Weird Shock!

[loong]

I was working in my little plot this morning in light rain and tried to pick up the end of a bamboo pole to move it out of the way.

As I gripped the end I had this jolt through my little finger very much like an electric shock.

The pole went flying when my whole body jerked and for a while I was rooted to the spot, with my body convulsing.

When I was able to walk, I found that I could go a little way, but then my feet would refuse to move and my legs would be twitching like I was doing a bad Elvis Presley impression and my heart pounding big time.

It took me quite a while to get back to the house and after about 15 minutes, my heart-rate reduced, but my hands were still quivering.

Everything seems ok now, but it was very strange as there are no electricity cables anywhere near where I was working, and bamboo is probably not a great conductor anyway.

Has anybody ever heard of anything like this?

Any ideas what happened?

[cooked]

Aliens?

Dunno, must have an exposed electrical circuit nearby somewhere.

[loong]

Aliens?

Dunno, must have an exposed electrical circuit nearby somewhere.

This is Thailand cooked.

There is always an exposed electrical circuit nearby somewhere.

[stoneyboy]

Wear rubber gloves next time.

[NCC1701A]

bamboo does not conduct electricity. was the bamboo wet? were your feet in water? was the bamboo connected to anything? power lines near by? electric fence? security system?

[theblether]

Water is the issue, keep kids or pets away from there. Careful sir.

[NCC1701A]

http://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety-symptoms/electric-shock-feeling.shtml

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Undiagnosed-Symptoms/Light-headed---tingles-through-body-sort-of-like-electric-shock/show/202253

Edited August 21, 2013 by NCC1701A

[Crossy]

I've had similar feelings, definitely not shocks, never really worked out why.

Would this be better in health? PM me if you want it moved.

[loong]

bamboo does not conduct electricity. was the bamboo wet? were your feet in water? was the bamboo connected to anything? power lines near by? electric fence? security system?

My feet weren't in water, but everything was wet from the rain.

Lots of power cables at the road side and in a right mess

[NCC1701A]

i would stay clear of that area until it drys out if possible. if there are very high tension (high voltage) cables down that are active and sitting in water, you could be electrocuted.

[loong]

http://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety-symptoms/electric-shock-feeling.shtml

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Undiagnosed-Symptoms/Light-headed---tingles-through-body-sort-of-like-electric-shock/show/202253

Thanks for those links.

I don't enjoy flying and often when flying and dropping off to sleep, I get this jolt that brings me fully awake. I can only describe it as similar to when sitting in a chair and pushing back so that the front legs are off the floor. There comes a point that it almost overbalances, but you recover and that gives you a jolt.

Does that make sense?

I have been getting these jolts when trying to sleep in our bed lately. I rarely get a good night's sleep.

I am definitely anxious, I am scared that I will kill my stepson.

I have never hated anybody as much as I hate him. I did not know that I was capable of such hate.

This narcissistic, lazy, useless, sponging #### has been the cause of all my problems since he was 15 years old.

Maybe 2 months ago, after he had been out all night and then chose to lay in bed all day instead of going to work, I gave him a bit of a shake, which resulted in his Mother going apeshit and attacking me with a knife used for harvesting rice.

Yes, that shows where I am in the pecking order and I would have been out of there, but for the fact that I am the only Father that my 7 year old stepdaughter has known and I will not abandon her the way that her biological father has abandoned her.

[Chicken George]

Good advice Blether..Maybe a pinched nerve in the neck. If you have never had it before then maybe you will be lucky and not get it again. It can be like a lightning bolt. Have had many such shocks then it ended in being paralized down my right arm and terrible pain in forarm. Maybe a neck x ray if it happens again.I had 2 collasped discs not much fun...

[jcb2001]

http://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety-symptoms/electric-shock-feeling.shtml

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Undiagnosed-Symptoms/Light-headed---tingles-through-body-sort-of-like-electric-shock/show/202253

Agree, it may be medical related. I had a similar experience last year when I tried to climb some stairs in Japan. My legs just crumbled on the steps and my heart started pounding. Had that tingling sensation also. I was really scared and thought I was going to pass out. I even thought I was having a heart attack. After a few moments I got my energy back and struggled up the stairs.

[Torrens54]

Hey, you survived to tell the tale. Go buy a Lottery Ticket and see if your luck holds.

[cdmtdm]

http://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety-symptoms/electric-shock-feeling.shtml

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Undiagnosed-Symptoms/Light-headed---tingles-through-body-sort-of-like-electric-shock/show/202253

Thanks for those links.

I don't enjoy flying and often when flying and dropping off to sleep, I get this jolt that brings me fully awake. I can only describe it as similar to when sitting in a chair and pushing back so that the front legs are off the floor. There comes a point that it almost overbalances, but you recover and that gives you a jolt.

