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“It feels like a cell phone is on vibrate…INSIDE my body!” “I feel like I’m sitting on a huge speaker with the volume all the way up!” “Like fizzy micro bubbles.” “Like an electric current.” “My body is humming on the inside.” “I call it my internal jackhammer.” Does any of this sound familiar?
If so, you’re experiencing a unique and often hard-to-describe sensory symptom sometimes referred to as “inner trembling,” “internal tremors,” or, simply, “body buzzing.” Ahead, a look at this odd sensation, the potential causes, and possible connection to Hashimoto’s and hypothyroidism.
Paloma’s Director of Content + Community, Alex Ruiz, recently shared a viral video on TikTok.
In the video, Alex describes a sensation that she called an “inner vibration.” Alex said, “it literally feels like the inside of my body is vibrating.” As a long-time Californian, Alex described the sensation as “like an earthquake…There have been multiple times that I’ve woken up in the middle of the night at night, and I’m like, ‘is that an earthquake?’ And then I quickly realize that... it’s me!”
It turns out that Alex is not alone, as hundreds of people jumped into the comments to share their own descriptions of the same symptom. What does it feel like to have this inner vibration? According to various commenters:
- “It feels like I’m in a massage chair, but pulsates in waves.”
- “It feels like my body is moving at night.”
- “I feel like my body is humming.”
- “I describe it as ‘static.’”
- “It feels like the reverberations from hitting a gong or cymbal.”
- “Feels like an electrical current.”
- “It’s a buzzing sensation.”
What’s going on? Many of the commenters also had Hashimoto’s and/or hypothyroidism. Is this a thyroid or autoimmune symptom? Let’s take a look at some of the potential causes of these unusual sensations.
There’s no one-size-fits-all cause for inner trembling and body buzzing. But doctors and patients have some sound ideas that can help you navigate your health situation.
Inflammation: Some experts believe these internal body vibrations are caused by inflammation affecting the nervous system.
In an article in Shape magazine, Amit Sachdev, M.D., medical director for the department of neurology at Michigan State University, cites inflammation after infection as a potential reason for the tremors. “There are situations where the inflammation that the infection has brought on to the body causes these nerve endings to be damaged, and people will have tingly vibrations, numbness, and many other body-wide sensations.”
Inflammation is a common underlying issue in many people with Hashimoto’s and hypothyroidism.
Infections: Several infections are known to cause inner vibrations and body buzzing, including:
- Borrelia-induced Lyme Disease
- Mycotoxicosis – an infection due to mold-induced mycotoxins
- Parasitic conditions
Long Covid: Of particular interest during the ongoing pandemic, experts are reporting inner trembling, vibration, and body buzzing as symptoms of Long Covid – the continuing symptoms that occur in a subset of people who have had a Covid-19 infection.
Diabetes and Hypoglycemia: Low blood sugar levels associated with diabetes or hypoglycemia can sometimes cause this inner trembling and vibration sensation.
Neurological Disease: Many neurological conditions can cause inner tremors, including Parkinson’s syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis, and essential tremor.
Perimenopause: Perimenopause is associated with common vasomotor symptoms – like hot flashes and night sweats – that result from fluctuating estrogen levels. In some women, this inner buzzing feeling is a vasomotor symptom that reflects drops in estrogen levels. Note that underlying hypothyroidism can cause even more fluctuations in estrogen levels.
Nighttime drops in body temperature: Even outside of perimenopause, small fluctuations in your core body temperature can trigger vasomotor symptoms. During nighttime sleep, most people see their body temperature drop by around 2 degrees Fahrenheit.
Vitamin deficiencies: Some patients have reported their inner buzzing sensations were resolved after identifying and addressing deficiencies in iron, vitamin B12, and vitamin D.
Stress/Anxiety: In some cases, chronic stress and anxiety may cause this symptom. You don’t have to be experiencing emotional symptoms of anxiety to have an adrenal imbalance with a physical manifestation like this body buzzing.
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If you have Hashimoto’s or hypothyroidism, your first step is ensuring your thyroid condition is optimally treated. Even mild imbalances in your thyroid function could affect your body temperature or other hormones like estrogen – all factors contributing to inner tremors and body buzzing.
Getting an evaluation and treatment for this symptom can be a challenge, however. After Alex Ruiz’s TikTok video, one commenter said, “my doctor never heard of it.” Another said, “My doctors tell me it’s anxiety.” And one commenter went to a neurologist for a consultation. “They thought I was crazy!”
Because this symptom is difficult to describe, approach the discussion with your doctor as unemotionally and calmly as possible. It will help if you bring a symptoms diary that tracks the following:
- time of the day when you have this symptom
- what were you doing when it began
- how long does an episode last
- a description of what they feel like
- any other symptoms along with the internal tremors and body buzzing
You may want to discuss these symptoms during a consultation with a specialist, including a neurologist, endocrinologist, infectious disease specialist, or integrative physician. Working with specialists, some patients have identified medical conditions after diagnostic tests for diabetes, adrenal imbalances/stress hormone imbalances, nutritional deficiencies, toxins such as heavy metals and mycotoxins, and infections, including Lyme disease.
The primary way to help resolve these inner vibrations is to identify and treat any underlying conditions contributing to the symptom.
As noted, corrected vitamin and nutritional deficiencies may also help alleviate symptoms.
In addition, lifestyle interventions may help. These include:
- practicing physiologic stress and anxiety management daily
- avoiding stimulants such as caffeine
- avoiding intense exercise and heat
- staying well-hydrated
- Getting enough sleep
If you’re experiencing more chronic inner vibrations or they’re affecting your quality of life, over at Shape magazine, Dr. Sachdev recommended oral medications used for neuropathic pain, such as gabapentin or duloxetine.
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Optimizing your thyroid function is an essential first step. Consider getting thyroid care from the team of knowledgeable Paloma thyroid experts, who can work with you on the evaluation and management of Hashimto’s thyroiditis and hypothyroidism, with the goal of resolution of your symptoms.
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