Brain zaps are commonly reported electrical shock sensations that are often experienced during discontinuation of antidepressant medications. Other common names for brain zaps include: brain shivers, electrical shocks, and brain shocks. People often describe them as feeling electrical current uncontrollably zapping their brains, which can be extremely frightening and uncomfortable. A person experiencing these zaps may get dizzy, feel minor pain, and high levels of discomfort.
What causes brain zaps?
Brain zaps are considered to be caused by neurotransmitter alterations within the brain, particularly those involving “serotonin.” It is believed that serotonin plays a vital role in the development of these zaps due to the fact that people typically experience them when discontinuing serotonergic antidepressants (e.g. SSRIs). The zaps may also be caused via discontinuation of other psychotropic medications including: antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, MAOIs, SNRIs, and tricyclic antidepressants.
- Antidepressant withdrawal: During withdrawal from antidepressant medications, “brain zaps” are considered common symptoms to experience. It is believed that the severity and length of brain zaps may be related to whether a person discontinues “cold turkey” as opposed to tapering off of their medication.
- Eye movements: It has been speculated that moving the eyes side to side may provoke or intensify brain zap sensations. While this is purely speculation, there are online accounts of individuals that found things like “looking to the side” can trigger them.
- Medication side effects: Some individuals have reported experiencing “brain zaps” as side effects from certain medications. These may be experienced when a person initially begins taking a psychotropic medication. It is thought that adjustments in the functioning of various neurotransmitters are responsible for the zaps.
- Skipping a dose: If you are on a medication and you accidentally miss or intentionally skip a dose, you may notice unpleasant brain zaps. When people experience the zap sensation, they quickly remember that they forgot to take their medication.
- Other medications: It should be mentioned that medications other than antidepressants can cause brain zaps. While they are most commonly experienced as a result of taking serotonergic antidepressants, benzodiazepines and antipsychotics have also been suggested as potential causes.
How long do brain zaps last?
There is no set “timeline” that says how long brain zaps will last. The zaps people experience are generally subject to individual variation. One person may experience them for a significant duration (e.g. weeks or months), while another may find that they go away in short order (e.g. hours or days). There are a number of factors that can influence how long these “zaps” may persist including: your physiology, duration you took your medication, the dosage, and whether you quit cold turkey or tapered.
It should also be noted that while some individuals experience a bulk of the zaps immediately following discontinuation, some experience the zaps during more protracted phases of withdrawal. In other words, some individuals may have no zaps for weeks, and then experience them seemingly out of nowhere.
Factors that can influence the severity of brain zaps
There are several factors that are thought to influence both the severity and duration of the brain zaps. These factors include things like: individual physiology, level of anxiety, the drug that was taken, how quickly a person discontinued, and whether they are currently taking other medications.
- Individual physiology: Since not everyone experiences brain zaps, it should be noted that severity of the zaps will vary based on the individual. People with certain genes and/or more resilient nervous systems may not ever experience zaps even when quitting cold turkey. Some individuals will experience the zaps for longer duration than others. Keep in mind that your experience with these zaps may not be the same as someone else in terms of sensation, severity, and duration.
- Medication: Another huge factor in determining the duration and severity of the zaps is the particular medication that a person was (or is) taking. In most cases, the zaps occur upon discontinuation or skipping a dose of an antidepressant medication. While it is most commonly experienced during SSRI withdrawal, other classes of antidepressants and medications (e.g. benzodiazepines) have been suggested to cause zaps.
- Cold turkey vs. tapering: If you want to decrease your chances of experiencing severe, persistent brain zaps, make sure you taper off of your medication slowly. The more gradually you taper, the less likely the brain zaps are to occur. If you quit cold turkey, you are significantly increasing your chances of experiencing these jolts.
- Duration of treatment: How long were you taking your medication? Those who were on a particular drug for a long period of time are more likely to experience the zaps. This is due to the fact that the drug induced more changes in neural functioning and neurotransmission over the long-term than it would have over the short-term. In general, the shorter the duration for which you took your medication, the less likely you are to experience zaps.
- Half-life: What was the half-life of your drug? Medications with extremely short half-lives are more likely to cause zaps upon discontinuation or missing a dose. A common example of a medication with a short half life is that of Paxil (21 hours). People are much more likely to experience zaps from Paxil than Prozac (with a longer half life of several days).
- Specific drug: Some would suggest that the particular drug that a person takes will influence the zaps. Certain drug formulations are thought to be of greater potency and affect neurotransmission more than others. The more potent the serotonergic drug, the more likely a person will experience zaps.
- Other drugs: One factor that not many people consider is that of taking other drugs. Often times people who are taking other medications will not experience brain zaps because the other medication and/or supplement is mitigating the zaps. This is why many people transition to other medications like Prozac or claim that certain supplements help them cope with the zaps. If a person isn’t taking any other drugs or supplements upon discontinuation, the zaps will likely be more severe than those who are still medicated.
- Level of anxiety: Some have speculated that when a person becomes more anxious, they are more prone to the zaps. This could be due to the fact that anxiety stimulates the central nervous system, and thus could be preventing repairs from occurring after withdrawal. In other cases, people with high anxiety may perceive the brain zaps as being worse than they actually are and/or believe that there is some more significant health problem.
Theories about causes of brain zaps
Brain zaps have long been described by individuals dealing with first-hand experience of antidepressant withdrawal. The zaps feel like jolts of electricity through the head, neck, or other areas of the body such as the spine, arms, and/or legs. In most people, the most common area to experience these zaps is in the head, thus being referred to as “brain” zaps. There are several theories in regards to what may cause them. While certain factors are suggested as causes, the specifics are unknown.
REM Sleep and Serotonin
One hypothesis is floating around the internet that suggests brain zaps are linked to both REM sleep and serotonin. Some people experience brain zaps after waking up from sleep and/or when they fall asleep. A theory is that REM sleep (rapid-eye movement) may influence serotonergic processes in the brain, and the “zaps” are a byproduct of the rapid-eye movement. Whether this has any credibility is debatable. Those who have felt the zaps while sleeping may be able to provide more insight into this experience.
Transitioning out of drug-induced states
Some experts believe that they are a result of the brain suddenly attempting to transition out of the drug-induced neurotransmission to which it had adapted. There are many reports of brain zaps, some of which have been so severe that doctors thought they were experiencing seizures. A couple of British psychiatrists described brain zaps as, “sensory symptoms or symptoms of disequilibrium in brief bursts” when a person moves their head or eyes.
Analogy: Scuba diver surfacing too quickly
They emphasized that this generally occurs during discontinuation from a psychiatric medication. An analogy that has been used to describe why brain zaps occur is a scuba diver who is at the bottom of the ocean, but rises to the surface too fast – resulting in unwanted effects. Other psychiatric authors have suggested that brain zaps are likely influenced by serotonin’s role in sensory functions and muscle movement.
Paresthesia
When a person quits an antidepressant, the person then may experience paresthesia or various sensations as a result of abnormal serotonin levels. These authors describe the fact that major changes to neuronal networks can occur during antidepressant treatment, thus leading to zaps when the brain attempts to function without the drug.
Length of treatment and dosage
Authors have also suggested that both length of treatment and the dosage taken may influence the severity of brain zaps. Additionally, other researchers have hypothesized that in addition to serotonin playing a role in the zaps, norepinephrine may also be a contributing factor – especially for individuals who come off of SNRIs.
Pre-Seizure symptoms?
Researchers have stated that these brain zaps could be similar to pre-seizure symptoms seen in cases of epilepsy. Since there is evidence that the noradrenergic system plays a role in seizure development, it would make sense that norepinephrine could influence brain zaps.
What do brain zaps feel like?
They are relatively difficult to describe because they affect each person differently. For some they are more severe and resemble electrical jolts, while for others they are less severe and easier to cope with. Most would agree that they feel some sort of “electrical” sensation within their head as a result of them. Below is a list of various descriptions of the zaps based on first-hand experiences.
Descriptions:
- Electrical shocks
- “Flicking cards” through your head
- Electrical jolts
- Light-bulb going off in your head
- Lightning strikes in the brain
- “Pop rocks” in the head
- Pulses of electricity
- Shivers of the brain
- Strobe light flashing in the brain
Note: These sensations are often accompanied by sensations of dizziness and/or vertigo. Others may experience symptoms of nausea and/or tinnitus (ringing in the ears).
How to stop brain zaps…
There are no known medical treatments that are prescribed specifically to stop the brain zaps. In most cases, people will have to put up with them and understand that with proper time, they will eventually subside. Below are some recommendations that may help you better deal with the zaps.
- Conduct a slower taper: If you quit your medication cold turkey, you may need to start taking it again, and then conduct a slower, more gradual taper off of it. Many zaps are caused when people quit their mediation too quickly and/or from too high of a dose.
- Go back on medication: Another option that some people pursue is simply going back on their medication. After a person is back on their medication they can then decide to taper more slowly and/or switch to a different medication.
- Take Prozac (longer half-life): A strategy for minimizing brain zaps and general antidepressant withdrawal symptoms is to transition to a drug with a longer half-life. Often an experienced psychiatrist will recommend transitioning to Prozac and eventually withdrawing from the Prozac, which should reduce the chances of the zaps.
- Supplements: Many people swear by taking various supplements to reduce the severity of brain zaps. Whether these supplements actually work to alleviate the zaps is unverified. Many individuals have said that supplementation of vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids improve these zaps to a significant extent. Some have suggested that they completely cure the zapping.
- Omega-3 fatty acids: Many people claim that the best way to deal with brain zaps is to take omega-3 fatty acids in the form of fish oil supplements. It is unknown why the fish oil helps, but many have testified that it works wonders. While most user accounts suggest taking “fish oil” some would speculate that “krill oil” would provide similar results.
- Vitamin B12: Some have suggested that getting proper vitamins helps significantly to minimize the zaps. In particular, many people have recommended taking Vitamin B12 supplements and have found them especially helpful. The combination of the B12 with fish oil is able to decrease the severity and frequency of zaps in some people.
- Time heals all: Understand that although the zaps may be somewhat painful, frustrating, and annoying, they will eventually subside. Even if it seems like they are a permanent neurological problem, rest assured they are not. Eventually your brain will figure out how to repair itself and as your neurotransmission restores itself, you will no longer feel the zaps. For some people the zaps may last days, for others weeks, and for others even longer, but they will subside in time.
Are brain zaps considered dangerous?
If there’s one thing to know about these brain zaps, it should be that they are not considered dangerous. There is no scientific evidence supporting any claims that these jolt-like sensations cause any brain damage or interfere with the health of neurons. Although they may be highly-uncomfortable to experience, at least you don’t have to worry about them killing brain cells.
Have you experienced brain zaps?
Many people have experience brain zaps upon discontinuation from an antidepressant medication. I personally remember quitting Paxil CR and wondering why it felt like my brain was being tortured in an electrocution chamber. For most people, the brain zaps suck, but will eventually subside. If you have a personal experience with “brain zaps” feel free to share it in the comments section below. Also feel free to mention any supplements and/or strategies that have helped you cope with the zaps.
Take the “Brain Zaps” Questionnaire
Patients know that most medical professionals are unwilling to acknowledge “brain zaps” and usually attribute them to worsening of neuropsychiatric conditions and/or a somatic disorder. Because brain zaps are a legitimate [yet largely unacknowledged] phenomenon among psychiatric patients, a subset of professionals (and many patients) agree that it would be useful to develop guidelines for their prevention and/or treatment.
After being presented with a patient experiencing severe brain zaps, a clinical psychiatrist decided to conduct an investigation by formatting a questionnaire. I was asked to include the questionnaire on this page.
