It's a really difficult thing to explain but I will try my best because I really want to know what causes it.
When I was younger I used to call it the 'fast feeling' - its a sensation that everything around me is moving at an incredible speed - however I can see that things aren't moving fast - I can process that thought - but what I get is a sense/feeling of a huge adrenalin rush. If people talk to me I can see and process they are talking normally but my head sends out signals to my brain that makes it 'feel' like they are talking with a sense of urgency.
I guess it feels like a shot of adrenalin in my head - but I don't physically feel energised - my heart doesn't beat faster, I don't move or act with any more urgency - it's like a battle between conscious and subconscious.
I'm not worried about it - like I said it doesn't happen very often and, if I try and get rid of it, lasts no more than 5 mins - I'm just curious to know if anyone else has come across such a thing.
The problem discussed in this topic is quite unusual. The discussion starter described it as a sensation that everything around him/her is moving at an incredible speed, however, not the objects or people, only his/her thoughts. It was also described as a sense/feeling of a huge adrenalin rush. Other participants joined many of them claiming they had the same or similar experience, describing it as a feeling that their hands, eyes, thoughts and everything else were moving quickly - like set on fast forward.
I also experienced what I can only describe as a fast, loud noise in my head, like my thoughts were racing through my mind - did anyone else experience this?
Most answers that followed weren't exactly the answers but rather further questions and theories on the possible causes. Many tried to identify a common factor or event that precedes the events. Anxiety disorders have been mentioned as a possible culprit in a couple of posts. Several participants mentioned ADD/ADHD in a similar context. One participant wondered if this fast feeling is just an overload of our sensory systems. None of these was confirmed in further discussion.
Have any of you experienced traumatizing things or anything like that whenever you were younger?
Several participants asked if any of the members who reported the problem had some sort of traumatic experience in early childhood, but this question was also left without a conclusion.
Of those who provided the answers, Alice in Wonderland syndrome was named as the most likely cause for the "fast" feeling in the head. Several participants pointed their fingers at this rare condition which affects the parts of the brain that deal with sensory information responsible for what we see and hear. This condition can indeed affect our perception of time which may seem to pass faster or slower than we think.
Several participants blamed the low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). One member who reported the "fast" feeling was diagnosed with this condition.
The thing that was common to almost every participant is their age. The condition apparently affects younger individuals more, usually teens.
Some participants received a diagnosis which could explain the "fast feeling" phenomenon. Besides Alice in Wonderland syndrome, other diagnoses included:
- occipital lobe epilepsy
- conversion disorder - a mental condition in which a person has blindness, paralysis, or other nervous system (neurologic) symptoms that cannot be explained by medical evaluation
- convergence insufficiency - a condition in which the eyes are unable to work together when looking at nearby objects, creating double or blurred vision
- bilateral caudate heterotopia - a condition in which nerve cells (neurons) do not migrate properly during the early development of the fetal brain, causing seizures, often during the teenage years
- ADD
Several participants noted that certain medications made their condition worse, particularly Topamax.
Ever since I’ve been on the Topamax I’ve experienced these “episodes” in more frequent spells and in longer duration.
Topiramate (brand name Topamax) is a broad-spectrum anticonvulsant (antiepilepsy) drug used to treat epilepsy in children and adults. It is most frequently prescribed for the prevention of migraines and to decrease the frequency of migraine attacks. Many participants who were taking Topamax for heir migraine reported that the episodes of the "fast" feeling in the head started, continued and even worsened after taking the drug. Antianxiety medications were also mentioned as a possible cause.
What do experts say?
It is hard to tell what may be causing the phenomenon described as "fast feeling in the head" without a detailed medical evaluation. Here, we'll focus on the condition that was mentioned by the majority of participants in this discussion - Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AIWS).
What is Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AIWS)?
Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AWS), also known as Todd’s syndrome, Lilliputian hallucinations or dysmetropsia is a rare neuropsychological condition in which visual perception is altered, meaning that objects may appear small, large, closer than they are, or further away than they are. In 1955, British psychiatrist John Todd named this strange condition after the character from From Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, in which Alice shrinks small and grows large.
Besides vision, AiWS also affects the sense of sensation, touch, and hearing, as well as one's own body image. The condition may also affect a sense of time, which may seem to pass faster or slower than one thinks.
Symptoms of Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AWS)
Symptoms of AWS don't occur simultaneously, but rather separately. Each symptom will only occur for a five-to-20-minute period of time. The symptoms may include:
- Micropsia (objects appear smaller than normal)
- Macropsia (objects appear larger than normal)
- Teleopsia (objects appear further away than they actually are)
- Pelopsia (objects appear nearer than they actually are)
- Metamorphopsia (straight lines appear wavy, warped, or blank)
- Microsomatognosia (feeling that their own body or body parts are shrinking)
- Macrosomatognosia (feeling that their body or body parts are growing taller or larger)
Migraine, hallucinations, nausea, dizziness, and agitation are also commonly associated symptoms with Alice in Wonderland syndrome. The persons affected by Alice in Wonderland syndrome may also lose a sense of time. They may feel the time is moving faster or slower than it really is.
