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I Have Been Getting Electrical Shock Sensations To My Tongue
Question: I have been getting electrical shock sensations to my tongue for the past month. The first time it happened, the entire left side of my tongue felt electrocuted. Since then I have had about 7 episodes of the shock, mainly the tip and under my tongue, lasting only a few seconds, but it wakes me from my sleep and only occurs at night when I go to bed. Also, had a body tremor last night. What could be causing this?
I do want to mention I had blood work and a head CT, all of which came back normal.
Brief Answer:
Trigeminal neuralgia seems the cause- Carbamazepine and/or Baclofen can be used
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to "Ask a Doctor" service,
I carefully read your query and understand your concern.
The symptoms you are describing may happen with Trigeminal Neuralgia. This causes shooting, electrical pain in one side of the face and inner mouth areas. It may first last a few seconds to minutes and later it may last longer.
It is good you had a CT scan as any patient with neurological symptoms should have brain scans to rule out brain masses. On the other hand, very likely you will need an MRI as well to rule out Multiple Sclerosis and probably the neurologist is going to order one if he finds a need for it after examining you (after the neurological exam).
Meanwhile, to help with the pain, carbamazepine can be used and/or baclofen. Unfortunately, none of these drugs is accessed without prescription and no over the counter drug is helpful in trigeminal neuralgia.
You may discuss with your GP if she may give you one of these (carbamazepine is the preferred one) to help with your symptoms till you have the visit with the neurologist.
I hope this answers your query. I remain at your disposal in case further medical assistance is needed.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj,
General and Family Physician
Trigeminal neuralgia seems the cause- Carbamazepine and/or Baclofen can be used
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to "Ask a Doctor" service,
I carefully read your query and understand your concern.
The symptoms you are describing may happen with Trigeminal Neuralgia. This causes shooting, electrical pain in one side of the face and inner mouth areas. It may first last a few seconds to minutes and later it may last longer.
It is good you had a CT scan as any patient with neurological symptoms should have brain scans to rule out brain masses. On the other hand, very likely you will need an MRI as well to rule out Multiple Sclerosis and probably the neurologist is going to order one if he finds a need for it after examining you (after the neurological exam).
Meanwhile, to help with the pain, carbamazepine can be used and/or baclofen. Unfortunately, none of these drugs is accessed without prescription and no over the counter drug is helpful in trigeminal neuralgia.
You may discuss with your GP if she may give you one of these (carbamazepine is the preferred one) to help with your symptoms till you have the visit with the neurologist.
I hope this answers your query. I remain at your disposal in case further medical assistance is needed.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj,
General and Family Physician
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
Thank you for the helpful information. On a different note, I had a body tremor in the middle of the night, which landed me in the Emergency Room. The ER doctor thought perhaps it was brought on by anxiety; however, I really don't think it was. I typically do not have anxiety and have never had this happen before. It woke me up, I could feel my trunk trembling, jumped out of bed and called 911 because I didn't know what was going on. I was somewhat delirious and felt like I was hallucinating, which I've never done before. What causes body tremors? Thank you!
Brief Answer:
Detailed explanations below
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome back,
Body tremors may happen from many causes, anxiety being quite a common one, even though many times patients don't think they are anxious.
Neurological conditions can also be a cause, this is why probably the MRI may be indicated.Other tests such as sugar level, TSH (for thyroid function) and electrolytes in blood may be checked as well.
On the other hand, this check would be more important if you get a second episode (generally, one episode warrants us to be watchful but may not be enough to start examinations now).
I hope this is helpful and answers your query. I remain at your disposal in case further medical assistance is needed.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj,
General and Family Physician
Detailed explanations below
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome back,
Body tremors may happen from many causes, anxiety being quite a common one, even though many times patients don't think they are anxious.
Neurological conditions can also be a cause, this is why probably the MRI may be indicated.Other tests such as sugar level, TSH (for thyroid function) and electrolytes in blood may be checked as well.
On the other hand, this check would be more important if you get a second episode (generally, one episode warrants us to be watchful but may not be enough to start examinations now).
I hope this is helpful and answers your query. I remain at your disposal in case further medical assistance is needed.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj,
General and Family Physician
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vaishalee Punj
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