If you’re interested in helping medical professionals better understand “brain zaps,” feel free to participate in the following survey: Click here to take the “Brain Zaps” Questionnaire. The questionnaire results will be used to develop guidelines for brain zap prevention, minimization, and/or treatment. (UPDATE: Questionnaire is now closed).
Let me just say.. The article was great but the comments scare me. I’ve seen this on other sites too. I took Effexor 150 mg for about 8 months… 75 mg for 2 months and then 37.5 mg for 3 months. I quit the 37.5 mg cold turkey which everyone said was OK. Including psychiatrist, PCP, and even the pharmacist. I’m on day 5 of no Effexor and the zaps show no sign of slowing down!
I don’t want to have these for a long time and especially not forever!!! I appreciate the article and the positive attitudes BUT all comments on here are similar to mine. There is no one coming up with a solution. Plus different things affect people differently. I’m scared to death. I don’t want to have a seizure.. Even if it’s not serious the zaps are serious in my life. I might have to quit college or fail out because of them.
I can’t sleep right and can’t function the way I need to. I despise the psychiatric physicians and the drugs. This is horrible. Effexor helped my depression but then made me gain so much weight and develop high blood pressure! Now im back to square one PLUS these horrible zaps! That’s insane. That’s the thanks I get for paying for doctors visits and stuff. My psychiatrist (who’s never ingested this drug in his life) swore the zaps would only last 48-72 hours. HA! I just can’t believe it.
It’s something else to stress over and it’s very overwhelming. And scary. I seriously wish you all the best with this and I really apologize that I’m just another flunkie in the crowd with no solution. I used to regret some things in life but now the only thing I regret is taking this harsh chemical. God bless and peace be with all of you. IF ANYONE HAS A SOLUTION PLEASE POST.
My zaps started in 2001, when I was suddenly taken off Effexor because of hypertension issues. I was on it for three years, for clinical depression of course, and had been doing very well, employed full time, etc. My doctor “tapered” me off of it in only three days, and that’s when I entered Hell. To make a long story short, my depression came roaring back along with unrelenting brain zapping, which was an entirely new and horribly uncomfortable, sensation.
I expressed suicidal thoughts: was put under 72 hour mandatory observation in a Kaiser facility where among other things, I was given several courses of ECT; my doctor came up with a new antidepressant cocktail for me, I got back on my feet, went back to work, and successfully rebooted my life-BUT THE ZAPS HAVE NEVER GONE AWAY. They do come and go and I’ve become resigned to them, but when they are here, they can become the “Elephant in the Room”. The ONLY relief I’ve ever found came in the form of Ibuprofen.
For me, it’s the anti-zap drug of choice, but as you may know, Ibuprofen is not good for kidneys, and I’m now down to my last kidney (lost my right one Monday due to a renal mass, probably not related to the Ibuprofen, but…). As I write, as well as being in pain from the operation, I am almost constantly zapping, and have been since even before the operation. I curse the psychiatric medical establishment for ignoring this disease.
They’re not stupid, just venal and cowardly-they know this problem exists and for years now, it’s always been the same-the subject is relegated to the backwaters of the Internet-they’re quite comfortable letting it languish there because of their lawsuit fears.
I just recently came off cymbalta and have been getting brain zaps. I will say they are the worst thing ever. Mine get bad especially when I get cold. I can even hear the sound of the zaps at times. It’s very unsettling. They get so severe that it throws my whole sensations off where I can’t touch anything. The zaps almost feel like a seizure at times.
I have found a solution to mine. GABA and psuedofed. I’m hoping they will eventually stop once my brain adjust back to normal. I was only on cymbalta for 4 months and just took 30 mg. (I was DX with fibromyalgia. I did come off of it cold turkey but only because it was making me very sick. I also can’t take any other SSRI due to they all seem to make me sick.
GABA is an all natural supplement that helps the neurotransmitters in your brain stop “snapping”. I do have have to take it 3 times a day and a psuedofed along with it once a day but it does completely stop the lighting storm in my head. It also calms my nerves. It suppose to help with all sorts of problems. Hope this helps someone, I do feel for those who have this awful problem.
I’m experiencing brain zaps weeks after coming off of oxycontin.
I thought I was going crazy every possible thought was going through my head I have a tumor, blood clot, etc. I wear a head piece at work thought it was that changed my box that goes to head piece even got s new phone always would happen at work then tonight sitting on couch it happen OMG I told my husband something is wrong I go to sleep crying. I wake up and get on the internet. I take amitriptyline 50 mg for anxiety I haven’t missed a dose but I’m not taking any vitamins. I was vitamin D deficient so I’m going to start taking again. I’m glad I found this site (I was freaking out).
I recently quit taking Lexapro, which I had been on for six months for my anxiety disorder. I did taper, but I did it quickly because I was so fed up with the side effects of the drug. Boy am I regretting that decision. The brain zaps took about a week to start, but they are getting more intense. Mostly they happen when I’m moving a lot or am busy. Keeping my head steady and slowly moving my eyes helps keep them at bay.
I’m curious… it says brain zaps aren’t dangerous but after forgetting a dose of Viibrid (40mg) the zaps got so bad and long I thought I was having a seizure. Could the zaps potentially lead to a seizure, I wonder? It was a very scary sensation.
This is great information! I’ve been experiencing brain zaps for about two months now (mostly at night and in the afternoon) but I have not been on any medication, just high mental and physical stress. This website really helped to reassure my worries. Thanks!! :)
I’m so glad I found this site and all the feed back everyone has contributed, I’ve been taking sertraline for 2 years first 50mg then 100mg. Whilst taking these meds if I ever missed a day or so or ran out of medication I would get horrendous “brain zaps” and flu like symptoms, I quickly realized it was the medication. It was scary if I didn’t have my meds daily because the withdrawal was unbearable.
Over time my girlfriend kept pestering me to come off the meds because I was no longer depressed, but I couldn’t handle the dreaded brain zaps. Anyways getting to the point I ran out 11 days ago and thought I’m going to face this head on. I’m 11 days without the meds and the brain zaps haven’t subsided at all… they’re still regular all day. This is truly effecting my life I can’t work because I feel like I’m high on drugs and constantly off balance.
It’s ruining my life. What really worries me is reading all these comments nobody has said they have stopped, they still get them even years on. I can’t take the meds any longer they made me ill. If I’m honest I wasn’t the same me, and now that I’ve discontinued I’m still ill! I don’t know what I’m going to do – it’s driving me insane. Please let me know if any one has seen the light at the end of the tunnel because it’s dark where I am!
I have brain zaps and never have gotten off any medicine. It is quite severe. These brain zaps actually wipe my memory and delay my thought process. My theory is that some dopamine can protect people from certain impulses (overpowering negative impulse, and creating a relaxing feeling, if you have good coping mechanisms (per-say). Serotonin blocks this process and build up negative energy because your brain is speeding up its processes between neurotransmitters. I wish I could find a cure for this but I just have to deal with it on my on level, everybody is different with their levels of their thought process, which makes all the difference.
I came off Citalopram just over a week ago. I was on 20mg daily, and reduced to 10mg daily for two months, then stopped. Within a couple of days of coming off the meds I experienced bad dizziness, extreme tiredness, and what I now know to be brain zaps. They are quite horrible. I get them frequently, and feel them when my eyes move from one side to the other. I have currently had these symptoms for six days. Don’t know what to do.
Hi Lynne, I have also just come off (cold turkey) Citalopram after 2.5 years. I have exactly the same symptoms as you. I am determined to just carry on – luckily at night I am ok. I am going to give it a month and then decide what I want to do. I took the Citalopram for anxiety and panic attacks but as I am over that, I want to cope by myself. I see your message was nearly 2 years ago, did you manage to get better?
I’m a brain zapper. Last 2 years with a gradual increase in frequency over the last year or so. It’s most prominent upon waking, be it after a 1 hour nap or a full night of sleep. It’s most noticeable for 5-10 minutes thereafter and ‘triggers’ when gazing left or right. Sometimes when blinking as well. It ‘clears’ up generally after being awake and alert for a period time. I’ve also had a mild tinnitus (ringing) in my right ear for about a year. When I get the zaps, the tinnitus is more noticeable and seems to modulate with each zap.
I’m not on any anti-depressants, benzos or the like. I am on Omeprazole and Asacol for gastric issues. I am a 1/2 ppd smoker. I’m a moderate, 2-3 standard drink per evening drinker. I’m starting to think the sedative effects of the alcohol is creating mild benzo-withdrawal type symptoms, as I’ve become accustomed to having alcohol in my system at some point almost daily. I don’t experience any typical withdrawal symptoms you would expect with heavier consumption.
Curious if any other moderate drinkers show with these symptoms. I’ve seen an ENT for the ringing and some mild lightheadedness. No flags but she is recommending a neurologist if the symptoms continue. I may also have mild sleep apnea, my wife says I snore like crazy and I know I could be sleeping better. Curious if there’s a connection there. I’m obviously overdue for some lifestyle improvements, hopefully with a bit more will-power. I’ll post back if symptoms resolve.
I’ve been tapering off amitriptyline for nine months, from 150 mg nightly to 40 now, and counting down. I was prescribed it for nerve pain from Multiple Sclerosis and to help me sleep (because it’s hard to fall asleep when you’re in pain, right?). Even with pain and no pain, Elavil never really had any effect, at all, on my mood, not even when it was prescribed as an anti-depressant I didn’t need. It didn’t really help me MS either, but because the muscle relaxant I was prescribed for spasm (baclofen) caused asognosia and depersonalization, I couldn’t tell that neither worked, and both made the problems worse for years, to unsuspecting me.
I’ve been systematically reducing medication for the last two years. I got caught in a prescribing cascade between my GP and neurologist that led to so many medications that it lowered the quality of my life just to have to swallow so many pills every day, three times I day. It’s been a slow process and I’ve done all the research, and continue to do it with great results and a shrinking pile of pills to take. Due to work demands, I did not sleep the night before land, and skipped my nightly medication, which included amitriptyline.
Yesterday, I had oral surgery and took a valium before hand, because it’s very hard for me to lie back, be still, and be passive while someone has a drill in my mouth and is shaving my jaw bone. I think the Elavil and Valium disagreed with another. When I got I home I rested until dark, and the took my meds and fell asleep for seven hours. I woke up at 2 a.m. with intense electrical zaps from the back of my head through my upper right thorax, that were most painful in my right shoulder and armpit. It would have been stupid to dismiss heart attack. My mother had three unrecognized ones before her triple bypass.
So, even though I need more sleep, sleeping wasn’t an option until I figured out what was going on. The zaps felt like waves of mortal dread ripping deeply through the muscle an flesh. I was also dizzy and had vertigo. It would have also been silly not to consider that they might be new symptoms of MS. It’s amazing how many different things can cause the same bizarre and disturbing feelings. Life is such a crap shoot sometimes, ya’ know?
This is the second link I found, and it has been very useful. Although a shot of sublingual B-12 sounded good, and I got a glass of Gatorade for good luck, I decided to try to limit the variables and so took 10 mg of Amitriptyline ten minutes ago. Haven’t had a zap in eight minutes. I feel much better now and don’t have the horrible feeling of mortality salience you can sometimes get when you feel like you’re on the verge of a deadly event like your heart stopping due to some electrical malfunction.
Much better now. I’ll give myself another twenty minutes, and when I’m sure the zaps have passed and I’m not feeling like I could faint, I’l go back to sleep. Thanks. It’s great to have other’s experiences with these Zapistas to compare to. I feel recovered now, and will be fading into sleep soon. Best wishes and good luck to anyone having to deal with these – they can be brutal.
