Body vibrations when falling asleep or waking?

Posted by cricketlips @cricketlips, Jun 2, 2022

After many google searches for the reason I feel vibration in my head, shoulder and arm just before falling asleep and waking, I found nothing that satisfactorily explained it. Of course anxiety seems to be a common explanation but there was nothing specific enough to help me. I am currently reading Incognito by David Eagleman. It discusses the functioning of the brain as an organ. This morning, going through my routine to get ready for work, I thought of a way to understand the vibrations. Similar to the hypnic jerks we experience occasionally just before we fall asleep, I think the vibrations are intended to arouse me to stay vigilant. Which is the fight or flight mechanism in action. So there is the anxiety connection. Originating in the amygdala. I was thinking Parkinson's or MS but my symptoms don't indicate those conditions, thankfully. It seems counterintuitive to be anxious and sleeping at the same time but the brain can do that. The cerebral cortex sleeps but the life support systems of the brain must stay online, obviously. If you thought you were in danger, sleeping would put you at risk but at some point sleep becomes absolutely necessary. I think the vibrations I have been experiencing are caused by my sympathetic nervous system and not a neurologic disease. Thankfully !

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@violinkat

Are we mostly women experiencing these sensations?
Anyone else with thyroid issues? Post menopausal ?
I’m trying to find the common attributes.

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Just had thyroid checked. It's fine. I am post menopausal. 64. I had them this morning in lower pelvic area. Mild, about a 3 on scale of 1-10. I would give anything for a Dr to try and find out the cause. I researched diaphragmic flutters and got some answers. I even did the exercise to relax the diaphragm months ago and it works at times, the vibrations stopped for that moment. How are others with activity? I'm not very active since I retired but then I started with these in 2019 when I worked full time. I swear it's diaphragm related. Injured or irritated that nerve.

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@carol1024

Just had thyroid checked. It's fine. I am post menopausal. 64. I had them this morning in lower pelvic area. Mild, about a 3 on scale of 1-10. I would give anything for a Dr to try and find out the cause. I researched diaphragmic flutters and got some answers. I even did the exercise to relax the diaphragm months ago and it works at times, the vibrations stopped for that moment. How are others with activity? I'm not very active since I retired but then I started with these in 2019 when I worked full time. I swear it's diaphragm related. Injured or irritated that nerve.

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I am also post menopausal. I am 71 yrs old. I started have these symptoms about one year ago. I did get COVID but it was 7 months after I had the shaking. So I don’t think COVID had anything to do with it. Also I have nodules in my thyroid but my blood work is normal. Therefore no medication is needed. So I don’t attribute this to Thyroid issues. I do have white coat hypertension. I recently had a blood pressure monitor put on for 24 hrs. It did show that when I wake up (which is a few times during he night) and I have the shakes, my heart rate shoots up really high. Of course, the dr. didn’t have any explanation for this. I am at my wits end. I have spoken to three doctors and they have no answers. Probably will never know why this is happening.

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@grammy5

I am also post menopausal. I am 71 yrs old. I started have these symptoms about one year ago. I did get COVID but it was 7 months after I had the shaking. So I don’t think COVID had anything to do with it. Also I have nodules in my thyroid but my blood work is normal. Therefore no medication is needed. So I don’t attribute this to Thyroid issues. I do have white coat hypertension. I recently had a blood pressure monitor put on for 24 hrs. It did show that when I wake up (which is a few times during he night) and I have the shakes, my heart rate shoots up really high. Of course, the dr. didn’t have any explanation for this. I am at my wits end. I have spoken to three doctors and they have no answers. Probably will never know why this is happening.