Does that make sense?

I have been getting these jolts when trying to sleep in our bed lately. I rarely get a good night's sleep.

I am definitely anxious, I am scared that I will kill my stepson.

I have never hated anybody as much as I hate him. I did not know that I was capable of such hate.

This narcissistic, lazy, useless, sponging #### has been the cause of all my problems since he was 15 years old.

Maybe 2 months ago, after he had been out all night and then chose to lay in bed all day instead of going to work, I gave him a bit of a shake, which resulted in his Mother going apeshit and attacking me with a knife used for harvesting rice.

Yes, that shows where I am in the pecking order and I would have been out of there, but for the fact that I am the only Father that my 7 year old stepdaughter has known and I will not abandon her the way that her biological father has abandoned her.

i would say stress, take it easy mate , i understand your predicament ..... perhaps you need a holiday away from the family ?

[F4UCorsair]

My guess is a muscle spasm or pinched nerve. I've had similar in the past, and the sensation is very similar to an electric shock.

Worst case is a neurological condition??

Re your post # 11, get the hell out of there, or you're going to end up dead.

Edited August 22, 2013 by F4UCorsair

[mamypoko]

I'm so far from being a doctor...but...but...explore the very outside chance the shock of internally generated, ie. heart (attack)...etc.

Edited August 22, 2013 by mamypoko

[Oliver Reed]

Never fully trust a Thai electrical installation...could well be that in your case, there is a small underground cable running a supply to a building or outbuilding..most likely the wrong type of cable used (an unsuitable type to be buried in the ground) and not buried deep enough..over time the insulation may have broken down, causing conductors to be bare...with the rain on your bamboo, you may have inadvertently poked the ground around this bare conductor, and got a taste of the rainbow...what ive seen of thai electrical installations leads me to believe most electricians here have no formal training....a simple cable locating device or cat scanner would identify any buried cables, but finding a reputable company might prove more difficult.

I am an electrician, and ive had enough belts in my time to know that the symptoms you experienced sound just like a good belt off a live cable

[loong]

Never fully trust a Thai electrical installation...could well be that in your case, there is a small underground cable running a supply to a building or outbuilding..most likely the wrong type of cable used (an unsuitable type to be buried in the ground) and not buried deep enough..over time the insulation may have broken down, causing conductors to be bare...with the rain on your bamboo, you may have inadvertently poked the ground around this bare conductor, and got a taste of the rainbow...what ive seen of thai electrical installations leads me to believe most electricians here have no formal training....a simple cable locating device or cat scanner would identify any buried cables, but finding a reputable company might prove more difficult.

I am an electrician, and ive had enough belts in my time to know that the symptoms you experienced sound just like a good belt off a live cable

All electrical cables are above ground around here. I'm pretty sure that there are no buried cables as I have done a lot of digging in this plot over the last few years.

However, the cables roadside at the front of the property are a right mess.

The Electric company assures that these are not connected to anything

This sort of thing you see all over the place, electric cables running from one house to another that has no meter.

And this also at the front of the property and low enough for children to be able to touch. Workers from the Electrtic company say "no problem, nobody will touch it." That was when they did a repair and the tight turn in the cable didn't allow them to replace the cover plate.

[loong]

My guess is a muscle spasm or pinched nerve. I've had similar in the past, and the sensation is very similar to an electric shock.

Worst case is a neurological condition??

Re your post # 11, get the hell out of there, or you're going to end up dead.

Why do I stay?

[krisb]

Ok, firstly it's recommended after any level of electrocution, which you have described so let's assume that, you need to get checked by a doctor. It doesn't take much electricity for the heart to be out of whack so go get checked.

Secondly, If she's threatened to hurt you with a knife, that's mentally unstable behaviour and you need to sort that out.

[Joe Mamma]

http://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety-symptoms/electric-shock-feeling.shtml

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Undiagnosed-Symptoms/Light-headed---tingles-through-body-sort-of-like-electric-shock/show/202253

Thanks for those links.

I don't enjoy flying and often when flying and dropping off to sleep, I get this jolt that brings me fully awake. I can only describe it as similar to when sitting in a chair and pushing back so that the front legs are off the floor. There comes a point that it almost overbalances, but you recover and that gives you a jolt.

Does that make sense?

I have been getting these jolts when trying to sleep in our bed lately. I rarely get a good night's sleep.

I am definitely anxious, I am scared that I will kill my stepson.

I have never hated anybody as much as I hate him. I did not know that I was capable of such hate.

This narcissistic, lazy, useless, sponging #### has been the cause of all my problems since he was 15 years old.

Maybe 2 months ago, after he had been out all night and then chose to lay in bed all day instead of going to work, I gave him a bit of a shake, which resulted in his Mother going apeshit and attacking me with a knife used for harvesting rice.

