Tingling around the head?

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I've had this off and on since my early 20's where I have many times to where I'll feel a tingling, almost seemingly on the inside of my skull, around different points of my scalp, my forehead, mostly though it seems to be going on up front. I've had different theories on this - asking a neurologist I heard that it was simply a psychosomatic stress symptom, I'm not sure sure that's the whole story because I notice that when I feel this I have to be very careful, its like my mind is telling me that its spent.

Has anyone else played around with different things such as rest, caffein, alcohol, working out, sleep, anything, trying to sort out what helps with it? Its not that the sensation itself bothers me - just that I've had times where I quite literally felt like my brain was wrapped in leather or like people had been putting cigarettes out all around the outside of it (whole outside layer very numb) and I've noticed that when that happens my facial gestalt, my ability to speak, etc., all goes to crap somewhat. I've gotten better at playing damage control but still, I'd like to think that this isn't self-induced or seasonal change induced brain-damage via hypoglycemia.

Right now I'm drinking a bit of tequila, seems like alcohol helps at least. I've had times as well, almost as a related experience, where I felt like my nerves were practically jumping out of my skin during seasonal changes such as winter to spring, spring to summer (almost like I had MS or something). I can't be the only one who gets this though.

I get it but it's a neurological symptom of Lyme disease.

Not 'tingling', But I can kind of feel myself think.

Feels like all the little crevices in my brain are tickling the inside of my skull, and the whole thing feels like it's sloshing around in my head if I'm trying to do algebra, or when I was trying to learn to read properly in the fourth grade.

...I guess you could kind of call it 'tingly'.

I get a tingly feeling, from time to time. I get it the most, when I'm thinking.

*raises eye brow* I think it might be better to be more sure in your case. If it was stress related so much, one would think you get headacks rather than temporary imparements. It doesn't seem terribly healthy to me.

You didn't get this numbness and impairements 'suddenly' each time did you? emm.. hopefully not!

Anyway, I have damaged brain cells. I must certainly have, because my head has taken plenty of minor tramas through the past 10 years. I get buzzing scensations, and sometimes movements of my body without my personal action, when it heals in there. I still drink coffie, but not for the best reasons. If I drink strong coffie while healing, I can sleep, but the on and off buzz will be harder.

Last edited by LiendaBalla on 23 Mar 2010, 12:07 am, edited 3 times in total.

I used to get these sensations that felt as if my brain was imploding on itself. The only way I could describe it was a "brain spasm". I almost passed out from it a few times. It was so scary because I didn't know what was going on and the doctors could never find anything. My parents began to think I was making it up for attention and I went into a deep depression. I even considered sucide to stop the sensations of a brain spasm.

I get seasonal migraines in the same area - ie. many times if I get out of bed too fast in the morning (after about age 26 this started) I'll feel something like an instant taring in my head which will result in a morning-long migraine, thus I started setting my alarm a half hour early to go off every 9 minutes for a few rounds, seemed to solve the problem.

Also I got migraines on the weekends regularly as well. It seems like they can very from rare to three or four a week - again I think depending on the season.


The one thought that I had occur to me about the migraine problem was adrenal fatigue, I've looked into it and am rather well convinced that I'm recovering from a form of it that likely hit me at its hardest a couple years ago. My patterns are still very much like they described from 12 noon on - hit a lag from 2 to 4, get home dead tired, come back to life from 6 to 10, feel tired enough to fall asleep at that point, my body won't shut down thus I hit a second wind till 1:30 or 2 AM, fall asleep somewhere between 12:30 and 2:00 typically (depending on how much catch-up sleep I have behind me), and slowly wake up the next day over the course of 6:30 AM to 7:00 AM.

Yes, I definitely have insomnia problems, as in I've never - in my entire life - been able to control when my body allows me to fall asleep. I can close my eyes, stop all thought, nothing happens, thus I have to be fatigued enough for it to kick over on its own. I've tried sleep clinics but I had a nightmare experience - ie. by a fluke of luck I had a cold that day, fell asleep within 10 minutes, no abnormalities, and for the next 6 months I was battling the insurance company over a close to $4,000.00 bill from the clinic which they said wasn't properly authorized. At this point I'd much rather figure this out myself or see what I can do on my own to solve this one rather than go back through that sort of incompetance. If I ask for medication the doctor (concerned over legal liability) will refuse it, I'll be sent for blood work, my bloodwork as usual will come back perfectly normal, then they'll want to do the sleep clinic, and only then with the sleep clinic results will the grant me sleep meds. After the last sleep clinic stay the answer was "No, I can't give you a prescription. Nothing is wrong with your sleep patterns. Have a good day".