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You say "shaking". Is it shaking or vibrations? There is a difference. I sometimes have a shake in right hand like when you're pressing on the nerve and it will quiver and shake but I'm not pressing on it. These vibrations occur ONLY when lying down in bed and only AFTER I have been asleep. I looked up "diaphragmatic flutters" other day and it gives a little more detail as to what is going on and again, it mentioned the phrenic nerve. I'm on the right track. I'll keep searching until I find it or a doctor willing to help us find out. I take BP meds and also a beta blocker for my PVC's, heart palpitations. Sometimes I'd have a dream and wake up with heart racing and pounding but I think that may have been part of the sleep apnea.
If you are waking up several times during night, I'd be asking, why? That's why I did the sleep study and found I was having 31 episodes an hour of sleep apnea and of course you wake up. The sleep study I did with the nasal piece, I had 1 episode but also found I didn't have the vibrations for a week and a half after and slept very well. I now have the machine, which medicare pays for, but I use it the minimum 4 hours BEFORE I go to bed and I sleep anywhere from 6-8 hours a night now. I might have the vibrations 2 out of 7 nights but they are very mild. I just love it when I sleep until 5:00. My next step would be a sleep study if I were you.

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@carol1024

You say "shaking". Is it shaking or vibrations? There is a difference. I sometimes have a shake in right hand like when you're pressing on the nerve and it will quiver and shake but I'm not pressing on it. These vibrations occur ONLY when lying down in bed and only AFTER I have been asleep. I looked up "diaphragmatic flutters" other day and it gives a little more detail as to what is going on and again, it mentioned the phrenic nerve. I'm on the right track. I'll keep searching until I find it or a doctor willing to help us find out. I take BP meds and also a beta blocker for my PVC's, heart palpitations. Sometimes I'd have a dream and wake up with heart racing and pounding but I think that may have been part of the sleep apnea.
If you are waking up several times during night, I'd be asking, why? That's why I did the sleep study and found I was having 31 episodes an hour of sleep apnea and of course you wake up. The sleep study I did with the nasal piece, I had 1 episode but also found I didn't have the vibrations for a week and a half after and slept very well. I now have the machine, which medicare pays for, but I use it the minimum 4 hours BEFORE I go to bed and I sleep anywhere from 6-8 hours a night now. I might have the vibrations 2 out of 7 nights but they are very mild. I just love it when I sleep until 5:00. My next step would be a sleep study if I were you.

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Thanks for this info. Can you tell me what this sleep study entails? Does a doctor have to refer you? I also have heart palpitations and my cardiologist had me take the beta blocker metoprolol succinate 25 mg. I had to get off of them within the month since I was having a bad reaction to them. I am reluctant on taking medicine. So I have these palpitations all the time. I am certain that I have exactly the same condition you have. Now that you explained it, they are vibrations. I wake up every couple of hours with them. I used to be able to sleep through the night but haven’t in a year. Sometimes I don’t sleep at all. Thanks again for sharing.

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@grammy5

Thanks for this info. Can you tell me what this sleep study entails? Does a doctor have to refer you? I also have heart palpitations and my cardiologist had me take the beta blocker metoprolol succinate 25 mg. I had to get off of them within the month since I was having a bad reaction to them. I am reluctant on taking medicine. So I have these palpitations all the time. I am certain that I have exactly the same condition you have. Now that you explained it, they are vibrations. I wake up every couple of hours with them. I used to be able to sleep through the night but haven’t in a year. Sometimes I don’t sleep at all. Thanks again for sharing.

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My neurologist does the sleep study at his office. Your primary care could probably do it. I arrived atcfacility about 7. Within an hour, the attach these things to your head, like little cords but you don't feel anything. You can't even tell they are there. They put one on your neck and your leg I think. Then you go to bed. The TV is set to go off at 10:00. They wake you up at 5:00 unless you wake up close to it. The doctor reads the study then will tell you to come back for second half where you'll sleep with a mask on. I used the nasal one and it wasn't bad. He said I had a mild case anyway, 31 episodes in 1 hour and my sat level dropped to 89% which he said wasn't bad. I told him I wanted just the nasal one because I breathe through my nose. I did not want the one that covered mouth and nose. Then he tells them what to set machine at, mine is 5%, very low, and they order the machine. It's very small and makes no noise at all. I take the metoprolol 25. I was on atenolol but an ER doctor changed it. It helps a lot. Sometimes if your heart is beating very fast, bear down like you are going to have a baby and that usually stops it. Or you can cough hard and that helps too.

