What causes a shocking sensation with no body movement?

Question

Hi doctor,

I had a very weird experience last night. I woke up suddenly, I am guessing I was in the middle of a dream and felt an electric shock type sensation going through my body, and I could not move. The closest thing I can think of close to it was when I was a kid and touched the metal water hose handle during a storm and felt a current move through me. It is extremely strange and I am not sure what to make of it. It lasted about 5-10 seconds.

I am currently on Wellbutrin XL 150 mg once daily, Straterra 40 mg once daily. I just started a B complex supplement yesterday morning before this occurred last night.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

From your history, it looks like a sleep parasomnic event. It mostly happens in the REM (rapid eye movement) phase of sleep, which is a deep sleep phase. In that phase muscle tone of the whole body is reduced and if someone awakens prematurely in this phase will be unable to move body muscles and feels like paralysis of the whole body, and unable to speak but it is transient and benign in most of the cases.

Many times it can happen due to Straterra (Atomoxetine) but very rare. B complex cannot produce such symptoms, but still better to stop it if not a genuine deficiency state. In my opinion, no need to evaluate further except recurrence or disturb your sleep. Many times it is physiological so no need to worry.

Maintain sleep hygiene. Take seven hours of sleep in 24 hours. Regularize the sleep cycle. Do not take coffee or tea or neuro stimulant before sleep. Do not do exercise three hours before sleep.

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Yes, it can cause transient sensory impairment like electrical sensation, tingling, numbness, etc., but this should not happen in awake state or in light sleep.