What causes Alice in Wonderland syndrome?
It’s not clear what causes AWS and these unusual changes in perception, which often start when children are very young. Some researchers believe unusual electrical activity in the brain causes abnormal blood flow to the parts of the brain responsible for processing the environment and experiencing visual perception.
Although more research is needed, migraine is considered the leading cause for AWS in adults. Some doctors believe AWS might be a type of migraine aura. Infection is considered the primary cause for this syndrome in children.
Other possible causes include:
- Epilepsy
- Infections such as with the Epstein-Barr virus
- Stroke
- Depression or schizophrenia
- Cough medicine
- Use of hallucinogenic drugs
- The anti-seizure drug topiramate (Topamax)
- Brain tumor
Treatment for Alice in Wonderland syndrome
There's no treatment for AWS, but you may be able to avoid the strange sensations by resting and waiting for symptoms to pass and staying away from things that may trigger them, migraines for example.
Treating an underlying cause, for example, migraine or infection may prevent future episodes. Doctor may also recommend medications such as antidepressants, anti-seizure drugs or blood pressure medicines, as well as diet changes, particularly avoiding foods and drinks that trigger a migraine.
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Discussion highlights
What symptoms have been reported?
What made the symptoms worse?
- And I've had this feeling whilst on Ecstasy, but not normally.
- Excedrin Migraine makes me wired).
- i started taking topamaz for migraines about 4 months ago and was thinking that maybe that was the cause.
- I developed sudden onset chronic, debilitating migraines when I was 21 (which I think is a result of taking Accutane since I’d never had one before taking the drug and all of a sudden I was getting them every time I took it towards the end of my treatment…
- Ever since I’ve been on the Topamax I’ve experienced these “episodes” in more frequent spells and in longer duration.
- But my doctor put me on Topamax and they got worse.
- I personally believe that taking Topamax (for migraine treatment) made mine worse.
- and I believe mine have gotten more intense since Topamax as well (started taking it at 20, am now 27).
- She has terrible migraines - at least we think they are migraines, but the neurologist put her on tons of meds that she cannot function on and frankly, don't work.
- However, I recently had to stop taking Aleve, as it was causing esophageal ulcers.
- A previous post stated that they were prescribed Topamax which caused an increase in these episodes.
- if you ever need antibiotic and you have ever i mean ever experience these feeling stay away from Flagyl because it makes them WORSE, i know i had it happen to me now they are more often and scary.
- The first time I experienced the fast feeling was when I was very high off marijuana and experienced a panic attack (also first panic attack) since then (4 weeks ago now) I've had feelings of anxiety, anxiety attacks and also another fast feeling which occurred 2 days ago and seemed to last a good few hours to a certain extent, at first I started to panic but I calmed myself down and got used too it, like I said ive stopped marijuana so should my brain/body adapt to its old ways or should I see a doctor?, I've had noticable tinnitus since my first panic attack, and is noticabke throughout most of the day, but it does go sometimes.
- He uped my Topiramate & it was helping w/ the migraines & to keep the "fast feeling" away but it's started to oncrease, this last episodic lasted 35 mins.
- I am on lots of new medication with strange side effects like burning my mouth and causing me trouble sleeping!
- The tabs reduce the feeling but my head feels heavy and i feel very scared.
- I'm travelling with a buddy, and he offered me some for altitude sickness / persistent headache, and WHAM - that same old feeling from when I was a kid.
- He was prescribed an anxiety medicine, yet the episodes have continued and even worsened.
- I think it was because I consumed 2 DayQuil pills and I had 3 ibuprofen 4 hours before I took the DayQuil so it's probably just adrenaline.
What diagnostic tests have been ordered?
- Had a normal EEG yesterday.
- A similar sensation I get is that my tongue is really big in my mouth and my vision goes strange.I have had scans done on my brain, EEG and MRI.
- I explained the phenomena to my doctor, and he deemed it necessary to perform a blood test, MRI and EEG.
- I've seen a doctor about my fast feeling actually lots of them, but non of them could find what it was, they did epilepsia tests, the head scan, blood tests but they didnt find anything
- I'm ok they did a CT scan & I saw my reg dr.
- I went to my Neuro & he an EMG & a few other tests & possibly re do the CT.
- You will want to take her to a neurologist, she should have an EEG.
- It got so bad that I ended up going to a neurologist and getting EEG's.