I’ve been experiencing these electric cattle prod like jolts (dzzzzt) to the brain since tapering off Zoloft, two months now and it (dzzzzzt) is intensifying. Very disorientating, worse when I walk, I have a slight drunken wobble now and an obvious head twitch when it happens, which is super great when (dzzzzt) you’re out on a date. I guess it will take (dzzzzt) time and tlc, poor brain. Anyway, what I (dzzzzt) wanted to say was: let your family and friends know what is going on, send them a link to a forum (dzzzzzzzzzzzt…ooh a long one that time) or site like this if necessary so they have an understanding of your weird new zappy wobble buzz head. (dzzt dzzt…a double).
I am so glad we can discuss brain zaps. Please, let’s keep this dialog going, until someone comes up with a cure or relief. I took citalopram back in 2010 for 3 months and weaned off. I have had brain zaps on a regular basis since then. My zaps are worst right after exercising or after a lack of sleep.
Currently tapering Pristiq. I notice them a day after exercising hard – maybe related to digestion of the time release pill? Forgot fish oil yesterday and feeling mild ones now, so that may be preventing them for me.
Well, I have been on 200mg of Pristq, and 800mg of Seroquel for many years now, and I did feel Brain Zaps when increasing my dosage of Pristiq. I have had lower back pain for about a year and a half, and was on Vicoprophen, and Percocet for all that time, and on higher doses of Percocet 12 weeks following back Surgery (Lamenectomy) I went cold turkey and I had intense brain zaps. After that I was on Tramadol for about two weeks. After I stopped that cold a week ago and have been getting intense brain zaps along with insomnia. How long can I expect these brain zaps to last, and what causes them after stopping opiates?
I have had these when I’ve ran out of 5htp. 5htp affects serotonin just like antidepressants so it would only make sense to have them when stopping. Once I made that connection and got back on my 5htp, they went away. I also take Kavinace, which affects GABA levels. I recently let myself run out, and the zaps are back. I am taking B12 and omegas and they are not as bad as when I ran out of my 5htp. I have a new bottle of kavinace coming in the mail. My anxiety really threw me in a tail spin over these! It scared the crap out of me. This article explains a lot and really makes good sense! Thanks for posting.
I am so glad I found this article because I was completely unsure what was going on with my brain zaps. I was on paxil for years and then changed over to Prozac to have children because it was safer. So I have been on antidepressants for over 10 years. I wanted to get off of them because I felt like I was starting to have small tick like symptoms and it was making my RLS (restless Leg Syndrome) horribly worse.
The first time I tried cold turkey and ended up in the hospital with an IV. The second time I tapered off of Prozac slowly over 6 months. I have now been off of it for a month and my RLS is amazingly better and the occasional tick feeling is gone but I am started having the brain zaps. I have narrowed mine down to head turns that trigger them and I do get the horrible tinnitus in the ear on occasion.
I have found that supplementing like the article said did help me with withdrawal symptoms very much. I am only 35 and I take the Menopause multivitamin with mood support and I have noticed a big difference like night and day. I also take a combo pill of Magnesium/calcium, and zinc. I have a vitamin D deficiency which is common in women so I take that to. Thank you for the informative article!
My doctor prescribed Effexor, but it wasn’t working well after a couple of months. She had me taper off of it gradually during the next month. As long as I took even the smallest dose, I had no problem, but the very day that I discontinued it, the brain zaps began. I’ve been off of it for about 2 weeks now, and my symptoms are improving gradually. Even slight head or eye movements trigger this sensation, and drinking caffeine or smoking seems to exacerbate the zaps.
I took Paxil for one year 15 years ago and am still having brain zaps, especially upon awakening and also when I look to the right. I think I quit cold turkey, which I now read I should not have done. They are more frequent at times than at other times, but all are very frustrating. They also make me feel a little dizzy and disoriented or like my head is in a “fog.” I just started taking B12 and krill oil…..so, let’s see what happens! :-)
“This too shall pass” and the only way out is through. If you can stand it and you’re under a doctors care to avoid serious repercussions from depressive episodes, stick with your withdrawal. Every day in is one less day to suffer! I am experiencing brain zaps right now as I am withdrawing from Pristiq 100 mg. As it is a time release formula medication, the tablet cannot be split. The lowest dose they make is 50 mg, so once you drop down to that, it’s cold turkey. This sucks. Bouts of crying, major zaps, confusing words, etc.
I am so grateful to be off work right now. Get a sleep mask from the dollar store, it seems to help lessen eye movement, warm baths, limit time in from of flickering screens, check out the supplement suggestions of B12 and fish oil, drink TONS of water, clear tea, etc., whatever activities soothe you, yoga or nature walks help keep you from focusing on brain zaps. When it feels like too much, but you’re okay, remember your body is detoxing itself and each feeling might be a return to its natural state. Hang In There! Much love.
Some 10 years ago I used 10 mg of escitalopram a day for about a year and a half. Since I was warned to not stop cold turkey, I slowly lowered the dose. Immediately I started to have brain zapps after going to 7.5 mg. So I stayed on that dose for some time and the zapps slowly stopped. Then I lowered to 5 mg and waited again for the zaps to go away. After some time I was at 1 mg without zaps.
But lowering the dose even more and the zaps did not go away anymore, even after weeks. So I decided to stay on 1 mg and stayed on it for years. I tried to stop now and then, to no avail. Since a few month I even needed to start taking 2 mg a day, because the zaps started to come back. Last few days I ran out of medication and the zaps started to come back and after two days they where there nearly all the time (mainly triggered by eye movement).
This afternoon my wife got me new medication and after 1 hour I was feeling much better again. Reading this blog and all the comments gets me wondering if I tried hard enough to get rid of the last bit of medication. But I also learned: there are no guarantees.
I was only on a 10mg dose of Citalopram for less than a year and I thought I’d be ok to go ‘cold turkey’ as I was told that it was hard to believe that such a small dose of the drug could have any effect on me anyway. Not the brightest move. My sleep patterns have altered dramatically and I’m having weird dreams, but by the worst symptom has been the ‘brain zaps’. It’s like a jolt of electricity inside my head that feels like it affects my fine motor movements too. I’m really working hard to maintain concentration when the zaps are most frequent.
Having said all of this, I’m taking advice from your other contributors and I’m going to try the supplements (B12 and Omega 3 rich fish oil tablets). Citalopram really helped me get through some tough times, whether such a small dose had a placebo affect or chemically affected my brain. I would guess the latter bearing in mind my current withdrawal symptoms. On the plus side of withdrawal, I’m living life in color again.
I’m loving my music and I’m positive and excited about future plans. On Citalopram I didn’t get depressed or anxious but I also didn’t get particularly animated either. Don’t get me wrong, my head needed a holiday from the horrible, debilitating anxiety I was feeling and I got that from Citalopram. Time to come home now and get on with my life. Thanks for all the wise words on this forum, nice just to realize I’m not alone. Good luck to you all, whatever your journey!
So relieved to read your comment. Also just tapered off citalopram 10mg after 1 year on it. Much needed at the time but now also enjoying living life in colour again. Only thing however are these brain zaps. I’m getting them badly ?.
Oxycodone helps very well if you can get the doctor to prescribe them for brain zaps.
I take OxyContin 20mg every 6 hours. It hasn’t helped the zaps. But maybe they would be worse without it. What has helped zaps for me is fish oil. My zaps were caused by stopping Effexor (35.5 for 3 1/2 months).
Hi I’m having them right now… I have them every time I try to stop taking paroxetine. It drives me crazy – I’m gonna try the fish oil and B12!
YES I was looking for someone else that had them from dropping paroxetine. I stopped taking it because it gave me insomnia and I figured I would rather deal with anxiety and sleep then not sleep and just be mad all the time. I remember the brain zaps from when I quit my antidepressants last year too. No fun :(
I am 25 years old. I was first put on antidepressants at age 7 and had been prescribed various antidepressants such as luvox, zoloft, cymbalta and pristiq for 18 years. In October last year I went cold turkey from 100 mg of pristiq and have been having brain zaps ever since. They have become more seizure-like now, but my doctor prescribed me Naproxen/Naprosen and it seems to be helping. When I get a brain zap, it takes most of the pain away 20 minutes after taking it, however it doesn’t prevent them. Going to the doctor tomorrow to get MRI results.
I have had 2 separate experiences with brain zaps. Once after weaning off of Effexor 75mg (I had been on it for slightly more than a year). Even if I missed one dose of it, the brain zaps would start. Mist recently I weaned off of 200mg of Seroquel. The first 3 days after stopping it were great…no brain zaps. Now, they’re back with a vengeance for the last week.
They’ve gotten so bad they are almost constant and I almost can’t even walk around my apartment without practically falling over. I fell over this morning but was able to catch myself on my kitchen counter. I am at a loss as to what to do, and so is my doctor. Going to call my pharmacist and see if there is a minimum dose on Seroquel because I can’t live like this.
Sure hope you get some help. I have terrible zaps for last year. They are getting more severe. I am really scared. My dr. doesn’t have a clue what they are.
I have brain zaps. I have had them for some time. I have the vertigo and running in the ears with it. It’s very scary. I wish they would go away. I love meclizine for dizziness. I feel nauseated all the time… it’s ridiculous.
I have terrible brain zaps and vertigo also ringing in the ears. I had one the other night, that my left leg was shaking. Very scary. I have taken lorazepam for years also. Went off and but the zaps just kept coming. Started back on and added gabapentin. Keeping my fingers crossed this helps. I am really getting scared.
To me it feels as if a radar sweep is going on in my head. Comes from the right side and goes out the left… Scares the hell out of me.
Mine too. From right to left.
Mine go from left to right and I can use eye movements to test for them. They are also accompanied by a loud ringing in my ears. I’ve been on the same antidepressant cocktail (Effexor and Wellbutrin) for years and never miss a dose. I also take a low dose (1mg) of Xanax at night and now sleep with s CPAP so I should be getting more REM sleep.
Inflammation is always an issue for me with arthritis pain throughout my body. Even on pain meds I get the brain zaps pretty often. Sorry to say that pot doesn’t cure them either. I may try the omega-3 and b12. My shrink says he’s hearing more and more about brain zaps and there may be some studies about them on the horizon.
Thank you for this article. I have been on Zoloft, Pristiq and finally Cymbalta over about 2 years. Cymbalta for the last year. I didn’t have much of a result with any of these so recently my GP said lets get off Cymbalta and see how I go. I was once very fit and since taking Cymbalta I was just too tired to do anything much and have gained weight. A whole new thing to add to my depression. I was on 60mg and my taper was to have a tablet every second day for 2 weeks then stop.
I experienced the brain zaps and flickering dizziness the first weekend, as I did if I accidentally missed a dose, then over the two weeks less so. This last weekend was the first without cymbalta at all and it’s like there was no taper at all. I have a headache, dizziness, not quite right in the tummy and of course the brain zaps. I describe them like having a cricket or a cicada in your head for a few seconds. Sort of a blocked ear buzz buzz.
It’s quite debilitating and making it hard for me to work.
I really wonder if it was worth it. Considering I didn’t feel Cymbalta did anything much for me while I was on it. Reading that some people have the brain zaps for years and years really has me worried. Have I done permanent damage? I will try the fish oil and see if that helps. Thanks for reading everyone.
