able to just let them do their thing without losing it.

 

So as hard as it is, I believe what helped me was trying my best to accept them for something that was uncomfortable but wouldn't hurt me. This seemed to rob them of the power they had over me. And believe me, they had a lot. I was certain that my heart was going to stop just about every night when I was dealing with them. Like others have said here, another thing that may help is playing something in the background.

 

I know many people like mediations and you should definitely give them a try if you haven't, but during this time, what really worked for me was to put on a familiar TV show and then put an eye mask over my face to block out the light. For some reason the cartoon King of the Hill was my go-to. Having a light-hearted, comedic dialogue running in the background help to  drown out the terrifying monologue that was racing through my head and established a more comfortable, less threatening environment for me.

 

I hope this helps and that you can find some peace with this symptom. I know how incredibly terrifying it is.

 

Sending lots of love.💕 

 

Edited October 29, 2021 by ChessieCat
added paragraph spacing for easier reading

[RobertZ]

I've asked ChatGPT about the association between hypnic jerks and psychotropics. Wasn't looking for medical advice (and I'm not encouraging anyone to do this), just curious about the chemistry behind this awful symptom. Here is what it said:

 

"1. Central Nervous System (CNS) Excitation: Many psychotropic drugs, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), and certain antidepressants, can enhance the activity of neurotransmitters in the brain, particularly serotonin. This increased CNS excitation may lead to hyperexcitability of certain nerve pathways involved in motor control, potentially resulting in sleep onset myoclonus.

2. Disruption of Sleep Architecture: Some psychotropic drugs can affect the stages of sleep and disrupt the normal sleep architecture. For example, certain antipsychotic medications, such as clozapine or olanzapine, may influence the transition between wakefulness and sleep, causing abnormal muscle movements during this transition.

3. Dopamine Imbalance: Dopamine is another neurotransmitter involved in the regulation of movement and muscle control. Drugs that affect dopamine levels or receptor activity, such as dopamine agonists used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease or antipsychotics that modulate dopamine pathways, may lead to an imbalance that triggers myoclonus during sleep onset.

4. Individual Sensitivity: It's worth noting that not everyone who takes psychotropic drugs will experience sleep onset myoclonus. Some individuals may be more susceptible to this side effect due to their unique neurochemistry or other factors that influence the interactions between the drug and the central nervous system."

 

The sad takeaway for me is that the AI is more knowledgable about this issue than my doctor.

 

[Giuly88]

Hi,

 

I have abdominal jerks night and day with breaks and also dependent on position. 
 

Also my legs and shoulders sometimes jerk.

 

 

 

[RobertZ]

Mine are getting less and less the lower I go with the dose.

[Giuly88]

Hi RobertZ,

 

Thank you for your contribution 😊.

 

With me as I’m not tapering I just have to wait it out but they’re are diminishing though with ups and downs, windows and waves.

 

Where about do you get jerks if I may ask?

 

[RobertZ]

@Giuly88Hands, feet, lower face, eyelid, calves, abdomen - pretty much everywhere. They do follow a windows and waves pattern, too.

[Giuly88]

34 minutes ago, RobertZ said:

@Giuly88Hands, feet, lower face, eyelid, calves, abdomen - pretty much everywhere. They do follow a windows and waves pattern, too.

Can’t believe what these drugs caused to us and the clueless doctors prescribe them as candies as if they are safe and harmless 🤷‍♀️.

 

Best wishes and healing vibes to you RobertZ.

 

💕