Brain zaps and jolts

[btdt]

Ginko I tried in way of cold effex a cold years ago and it felt good I was in hard wd then scared to death I took it one day was too scared to try it again can't recall if there was a fallout or not as it was too many years ago. 

I had brain zaps for years and still get them if I am sick or challenged physically.  I wonder why they linger for me it does not seem right feels like I have missed some bit of healing along the way. Maybe it is the cold turkey paying dividends still hard to say. 

 

I tried to look up the company who makes the zap supplement to see about the other...but can't find Deanlus or Deanius..( can't make out the word my eyes are not working).Labs online  

 

I think they should have offered the supplement in parts so we could try one at a time they are obviously not aware of the hypersensitivity we ( should say some or most of us ) have to supplements.  

 

I would bet if all the supplements were gathered from all the AD wd site users for the past 10 years we could sink a ship.. with what we have in cupboards and have thrown in the garbage.   We need to have separate doses of each supplement and add as we go if we can. 

[btdt]

One interesting thing I found when I went back to learn about the maker of this supplement 

look how the classify the drugs... the last ones don't have title.. 

What can it help with?
Zaps-Away can help with many different medications which have been found to cause brain zaps during withdrawal/withdrawing from, cold turkey quitting/stopping abruptly, reducing dosage/dose reduction, or tapering/weaning, including but not limited to:

Antidepressants

SSRIs:

Citalopram (Celexa)
Escitalopram (Lexapro)
Fluoxetine (Prozac)
Fluvoxamine (Luvox)
Paroxetine (Paxil)
Sertraline (Zoloft)

SNRIs:

Venlafaxine (Effexor, Effexor XR)
Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq)
Duloxetine (Cymbalta)
Milnacipran (Savella)
Levomilnacipran (Fetzima)

TCAs:

Clomipramine (Anafranil)
Imipramine (Tofranil)
Amitriptyline (Elavil)
Doxepin (Sinequan)

MAOIs:

Selegiline (Deprenyl, Emsam)
Phenelzine (Nardil)
Tranylcypromine (Parnate)

Benzodiazepines

Alprazolam (Xanax)
Diazepam (Valium)
Clonazepam (Klonopin)
Lorazepam (Ativan)
Temazepam (Restoril)

Antipsychotics

Aripiprazole (Abilify)
Quetiapine (Seroquel)
Lurasidone (Latuda)
Olanzapine (Zyprexa)
Risperidone (Risperdal)
Clozapine (Clozaril)
Asenapine (Saphris)
Paliperidone (Invega)
Iloperidone (Fanapt)
Ziprasidone (Geodon)

Other Drugs

Tramadol (Ultram, Ultracet, Tramal)
Mirtazapine (Remeron)
Vortioxetine (Brintellix)
Buspirone (Buspar)
Dextromethorphan (DXM)
MDMA (Ecstasy, Molly)

What’s included?
Fresh Sealed Bottle w/ 70 Veggie Capsules
Brain Zaps Survival Guide (sent digitally)

 

I just learned I could turn a section red the red section... listed as other drugs.. I wonder why... Remeron is what Muddles was on. Any ideas?

 

The other interesting bit is when I was first looking for brain zaps not sure what term I used the only place I could find what I was experiencing was at a Ecstasy withdrawal thread on an illegal drug website that was before I found pp in 2008.   I could find nothing to suggest Effexor tolerance was the cause. 

[Toulouse]

I'm not sure if these are brain zaps or not but I feel a strange feeling in my brain. Not sure if this is attributed to anxiety or a totally different thing I need to go to the er for. I had my last dose of Paxil about 9 months ago.

[Toulouse]

I looked for a similar topic but could not find one.

[SquirrellyGirl]

It is likely another bout of healing, a wave, Toulouse.  Are you feeling anxious otherwise?

 

Waves can present in different ways, sometimes physical, sometimes psychological.  At nine months out, you are in the time frame for another wave (common at 9 months out).  http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1388-head-noise-and-other-symptoms-in-the-head/

 

Just be the Watcher and be curious about how this will evolve.  It may be very short-lived.