Hi there. Thanks for posting this article. It really helps. Well, I was on Effexor XR 75 mg for 4 months. I quit it cold turkey a week ago. The first two days were freaking horrible. My heart was beating fast. Cold sweats. Dry mouth. Hallucinations. Anger problems. Couldn’t stand anyone talking to me. And the famous “brain zaps.” Then somebody told me to drink a lot of green tea with some ‘eau des carmes’… a very old french medicine. The anxieties and the brain zaps have lowered considerably. I just want these zaps to leave me in peace. I’m very restless because of them. Imagine you’re talking to someone and all of a sudden an electric sh*t passes through the brain and the speech gets jilted. WTF is that. Mayday mayday.
Hi Gloom! Thank you for your very helpful article! Thank you also, to all of those who have replied to this article. I’ve had brain zaps for a few years but didn’t know other people had them or that they had a name. It has helped tremendously knowing that I’m not alone! I take 100mg Quetiapine (Seroquel generic) per day as I have depression with psychosis. I have been taking Quetiapine since October 2012.
Before that I was on Sertraline & before that Venlafaxine. I also take 3.75mg Oxazepam per day for anxiety and 20mg Omeprazol per day for a hiatus hernia. I have tried to describe the brain zaps to my psychiatrist but she assumed I meant I was hallucinating. But I have physical pain in my brain! When I have them, I feel like my head is one of those static electricity balls.
I also become very jittery, my hands shake & I battle to think properly, concentrate on anything or remember things. I have printed your article & will show my psychiatric nurse when I have my next appointment. Thanks again!
Hey Kate, Thanks for sharing, your words have helped me make a connection. I have brain zaps as the internet has named it. The only medication I take is 20mg of Omeprazol a day for acid reflux. I have been on it for 15 years. I don’t have any of the other symptoms you described but you are taking a number of different medicines, so sorry to hear of the discomfort.
I hope you get to the bottom of the causes. But maybe I can help connect one of them. Searching the internet I am starting to think that the brain zaps are somehow connected to Omeprazol. I don’t take anything else yet I have them to. I am gonna keep searching. Thanks for sharing…
Recently I misplaced a refill of Zoloft and was off it for a week. After about 5 days I started experiencing electrical shocks in my lower face when I would turn my face left or right. The shocks were getting worse and I finally realized that it was related to withdrawal from Zoloft. I stumbled upon my refill in the pocket of a lightweight jacket that I wore around the house. After taking one tablet my zaps went away. They had not been painful, but they were very disconcerting.
I am so glad to have stumbled across this article. I have found the comments to be really helpful. I was taking 100mg of Zoloft for 18 months and decided (with my GP and psychologist) to stop this year. I tapered to 50mg for a week and then to around 35mg for a week before stopping completely.
I have found the side effects to be pretty horrific, but after reading the comments here, I am feeling optimistic. I too am experiencing dizziness, nausea, brain zaps, bowel trouble, agitation, itchiness, muscular and joint aches, cold-like symptoms, and exhaustion. I am napping after work for up to 3 hours and then, of course, not sleeping until the wee hours of the morning.
However, I am so keen to get this drug out of my system that I am just trying to focus on riding through this fog. I am thankful that the drug helped me through a very difficult bout of depression and anxiety – so I try holding onto that every time my brain zaps… Best of wishes to all of you.
Since most doctors are unfamiliar with this phenom I find it hard to believe they are harmless. I told my ENT to remember the term ‘brain zaps’ (after him telling me they were psychosomatic) because he would hear it in the near future and I wanted him to remember our conversation when he finally became aware of it. My family dr thinks I have nerve problems, put me on gabepentin and is sending me for an MRI and to a neurologist.
He will not even consider wellbutrin being the cause. I have also read there is more and more evidence linking Alzheimer’s and antidepressant use. I took wellbutrin approx 3 months, quit 3 months ago, and my brain zaps while ‘sedated’ by the gabepentin are as frequent as ever. See the neurologist tomorrow. Will post more after the visit.
This happened to me too, years ago. I didn’t even think of the connection until recently when I read an article about cymbalta.
I’ve been on sertraline for 7 months. 100mg, then tapered down to 50mg for about a month. Then cut the pills down to 25mg for two weeks and then stopped. Didn’t get any issues for the first day or so, then I was hit with brain zaps and flu like symptoms. Brain zaps are pretty much debilitating as just moving my eyes side to side trigger them. GPs had never heard of the symptoms. Very worrying as they were pretty quick to prescribe these meds. GPs should NEVER be allowed to prescribe SSRI’s – that should be left to specialist psychiatrists to prescribe. Thank God for the Internet as it’s comforting to know that others have gone through the same issues and there is light at the end of the tunnel.
How long did it take for brain zaps to stop may I ask?
Brain Zaps can be debilitating. It is the response of your sympathetic nervous system, “Fight or Flight”. The sympathetic nervous system prepares you for action. The opposite of the sympathetic is the parasympathetic “Rest and Digest”. I recommend several ways to decrease and sometime fully alleviate Brain Zaps to my patients. Things that will help your sympathetic nervous system include:
• Rest with your eyes closed and soft music
• Meditation: Try any of Jack Kornfields meditation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viKB7QZioKA
• Take warm bath with dim lights and soft music
• Decreased stimuli-computer, TV, music
• Breathing exercises
• Yoga-preferably “restorative yoga” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKVunWMHNm8
• Avoid action movies that activate the sympathetic nervous system.
• Avoid confrontation.
I hope this helps. I know that it can be both scary and frustrating.
That is no help at all and anyone who tells you it is doesn’t get zaps.
I agree Angela. I am a nurse and have been for 40 years. Of course I have tried ALL those things…my 24/7 zaps only go away with pain relief, and I sure as hell am not happy about the amount I am taking. If I could find another cure, I would share it with the world. I will try the fish oil and B12…got nothing to lose.
Christine, mine also went away only with pain relief med (panadol extra) and doctors told it was probably because I was having silent migraines. Since you are a nurse this could be the case because of the hospital lighting (usually lamps that have flickering and trigger migraines silent or not). But still, next time instead of taking pain relief try 1/3 teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water. To me it works 95% of the times. I don’t know why, doctors don’t know why, but these damn brain zaps stop immediately! Do try, and if it works for you too, please share it with the world.
Thank you for the comment! I have been reading everyones experiences and I am so relieved to know I am NOT alone. I have been looking for any sort of medical opinion because my doctors sure do not want to tell me that the combination of medications they have had me on and coming off of course have causes this. I very much appreciate the explanation. You have no idea how much this helps. I will be trying the omega 3 and b12 and see where it goes. Thank you for letting me know I am not alone in this.
Over the years on rare occasion I experienced a brain zap. Like an electric shock going through my brain. Maybe 5 times in my life. I thought it was a mini epileptic seizure, I never heard of brain zap before. I never have taken any prescription drugs in my life.
I also experience “brain zaps.” I have had them since stopping anti-depressants in 1984. 30 years, they have not gone away. Not having insurances all these years I have never asked a doctor about them and did not know what caused them or that other people had them until it came up in a conversation with my son who also experiences them. I also have issues with equilibrium and I am now certain that the two are related. They are worse upon waking or when I am tired. Some are like small bolts of electricity shooting through my head, others are like a shot of adrenaline coursing through my entire body. It is good to know that they do not cause any damage as this has been a concern of mine for years. Thank you for your article.
I hope mine do not last for years. :(
Mine went away each time I tapered off Zoloft. But they are nasty and awful!! Liquid Fish oil and B complex help and waiting it out.
Was on celexa since 2009 wanted to free myself from it in 2013. Tapered down to 10 mg from 20 mg and then stopped. Huge mistake. Brain zaps, dizziness, ringing in ears. Felt as if I was going crazy. Horrible. Doctors couldn’t help. So went back on the meds and decided to wean slower almost a year later. Now here I am 6 weeks after stopping my last dosage I am suffering from severe waves of dizziness and brain zaps.
Makes me feel horrible. Went to doctors they do not believe it is withdrawal. They said its too long since I took my last dose. from what I read I beg to differ. I go for an MRI Monday to rule out MS, and possible blood vessel being compromised in my brain. Because doctor swears this it not the cause of my dizziness and my weird brain zaps as he said. Celexa is a mean drug. Don’t wish this upon anyone. I will not give up.
My doctor told me the same!! That it wasn’t celexa. I even asked a pharmacist (pill experts, they should know) and he told me the same!! I can’t believe they do not know about it with so many people experiencing it and so many people taking those meds…. Yeah celexa is mean… cipralex too (trying to get off of it right now…)
I first started having brain zaps after stopping Zoloft which I took for about 6 months in 2006. They were severe and unsettling, often knocking my equilibrium off enough to where I would fall. I still suffer from brain zaps and that’s why I’m on this site. I have dealt with them now for 8 years off and on. Right now they are pretty severe. I have not found anything that reduces their severity in 8 years.
My personal belief after 8 years of reading about SSRI’s, SNRI’s, and the people who suffer from post medication symptoms – THEY ARE DANGEROUS! THEY CAUSE PERMANENT BRAIN DAMAGE AND SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN TO ANYONE EXCEPT UNDER EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCE SUCH AS SUICIDE PREVENTION! I hope the editor of this site does not remove my comment though it’s likely it will get removed. I just hope that someone out there considering taking SSRIs reads this message and it saves them. SSRI’s have significantly diminished my quality of life and well-being. I am still suffering the lasting effects 8 years later!
Daniel – I am so sorry to hear this has continued for you for so incredibly long. If you have not already done so, you may want to join the Facebook group Prescription Drug Dangers or Life Beyond SSRI Antidepressants – Prozac, Effexor and Many More. You will find great support there as well as many suggestions for relief. Hugs!
I took Zoloft for 7 months and the sexual dysfunction was too much for me. After discussion with my doc we switched to wellbutrin, she made NO mention of tapering off the zoloft. After about 36 hours I began experiencing these zaps. Until I found out what they were, I was quite anxious. I can describe it as the first moments of a head rush (the first 2 seconds) compressed into a 1/2 second “pulse.”
Or for anyone who’s ever done nitrous oxide whippets– the moment after you inhale and you first start to feel the effects. It’s like a small slice of that in the form of split second pulses. For some reason I noticed I do not experience them until between 2 and 3pm each day. Then they continue on average about 5-8 times a minute until I go to sleep. I read the comment about putting up with this for 8 years and it scared the sh*t out of me.
If I wasn’t suicidal before I will be after 8 years of dealing with this bullsh*t. Personally I deeply regret ever having agreed to take Zoloft. I was happier before I took it. Now I try my best to work through these zaps but it has been 2 weeks and they are seemingly becoming more frequent and more intense. They make me feel slightly detached from reality when the frequency is multiple times each minute. Sometimes I have a bout of 3 of them in a 10 second span and I have to pause for a moment and collect my thoughts, it really does become a distraction.
I’m willing to admit to whippits, way back in the day, and YES–it’s like that first few seconds but in a sprinkled on version.
Here here. I took Cymbalta and it wrecked my life for a good year. I was only on it for a couple months and just felt nothing while on it. The nurse in the ER where I went for the worst panic attack of my life (after trying to come off Cymbalta) told me that they get tons of people in the ER with withdrawals from these SSRI type drugs that feel like they’re dying.
It should be illegal. I’m so sorry anyone has to deal with these things. I totally agree with you that they should only be used as a last resort and if nothing else works. They are horrid.
I take Effexor XR 150mg once per day. I have been on this dose for years. I have noticed that when I experience these zaps I also have a slight temperature. I personally feel that the elevated temperature speeds up how quickly the medicine is metabolized and shortens the half life.
Hello everyone! I’ve been on Effexor XR for 15 years because of anxiety and depression which had brain zaps that I described as misfiring synapses. All Drs thought I was loony but they stopped after starting on my antideprresion. After feeling normal and normal zaps, I started my nightly 2 glasses of wine every night and those damned zaps, zings, electrical currents started happening again!!!
