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Nerve injury after lightning strike, recovery is hard

Posted by yorkie01 @yorkie01, Oct 6, 2024

Hello,
My son was struck by lightning and it is a miracle he survived and we are so thankful we can help him on his road to recovery. The physicians tell us he has nerve and muscle injury and the pain he is experiencing is unbearable at times. No one near us has any experience with this type of injury as it is not common and we are wondering where to turn to next as he as it seems has taken most of the nerve and muscle spasm medicine on the market and nothing seems to help. Any testing he should have done? Any suggestions for physicians? Medications to try? He is an adolescent still so some of the medications might not be for kiddos. Thanks!!!

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marenm | @marenm | Apr 1 8:28pm

I was struck by lightning in July 2025 (in ICU/critical care for 10 days), and the nerve damage has been progressively getting worse. The pain has changed from a burning sensation and soft-tissue ache to mostly a soft-tissue ache and headaches. My muscles cramp, especially in my hands and feet. My body vibrates as though there is a cell phone vibrating from my waist down. I have gone to several doctors who don't know what to do, and am heading to Yale neurology in a few weeks, and am going to try hyperbaric oxygen treatments for at least 30 days. The stiffness in my body is making it very hard to move (I still make myself go for walks and stuff). For the cognitive issues - like short-term memory damage - I tried lithium, and it worked like magic! I am no longer taking it, though, because after a month and a half, I was experiencing hypothyroid symptoms. I will post again if there is any luck with the hyperbaric oxygen.

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Randy Shields | @randallshields56 | Apr 2 3:23pm
In reply to @marenm "I was struck by lightning in July 2025 (in ICU/critical care for 10 days), and the..." + (show)
Profile picture for marenm @marenm

I was struck by lightning in July 2025 (in ICU/critical care for 10 days), and the nerve damage has been progressively getting worse. The pain has changed from a burning sensation and soft-tissue ache to mostly a soft-tissue ache and headaches. My muscles cramp, especially in my hands and feet. My body vibrates as though there is a cell phone vibrating from my waist down. I have gone to several doctors who don't know what to do, and am heading to Yale neurology in a few weeks, and am going to try hyperbaric oxygen treatments for at least 30 days. The stiffness in my body is making it very hard to move (I still make myself go for walks and stuff). For the cognitive issues - like short-term memory damage - I tried lithium, and it worked like magic! I am no longer taking it, though, because after a month and a half, I was experiencing hypothyroid symptoms. I will post again if there is any luck with the hyperbaric oxygen.

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@marenm How much is thy hyperbaric oxygen treatments and the reason i asked is i went through DIT many years ago and at that time my instructors said the oxygen under pressure we were lucky enough to experience said as a smoker at that time i added 3 years to my life. ( Divers Institute of Technology) to become a saturation diver for the oil fields. I had brain surgery in 2024 and still recovering. was curious about your message.

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Moderator
Lisa Lucier, Moderator | @lisalucier | Apr 3 12:22pm
In reply to @marenm "I was struck by lightning in July 2025 (in ICU/critical care for 10 days), and the..." + (show)
Profile picture for marenm @marenm

I was struck by lightning in July 2025 (in ICU/critical care for 10 days), and the nerve damage has been progressively getting worse. The pain has changed from a burning sensation and soft-tissue ache to mostly a soft-tissue ache and headaches. My muscles cramp, especially in my hands and feet. My body vibrates as though there is a cell phone vibrating from my waist down. I have gone to several doctors who don't know what to do, and am heading to Yale neurology in a few weeks, and am going to try hyperbaric oxygen treatments for at least 30 days. The stiffness in my body is making it very hard to move (I still make myself go for walks and stuff). For the cognitive issues - like short-term memory damage - I tried lithium, and it worked like magic! I am no longer taking it, though, because after a month and a half, I was experiencing hypothyroid symptoms. I will post again if there is any luck with the hyperbaric oxygen.

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Hi, @marenm and @yorkie01 - wow. I can hardly imagine being struck by lightning. I saw on the National Weather Service site that the odds of being struck by lightning over a lifetime are 1/15,300 https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-odds.

I recently listened to the Against the Odds podcast called "Lightning Strike on Half Dome," so this occurrence was fresh on my brain. I write for a trauma enewsletter, but this was not a trauma with which I'm familiar. It sounded as though if one is fortunate enough to live through this type of injury (and so happy both you/your son did that), much rehab is needed over time.

If we may back up just briefly, since I just joined the conversation, would you mind telling me how your son came to be struck by lightning, yorkie01, and how you came to be struck by lightning, marenm?

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