- When they did my first EEG they couldn't find anything but when they did a second one for 24 hours they found an abnormalty in my brain waves.
- He had us at the hospital in minutes and did an urgent CT.
- She is booked into Monash to have a sleep deprived EEG and hopefully that will give a definate diagnosis.
- ONe doctor saying, no more tests or anything and the other one wanting to schedule MRI, EEG etc ajandj
- A general eye test will not pick it up.
- It does not show up in a regular eye exam.
- We then made an appointment to get an EEG (Electroencephalogram) test;
- to test for any strange activity in my brain;
- to search for symptoms of a brain tumor or epilepsy - since i have never had any seizures of any kind they said it was very unlikely that this was the cause - The test came out completely positive, which means all my brain activty was normal.
- A few weeks ago i got an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) to further test for anymore strange brain activity.
- I went to a Dr who did all these test.
- MRI, etc.
- Guys am having this too now and same as the post says i was getting it more when i was young but now less but now its happening t o me ,,, i cant take it it bothers alot and also i had a VSD a hole in my heart and i made this operation called VSD closer with an umbrella like 4 years ago .
- It wasn’t until I was seeing a top endocrinologist in preparation of surgery that I was ever asked if I had ever experienced “a quickening sensation, where I feel like things are happening faster than they really were”.
- I think it probably has the same mechanism as Alice and wonderland syndrome dies, I had abnormal spikes on an EEG, but no definitive epilepsy.
- We wants to do MRI but feels that she will not stay still enough but is hesitant about CT as the radiation is equal to 1000 xrays.
- My son is nine he experinced this fast feeling inside his head while he was getting a tooth pulled.
- Three years ago I was diagnosed with Chiari Malformation type I by pure accident through MRI ( and later also diagnosed with stenosis & bulging disks) Please have your doctor schedule all test possible in order for you to know the cause.
- My neurologist explained to me that what it looks like during a scan is a bunch of mini twitches seizures in the brain all firing in rapid succession, one right after the other.
- It only happened to me in the morning so far and it has been happening to me for over 2 years now (I had a surgery 2 years ago with general anesthesia and it started happening after that, maybe just coincidence) on different basis (there was a week when it happend every single day).
- I went to a neurologist and he scheduled me an MRI and EEG and I discovered that it was more serious.
- But, to be sure - if it continues and bothers you, ask for a CT scan.
- I did managed to trigger it during my scan, that is when I got the comment from the doctors.
- My Neurologist ordered an MRI and they found a 1cm lesion in my left frontal lobe.
- We thought that was it but had to call 911Cause they couldn't stop the bleeding it turned out it punctured the main artery in my head (they call it the million dollar hit cause its so hard to hit it go figure) so I got rushed to the ER & had quick surgery in the ER to close it up.
- Then I went to a neurologist, they performed EEG and MRI of the brain but didnt find anything except a small arachnoid cyst (not a big deal).
- She had an EEG (brain wave study) for multiple days in a hospital (nothing really found.
- We felt it related to the number of ultrasounds I had while pregnant possibly.
- It's a bit hard to detect it with EEG.
- But we recommend it.
- I tried telling my doctor but I burst into tears he thinks it might be something like dissociation of that helps any of you but I've got another appointment to try find out, I also had an MRI and everything looks visually ok
- He underwent tests by Neurologists (EEG for Seizures and overnight EEG) Psychological Neurologists, Ear Nose & Throat Dr.'s, and Psychiatrists.He could not get an MRI because he had braces, but tumors were ruled out, so that was good.
- Drs did test to rule out being viral related.
- I too get this feeling, I was diagnosed with left temporal lobe epilepsy with ictal arrthmya 4 years ago although before my diagnosis I was having these feelings on a regular basis, then I began having full seizures, blackouts and my heart was stopping for up to 20 seconds a time I had pacemaker implanted to keep my heart rate normal as it was 25 beats a minute due to my brain not controlling it properly.
- I'm going to see a neurologist and get ct scans done this week.
- I got CT scans, ECG etc when I was 13 yrs old and all came out normal.
- I went to the doctor and had an EEG and an EKG but they found nothing!
- Came back two years ago I even had an MRI and other brain tests done but all came back normal.
- My wife and I have an appointment on the 22nd of this month for an EEG, our ten year old son is having the same issue.
- My parents had me taken to a neurologist where they checked my brain while I was sleep deprived, from what I remember they were mostly checking for epilepsy as my uncle had it, they didn't believe it was epilepsy but they did say I had some unusual brainwaves during the test but it seemed all fine.
In conclusion
The unusual "fast feeling" in the head can be a sign of Alice in Wonderland syndrome, a rare condition that alters the visual perception, senses of touch and hearing, as well as a sense of time.