Weird brain zaps

    • Anonymous
      November 25, 2009 at 8:16 pm

      Hi!

      I’m new to the forums. But thanks everyone for the info you share, I find it super useful.

      I was diagnosed with mild GBS in July (it started in June), bounced back in August, bounced back down in September, and have been having all sorts of residual weirdness since. I spent some time with my neuro recently, got a spinal tap and another MRI, and was told yesterday that that they’re really sure it’s GBS and there’s no serious, additional underlying problem.

      The June, July, and August experience felt like “classic” GBS. Tingling, numbness, fatigue, dizziness.

      The post September experience has been more mixed. In the past few weeks, I’ve had this very occasional “brain zap” or “brain shock” sensation that stops me in my tracks. It usually happens just once, but last week I got two in a minute. It takes me by surprise. It seems to signal the start of a fatigue burst and some balance problems, and then I rest and get back on track. Maybe it’s just my body’s way of saying “too much, buddy!”.

      Has anyone else experienced this one? I can see mentions of “brain fog” in the forums (which I don’t really feel), but no mentions of this kind of jolt thing.

    • Anonymous
      November 26, 2009 at 9:19 am

      Hi Hugh,

      I get those brain zaps after I have had a migraine. I think we all that have had GBS are more informed than doctors. Sorry I don’t have any ideas on how to prevent them. Just letting you know you are not alone.

    • fairly_odd_mother
      November 26, 2009 at 3:59 pm

      glad to hear you are doing better!

      brain zaps…feels like an electric rubber band is snapping inside your head or against your brain? Yea, I had those too! Only on rare occassion do I have them now, but when I was first in the ‘recovery’ stage, I have them all the time! Never knew when it would happen. Sometimes they were small zaps, others made me verbally and physically react. They do get better. Have you had the horrible-nothing-short-of-morphine-will-touch-it headaches? Not sure if they are connected, but sometimes I would have the zaps and then a really really bad headache. Other times just zaps. Does your face ever feel slack or numb after a zap but everything is perfectly fine?

      Nothing prevents them that I have found. The good news is, they do get better and less often….and may go away completely.

      HUGS

    • Anonymous
      November 27, 2009 at 1:07 pm

      I am glad I’m not alone (but not glad anyone else has these).

      It does feel like a rubber band snapping in my head. That’s a great description.

      I haven’t ever had a migraine, though I have had three or four weeks of sinus-related headaches recently (and have wondered a few times if they were truly sinus related). It does coincide with the “brain zaps”. I also have been having more weakness in the face and arms/hands than at other times, that coincides too. But I’d say the main symptom is the zaps are followed by feeling fatigued and off balance, and a strong sense I need to go lie down.

      Oh well, I’ll just relax and enjoy this cool new residual.

      Thanks, and hope you’re all having a great Thanksgiving holiday!

    • greg giddings
      November 27, 2009 at 9:40 pm

      I also have had those “brain zaps.” Mine turned out to be mini seizures. Mine also followed a head injury.

      I have now had two Grand Mal seizures. Be careful, talk to your doctor.

      Greg

    • Anonymous
      December 1, 2009 at 4:31 pm

      [FONT=”Comic Sans MS”][COLOR=”Navy”][/COLOR][/FONT]

      i thought i was the only one with these brain zaps…… post gbs/cidp/mfs….. now battling shingles…………….. it’s never ending ……………… but i have faith that some day things will be better

    • Anonymous
      December 1, 2009 at 5:01 pm

      Hey, this is off-topic here, 😮 but I have had a bad problem with shingles for many years, slamslambam. I never thought it was related…. sometimes I have them several times a month and I am not “old” enough for the vaccine to be covered by health ins. I use the zovirax ointment and the valtrex pills for really bad bouts, and they go away pretty quickly.

    • Anonymous
      December 3, 2009 at 11:23 pm

      I met with with my neuro on Tuesday, and he thought that the “brain zaps” and balance problems were likely the same thing. His theory is the “zap” is really just a strong sensation of imbalance. The timing makes sense — I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for now…

      He also thought the balance problems were related to the likely sinus infection (I mentioned above), and suspects it’ll improve with time. He made the good point that the nerves in the ear are peripheral nerves, and it’s likely they are recovering too — even if they weren’t significantly damaged with the GBS, he tells me they’re very sensitive to even subtle change.

      I’ll see how this all pans out… but thought I’d share with you the new information.

      bye, hw.

    • Anonymous
      December 10, 2009 at 3:14 pm

      I too have experienced “brain zaps”!
      In my case GBS set in one week after I had a brain tumor removed, which they found when I had a TIA. So between the tumor, mini stroke and GBS I am not sure what causes them or what helps them. I am having CT scans regularly so they know there is not enough of the tumor left to be causing them. Right now the doctors are just taking a watch and see approach.
      I am 52 yrs old and was never sick a day before all this happened in May of this year.