 

SG

[Toulouse]

It is likely another bout of healing, a wave, Toulouse.  Are you feeling anxious otherwise?

 

Waves can present in different ways, sometimes physical, sometimes psychological.  At nine months out, you are in the time frame for another wave (common at 9 months out).  http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1388-head-noise-and-other-symptoms-in-the-head/

 

Just be the Watcher and be curious about how this will evolve.  It may be very short-lived.

 

SG

I was getting panic attacks out of nowhere (never in my life had I had them pre-paxil or during paxil). Then they seem to have gotten better  - though I am still feeling overly anxious at times. Almost daily.  I get the dizzy/ brain zappy feeling sporadically it seems. but I think I am also feeling anxious to a degree too.

I actually went to see a neurologist this week to discuss the effects of the 14yrs SSRI had on my brain and my symptoms.  He thinks it's tied to the Paxil withdrawal - (and he actually understands there's folks like us out there that have WD for months, or years off the pills).  He encouraged me to stay off the meds if I can, seeing how far I've come. So I feel better after seeing him, (that I don't have something more serious wrong with my brain) and I can continue with trying to tackle the anxiety and its symptoms non - medicinally. 

I do think this is another wave. (starting with my bad one in March with the panic attacks and now morphing into regular, but troublesome anxiety and it's own symptoms).

I saw somewhere that some people describe the brain zaps as a brain 'shiver' which I think more or less describes this new sensation. It feels like someone is pulling a wet towel over my naked brain from back to front. It's not a good feeling but it doesn't last long. 

I have been reading about CBT and just started doing deep relaxation 2x daily this week.  Anything I can do to ward off the thought of trying another med.

[SquirrellyGirl]

Excellent job with the relaxation and looking into CBT.  If you haven't seen it before, Claire Weekes' work might be helpful:  Claire Weekes' Method of Recovering from a Sensitized Nervous System

 

Also, Emotional Freedom Techniques (tapping) can be helpful for anxiety. It sounds like you've got anxiety secondary to withdrawal symptoms, worrying about them.  But there's much that can be done to diffuse it!

 

I'm sure you've seen this topic:  Non-drug techniques to cope with emotional symptoms

 

SG

[lucky12]

See the story is this. Around 5 months ago he prescribed me 10mg and I used it for a week but could not tolerate it. Than after a week without Zyprexa he again decided to precribe me 5mg. That's when he precriped me 50mg of Seroquel and told me I can quit whenever I don't have sleeping problems. I have used 5mg Zyprexa for 3 months and 2 months ago he made me quit by having 2.5mg for 3-4 days told me it's not a big deal and it's easy to quit this drug.

 

I am confused I have had no problem at the first month.

[cymbaltawithdrawal5600]

Post here now:

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/12258-lucky12-brain-zaps/

 

You've been moved there. I'll copy the above in a new post there temporarily.

[Toulouse]

Excellent job with the relaxation and looking into CBT.  If you haven't seen it before, Claire Weekes' work might be helpful:  Claire Weekes' Method of Recovering from a Sensitized Nervous System

 

Also, Emotional Freedom Techniques (tapping) can be helpful for anxiety. It sounds like you've got anxiety secondary to withdrawal symptoms, worrying about them.  But there's much that can be done to diffuse it!

 

I'm sure you've seen this topic:  Non-drug techniques to cope with emotional symptoms

 

SG

Thanks, SG.  Yes, I do believe the anxiety symptoms are secondary to the WD symptoms. I didn't have this anxiety until just a few months ago. I was feeling totally normal, except for mostly physical WD symptoms. (not including a 2 month bout of insomnia).  

The neurologist I saw said there are other meds I can take that are not SSRIs, that are much tamer and safer to help me if I can't handle the anxiety symptoms on my own. He mentioned beta blockers as well as gabapentin.  I really don't want to go on another drug but these symptoms need to ease up (more). 

