Howdy David!

Next time it happens check your heart rate to see if the
"pulsing" may merely be high blood pressure. If the pulses
in your head match the pulse in your wrist, you may just be feeling the
blood pump through your head.

Dave

I was thinking a similar thought to Dave's about the pulse relating to
your heart beat, but when you said there was a metallic taste, it
reminded me of seizures.  If I was you I would report exactly what you
reported to us to your doctor, everything you said seems very relevant
to help a doctor in determining what is going on.

As far as the electrical zaps in the brain this doesn't sound familiar
to me.  Anyone else recognize this feeling?

The flashes of light do sound familiar.  Before I have a seizure I have
an aura which can include feeling dizzy, I see stars or lights in my
eyes, and start to hear a tingly fuzzy high pitched noise (which
basically means I'm either going to faint or have a seizure, so I better
 get to the floor).

Take care,
Julie, Volunteer Webmaster
Epilepsy Foundation of Idaho
http://www.epilepsyidaho.org

It sounds like it could be many things. Yes theta waves are 4-7 but I doubt
very much you are sensing theta waves. It does have some similarities to
sleep paralysis. This disorder is a REM sleep disorder as we become
paralyzed during REM sleep, so this would account not being able to move.
People will actually start to dream when they are awake. Another part of
this disorder is the hallucinations (dreaming while awake). Narcolepsy can
be different with everybody but this may be seizures also.
Seizures are more likely to happen during the transition from wake to sleep.
The fatigue taxes the brain and can cause seizures. It sounds like you may
want to see a neurologist who specializes in sleep also. They would know
about Narcolepsy and other sleep problems.
Good Luck
Mike

David,
I have had exactly the same symptoms as you described for the past 15 or
so years. In 1995 I was diagnosed with epilepsy after undergoing a sleep
deprived EEG (the standard EEG didn't show a thing!).

Even to this day I'm not that happy about the diagnosis as the 'pulses'
in the head never seem to get mentioned in any epilepsy resources. If
you want, send me a private email to discuss, I've never met anyone with
exactly the same symptoms! You can send an email to kissinuk (at)
hotmail.co.uk if you like.

Cheers,

Paul.

snip
I snipped quite a bit, but you need to see a neurologist.  Tell him
*everything*
you feel even if you it seems unrelated.  My wife says my seizures usually
happen after a day of a lot of excerise or stress.

The first thing that came to my mind when you said metallic taste was
thirst.  Profound snoring can dry the mouth as well.  Do you have a partner?
If so, have that person take some mental notes of these events and write
them down the next day.

This a good place to talk, but you should see a doctor.

There is one more thing this sounds like, something I just read about.
Stopping antidepressants such as SSRIs (Prozac and others) can cause a
similiar side effect. They said this can last for 3 to 18 months.
Seeing that so many people are on it, thought I might mention it.
Mike

NOT SSRIs -SNRIs- !

More info than you probably wanted but.....oh well.

Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are a class of
antidepressant used in the treatment of clinical depression and other
affective disorders. They are also sometimes used to treat anxiety
disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) and chronic neuropathic pain. They act upon two
neurotransmitters in the brain that are known to play an important part in
mood, namely, serotonin and norepinephrine. This can be contrasted with the
more widely-used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which act
only on serotonin.

The abbreviation "SNRI" is also used to mean selective norepinephrine
reuptake inhibitor, which can be confusing.

Activity on norephinephine reuptake is thought necessary for an
antidepressant to be effective on neuropathic pain, a property shared with
the older tricyclic antidepressants but not with the SSRIs.

Depression is thought to be caused by a lack of information flow between
neurons in certain parts of the brain. Neurons pass information to each
other by means of chemicals known as neurotransmitters, which shoot across
the tiny synapses between the cells. After firing, most of the
neurotransmitter is reabsorbed by the presynaptic cell in a process called
reuptake.

Antidepressants work by increasing the amount of neurotransmitters active in
the synapse, thereby enhancing neuronal activity and increasing the
responsiveness of mood. Modern antidepressants usually achieve this effect
by blocking the transporter proteins that reabsorb certain neurotranmitters,
hence the name "reuptake inhibitors".

SNRIs were developed more recently than SSRIs, and there are relatively few
of them. Their efficacy as well as their tolerability appears to be somewhat
better than the SSRIs, owing to their compound effect. It is expected that
most future antidepressants will probably work on multiple
neurotransmitters, like the SNRIs and novel antidepressants such as
bupropion (tradenames Wellbutrin® and Zyban®).

Extreme caution should be used when considering the clinical use of these
drugs, specifically Cymbalta and Effexor, as the withdrawals may be
uncomfortable. Several cases of people coming off of the medications have
had seizures, nausea and vomiting, diarhea, among other neurological
problems which include what is commonly called "Brain Zaps." Described as a
burst of static exploding into the brain, causing doubled vision, light and
sound sensitivity, and a feeling of 'bugs' crawling all over the body. The
symptoms of withdrawal can last anywhere from three (3) to eighteen (18)
months. As of yet, there is no known cure for these symptoms. NOTE: There
are no documents referenced to support such extreme "withdrawal". Do NOT use
this information as accurate medical information. Check with your Doctor,
and ask them for a package insert with details ALL side effects.

SNRIs currently available
 a.. venlafaxine (tradename Effexor ®) is the first and most commonly used
SNRI. Although it also works on dopamine somewhat at high dosages, the
majority of its effect is on serotonin and norepinephrine.
 a.. nefazodone (tradename Serzone ®) is an antidepressant with efficacy
similar to SSRIs, but without the sexual size effects. In fact, serzone at
times may act similar to Wellbutrin in it's neutral, or at times positive
effect on function. It has been discontinued in several countries due to
rare cases of liver failure.
However, the liver failure is rare, and a simple blood test every 6 months
to assess liver enzyme levels is sufficient. Nefazodone has an active
metabolite which at higher doses (> 250mg/day) can increase anxiety. Effexor
is the "newer" version of Serzone, while Cymbalta is the "newer" version of
Effexor. These drugs have been considered a second tier drug for treating
less severe Adult ADHD, because they combine the Serotonine re-uptake
inhibition (successful in treating some anxiety/depression and Obsessive
Compulsive Personality, or the "ruminating" done in ADHD patients, with the
Norepinephrine, stimulant effect. NOTE: Only an experience Psychiatrist that
specialized in ADHD, should discuss these potential uses. This information
is NOT to be used as any source to suggest a medication for any disease.

 a.. milnacipran (tradename Dalcipran ®/ Portugal; Ixel ®/ France) has
shown to be significantly effective in the treatment of depression and
Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Although it has not yet been approved by the
FDA for use in the United States, it has been commercially available in
Europe and Asia for several years.
 a.. desipramine (tradenames Norpramine ®, Pertofraneis ®) is technically a
tricyclic antidepressant, and is usually categorized as such. It works,
however, on both serotonin and norepinephrine, so it can also be considered
an SNRI.
 a.. duloxetine (tradename Cymbalta ®) is a new SNRI by Eli Lilly and
Company, and has been approved for the treatment of depression and
neuropathic pain in August of 2004.
However it is controversial whether desipramine, nefazodone and mirtazepine
are true SNRIs.