Moral of the story you’re not supposed to drink while taking antidepressants so I slowed down to a few glasses of wine a week!!! And they’ve gone always. The alcohol was demininshing the affect of the antidepressant!! So now when I start that zing zap I know it’s time to cut back my wine intake. So scary though.
I am so relieved to finally read a good article like this about brain zaps! After attempting to stop seroxat, with a cold turkey treatment, I was experiencing a lot of these brain shocks and it was the most terrible feeling ever! After weeks of shocks, I went on to see my doctor and she helped me off these meds properly! I always felt like these shocks did damage my brain and IQ, but I’m glad to see that, it might not! :) I can only advice anyone trying to stop paroxetine/seroxat to go slow! That way you’ll avoid severe brain zaps!!!
Hello, Gloom! Thank you very much for the article; I’ve been having brain zaps for the last little while and it’s enlightening to know that my worries were not a matter of hypochondria. My ‘zaps’ started around December as I was weaning off of an Adderall prescription of 20mg daily. Starting nearly a fortnight ago I quit the drug cold turkey and since then, my zaps have intensified.
For me, the zaps are triggered by eye movements that I perform after periods of sleep; this can be after a night’s rest but it mostly occurs after naps of about 1-3 hours or less. I would wake up, look side-to-side and feel a sharp but non-painful pulsation sprout through my body. This sensation would be felt usually around areas such as the head, chest, arms, and/or legs. I wouldn’t be too concerned about my zaps if it was not for the apparent fact that my body still has not withdrawn from the medication.
I’m also beginning to wonder whether or not 1) my daily intakes of caffeine and the crashes they cause are contributing to the occurrence of these zaps or 2) the issue is related to the cluster headaches that I have been feeling behind my left-eye for the last year or so (something that is largely unrelated to me taking or not taking Adderall). However, probability would dictate that all those concerns are just my inner worry-wort speaking.
I’ll follow the article’s advice and begin taking fish oils and/or B12 vitamins. Afterwards, I’ll hopefully remember to reply back to this article with an update about the frequency or infrequency of these zaps. Thanks again!
“I would wake up, look side-to-side and feel a sharp but non-painful pulsation sprout through my body. This sensation would be felt usually around areas such as the head, chest, arms, and/or legs.” This describes EXACTLY what happens to me! Almost like a small burst of adrenaline with a falling sensation that lasts less than a second.
I get the feeling in my chest too. I’m glad I’m not the only one.
I also feel it in the chest! It’s like a burst of adrenaline, or like I’m gonna fall, it gets me dizzy. In my case it is because of the antidepressants. And I am baffled that doctors have no idea what we’re talking about… I first got off of celexa some years ago and it would happen pretty severely after stopping at the dosage my doctor told me to stop. It was too fast for me.
I tapered slower and it went well. But now, I am trying to get off from cipralex and this one is worst… if I forget one day, I get the zaps. I am now cutting my pills in quarters and I get the zaps. I told my doctor, I need to get off of it reaaaally slowly. She looks at me like I am exaggerating like a kid or something and tells me: “But, you’re already doing it slowly…” and I’m like: “I know, but I need to got even SLOWER” It’s frustrating, I know my body better than her!
First time I asked my doctor if antidepressant could cause that kind of symptoms, she told me “No, I don’t think the pills are doing that…” I asked a pharmacist, same answer!! Wow, pill experts know nothing about this very common side effect!! I once asked another doctor, she told me that she knew about it, it was pretty new and they didn’t know a lot about it, and that they didn’t learn anything at all about this in school.
This is too new. But I am still surprised after all the antidepressant that they prescribe to so many people for so many reasons, that they still don’t know about it?? They are just beginning to here about it or something… Anyway, I will try omega-3 and vit-B12 to see if it helps at least to get off the meds!
While I don’t get the pain in the chest, now that you mention it, I do get a very hollow feeling in my stomach. And like others, I can bring on additional zaps by moving my eyes back and forth. My husband just mentioned that he is starting to experience them, to a very mild extent.
Hello Tyler, I find it interesting that your zaps started after discontinuing Adderall. Mine started when I wasn’t on medications, but after I was prescribed Modafinil for the fatigue that accompanied the zaps, I noticed the Modafinil helped with the zapping too. I found that odd. I told all doctors about it, but no one had anything to say about it.
In any case, this makes me wonder if other drugs should be listed as possible culprits. Are you still having symptoms? Did you find out anything? Curious to know…mine have been going on for almost two years now. I’d love to get some answers.
I have something worse than brain zaps. It started as brain zaps I would get dizzy and think I had a clot in my brain or something. Now it has moved to under my left arm and shuts around my heart and chest. Sometimes it shuts across my chest through my breast. It becomes so painful and scary I just lie and bed and wait to die. I was on Cymbalta and now I am not. I wish someone would send me a cure. This thing is scary and it has ruined my life.
Zee, I first want to tell you that I’ve never replied to any comment online…ever, you are my first. Actually I’ve never even posted my own comment online, let alone a reply to someone else’s. For some reason I felt compelled to reply to you. I was so disheartened to see you write you, “lie in bed and wait to die.” I don’t know you, and you don’t know me, but I need to tell you, “don’t give up.” Unfortunately I do not have the cure to brain zaps, shooting pain under your left arm, across your chest or around your heart.
All I have is this moment and the means to tell you that someone who doesn’t know you cares for you and is empathetic to your suffering. Life is more than pain, and life is much more than waiting for the pain to consume you and die. I am commenting to you solely to let you know that I love you and you’re not alone. All I can say is that your comment evoked something in me to give you that simple message…Don’t give up.
You sound like an angel from Heaven. Thanks for people like you. xo
Love right back at you from the other side of the World.
I also don’t reply to comments, but boy you described exactly the zaps and chest pain I am having. I’m not laying in bed, waiting to die, but until I ead this article and your comment I sure thought I was just going to die! Between the constant brai. Zaps and chest pain I thought I was dying for sure. I’m raising a 13 year old autistic grandson who I didn’t know where he would go if something happens to me, so my stress was getting worse. It’s always a good thing to know what is going on and I’m too busy to let this hold me down, I make and donate weighted blankets for autistic children in need and there are so many in need. Please, you helped me, find the strength to get out of bed and live through it. Help others and it will help you I promise. It’s scary to go through this, you can do this.
Ok I know I will sound nuts but after “stating my case” to at least 30 doctors I am used to it (also sorry for my spelling mistakes, I am not a native English speaker): No depression, no anti-depressives, no anxiety, no medication except for thyroid. Electrical shocks mainly before or during sleeping. I haven’t found the cure but I found by luck a reeeally weird method to avoid 95% of the episodes. Before sleep or when I feel the “show” is about to start I mix 1/3 teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water and drink it.
Don’t ask me why, but its the only thing that works for me (for 2 years now). Doctors laugh. Only a chemist told me that baking soda contains electrical information (?). I am only sharing this info in case it helps somebody -even by chance- as it helps me. This period when you feel like from another planet… At least we know we are not alone in this. P.S. If somebody tries it and works for him/her please let me know.
Oh, my Goodness! I experienced a brain zap for the first time ever last night while napping on the couch. I reflected on what may have caused it, and I came up with having drank too much cheap red wine and/or having dropped my thyroid medication two days before. Well, your comments about the baking soda cure is just the answer! My body was too acidic from drinking the wine and baking soda counteracts that beautifully! Next time I indulge inappropriately I will definitely take baking soda! Thank you very much!
I am trying the vinegar diet, starting on my third day so after reading your post I tried the baking soda in a glass of water and the electric shocks went away. It may not work every time, but it definitely did this time. Thanks for the suggestion.
I have been taking Levothyroxin for 6 years for hypothyroid. Three weeks ago my prescription changed from 112mcg to 125mcg. Started having heart pain, back/kidney pain and dry eyes like sand or sunburn in my eyes.
I decided to change, without my doctor’s approval, from taking a whole pill in the morning to breaking it in half and take half in the morning and half at night. Yesterday, my first day of the split dose, I experienced what I now know is a brain zap with dizziness and euphoria feeling that took me down and out of work for several hours.
My doctor told me to go to the ER for evaluation to rule out heart attack and stroke. After many tests I was told there was no explanation for this electrical zap feeling – like touching my head on an electric fence. This site has given me insight and affirmation that this episode is not all in my head.
Next week I plan to visit with my doctor about possible reverting back to the 112mcg or find a different med for Hypothyroid. Thank you for posting Anny. I am going to try the baking soda and water.
Honey I can bet that you are experiencing anxiety attacks!! I have the brain zaps. I take medication, but I get them frequently! I get them upon waking and sometimes as I am going to sleep. Sometimes I hear loud bangs and sometime almost sounds like sirens when I wake up in the AM! I am thinking this might be anxiety as well.
Hi! I’ve been experiencing brain zaps ever since I transitioned from Lexapro to Prozac. I think that I may be experiencing withdrawal from the Lexapro, even though I did taper down while going on to the Prozac. It’s been about 6 months now. Moving my eyes is what sets them off. Not every time, though. Very strange. Why hasn’t anyone done research on this? Plenty of people are having the same experience with the same class of drugs.
I started to experience severe brain zaps accompanied by short episodes of vertigo while on 10mg cipralex after more than 5 years. My phsyciatrist decided to put me on 20mg Prozac instead. Been on Prozac for more than 6 months, but brain zaps still occur although not with the same intensity and frequency.
My brain zaps started during my withdrawal from Lexapro, so I can confirm that Lexapro withdrawal can definitely cause brain zaps. I quit Lexapro cold turkey which was a big mistake. I toughed it out, but it was the absolute worst several days I’ve ever experienced. Weaning off Lexapro should not be taken lightly.
How many mg of Lexapro where you taking and for how long? And also, did the brain zaps eventually stop? I had been taking Lexapro for about 2 years (First year 10-mg, 20-mg second year). I stoped taking Lexapro about 3-4 weeks ago. As of two days ago the brain zaps have started and they’re unbearable. I am hoping that I can tough it out since it has been so long since I’ve taken the meds.
I have had brain zaps non stop now for years and it has nothing to do with medication. I have been to many doctors I don’t know who else to go to. Any suggestions are welcomed. Please help me someone.
Gina-Hang in there. As you can probably tell, there’s a a lot of support on this site and people to share similar experiences. The thing I’ve learned here is that these zaps come about for several different reasons. Just hang in there!
I had brain zaps so bad I thought I was going to die from it and it had absolutely nothing to do with medication. I had surgery on my left leg and had metal rods put in after a motorcycle accident. My system was trying to reject the rods and couldn’t. Therefore, my whole body was getting infection through it making me very sick.
It got so bad I could hear and feel the zaps in my ears. When I finally took myself to the hospital, they said the infection was cooking my brain and had I not come in I would’ve died. Don’t just take the doctor’s word for it, they’re just doctors for a healthy paycheck and that’s it.
Hi Gina, It’s been a while now since you’ve posted…did you ever find any answers? I’ve had this problem since the end of 2014—same situation, not caused by medications—and I after going through a lot of testing, no one knows the cause. Did you find anything that helps with the symptoms?
I have just started having these “brain zaps.” It started about 2 months ago, and was mild. I would get maybe 1 a week. It was just like a mild buzzing sensation in my head for maybe 5 seconds. Tonight, I had another, but it was worse. I really thought I was going to pass out. It was very scary.