I have found that deep breathing / relaxation has been helping me this week. I felt 'sick' in my brain yesterday, an awful feeling. Felt like WD, like when you first come off. But after a few minutes of deep breathing/relaxation the feeling went away and I felt totally normal and healthy afterwards. ( i did the breathing for 30 mins). I will be doing this every night and whenever I get any sensations to see if it keeps helping me

[Wishes19]

Hi all,

 

Thought I'd post here as brain zaps are my main withdrawal symptom - dozens, every day, since a too-fast Effexor taper 14 months ago.

 

I was wondering about Punarbhava, she/he started this thread but hasn't been active since 2012 - if you are lurking here at all, can you please update about how you are doing?  I hope you are doing well.

 

I made an appointment In August to see a neurologist regarding the brain zaps - I will update if I get any useful information.  

 

In the meantime, I've decided to try to get control of what I can control - my diet (avoiding sugar seems to help) and my sleep (trying to sleep 8 hours every night...only successful about 50% of the time, due to "life" constraints),  and exercise  (going to start swimming laps again, haha).  I read somewhere that a cold water dip increases brain norepinephrine - so I'm hoping to kill two birds with one stone with the swimming.

 

I fantasize about being able to move to the coast so that I can just take a swim in the ocean daily.  It's a fantasy that keeps me going when I feel particularly down.

 

Also, wondering if any of you know of anyone who was able to rid themselves of zaps after having them continuously for > 1 year??  I scour the internet daily for such tales, but, haven't had any luck so far.  Maybe I am looking in the wrong places

 

 

[zandro]

Anyone found any connection to zaps and physical stress? What i meant is I've been tapering off slowly and never has those and I'm stable on a dose for weeks. 2 days ago I went hiking and this one was really hard and long and seriously exhausting... I started having zaps after that, the day after i stayed home cause I was extremely tired and zaps was so intense sometimes I just couldn't believe it. Do you think there's a be a connection? Today that I fully recovered physically they're still here...

[Laura1981]

Yes. For me, physical activity intensifies my zaps a lot. The zaps increase approx. 24-48 hours after exercise. Around the same time the sore muscles show up. For me, they are also increased by bright lights, looking at screens and doing something that causes strain on the eyes. My eye found that my pupil reflex is almost non existent. 

[zandro]

Yes. For me, physical activity intensifies my zaps a lot. The zaps increase approx. 24-48 hours after exercise. Around the same time the sore muscles show up. For me, they are also increased by bright lights, looking at screens and doing something that causes strain on the eyes. My eye found that my pupil reflex is almost non existent.

Thanks for the answer. Did they stop eventually after that?

[Laura1981]

They never stopped for me. I have had them for 16 months now. But don't let that scare you. I think I'm an extreme case. Maybe just try and avoid strenuous exercise for the moment, so that they don't get worse.  

[zandro]

They never stopped for me. I have had them for 16 months now. But don't let that scare you. I think I'm an extreme case. Maybe just try and avoid strenuous exercise for the moment, so that they don't get worse.

Not scared I already had them years ago. I was just interested if they were related and thus disappear when the exercise ends.

[zandro]

For what it's worth my zaps disappeared 2 days after hiking.

[btdt]

 

Has anybody ever heard of a supplement called Zaps-Away? Apparently, it's supposed to be a brain zaps cure.

I had to look.

http://zaps-away.com/

 

9 Powerful Ingredients

Bacopa Monnieri, Rhodiola Rosea, Ginkgo Biloba, Gotu Kola, Magnesium, L-Theanine, Taurine, Agmatine, N-Acetyl Cysteine

No Prescription Needed

Over the counter. Safe and effective, without the need to see a doctor or get a prescription.

Combats Neurotoxicity

Targets specific brain functions which were thrown off and fights to restore your brain's natural chemical balance.

Helps With Many Medications

Antidepressants, Benzodiazepines, Antipsychotics, and more!

Have you recently quit an Antidepressant, Benzodiazepine, or an Antipsychotic?

Do you feel brief but repeated electric shock sensations or shivers in your head?

If the answer is yes, then what you’re experiencing are commonly referred to as “Brain Zaps”.