Wow, I'm lucky it hasn't been anything that twitchy or rapid. This is more of a lingering and progressive sensation, it seems to both build and fade slowly.

I used to be one where, if I was really grappling with my own neurology and felt like trying to fix a certain part of my coordination was a life and death of honor issue, I'd feel like my jaw went into a subtle chewing motion and it was like I was trying to propel blood to certain parts of my brain via jaw tension. It was something of an acquired habit, not sure I want to get into the specifics of how though .

Sleep more, drink less coffee. Try different energy drinks without caffeine.
Alcohol probably helps recover from chemical exposure. (Do you paint?)
Chamomile tea may help sleep.
5-HTP,L-tryptophan, or Melatonin help sleep if they are available.(or Milk and Turkey)
Avoid the line above if you are on meds, talk to a real doctor first in any case.

I associate the OP symptoms with caffeine insomnia. Really try to get sleep.
Caffeine can trigger panic attacks. Formerly known as nervous breakdown.
You sound like you're on the edge of that. The panic attack is like a total
burst of adrenaline with nothing "real" to scare you or run away from. It
often feels like a heart attack and you will believe it is unless you are on
a heart monitor during the episode. You may even experience leaving
your body as if you died. Too much caffeine probably can trigger real
heart attacks too, because you CAN OD on it. The "nervous breakdown"
(not a diagnostic term) is the new cycle of random all-out adrenaline dumps
at random times, which tends to make people afraid of all the places they've
had them. The tingling seems like the developing of the trigger for the
panic attacks. If you push yourself over that edge you may be extremely
concerned about having a panic at any time for a very long time, like a
year. That could seriously interfere with everything else you have to do
in that amount of time, and any caffeine will worsen the intensity and
frequency of panic. I suppose it is a last resort instinct when you have
completely exhausted your normal energy and stress tolerance.

just another brain belch of miscellaneous data

Last edited by ValMikeSmith on 23 Mar 2010, 1:07 am, edited 1 time in total.

I can kind of relate. When the front of my head feels numb I think it's got something to do with doing something for too long (mental exhaustion - i make my own words up) or dehydration. It sounds silly now that I come to think of it, but I always drink water when it happens.
Sometimes it can feel like I can feel my brain activity in my frontal lobes. Probably isn't but it's a weird feeling.

Good advice on the supplements, though admittedly I drink perhaps a coffee in the morning, occasionally some in the afternoon, not so much as I was (so yes - the 'fine world of coffee and insomnia' bit is a bit more just a clever name than reality, other than the insomnia at least). Typically speaking I won't touch it during the evening either as I know that's a given problem. 5HTP probably won't do anything, I've tried that in the past and it seems to work for the first few times, after that its as if I have a resistance. I think the alcohol helps though in that it does something with GABA that my mind can't turn out quick enough.

On another note with panic attacks, I don't know that I'd associate this sensation with that. Its kind of like what pensieve was saying - I feel like I'm running on empty, the coal burner is completely out of wood and I'm at the point of chipping creosote to throw it back in the fire to have it run on 'something' (the more gruesome possibility of course being that my brain is cannibalize itself for energy which is my main concern and why I want to avoid this - I work a lot for personal progress, I don't want to be inadvertently destroying it).

If you get migraines in the same area chances are it's a migraine aura without the headache, or else a form of migraine that doesn't involve the headache but has other symptoms instead. My whole family has migraines. But we all have different types. Migraine is as broad a category as seizure. You can get migraines where all you do is see weird shapes and lose your ability to function for awhile. I get those and they can be just as debilitating for me as the ones with the headache. And some people can even have constant aura with no other symptoms.

Another possibility is that it's one of the signs of overload. Those are individual to the person and your neurologist likely won't have heard of it because our internal states aren't usually part of autism research.

My most common physical overload signs are that my head starts feeling hollow, I feel like I can hear my nerves buzzing or something, everything gets a yellow or orange overlay, and I generally feel terrible. If I am not careful past that point I will sstart shutting down.

I don't know, but interesting observation and, since you asked, I might have a putative explanation. When you wrote "tingling around your head" the first thought in my mind was what is termed "brain zap" (yes, that's a real phenomena). Brain zap is actually serotonergic dysfunction, like an imbalance of sorts. This state can occur upon discontinuing SSRI (selective serotinin reuptake inhibitors, such as prozac). Autistic spectrum individuals like us are expected to have "differences" in our serotonergic uptake and receptors plus our highly attenuated senses, etc. as you mentioined above.

Possibly you are experiencing a serotonin imbalance. Brain zap (yes, funny name!) is quite real and caused by mis-firing of neurons that ought to be directed to other neurons but are instead "short-circuited." This apparently gives the sensation of little electric "pricks" or tingles within the brain and why your post is so very curious!