I’m looking for any advice or answers. Everything on the internet has to do with medication withdrawal. I am not on ANY of these medications mentioned, and never have been. I take melatonin or 5-HTP to help me sleep on the weekends. Claritin and cold meds when needed. Looking for anyone else experiencing this as a result of melatonin or sleep-aid use? Thanks!
I too am having your problems and I have no idea what to do. I have been to many doctors and nothing is helping. I don’t want to give up and admit this may be the new me, but I don’t know what else to do. Have you heard back with any ideas? I do sympathize with you and I guess we are not alone.
I have been taking melatonin nightly for years, on a few occasions as much as fifty mg. in a day, and never had brain zaps due to them. I have (and currently do have) them from antidepressants and benzo discontinuation. The best remedy I have found is valerian root. It is a miracle herb, no less than natural xanax, without a drugged feeling. It is a wonderful sleep aid when taken before bed (a higher dose than during the day). But also works to calm me during the day.
It does not eliminate the zaps, but makes them tolerable because I am relaxed. I take it with melatonin and benadryl to sleep because without it, regardless of exhaustion I can not sleep. My brain is on constant alert and the only option is to calm it. Of course, sometimes even that is not enough so I also have to take ambien about ten to fifteen days a month, that has never caused the zaps either even when I take the herbal medications as well. Every full moon however, strange as it sounds, there is no sleep for me, regardless of what I take.
During the three days every month that it is literally impossible for me to sleep, I get the zaps. They usually begin about thirty six hours after the last time I slept, and last until I am finally able to sleep. After a minimum of six hours of rest, they are gone when I awake. Perhaps yours could be caused by periods in your life when you sleep less or lighter than usual, as you do not take antidepressants or benzos? Hope you gain some insight, good luck.
I, too, have been having these “brain zaps” for the last 2 years or so… medication is NOT a factor. They used to occur only while I was falling asleep at night (sometimes incredibly loud in my head), then they increased to when I wake in the morning, many “zaps” in a row, one right after the other, now I experience them all day long. It feels as if my brain “shuts off” for a brief second and then “powers back up”. It is extremely bothersome and pretty exhausting. I have seen a neurologist who looked at me like I was speaking in “tongues” and said she had never heard of such a thing. I am still researching, but am glad I found your post, saying that medications were not involved.
The same too me and still alive. :) Don’t know if its the case, but I began to freshen the air in my room before sleep. Never done this before, maybe will help.
I’ve always described it as if my brain is blinking. I know exactly what you mean by “powering off”.
OMG that is exactly how I feel like my brain is blinking. It is so hard to explain. I really thought I had something wrong with me I was thinking maybe I should go get a brain scan. Thank you Janet and thank you for this website. :)
Check out absence seizures… Maybe you are having these. Epilepsy runs in my fam.
Sometimes I feel like I’m being “unplugged” or a quick loss of blood pressure. The zaps feel like a low voltage brain zap.
To me they almost feel as if I am watching an old horror movie in black and white and there is a static movement on the screen. It’s like all my thoughts go black and white for a few seconds and kind of shake a bit. It usually causes my whole body to twitch as well. I recently started lyrica for possible multiple sclerosis symptoms and neuralgia, etc. The lyrica has helped the pain but made the “zaps” or “static” as I call it more common.
Finally someone describes the sensation the same way as me! I always say “my brain is blinking” and I’ve never found another say the same. I’m so happy I’m not alone!
Yes! I was just trying to explain this sensation to my partner. Blinking is the only way I could think of describing it. I quit taking a very low dose of lexapro last week after a year on the meds. For the last few days I have been experiencing lightheadedness, a slight ringing in my ears, and this brain blinking sensation. This article was a relief. I was blaming the lightheadness and ringing on allergies/sinus issues, but the blinking was harder to explain away.
I’ve never heard it described so perfectly!!! Have you gotten any answers? Do you happen to have thyroid problems? Or any other health issues? Vitamin deficiencies?
I was wondering about links to thyroid problems too! I started taking levothyroxine a couple months ago and that stopped my brain zaps until now. I’ve been feeling like I need my dosage upped for the last couple weeks, but my doctor won’t until 3 months into treatment.
I just had half of my thyroid removed for having 4 huge (non cancerous) nodules on my thyroid and vocal cords. I too started having to take the levothyroxine @ 75mcg on top of an already previously prescribed 150mg Effexor XR. I noticed the brain zaps when I would miss a dose – but I took both pills at the same time every morning so I wasn’t sure which med it might be a side effect or reaction from.
I thought maybe the thyroid meds needed to be adjusted. So glad I found this website. Not only do I get the brain zaps, but also the zaps are brought on by a highly increased sensitivity to sounds. The zaps feel like a quick, whooshing, electric jolt sometimes felt through my entire body originating from head zap-sounds make them worse and more frequent. Also a heart palpitation type anxiety rush felt.
All only when I miss a dose and I know I have within a few hours of missed dose. I want to get off the Effexor the right way slowly due to the very serious known health risks to unborn babies. You know… for when I finally decide to have my second one. Was prescribed the Effexor to help with bad postpartum and bad anxiety. Thanks for any insight.
P.S. I too have had very weird sleep paralysis and “stuck feeling” like I can’t wake up from an in between state of consciousness.
I have exactly the same, I feel like someone had unplugged me! I hear the zap and it’s always at the front of my head and my eyes seem to shoot upward.
I, too, have been experiencing this weird sensation and do not take any medications other than over the counter allergy and pain meds (acetaminophen and ibuprofen). I am not anxious or depressed and these sensations have me a little worried. I have been a smoker nearly all my life and am going through menopause and didn’t know if these sensations were linked to either or both of these factors or if the 2 herniated and bulging discs in my cervical spine may be what is causing it as the sensations are not only in my brain, but travel down both arms and into my hands.
Because of my age and the fact that I have smoked for so many years, I was afraid that these symptoms were possibly a precursor to a stroke, but I haven’t been experiencing any other stroke symptoms; it’s really hard to tell, however, considering the tingling and numbness in my hands caused by my herniated discs. It appears obvious to me that these sensations aren’t generated solely from the discontinuation of antidepressants or other psychological drug types.
Is it possible that women experiencing menopause may also experience these sensations as their serotonin levels are affected by high levels of cortisol due to low estrogen levels, or that these sensations may be triggered in women possibly at the end of the menopause phase when their bodies are returning to a state of normalcy, similar to that of person who is returning to a state of normalcy after discontinuing a drug? Sounds logical to me, but I am no expert on the issue. Please advise.
I have had brain zaps on occasion since at least a teenager. I wasn’t taking any medication at that time. They have been one or two zaps of varying lengths when it occurs. I always wondered what they were and figured it was my brain releasing excessive electrical energy.
My brain zaps started with peri-menopause and are not related to medications. They sometimes go away for a month or two and then come rushing back after every viral cold/flu or stress. Mine are accompanied by scalp tingling and dizziness. This has been going on for 6 years now.
My situation is similar to yours in that I started getting the brain zaps even though I wasn’t on medication. Did you ever get any answers or find anything that helps with the symptoms?
Me too… I had a spine problem but not sure which one. My spine doctor assumed of me by having cervical pid but not confirm yet. I’m waiting for my MRI result. By the way, I also feel the electrical shock sensation all over my body. I feel dizzy and I want to faint while walking. On top of that, while I was relaxing I can’t control my movements accompanied with the electric shock sensation. Not only that, I feel hard to breathe when I feel this sensation.
Hi Rachel…was so glad to finally find someone who has these “brain zaps” that is not coming off any medication. I have been having brain zaps for about ten years….just periodically. Only at night. Only in my own bed, never on couch or while staying in hotels or at families houses. Just had one and decided to check it out here. I too take melatonin occasionally, but these started years before. Glad to read that I am not killing brain cells though. My doctor had no explanation. I was seen by a neurologist and he couldn’t explain them either. I do feel better having read your post. Thanks.
Nice to read that there are others out there like me who have had these wonderful zaps for no reason at all. I’ve had mine for years, usually in the morning when waking up. Also get the more powerful zinger through the back of eyeballs which makes them seem to vibrate back and forth. Also the fun full force POW! which sounds like a gun shot. Will have to try the fish oil and/or the B12 mentioned in the article. We are not alone in this mess. As with others, I mentioned my zaps to various drs only to have them look at me like I was nuts (I know that!). But I don’t enjoy them and wish they would go away.
I am currently tapering off my zoloft and I dropped my dose too low too quickly so that’s why I’m getting the zaps. But, I expected them since this happened to me 3 years ago when I quit effexor cold turkey. The zaps lasted about 3 months when I went cold turkey. Unpleasant, along with all the things people are mentioning in these posts. The zaps bothered me last time, but eventually they go away. Just be patient. It’s just very annoying when trying to focus on work!
I was on Zoloft a few years ago and while going off of it slowly I had the brain zaps. Then I was put on lexapro 2 years ago because of a horrible tragedy I suffered. About 6 weeks ago I was switched from the lexapro to Effexor to help with severe hot flashes and last week the brain zaps started. Today it has been really bad.
I am wondering if it is from going off the Lexapro or from being on the Effexor. They have increased the Effexor twice now since it doesn’t seem to be helping the hot flashes. So I am wondering if it is too high of a dose or if it is the Lexapro leaving my system. Anyone have a idea?
I am tapering off Effexor and have flu-like symptoms and brain zaps! Dr started me on at 75mg, extended release capsule, once per day. Was on that dose for 9 months. Decided to taper off. Went down to 37.5 mg for 2 months. Then cut that pill in half to 18.75 mg for a month. Thought that was correct weaning, so stopped two days ago.
Yesterday and today I have experienced the dreaded brain zaps! Called my hospital’s pharmacist. She told me brain zaps are common but could lead to seizure and instructed me to call my Dr immediately. Pharmacist explained that the Dr may put me on the 25mg tablet for 1 week, cut that in half to 12.5 mg for 1 week and then half of that for another week.
Thank you for your post! It was very helpful and comforting to know this is common.
Hi Carlie, I had serious brain zaps coming off of Lexapro, so my bet is it’s the Lexapro that is causing yours based on my experience.
As above I have been having these zaps for years…they did go away when my arm was badly smashed in an accident. I figured it was my body compensating for the rapir of my arm. Of course when rehab had finished on my arm the zaps returned. MRI, CAT scans negative…except for small plagues due to aging. I am not on any medications that cause this, but I have it day and night 24/7…panadol every 4-5 hours which I am not happy with, but only thing that relieves them. Eyes all good go for regular tests. Am bewildered as to why this is happening, and the pain it causes.
Most people seem to experience this symptom after taking medication. I experienced this prior to taking medication. I was prescribed Paxil for sleep problems AND THAT STOPPED THE BRAIN ZAPS. I have been on Paxil for 15 years now and if I miss a couple of days, they return even worse than they were before, so, while this does stop them. I don’t recommend it under any circumstances.
Hi John, I started having the brain zaps prior to taking medications as well. After a full workup, no one has an answer. I too was prescribed medications, and they stopped the brain zaps, but not entirely. For some reason, SSRIs, SNRIs, etc., didn’t work for me. I’m currently taking Modafinil (actually, armodafinil now) and Clonazepam. These help, but it’s no cure. Did you ever get any answers?
I do not have brain zaps but I am experiencing hypnic jerks that I believe may be caused by the same thing as the zaps. I started getting hypnic jerks after taking 5-HTP, so the 5-HTP may be causing the zaps for you.
I’ve recently cut myself off of my Klonpin for my anxiety. I was taking it for about 9 months, tapered down somewhat. I was experiencing these weird body jolts repetitively that you’re talking about right before I would fall asleep. I thought they were a form of a panic attack, but after reading some stuff tonight, I realized it’s a “brain zap.”