For many years now there have been a great number of people on medication who have complained of feeling electrical shock-like sensations in their heads. These shocks are usually reported during discontinuation or dose reduction of antidepressant medications, particularly those involving serotonin, such as SSRIs and SNRIs. But they can also be experienced after quitting other medications including benzodiazepines and antipsychotics. Yet strangely there is no mention of these side effects anywhere in official pharmaceutical documentation. As a result of the lack of medical terminology, these common occurences have been coined “Brain Zaps” by people throughout the online community. Because of the reluctance by pharmaceutical companies to acknowledge the existance of brain zaps, many physicians are completely unaware of these adverse side effects. This often leaves people to fend for themselves.

Most people describe their symptoms as a feeling of brief but repeated electrical currents which are uncontrollably zapping their brains. These brain zaps are often accompanied by disorientation, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), dizziness (vertigo), and lightheadedness. It goes without saying that these sensations can be extremely scary and uncomfortable. Most people don’t even know what’s going on until they start to look for answers and subsequently stumble upon countless others who are complaining of the very same thing in online forums. Folks want to get rid of these debilitaing brain zaps and are in real need of help.

Zaps-Away™ has been specifically designed to help alleviate the discomfort caused by these shocks and reduce the suffering you’re going through.

 

 

Enough for 2 wks in that bottle but if it worked.. lets see $25 ....50 a month for 5 years..3 grand way cheaper than meds I was hoping to find the amounts used of each ingredient it may be posted top to bottom with he larger amount being the first posted. 

Some of these things I have tried some I have never heard of magnesium of course and taurine both I have used... Gingko not sure what kind now and a hundred other supplements not listed on this bottle... I am going to take a look at the other supplements out of curiosity.

 

 

 

I did a search today on 

Agmatine the only reference to it at SA is here in this post as part of a treatment supplement. 

Take a look at what pubmed says

 

CNS Drugs. 2007;21(11):885-900.

Agmatine : metabolic pathway and spectrum of activity in brain.

Halaris A1, Plietz J.

Author information

 

Abstract

Agmatine is an endogenous neuromodulator that, based on animal studies, has the potential for new drug development. As an endogenous aminoguanidine compound (1-amino-4-guanidinobutane), it is structurally unique compared with other monoamines. Agmatine was long thought to be synthesised only in lower life forms, until its biosynthetic pathway (decarboxylation of arginine) was described in the mammalian brain in 1994. Human arginine decarboxylase has been cloned and shown to have 48% identity to ornithine decarboxylase. In neurons of the brain and spinal cord, agmatine is packaged into synaptic vesicles and released upon neuronal depolarisation. Other evidence of a neuromodulation role for agmatine is the presence of a specific cellular uptake mechanism and a specific metabolic enzyme (agmatinase; which forms putrescine).Initially, agmatine was conceptualised as an endogenous clonidine-displacing substance of imidazoline receptors; however, it has now been established to have affinity for several transmembrane receptors, such as alpha(2)-adrenergic, imidazoline I(1) and glutamatergic NMDA receptors. In addition to activity at these receptors, agmatine irreversibly inhibits neuronal nitric oxide synthase and downregulates inducible nitric oxide synthase. Endogenous agmatine is induced in response to stress and/or inflammation. Stressful conditions that induce agmatine include hypoxic-ischaemia and cold-restraint stress of ulcerogenic proportion. Induction of agmatine in the brain seems to occur in astrocytes, although neurons also synthesise agmatine. The effects of injected agmatine in animals include anticonvulsant-, antineurotoxic- and antidepressant-like actions. Intraperitoneal or intracerebroventricular injections of agmatine rapidly elicit antidepressant-like behavioural changes in the rodent forced swim test and tail suspension test. Intraperitoneal injections of agmatine into rats and mice also elicit acute anxiolytic-like behavioural changes in the elevated plus-maze stress test. In an animal model of acute stress disorder, intraperitoneal agmatine injections diminish contextual fear learning. Furthermore, intraperitoneal injections of agmatine reduce alcohol and opioid dependence by diminishing behaviour in a rat conditioned place preference paradigm. Based on these findings, agmatine appears to be an endogenous neuromodulator of mental stress. The possible roles and/or beneficial effects of agmatine in stress-related disorders, such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, merit further investigation.