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@carol1024

My neurologist does the sleep study at his office. Your primary care could probably do it. I arrived atcfacility about 7. Within an hour, the attach these things to your head, like little cords but you don't feel anything. You can't even tell they are there. They put one on your neck and your leg I think. Then you go to bed. The TV is set to go off at 10:00. They wake you up at 5:00 unless you wake up close to it. The doctor reads the study then will tell you to come back for second half where you'll sleep with a mask on. I used the nasal one and it wasn't bad. He said I had a mild case anyway, 31 episodes in 1 hour and my sat level dropped to 89% which he said wasn't bad. I told him I wanted just the nasal one because I breathe through my nose. I did not want the one that covered mouth and nose. Then he tells them what to set machine at, mine is 5%, very low, and they order the machine. It's very small and makes no noise at all. I take the metoprolol 25. I was on atenolol but an ER doctor changed it. It helps a lot. Sometimes if your heart is beating very fast, bear down like you are going to have a baby and that usually stops it. Or you can cough hard and that helps too.

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I will definitely look into this sleep study tomorrow. Thank you so much Carol for your input.

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You're welcome. The first sleep study is to see how many episodes of sleep apnea you have. You always wake up when your air is blocked while sleeping. I wanted to mention also that if you don't drink enough fluids, your potassium level drops and low potassium causes heart palpitations too. There were 4 people there getting the sleep study when I went. A king sized bed. It was pretty cool. Good luck. Hope you get some relief.

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@carol1024

You're welcome. The first sleep study is to see how many episodes of sleep apnea you have. You always wake up when your air is blocked while sleeping. I wanted to mention also that if you don't drink enough fluids, your potassium level drops and low potassium causes heart palpitations too. There were 4 people there getting the sleep study when I went. A king sized bed. It was pretty cool. Good luck. Hope you get some relief.

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Sorry, I keep getting sidetracked lol. I told my doctor I wanted the sleep study. I said its something that's happening when I go to sleep and that's the only way to catch it. The weird thing is, after I did the 2nd part of study, I didn't have internal vibrations for a week and a half while I was waiting for my cpap machine. They slowly started coming back so when I got the machine and used it overnight, I didn't have vibrations. I thought, there's no way to tell if that'll work now because in order for medicare to pay, I have to wear it a minimum of 4 hours in 24 hours. So I started wearing it 4 hours while watching TV on the bed. When I sleep, I don't have the vibrations. The 4 hour minimum is only for 90 days plus after 13 months of Medicare paying for it, I'll own it.

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@bridgetmary

I came across the term Internal Tremors that seemed somewhat descriptive of this.
Although there seems to not be much information beyond that. 🤔

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Look up "internal vibrations" or "diaphragmatic flutters" or "injury to phrenic nerve". They all refer to the vibrations in some form. I think mine is from injury to phrenic nerve when I swallowed huge gulp of air taking pills in 2019.

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@grammy5

I will definitely look into this sleep study tomorrow. Thank you so much Carol for your input.

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Think I may have done something wrong and replied to my own comment. Lol.
The one that starts with....I keep getting sidetracked, but, I TOLD my doctor I wanted the sleep study. I said it's something that obviously is happening when I sleep and I feel the only way to find out is by sleep study. Weird thing is, after the 2nd part where I slept with nasal mask, I didn't have vibrations for a week and a half while waiting for my cpap machine. They slowly started coming back and when I got the machine and used it, I didn't have vibrations. I though, there's no way to tell if it'll do that now because in order for medicare to pay for the machine, I have to wear it a minimum of 4 hours in 24 hours. So I started wearing it for 4 hours before bedtime while on bed watching TV. I don't have the vibrations and last night I slept for almost 7 hours straight. The 4 hour minimum is only for 90 days I think and after 13 months of payments by medicare, I'll own the machine. Let me know how it goes. 😊

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