One idea, if this continues, would be to ask a neurologist and maybe, depending upon your need, a (mild) SSRI could help with that sensation.

anbuend brought up a good point too. Migraines, different fom "regular" headaches, can actually be a mild form of epilepsy and oftentimes mild low-dose anti-seizure meds can alleviate symptoms. For ex: I take clonazepam (low-dose) with is an anti-anxiety prescription with mild anti-seizure properties and this does help as I am meltdown prone. For those of us ASD individuals, meltdowns may actually be like a type of sensory seizure. These types of prescription drugs do affect serotonin uptake and are a consideration if you chose to ask your doctor. You mentioned "MS like" which actually is descriptive; the myelin sheath is not sufficiently insulted and this can cause neuronal mis-firing, and even seizure in those who may be prone (which might explain your tingle feeling).

Hmmm.....you could call in sick, saying "I'll not be today, I have brain zap!" << Yes, just kidding (and not making light of this condition). Also, more (and better quality) sleep can help regulate your serotonin levels.
You mentioned GABA (g-amino butyric acid): An inhibitory neurotransmitter. Alternately, glutamate is excitatory. Anyhow, imbalances can be corrected (or modulated) so no harm in asking a doctor. (Really think your brain is just fine! Except that Aspie-ishness)

Hope you feel better soon!

Get well flower for techstepgenr8tion:

That's crazy! I don't know what to say on that, mainly that I did spend about eight years on SSRI's and antipsychotics from 1991 to 1999, pulled myself off (long story - lets just say they never helped, made things far worse, and I was too young to do a thing about it) however I didn't have this sort of problem in 2000 or going forward. It seemed like it happened mainly from me giving life 112%, I mean trying to manually beat myself into being NT - losing all AS traits - in my early 20's (bullying the heck out of myself for any little slip), then going full steam at college - working full time, going to school full time and yes, at least doing similarly to an extent in terms of pushing myself psychologically. My first few years of my first professional job have been progresively getting better but my first year - lets say I constantly felt like I should have been fired due to absolutely terrible luck with work material (a good percentage of it quite literally is luck).

I have to laugh with the brain-zap thing "Hey, have you ever seen what serotonin looks like? I just blew nose - come take a look!"

I'm pretty sure that this tingling is what I thought it was - ie. pushing myself past what the safe point is.

On another note though, I've been taking a look into adrenal fatigue symptoms - of course they have nothing to say on this however I think I've certainly been having them lately (as I mentioned can't fall asleep usually till 1 AM, wake up at 7 AM for work), I went to the store and bought DHEA, took one of those last night and slept 12 HOURS! I've never done that before on a week day (probably never done that before without being sick or being up for a couple nights in a row).

I've done this kind of thing before and I might have to do it again - last fall I gave myself about a two week caffeine holiday when one morning I had my typical cup of coffee and immediately rather than waking me up I just felt like I was getting into more of a panic state; that set alarm bells off, I stopped for two weeks wondering how much of my physical/social anxiety might be helped just by doing as much - felt some slight differences over the few weeks but again, very little changed. I think this time I'll combine it with things like DHEA, maybe give it a month if I can make myself do that, and I'll see how it goes. This is one of those things that's been building/reducing/building for a few years now so - realistically it could take a while.

So i am so glad i found this post because i experience the same thing. It’s a symptom that’s attached to a string of other symptoms for me and so when it happens i refer to the whole experience as an episode, but the episode usually (not always) starts with this kind of ‘weird’ feeling in my head. I used to get told that i was just having anxiety attacks but i never believed that, and when i first started experiencing them i thought they might be some sort of seizure or something because it literally felt like there were these small little electric tingly pulses in my brain that were causing me to do things like roll my eyes up a lot (on purpose though to idk alleviate the weird sensation), or id have staring spells, or i wouldn’t have the energy to form full sentences or words.

What’s worse for me though, is normally I can’t really get myself to even move. Usually when an ‘episode’ happens it’s literally like i just become stuck. I’ll stand in one place and stare and not move because it feels like my brain is disconnected and even though i am thinking of moving it either takes a long time for my body to actually do it, or my body just doesn’t move. It’s not like I’m completely paralyzed, like i CAN move i can even walk sometimes, it’s just, i don’t know a lot harder to. My walk would be extremely slow, and stuff and odd-looking. The closest thing I’ve looked into that really hits home in describing what it’s like for me is this thing called ‘Autistic Catatonia’ which i found an article on a while back.

But in the article the only thing it doesn’t mention is the ‘head tingling’ so i don’t really know if this sensation has to do with the Catatonia aspect or if it’s really it’s own thing. Maybe it induces the catatonic episodes, idk.