PMID:   17927294

[indexed for MEDLINE]   another resource Overall, agmatine is an incredibly promising dietary supplement for both cognitive health/enhancement as well as an ergogenic, since it is possibly a better nitric oxide stimulator than arginine itself, yet it appears to prevent the toxicity associated with nitric oxide in the brain. Although it requires more human evidence and there are still a few studies that need to be conducted, agmatine appears to be worth looking into." https://examine.com/nutrition/nitric-oxide-supplements-and-a-surprising-neurotransmitter/ Agmatine has roles as an NMDA antagonist, a neuronal nitric oxide inhibitor (not related to "the pump" in any way), and a serotonin receptor signal enhancer, and is an activator of both alpha-2-adrenergic receptors and imidazoline receptors. Agmatine may directly block calcium channels, and can indirectly inhibit potassium channels.

The above mechanisms underlie its therapeutic benefits. Agmatine is useful in drug addiction (being shown to abolish anxiety with alcohol withdrawal and fentanyl self-administration, and reducing conditioning effects of meth), is synergistic with opioids like morphine (increases analgesic effects, reduces tolerance and addictive properties), and is synergistic with antidepressants, most notably SSRIs. Agmatine is also highly effective in treating neuropathic pain, and is theoretically synergistic with marijuana for this role as well.

Finally, agmatine is neuroprotective against excitotoxicity and stroke and has inherent anti-anxiety and anti-depressant effects. The latter two are likely due to agmatine enhancing signaling of naturally occurring anxiolytic and antidepressant compounds. There are, finally, some memory-enhancing effects that are context dependent. Behavioral and procedural memory appear to be enhanced, while spatial memory is unaffected; emotional fear conditioning is actually impaired. It was suggested by a few authors that "higher-up" processing is beneficially influenced, which correlates with high concentrations of agmatine in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus.

Neurological effects appear to follow a bell-curve pattern, maxing out at an estimated 500 mg human equivalent for somebody around 150 lbs (based on the limited evidence using oral agmatine in rats). The neuropathic pain reduction is dose dependent.

The limitations of the current evidence for agmatine include:

•  

  A ton of studies use injections rather than oral intake. Although the oral studies seem to suggest it has good absorption, a proper bioequivalence study has not been conducted.

•  

  Very limited human evidence; a lone study for neuropathic pain.

•  

  For many neural effects, it is antagonistic with arginine and citrulline. For neural and cardiovascular effects, it is antagonistic with yohimbine and rauwsolcine; all four are popular supplements.

• same link... 

 

 

"

[Altostrata]

https://www.bustle.com/p/what-are-brain-zaps-adjusting-antidepressants-can-have-this-bizarre-effect-2455695

 

What Are Brain Zaps? Adjusting Antidepressants Can Have This Bizarre Effect

 

By JR Thorpe October 3, 2017

 

If you've ever taken antidepressants or other kinds of psychiatric drugs, and have had to alter your dosage or attempt to come off them, you may be familiar with the phenomenon of "brain zaps." Also known as brain sparks, electrical shocks and a host of other colorful names, they're a recognized psychological symptom that feels as if the brain is filled, briefly, with electrical shocks or waves — a very bizarre, but normal, side effect of adjusting an antidepressant dose that reveals interesting things about how antidepressants work in your brain.

 

Brain zaps can be difficult to explain to others, and differ markedly between people: my own feel as if somebody is striking a spark just behind my tongue, while others report stronger or more all-encompassing feelings, from lightning strikes to "pop rocks" in the brain. They can also be found in some people with very severe anxiety, and in the brains of many people with adult ADHD. But current medical opinion holds that they're not anything to be worried about. Instead, they're a pretty remarkable phenomenon — and scientists investigating the peculiarities of antidepressant withdrawal syndrome in particular wonder if they might have something to do with the tie between sleep, stress, and brain function.
 

