Sparks in head
Question:
Just wondering if anyone else has had this. From late teens to age 24 I would always wake up in the mornings feeling wonderfully refreshed. Would get sleepiness attack (don’t want to call it a sleep attack because I could at least make myself stay awake-wasn’t easy but I could do it) around 11:30 everyday Was so tired basically got no work done after 11:30. Would then go home and take a short nap and wake up refreshed. Would exercise then go to bed. One day the refreshed feelings I got from sleeping vanished. I was chronically tired. Eventually lost my job. At same time began getting little sparks in my head. They lasted about a second, they didn’t hurt, nor did they scare me. But they were definitely there everyday. Might be described as a small electrical jolt. Now, some 15 years later with a diagnosis of narcolepsy (sleep study done in ‘84. Only complaint was EDS not relieved by sleep. Two episodes of early rem at 7 and 8 minutes.) I receive limited therapeutic effects with stimulant medication. Am able to work again but only at easy jobs and only part time. But even after all this time I still get those sparks. Anybody ever have anything like these "sparks". Any suggestions? Should I ask sleep doc for an MRI. Thanks
Response:
RRay254277 wrote about his adventures getting a diagnosis, and wondered: > Anybody ever have anything like these "sparks". > Any suggestions? Should I ask sleep doc for an > MRI.
Greetings, sorry to hear that the you only receive some benefit from medication. This is often the case with narcolepsy. Having some problems with ‘fatigue’ attacks, I can only begin to understand what that must be like on a daily (or more frequent) basis. You don’t say what your sleep doctor’s specialty is. However, you REALLY should discuss this with a neurologist. They might want to perform an MRI, but my guess is that many other tests will be appropriate. It sure does sound as if there is some fundamental problem with your central nervous system. But again, please remember, most of us here are not medical professionals, and can only relate based on our own experience. That’s why I suggest you see a neurologist. If you sleep doctor is a neurologist, explain about the ’sparks’. It might be time to look into that. Hopefully it will lead to additional therapy to help you. Regards, =jbf= John B. Fisher
Response:
I have heard about the sparks, buzzing and tension in the head that suddenly bursts. I would be interested to hear what these things are. = = = = = For information regarding Tracheostomy and the treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea please visit http://members.aol.com/citylinc/osa/index.htm = = = = = A great sleep forum http://www.sleepedu.net/forums/apnea/apneainf.html
Response:
Hi, Yes, yes, yes! I’ve had "sparks" for years. Don’t get them as frequently as you though, maybe once or twice a week. It’s the weirdest feeling. I’ve always thought of it as a quick burst of static electricity similar to separating socks from towels after your husband does the laundry <g>. I’ve never mentioned it to the doctors. Marg (REMBD, SPDS) – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -RRay254277 wrote: > Just wondering if anyone else has had this. > From late teens to age 24 I would always wake up in the mornings feeling > wonderfully refreshed. Would get sleepiness attack (don’t want to call it a > sleep attack because I could at least make myself stay awake-wasn’t easy but I > could do it) around 11:30 everyday Was so tired basically got no work done > after 11:30. Would then go home and take a short nap and wake up refreshed. > Would exercise then go to bed. > One day the refreshed feelings I got from sleeping vanished. I was chronically > tired. Eventually lost my job. At same time began getting little sparks in my > head. They lasted about a second, they didn’t hurt, nor did they scare me. But > they were definitely there everyday. Might be described as a small electrical > jolt. > Now, some 15 years later with a diagnosis of narcolepsy (sleep study done in > ‘84. Only complaint was EDS not relieved by sleep. Two episodes of early rem at > 7 and 8 minutes.) I receive limited therapeutic effects with stimulant > medication. Am able to work again but only at easy jobs and only part time. But > even after all this time I still get those sparks. > Anybody ever have anything like these "sparks". Any suggestions? Should I ask > sleep doc for an MRI. > Thanks
Response:
This sounds like something I have experienced in the past. To me it seemed like turning an old TV (i.e., one without noise suppression) to a non-existent channel where you get that noise and snow. I even experienced a sensation like an electrical shock. I do not recall having it recur since 1991, when I FINALLY found out that I react adversely to the artificial sweetener aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal). I had a whole list of seemingly unrelated problems, such as irregular heartbeat, skin rashes and eruptions, severe pain in my joints, confusion and memory loss, a problem with my blood that is usually associated with a type of cancer, vision problems, etc. All of these problems disappeared when I stopped using products with aspartame in them. BTW, I was diagnosed with narcolepsy in 1992. After learning that I had it we were able to trace the onset back to 1955. As a curious and probably coincidental aside, an excess of aspartic acid (an amino acid) on one of the genes in chromosome 10 is a possible genetic marker for narcolepsy in some, but not all, races. But aspartic acid is 40% of aspartame and is where aspartame gets its name. Kent Taylor (posted and e-mailed) RRay254277 wrote in message <19990601024917.12502.00009…@ng-cd1.aol.com>…
|Just wondering if anyone else has had this. | |From late teens to age 24 I would always wake up in the mornings feeling |wonderfully refreshed. Would get sleepiness attack (don’t want to call it a |sleep attack because I could at least make myself stay awake-wasn’t easy but I |could do it) around 11:30 everyday Was so tired basically got no work done |after 11:30. Would then go home and take a short nap and wake up refreshed. |Would exercise then go to bed. | |One day the refreshed feelings I got from sleeping vanished. I was chronically |tired. Eventually lost my job. At same time began getting little sparks in my |head. They lasted about a second, they didn’t hurt, nor did they scare me. But |they were definitely there everyday. Might be described as a small electrical |jolt. | |Now, some 15 years later with a diagnosis of narcolepsy (sleep study done in |’84. Only complaint was EDS not relieved by sleep. Two episodes of early rem at |7 and 8 minutes.) I receive limited therapeutic effects with stimulant |medication. Am able to work again but only at easy jobs and only part time. But |even after all this time I still get those sparks. | |Anybody ever have anything like these "sparks". Any suggestions? Should I ask |sleep doc for an MRI. | |Thanks | | |