Yes, that shows where I am in the pecking order and I would have been out of there, but for the fact that I am the only Father that my 7 year old stepdaughter has known and I will not abandon her the way that her biological father has abandoned her.

I too, get awakened by the falling backwards feeling that jolts you to your senses. It started when Pop died and peaked when i lost Ma. Now 4 years later i get them once in a blue moon.

Sorry to hear about the un-motivated step son. Did you try bringing some Monks from the local temple home for a talk? Maybe military school? Try everything but keep your cool and set good examples. Good luck there.

[loong]

Ok, firstly it's recommended after any level of electrocution, which you have described so let's assume that, you need to get checked by a doctor. It doesn't take much electricity for the heart to be out of whack so go get checked.

Secondly, If she's threatened to hurt you with a knife, that's mentally unstable behaviour and you need to sort that out.

Hi Krisb,

My FIL tells me that I should go and see a doctor. The odd thing is that I feel great today, better than I have felt in a long time. I had a really good night's sleep and woke up refreshed and with a new energy.

The Missus went off to work with a big smile on her face

You've been around Thailand a long time and I think that you know that Thai Mothers are very protective of their sons even when they know that they are in the wrong and they have had enough of them themselves.

Yes, she came at me with a knife. I protected myself without hurting her. She apologised the next day. I don't believe that she actually wanted to hurt me, it was just the maternal instinct.

While I have been writing this post, I can hear this useless piece of <deleted> trying to get money from his Mother.

She has refused because she cannot keep giving him money whenever he wants it and now she is in a terrible mood.

[RickFarang]

This may be "stray voltage"(not sure if that's the right name), which has been reported by cattle ranchers in the United States. It is thought that the voltage develope there because some of the current that should be going through nearby power lines is going through the ground. Some were able to map the voltage gradients by sticking conductive probes, like small ground rods, into the ground and measuring the voltage between the probes.

It is similar to what killed some children while swimming in a canal somewhere in Thaialnd several years ago. A worker fired up his electric welding rig which was not correctly connected and killed four or five children. I would be very careful in the yard until you understand what happened.

[bigbamboo]

It's possible that there could be a faulty electrical cable running close by to where you were standing, possibly in a ruptured pipe underground. This coupled with the wet conditions could have been enough to cause a shock.

There was a famous case at Newbury racecourse in England a few years when two horses were electrocuted in the parade ring in this way.

[nosatisfaction]

Wear rubber gloves next time.

and rubber boots.

[nosatisfaction]

Aliens?

Dunno, must have an exposed electrical circuit nearby somewhere.

This is Thailand cooked.

There is always an exposed electrical circuit nearby somewhere.

more likely would be : residual static electricity due to the latest appearance of the local ghost!!!!!!

if you don't believe this one, i'll come up with something else

555555555555555555

almost WE, time to fill up energy and BS level.

have a nice 1 all of you, including Bradley=Chelsea., thank you for all this information.

[farmerjo]

Fair chance there might have been a scorpion in the end.

They give a boot.

[Bluetongue]

Hi Loong

I wish you luck with your problem, one you had of describing it I thought it might have been apnoea where you wake up suddenly and cant breathe but it seems not on a second read. Take care anyway.

Re your second problem I think you know I have shared some of those issues, mine is 27 now and due to a fluke of another family house being available to him free (including food and electricity paid for by an absent niece) he has moved out. At least one of the reasons would be to get away from me but the main one is also he can shack up with his girlfriend there and the missus and her parents don't know.

But also things did get better here eventually and he doesn't sound as lazy as yours, well he holds down his job anyway, he's got a permanent job at the starch mill which I think is double speak for an easy lurk but its been two years now. So you can but hope. I now have a 16 year old boy that I get on quite well with, I mean I was here before he grew up basically but there have been a lot of behavioural changes in the last year or so. The jury is out. Good luck

[loong]

Fair chance there might have been a scorpion in the end.

They give a boot.

That's an interesting theory.

I've never been stung by a scorpion and so no idea what it feels like.

from here

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002850.htm

In severe cases, symptoms may include:

• Increased or decreased heart rate
• Muscle spasms
• Convulsions
• Seizures

I certainly suffered similar symptoms

And from here

http://voices.yahoo.com/what-feels-like-stung-scorpion-1439865.html

So what did it feel like getting stung in the neck by a Scorpion while sleeping? Well, it stings like a bee sting, or maybe more like a wasp. It feels like a shocking sensation similar to an electrical charge. After a few minutes the pain begins to travel, usually toward your heart. If you are lucky, numbness also develops. The first time you are stung is the worst; it might hurt all day. In an extreme case, you might have a reaction and stop breathing. If you can still breathe, you will most likely say a few bad words at this point during the experience.