How Do Brain Zaps Work?

The basic rule around brain zaps when it comes to antidepressants is that they seem to be caused by changes in dosage, particularly with sudden reductions rather than gradual tapering-off of medication (which is what's recommended if you're coming off antidepressants in general). They're part of a spectrum of symptoms that occur as part of antidepressant withdrawal syndrome, a condition that affects all types of antidepressants currently on the market and can cause everything from the infamous zaps to lethargy, flu-like symptoms, insomnia, mood issues, or suicidal thoughts. A study in 2006 found that around 20 percent of people altering their dosage in some way experience the syndrome.

 

As with any medication, coming off antidepressants causes alterations in the body. The neurology of withdrawal has to do with neurotransmitters, the messenger chemicals that carry information between nerve cells, or neurons. Antidepressants, and other medications like the sleep aids benzodiazepines, work on the basis that mood disorders seem to emerge from a depletion in neurotransmitter levels, and work to raise their levels a bit. When you alter or stop using a medication, your neurotransmitter levels fall, and the chemical signals, it seems, can get slightly out of whack, firing in odd physical ways.

 

Some people [on the Web] think that serotonin-based antidepressants induce brain zaps in withdrawal because of the relationship between SSRIs and REM sleep. Many people with "brain sparks" experience them while waking up or drifting off at night. There's a distinct tie between antidepressant use and REM sleep patterns, and rapid eye movement while awake or falling asleep might trigger some kind of compensatory "spark" in the brain while it's adjusting. This may also explain why brain zaps also occur in people taking benzodiazepines and sleeping pills. [Note: This section was sourced to MentalHealthDaily.com, not a credible source.]

 

Getting a concrete answer is hard, though, partially because it's very tricky to study unpredictable brain behaviors like zaps, and also because they show up in other places; they may result from interactions between different medications, for example, and have nothing to do with withdrawal at all. They occur much more commonly in people who have skipped a dose or suddenly curtailed their medication, and appear to be based in neurochemistry's attempts to adapt to new conditions, rather like somebody trying to climb some stairs and realizing that there isn't a stair where they expected one to be.

......

 

The article goes on. My response to the publisher and author:

 

Hello --

 

I am writing you regarding the recent article What Are Brain Zaps? Adjusting Antidepressants Can Have This Bizarre Effect by JR Thorpe https://www.bustle.com/p/what-are-brain-zaps-adjusting-antidepressants-can-have-this-bizarre-effect-2455695

 

First, I want to thank you for addressing this important topic and to thank JR Thorpe for a very well-written article. As you're probably aware, there are so many people on antidepressants, vast numbers have probably been vexed by this phenomenon.

 

I run a Web site, survivingantidepressants.org, that provides peer support to people in tapering off psychiatric drugs and any subsequent withdrawal symptoms. It is probably the most prominent site of its type. We have a large reference section of scientific papers related to withdrawal and other adverse effects of psychiatric drugs at http://survivingantidepressants.org/forum/16-from-journals-and-scientific-sources/

 

As a lay expert in the field, I would like to bring to your attention that there are a number of erroneous assumptions in your article.

 

- Brain zaps are not benign. Brain zaps are a sign that normal brain activity has been interrupted. They are an adverse effect of psychiatric drugs, demonstrating their intense effects on the electrical activity of the brain. Please see Dr. Peter Haddad in the UK for more information about psychiatric drug adverse effects.

 

- Brain zaps are very, very rare outside of drug use.

 

- Medicine is well aware that mood disorders do NOT arise from "a depletion in neurotransmitter levels.” That is a myth promulgated about 20 years ago to sell drugs and so widely believed by patients and doctors (and repeated ad nauseum on the Web) that it’s now “common” — but entirely wrong — knowledge. Nobody knows how antidepressants “work" (if in fact they do “work” — you may recall a great deal of debate about this when Irving Kirsch’s book the Emperor's New Drugs – Exploding the Antidepressant Myth was released in 2009, which continues to this day, cf BMJ).

