posted
Hello and thanks for reading this. In the past two months I have this new scary symptom.
When I get out of a chair or bend over to pick something up, as soon as I get up I have this feeling as if someone is chocking me and NOT ENOUGH BLOOD IS GETTING TO MY BRAIN. Breathing wise I am ok ( it's not that air, I have enough air ) its just this pressure that I get in my my neck as if no blood is passing through.
Also, when I put my head on the pillow at night I get a similar feeling and I can hear this very loud swish, swish, swish sound of blood going through my ears. I get it for a few seconds ( maybe 20 ) and than it goes away only to come back a few minutes later.
I am not sure if this is a side effect to the drugs I am taking or a Lyme symptom but it is a very scary symptom as I often feel like I am going to black out.
Thanks again for reading this,
Sean.
-------------------- Ringing ears Headaches Stiff Neck Upper/Lower muscle pain Crtsyal like noise from neck/back heart palpitation Cracking joints
posted
Hi born, Yes, I have the swishing thing too. It happens every time I bend over or lie flat, especially, on my stomach. Try elevating your head when you lie down.
Do you have dysautonomia? If you feel like you're going to pass out, it could be your blood pressure dropping when you stand up.
Check with your doc. I really don't think its medication related at all. Will ask my llmd too.
Posts: 677 | From Virginia | Registered: Sep 2002
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posted
Thanks imagine2. Yes, I do feel like I am gonna pass out when I bend over or turn my head all the way... kind of like my blood is getting cut off... I guess it could be stress ( Lyme Stress ).
My theory is that my neck muscles are VERY tight (cause of the Lyme) and when I put additional pressure on my neck blood vessels it reduces blood supply to the brain thus giving me that feeling... Just my opinion. Dont know.
Regards,
Sean.
-------------------- Ringing ears Headaches Stiff Neck Upper/Lower muscle pain Crtsyal like noise from neck/back heart palpitation Cracking joints
posted
This is a symptom of mine as well. For me, it feels like wearing a scarf that's pulled too tight. It started early last year and the only drug I was taking then & now is AmbienCR.
Lately, it's occurred to me that it might be swollen lymph nodes. Other nearby symptoms include ringing ears and the sensation that my lower jaw has dropped.
My suspicion is that it's all caused from the same thing. It definitely feels interconnected.
Do any of you have similar experiences?
-------------------- ---------- Danni Posts: 311 | From Glen Mills, PA | Registered: Jan 2009
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disturbedme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 12346
posted
YES ON THE SWISHING IN BRAIN!
I used to have it really badly and would be so loud it was very hard/pretty impossible to sleep.
Since treatment it has gotten MUCH better. I still have it once in a while, but not very often.
Not sure what causes it....
-------------------- One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. ~ Helen Keller
My Lyme Story Posts: 2965 | From Land of Confusion (bitten in KS, moved to PA, now living in MD) | Registered: Jun 2007
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cactus
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7347
posted
Sounds a little bit like POTS (postural orthostatic hypertension), a type of dysautonomia.
Esp because you say it's bad when you bend over, or when you lie down - POTS is worst for me when changing positions.
Vertical to upright, upright to bending over, etc.
POTS is generally characterized by a significant rise in heart rate when going from lying to standing.
For a quick test, your LLMD can have you lie down flat for 5 minutes (no talking), then immediately stand (no shifting weight from leg to leg, etc, just stand flat). If there's a significant increase in heart rate, it's time to consider POTS.
If the increased heart rate is accompanied by a drop in blood pressure - that makes passing out all the more likely.
Check out www.potsplace.com for more info - just to see if it fits your symptoms.
Hope you find the answer to this soon!
-------------------- �Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?� - A.A. Milne Posts: 1987 | From No. VA | Registered: May 2005
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map1131
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2022
posted
The chocked part of this thread is interesting to me. About 3 mths ago I started having pain/aching in my sternum area, like someone had their fist or foot stuffed in between my breasts.
The feeling would travel up to my neck, feeling like the chocking sensation and then into shoulders and both arms.
Doc had echo & ekg and nothing shown with my heart. He says he thought it might be the lyme attacking sternum bone. They had looked at the heart with lyme in mind and they just didn't see anything wrong with heart & tests.
Okay so the pain in sternum lets up the last month but I'm still getting this feeling up into upper chest, tightening around neck or something tied to tight around the neck.
So pain in sternum gone, discomfort in shoulders and arms gone....just the choke feeling.
Yes, this seems to happen from bending over, but it happens on other occasions also. I don't relate to sitting or laying and then standing. (not that I can pinpoint)
I just don't know what to make of this. Now it all started when I was doing a 30 day of levaquin. I was about 3 weeks into levaquin.
I hope someone can shed some light. I hate to insist there is something wrong with me heart when now the sx have changed again.
This illness is so fricking confusing and I've been on it for 10 yrs.
Pam
-------------------- "Never, never, never, never, never give up" Winston Churchill Posts: 6495 | From Louisville, Ky | Registered: Jan 2002
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bejoy
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11129
posted
I'm hearing the possibility of a congested lymphatic system.
The neck and solar plexus area has lots of lymph nodes and lymph drainage areas. When they get toxic, the muscles around them tighten up.
If it was me, I'd try some gentle muscle movement - push ups, sit ups, pull ups, neck movements.
If not possible, then I'd mimic the motion even while lying in bed. Muscle movement helps drain the lymph.
It seems counterintuitive, to do movement when you have pain, but in this case it might reduce pain and open blocked drainage pathways.
If you do this and the next day you feel a little better and your poo has a certain chemical smell of lymph drainage, then you know it did some good.
Don't for get to drink plenty of water.
Another possibility related to neck stiffness is meningitis - bacterial or viral. Common with lyme.
-------------------- bejoy!
"Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." -Ralph Waldo Emerson Posts: 1918 | From Alive and Well! | Registered: Feb 2007
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posted
Hi born, Found out from my LLMD that the swishing in the ears is a form of tinnitus. You can have both ear ringing and swishing forms of tinnitus.
When I turn my head while walking, I lose my balance. That's vertigo. (definitely not stress)
Also, when I stand up too quickly, blood pressure drops, thats neurally mediated hypotension.(NMH)
Postural Orthastatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)is high heart rates when you go from lying or sitting position. Both NMH and POTS are autonomic nervous system dysfunctions.
Sounds like you have a mixed bag of things going on. All of which are common in lyme.
Posts: 677 | From Virginia | Registered: Sep 2002
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map1131
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2022
posted
bejoy, interesting that you wrote the lymph drainage possibility. I had someone that worked on me for about 5 yrs. Every 2-4 weeks.
I haven't been to her for probably 6 mths. My husband bought me a gift card for Christmas at new massage place. I've talked to them and they have someone that does lymph drainage.
This person is suppose to be good with the ill and very experienced. I need to make appt and start doing body work again.
I had joined the YMCA in Jan. and have been doing arthritic water exercises in a heated pool and thought this would be enough to keep lymphs flowing??? Maybe not?
Pam
-------------------- "Never, never, never, never, never give up" Winston Churchill Posts: 6495 | From Louisville, Ky | Registered: Jan 2002
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