They happen on and off, depending if my girlfriend is here to keep me comfortable. Tonight I experienced my first actual brain zap, and it hit with a loud, disturbing buzz/zap sound. Also, I saw a flash behind my eye lids. It woke me and caused me to have a panic attack (though most things do now that I’m off medicine).
My best advice for you is to do something very synthetic or relaxing before sleeping. It’s always helped me with the body jolts. In other news that I think you’ll find relieving, they get easier and go away soon. Good luck to anyone experiencing this! I’m hoping for the best myself.
I too have occasional spells of brain zaps, actually I’m having them this morning. I take low dose generic Zoloft each night before bedtime. I never miss a dose, yet very occasionally I will wake up with them. I thought I was getting ready to have a stroke. I take fish oil capsules every day. They are uncomfortable and occur with any sudden movement of my head. Thankfully they do subside usually within a day.
I only started getting these zaps when I started taking 5-HTP. I took it once and a week later the zaps are getting milder. Keep melatonin and ditch the 5-HTP which triggers serotonin.
5-HTP and melotonin are pretty close to the same thing. 5-HTP is an amino acid precursor. It is basically tryptophan packaged in a way that your body would naturally package it for you. So it’s doing half the work and then your body picks up from there, combines it with some other stuff and makes serotonin out of it. When serotonin isn’t used, it turns into melatonin. At least that’s what I’ve read.
I see it has been awhile since you posted this, but I also do not take any of the medications described but was taking 3mg melatonin nightly to sleep and quit because they were making me depressed and nauseous and now also am having these brain zaps. Good to know I’m not alone!
My brain zaps started in 2014. I was not in any medication. The only big situation was a total histerectomy a year before. My doctor had no idea why they happen so in 2015 he gave me prozac. I still have the zaps. Is like electricity running in the back of my head sending tingling sensation through all my body. Recently went to a neurologist who sent me to a specialist in epilepsy. I want my health back. Going to try omega 3…
5-htp is a precursor to serotonin.
I discovered that cough medicine with DXM, a common ingredient in cold medicine, immediately cures brain zaps on the days following taking it. Unfortunately, it is followed by worse zaps. In short, DXM is just another drug that causes zaps upon discontinuation. Think of it as something that can cause the problem in the first place like so many other psychoactive drugs.
I need help. I have been depressed since age 15; I am now 70. I have not ever been able to take anti-depressants until Forest Labs came out with Celexa and Lexapro. Now, they make my heart beat fast and I have had to cut down on dosage. Now I am having brain zaps that are driving me crazy. Help! What can I do?
Oh dear, I’m so sorry you’re suffering. I’m having brain zaps and not even tapering off zoloft. I believe a lot of it is anxiety, as they happen when I get stressed out. Maybe you could try another med, or something natural with GABA. Also, Bliss anti-stress formula, or a good supplement with valerian or Passionflower may help to keep the anxiety down, and less zaps. It’s helping me. This site also suggested Prozac to taper off the zap causing SSRIs. Good luck to us all.
What helped me the most was to get with your significant other and go someplace different than your usual residence or hang outs. E.g., San Fransisco, Miami, Paris, etc. engage your brain in a stress that has a pleasant outcome. It will help by stimulating your problem solving brain, switching the emphasis from internal to external thoughts. In addition, engaging in a vibrant environment with lots of people invigorates the mind. Basically, you break the monotony and force the brain and by extension, you, to pay less attention to those neural pathways, reducing electrical activity there and the resulting sensations.
Such an immediate relief in finding this site. It has allowed me to feel that I will win this withdrawal battle from Citalopram with the amazing support shown here, and of course most importantly direct experience of these real feelings. -Anghared
I’m glad I found this too. It does feel like a “battle” coming off of Citalopram. These brain zaps are awful. I cannot wait until they finally end.
YES! I’ve been on this medicine so long because I can’t bare the brain zaps and ill feeling. Please let me know how it went for you.
Well, I was really concerned an hour or so ago, but after reading 100’s of comments and having a good laugh at how we all describe and feel these things, I am so relieved to know I am normal! :-D
My story is:
– started venlafaxine in late 2008 (aka Efexor/Effexor XR)
– finally reached 150mg in early 2016
– suffered a case of OCPD going out of control in October 2016
– convinced the counsellor that I had become venlafaxine-resistant
– counsellor suggested increasing venlafaxine, and I refused a higher dose for fear of more numbness and lack of enthusiasm in everything I do in life
– counsellor suggested fluoxetine
– GP suggests 75mg venlafaxine for a week, then fluoxetine 20mg
– asked about side effects of changing from an SNRI to a SSRI, and was told not too worry (typical!), but immediately front up to a hospital or the GP if anything unusual is felt
– in first week of half-dose venlafaxine, experienced usual withdrawal symptoms like as if I had missed my daily dose: headaches, tight face, etc.
– then fluoxetine comes along, and WHAM!
What a rollercoaster this past three days has been! The worst case of vertigo, nausea, dehydration, excessive urination, uncertainty about drinking water, ambivalent feelings about food, weakness, compressed feeling around the brain cavity, pins and needles, heart flutters/palpitations, laboured breath, those violent horrible movie-length nightmares, anxiety/panicky moments AND THE REASON WE ARE ALL ON HERE: “popping soap bubbles” in my brain!!
That latter feeling is the most weird experience I have felt in my head. I thought I was having a goddamn ‘fit’ each time, albeit very minor. It is accompanied by those compressed brain feelings, tremor-like feelings in the face and arms/hands, eye-flicking and metallic taste. If I have these for the rest of my life, then it’s gonna’ be a wild ride!
Well, it seems the following pointers may be worthwhile heeding:
– no caffeine
– no wine
– lots of fish
– lots of B12
– find a way to get off SSRIs and SNRIs forever, without OCPD, anger and social anxiety driving me nuts (probably with intensive psychotherapy again)
I am interested in what new readers have to say about this after reading a selection of the 900 other comments in this article.
Experienced these symptoms for years and was on no medication at all. They would take place during horrific nightmares. Don’t know what happened. Eventually they stopped. Have had only 3 or 4 experiences in the last 15 years. Prior to this they would occur regularly. I was afraid to go to sleep at night. And I was not being medicated with anything. Don’t know why these occurred.
I tapered off citalopram slowly and my zaps are horrible – up to 100 a day. For months now. Have you recovered from them?
I’m on my second round of tapering off. The first time I did it sloooowwwwwly and it made no difference in the end, I was still getting zapped 6 months later. Less often, but still happening. I decided to go back on the meds and now am trying to get off them again because I began getting zapped whilst taking them. What a crock it all is.
I just stopped taking Celexa. I was on a 10mg dosage for a year and I’m getting brain zaps. Hopefully they subside soon.
Hi Michelle. How are you doing now that you are off the Celexa? I too was on it years ago and I still suffer incredibly painful zaps. I was afraid that I had the early signs of Parkinson’s or one of those diseases. But found online that it is more than likely, the Celexa given that it started as I was trying to come off of it.
I would be fine as long as I took the doses. I was 10 mg also. My MD did not tell me that it was anti depressant he was putting me on. I had told him no so many times prior. When I figured out what it was, I stopped it b/c he had told me I that if I did not like the pill, I could just stop taking it. I found I couldn’t.
With the help of a Homeopath, I weaned off of it but I still suffer. It’s been years. I’m so angry. I should not be facing this issue. I did not choose to take an antidepressant. I hope that it subsides for you.
Frankly, I think we should all get together and sue the pants off of these med companies and the docs who push them. I now suffer severe anxiety, something I never had like this before the Celexa. It totally messed up my brain chemistry.
I have been suffering deeply, I think calling them brain zaps are a nice way of saying mini seizures, electrical shocks in the brain with uncontrolled eye movements, left side of my face numbing and tingling along with the tip of my tongue, and sometimes travels all the way to my feet. I am furious and agree that there should be restitution, many of us are already suffering and we try to get help and become worse. Wtf is wrong with this picture.
I am still having zaps after years away from effexor! I’m so frustrated because I had no idea this could happen. I will gladly join you in the suit! This needs to stop! All of these meds are producing completely unknown side effects and nothing is being done about it!
Jackie, I’m not familiar with commenting here so I don’t know whether my reply will appear under your comment or at the bottom, but I just wanted to say that I, too, experience daily jolts, Brain zaps, whatever they’re called, after having been off Effexor for somewhere around 5-6 years now. I’m so thankful that I found this page, because at least there’s some comfort in that I’m not totally crazy and imagining the zaps. I really hate them.
I took Paxil for less than a year, 10 years ago, and I still have brain zaps. There should be a class action lawsuit. I was never made aware this would be a side effect, let alone such a long-lasting one!
So pleased I found this thread, I thought I was,going mad and didn’t even know what to call my brain zaps. Just hoping they’ll go fairly quickly, been a week now. -Dave
I took Celexa for around 7 years then my doctor switched it to another anti-depressant. Every anti-depressant I’ve taken and gone off of has caused brain zaps for me. Be patient, they do go away. I also found if I had to take a medication that had anything to do with altering my anti-depressant like some anti-biotics, blood pressure pills, etc. I would start getting the odd brain zap. But after stopping the meds it all went away.
No Lauren. The zaps do not go away for everyone. I have been off Celexa for over 16 years. And as I age, the stronger they get when I have them. Like today. VERY BAD and VERY STRONG. I did not want to go on an antidepressant and my Dr. did not tell me it was an antidepressant. He’s gone on nicely with his life while I suffer side effects from a drug I NEVER should have been on in the FIRST place.
I’m glad for you that it ended. But it has not for me. I think these Dr’s should warn people of this seemingly common issue and… NOT be allowed to TRICK people onto them. I also think the drug company should be held accountable for such pain. Glad you are doing well.
Edie, I completely agree with you. I’ve been trying so hard to come off of Cymbalta (I guess, I went off the Paxil fine and I do take Tramadol but have ran out) and it is always the same for me, I can’t take it and go back on the meds. It feels like a battle I will never win. The longer I go without the medicine the stronger they get. I’ve been off for up to a month now. I am so afraid I will be like you and still be waiting for the side effects to subside 15-20 years later.
I was put on it for pain, I had a bilateral mastectomy, and I was not informed about it being an antidepressant nor the side effects or withdrawal effects coming off of it. You put it down very clearly, these doctors are going on with their lives as they normally would while we suffer. Sometimes I just wish I were dead.
Oh man it’s torture. I’m withdrawing from a high dose effexor and I want to curl up and die. I was taking the effexor for nerve pain (8 months). It helped somewhat. But I just can’t afford the medications for my medical problems anymore. So with 5 kids and Christmas here I had to choose presents over meds. For 3 days now even when I blink I’m feeling the massive electric jolt shoot through my brain causing me to be dizzy and nauseated.
It shoots through my whole body. It has completely screwed with my personality. I’m aggressive angry, bitter, sad, uncontrollable laughter and crying, all mixed with shocks every few minutes. I hate it! I can’t get in to see my doctor, and I don’t know what else to do. Does anything lessen to pain? It’s bad enough one side of my body is numb from nerve damage. I just want to be a good mum.
I agree with you. I got the brain zap when I went on remeron about 4 months ago. They are very painful and I’m getting it all the time. I’m trying to come off remeron now and getting even more brain zaps. My GP looked at me when I told him like I’m not even speak English. Taking Omega 3 and Mg, for months now but nothing really helps. Is feel like my brain on a fire. I was never depressed when they put me on this med, I got it for my nausea and stomach problems. Anybody has some suggestion?