 

- Neurohormones are like any other hormones, interacting with the entire system that runs the body. (In fact, the majority of serotonin is in the gut and regulates digestion.) Withdrawal symptoms occur because one’s systems have been physiologically dependent on drug activity and have adjusted their own activity accordingly to maintain homeostasis.

The interconnected web that runs your body goes “out of whack” when any of its components are changed. Just as one might become dependent on steroids, suffer the side effects, and experience withdrawal from them, one experiences withdrawal from psychiatric drugs. Withdrawal is a disruption of homeostasis, however synthetically achieved.

 

- Antidepressants do in fact disrupt REM sleep. Your source, MentalHealthDaily.com, is a blog that repackages stuff the author finds around the Web. He or she is reporting somebody’s theory that brain zaps are related to REM sleep. To my knowledge, there is no evidence this is so. Rather, it’s more likely brain zaps are related to epilepsy, see

 

If you’ve ever experienced them, this makes a great deal of sense.

 

- “Addiction” has been defined as physiological dependency plus craving and drug-seeking. It was redefined in the 1980s deliberately to exclude psychiatric drugs, most of which do not induce craving. (However, some, such as benzodiazepines and the “Z” drugs for sleep, are truly addictive.) Antidepressants are technically not “addictive,” but they incur physiological dependency.

You can readily see any of the effects of psychiatric drug withdrawal by reading people’s own stories in our Introductions and Updates forum http://survivingantidepressants.org/forum/3-introductions-and-updates/ Quite a few suffer from debilitating brain zaps for months and even years. I had them myself for about 6 months. (I went on to develop much more severe withdrawal syndrome, which eventually became disabling and took 11 years for recovery.)

 

Psychiatric drug withdrawal syndrome is under-recognized, under-reported, and  mistreated, causing great harm to many thousands of people.

 

Unfortunately, because medicine rather resolutely denies the severity of this problem, your GP or mental health specialist is unlikely to know anything about adverse effects of drugs, withdrawal symptoms, or tapering to avoid them.

 

Lastly, there is nothing normal about getting brain zaps from psychiatric drugs. While one should not panic — reinstatement of the last dose often stops the brain zaps — they are to be avoided. They represent terrible stress to the brain and nervous system, and should not be dismissed as trivial.

 

Sincerely,

Altostrata
SurvivingAntidepressants.org

 

copy to JR Thorpe

 

 

 

 

[Wishes19]

What a great reply Alto. Thanks for spreading the truth about this symptom!

 

It makes me so frustrated to read things that are all over the internet saying things like  "don't worry; brain zaps are benign". Really?? Show me the studies that prove it! oh right - there are none!

[Nena59]

Thanks Alto,

I have been having zaps for 13 months. Fortunately, they gradually are milder...quieter and shorter. They have always been in my head. They can be everyday, multiple times a day or even skip many days. Sometimes I welcome them because it shows me that I am still healing and this anhedonia is not going to last forever either. My greatest concern right now is that I will always feel this way...pushing myself to do anything with no joy...just faking it. I had a window yesterday and two window days last week. These wave days are soooo hard. Then I have a zap and think, yes, I'm a work in progress. It's kinds twisted, but it helps.

Also Alto...thank you for all you do. I will get better and I will write about it!

[bgoggles1]

I'm just wondering about others symptoms.... I have withdrawal symptoms right now but their All in my head. I have intense zaps, I turn my head and my brain follows, it feels as if all the chemicals in my brain rush to my head in the morning when I get up and I have major head pressure and a heaviness that's difficult to deal with. How long have the zaps lasted for most? It also feels as if my brain is moving around in my head when I walk or talk to people. Please tell me this fades. Encouragement please. 

[AZez15]

It's been awhile since I posted, but after about a year on 50 mg daily sertraline, I am finally coming off! My doc had me taper at 25 mg for a week, and then cold turkey.

 

My mood has been relatively fine and my symptoms are minimal except for one really strange thing - I have these moments where I feel like I'm being shocked, or jolted. I primarily feel it in my head (though maybe, my chest, I can't tell). It seems to come out of nowhere but sometimes happen when I move my eyes or my head quickly. It's not super painful, but just really strange.

 

My left eye is also twitching quite frequently.

 

Besides this, no other major symptoms, though it's only been 3 weeks.

 

Any thoughts? Is this a W symptom?

[Emilee]

Definitely a withdrawal symptom! It is one of the main ones I had when coming off Paxil. I went back on ssris again for pain (after having gotten off Paxil and I am cursing myself for it!) and am thinking of coming off again. I would love to follow how you are doing. I am on 25 mg of setraline right now. It's my left eye that bothers me, even now and it's always the left side that makes me dizzy and shocks me when I'm with withdrawals. So strange!

[tryingtosurvive]

I got brain zaps again!! Latest time I had that was 3 years ago during WD and after CT from Prozac haven't touched any drugs apart from  antihistamines loritadine - can the brain zaps come from theses meds ??...have a headache too

 

What can it else be that causes it ? 

 

Very greatfull to your reply !

 

[Petunia]

tryingtosurvive, brain zaps are generally understood to be an early withdrawal symptom, but if you read through this thread, there is evidence that some people have them last a long time or have them return months or even years later.

[majesty79]

I don't really understand how to ask questions on here, so I apologize if I should not have started a new topic. I am just feeling desparate about my situation and symptoms. I am wondering if I am ever going to get better and if these brain shocks/feelings of explosions are ever going to stop. Is it normal that I had thought they were going away and seeming less intense a couple of times  and then they come back again with more intensity?

[peng]

Try not to worry about the brain zaps, majesty79.

They are puzzling, but most of us have had countless numbers of them over the years and we are still here.

They just ARE.  

After noticing them, just let each one pass and try and forget the phenomenon.

 

Love & best wishes.

[Anniemj]

I just found this site and already am feeling hopeful about resolving these brain zaps that I’ve been experiencing. I started tapering from celexa in August and two weeks ago I stopped taking it altogether. The zaps started during the taper but have been really vicious these last two weeks. I mostly experience them later in the day with them being worst in the evening until bedtime. Does anyone know why that is?

[Altostrata]

Hi, Anniemj. Please start a topic for yourself in the Introductions forum. We can start to answer your questions there.

[Ali75]

I recently started getting brain zaps at night while trying to fall asleep, after not having experienced them for several months (and thinking I was done with that symptom). They’re not as intense as they used to be but I felt that not having them was a sign of progress, so having them return now is so discouraging. Has anyone else had brain zaps stop for a long time and then suddenly return?

[Ninfia]

Yes, mine came back only as I'm falling asleep too, and I've been off all meds for 11 months now. I'm still having insomnia so maybe that's why? I see mine as a sign that my brain is still working on recovering my normal sleep cycles.  Are you having insomnia?

[Ali75]

I’m able to fall asleep at night but I wake up around 5 a.m. and have a very hard time falling back asleep. For awhile I was able to get back to sleep fairly easily after those early morning wakings but a few weeks ago I hit a wave that made my whole nervous system seem to get more sensitive again. I feel like I felt about six months ago. 😕

[Vonnegutjunky]

I know this thread is kind of old, but I’m here becuse I think I’m getting brain zaps, but they are different than described, it feels like a mental or cognitive hiccup, I can’t explain it, that’s the only way I can’t explain, it’s quick, it causes significant anxiety, and it just feels like a blip in my thinking, it is so strange and scary, I just dot have the words to completely describe them, but I only really get them during waves. Just wanted to add this here Incase anyone else has possible zaps that are a little different. 

[BfromNJ]

can someone please tell me from their experience what brain zaps felt like for them?  Can you persist throughout the day?   can it be a withdraw symptom and also a side effect? 

 

What were they like for you if you had them? I think I am getting them but its hard to explain how it feels. 

 

Brenda

[Repent]

Ive had them as side effects and as wd. As for me now, ive been off Lexapro 7 months and have zaps like 5 times a day. Like having electricity pulsing thru the head for just a sec. I feel..like im having a stroke, and I shake my head after and then its gone.