I agree, Edie, the brain zaps don’t go away for everyone. I, too, have had them for 16 years. And I, too, was not told I was being put on an antidepressant, and was told it was a “safe … med.” I dealt with very bad and unethical doctors. But since I had to research medicine myself, I also know all the doctors are being fed a lot of misinformation due to fraudulent pharmaceutical industry research.
Their medical journals are now filled with ghost written articles and publication bias. Pub Med didn’t even acknowledge that brain zaps were a symptom of antidepressant withdrawal until 2004. I do hope some day to find a cure, so I keep checking “Dr. Google,” who right now seems to have a lot more accurate medical information, than the mainstream medical community.
I wasn’t even on a very high dose of Effexor… Slowly stopped taking it and it’s been over a week of the brain zaps and full body zaps. I was also put on it for pain and now I’m feeling so emotional and out of sorts. I really hope it ends as the pills did nothing for me and I don’t want to take them just because I have to for the symptoms…
Reading everyone’s replies it makes me so sad. Please try 5-htp and/or St. John’s wort. These both help to increase levels of serotonin, therefore relieving the brain zaps. Eat more protein and fat, too. Not fat like that’s in cheetos, but fat from butter or nuts or avocado or cheese. Your brain is made of fat. I hope this helps at least 1 person.
I took Paxil for 6 years. I very slowly and carefully weaned myself off which took 18 months. That was 5 years ago and I continue to experience brain zaps. I believe this situation is being swept under the rug. I also believe that there is a possibility that these drugs are causing brain damage. This is extremely upsetting and needs to be explored.
I’ve been off of Citalopram for years now and I’m still getting brain zaps. I don’t know if they will ever go away. They come and go, sometimes they wont come for 6 months or longer but today I am having them accompanied by dizziness. Never trust the drug companies.
I have been going through this for 4 years now. 35 years old and been on anti-depressants since I was 16. Numerous times I have tried to quite the meds and cannot due to these Brain Zaps. 4 years ago I hit the bottom and did a bad overdose on a few different bottles of meds. After waking up hospitalized I spent a few days not knowing anything or even myself.
When released I stopped taking the meds I was taking thinking I can do fine without it. For 3 years I fought every day with a withdrawal in my eyes and brain that was so intense at times I would freeze solid till the zaps stopped. Over the past year I gave in and have been taking Prozac every 2-3 days so I don’t feel the withdrawal. Seems though as Edie stated in his post that as we get older it gets worse for some of us.
At nights as I try to go to sleep I fight between the sensation and REM. It’s a living nightmare having to live with this. I hope they find a cure for this illness, I don’t want to keep taking Prozac or any other meds.
Hello all, I had been on Paxil 40 mg. until June-21-2016. Following open heart surgery in 2001, anxiety ensued. (I’m told this is common). My cardiologist put me on Paxil 20 mg. About 2012 my GP added 20mg, to help treat depression. I’m 65. Then I discovered Lithium recently. (Research it yourself especially the “El Paso” studies.
Looking for a more natural anti-depressant with less side effects, I started a 10% taper to get off Paxil. One week before the taper I started taking Lithium apartate 5mg am and pm. I have experienced no depression and I have been Paxil free for one week now. I do have brain-zaps, however, and hope they will diminish over time. I feel the Lithium has protected my brain from too many withdrawal symptoms.
It pains me that our drug companies and medical establishment choose profits over caring for us. Lithium is a natural element and is very affordable (no damn patents) and some professionals feel that it should be in our public water supplies just like other chemicals as a prophylactic. I may be over-simplistic, but I feel that many people could find relief with this simple remedy. Thanks.
This is in response to Jill asking if there is anything to lessen the pain. I stopped taking Duloxetine HCL DR 60 mg a week ago and am experiencing brain zaps. I take 1 Aleve every 12 hours and 2 Saint John’s wort in the morning and one in the evening. Although I still have brain zaps they have been reducing in frequency and severity every day.
It is a pure living hell, I have up to 100 a day sometimes, unbearable and yes the drug company should pay for this how dare they. I was a rep for years selling venlafaxine and then prozac and never once was this ever brought up, nor did I ever tell a doctor about this side effect, and no one can say that they are not dangerous as it could drive someone over the edge.
And since it isn’t studied enough how would anyone know what damage is really being caused. Months of this crap and I wasn’t even on it a year, and I slowly went up to 40 mg and titrated off slowly as well. The drug company should be held accountable, and the doctors need to read the package insert since the reps aren’t telling them, we were just instructed to tell doctors to make sure to titrate slowly.
We mostly discussed, nausea, weight gain, sexual dysfunction, somnolence – I am utterly disgusted.
Hello Edie. I’m so very sorry to hear that you’re still experiencing these awful things after so very long. I worked in mental health as a therapist and when I spoke to psychiatric colleagues about the zaps they denied them! This is the second time I’ve tried to come off Escitalopram. The first time, when I was still working, was impossible because of the zaps. Now that I’m retired I’m hoping for a better outcome.
So glad to have read your comment, Lauren. For two days now, the sleeplessness, agitation and zaps in my head have gotten progressively worse to the point where today I broke down and cried at my work station and barely made it home this evening. I am currently on Duloxetine after trying numerous other drugs over the last 4 years, after caring for my mother with Alzheimer’s (and passed away).
Last week I came down with a sinus infection, for which my doctor prescribed antibiotics. I am on day 4 of a 5 dose and, as already implied, overwhelmed With the “zapping” and dizziness to the point of breaking down. I hope these almost unbearable sensations will go away after I finish with the antibiotics tomorrow. Thank you for sharing your experience. I hope to be able to get off antidepressants someday.
I googled ‘brain-skips’… and was shocked at how fast this article populated. I’m glad to know I’m not alone, but it scares me that these drugs which are helpful when you are on them (for the most part) are so very harsh on your system coming off of them. It makes me mistrust these meds again.
I’ve tried to quit fluvoxamine several times, and I’ve gotten brain zaps each time. Quitting cold turkey is simply torture for me. So over the past few months I’ve been tapering off my medication by decreasing the size of my pill little by little, using scissors to snip off small pieces. I finally got down to about a quarter of a 50 mg pill twice per day. I think I decreased a little too quickly during the last few weeks, and I started to get brain buzz again–I’ve been getting shocks in my head and sometimes in my arms.
But up until these past few weeks, I’ve been relieved not to have experienced brain buzz at all. I’m going to up my dose a little to get rid of the buzz and try again. I bought empty pill capsules so I can take smaller amounts–getting the powdery part on your tongue is pretty unpleasant, so putting the pieces in capsules helps. I’m kind of resigned to the fact that no matter how slowly I taper, I may eventually have to suffer a couple days or weeks of brain buzz to get off the medication.
I’m so glad I found this site. I’ve experienced brain zaps while withdrawaling from both Lyrica & Duloxetine. I tapered slowly off both & at different times. I’m glad to know that they are not dangerous. Really annoying though, especially with nausea and dizziness.
I get an annoying swishing sound in my ears when I forget a dosage of Cymbalta. In the past I took myself off of Cymbalta but did not get brain zaps. Only a constant swishing in my ears for about 2 weeks.
I spent over an hour coming up with the right collection of words to find site addressing my symptoms. For me, I call it “the rice bag effect”; it’s more aural with a little bit of physical manifestations. I’ve stopped Tramadol and Pristiq recently and am waiting to start Rexulti — maybe — when my symptoms die down. Now that I know more about what’s going on, I’m calling my neurologist’s office first thing tomorrow. Does anyone know: Does triggering symptoms with rapid eye shifts help/inure in any way?
Hi Nancy I get the ‘swishing’ sound in my ears as well as the brain zaps. But at least now having found this site I know I am not crazy!!
I get the swishing along with the zaps. I’ve been scouring the Internet trying to find something about this because no one understands! Not even doctors. I’ve experienced these off and on for over 15 yrs and am just now figuring out what’s causing them! As of right now I’m weaning from Paxil to Wellbutrin and they are the worst I’ve ever felt them.
I can’t concentrate. I can’t see straight most of the time. I’m sure some of it is a mixture of Paxil withdrawals in itself mixed with the brain zaps. But I am miserable to say the least. If these don’t stop I’ll just go back on the Paxil but I wanted to switch for a number of reasons. But honestly this is just truly MADDENING!
I want to scream and cry. I want them to stop so bad. I read some people on here saying they have had them for 16 yrs! I don’t think I can even handle another week! It’s been about 2 now already. It’s to the point where I don’t even remember what it feels like to have a clear head.
I too feel relieved. I have taken citalopram for 20 years and find these zaps disturbing. I was beginning to think something was seriously wrong. I am slowly reducing my dosage and intend to stop this time. This is of course under my GP’s supervision. Nice to know it’s common and considered harmless.
I’ve been experiencing them often lately. I take a low dose of Zoloft. I’d describe the zaps as somewhat milliseconds of euphoria. Pleasure zaps. But super weird at the same time. I’m a stress case so who know what causes them…
I have these zaps too. I agree. The small zaps are similar to the nerve feelings you get when you orgasm. Only these zaps are more irritating.
The brain zaps feel “good” to me too. I stopped zoloft cold turkey when I became pregnant 4 years ago. The zaps stopped after about three weeks. I’m on Effexor now and when I get zaps I know immediately that I have forgotten my dose. They are pretty quick, and I just close my eyes and “roll” with it. I don’t fight the feeling… take a deep breath and by the time I exhale they are over. I’ve heard lots of water helps.
I have taken 15mg of Sertraline every day for just over a year, and I decided to go off it cold turkey a week ago. I am getting a lot of brain zaps even as I type this, and I can cause it at will by moving my head or eyes. I also experience tinnitus and occasional dizzy sensations.
I had exactly the same experiences when I started taking them, and have been taking a low dose blood pressure med all throughout as well. I actually enjoy the sensation a bit, but I think a lot of that enjoyment comes from knowing the cause, knowing it’s harmless, and recognizing it as a sign of healing. I am also lucky enough to be able to structure my own time, and so have engineered a low stress and simplified lifestyle, while engaging with profitable activities I love, so that may prevent the sensations from being annoying, interrupting, or representative of how others feel.
However, the brain zaps could be a hundred times stronger, and I would still prefer them a LOT more than how my brain felt before taking Sertraline at all.
I have just finished weening off of sertraline. I took my last 50mg dose some 2weeks ago. I was given the med by my GP following an accident which caused me to experience PTSD. I was given 50mg once daily for 3 months. this week I have been experiencing brain zaps and dizziness…
I am also experiencing some forgetfulness and tingling in my fingers. I had an appointment with my GP today who has recommended another medication, scan and blood test no mention of this being medication related. I came home and googled head shocks and found all this information about brain zaps and the link with medication.
I can honestly say I am so pleased to find this thread as I though I either had something awful or I was going mad. I am now having second thoughts about taking they amitriptyline prescribed today?
I just had my first brain zap today while I was driving. I’m fairly young, mid-thirties, and I had a stroke three months ago yesterday. After that, this electric pulse in my brain was terrifying, I had to pull to the side of the road and try to perform tests on myself to make sure I was not having another stroke.
It was not another stroke, but hearing y’alls stories is so reassuring. I also take a low dose of sertraline (zoloft) but have not been trying to wean off. Does anyone think that when the pharmacies switch up the generics this may affect it?
I have noticed that with the generic my pharmacy now uses, I feel much less like myself in general. The brain shock was brand new but it sounds like there may be a delayed reaction for some. I appreciate any thoughts, this is not something I like to talk about in my everyday conversations.
I am on Citalopram and have been for a few years now and recently started experiencing these daily. I used to only get them when I forgot to take a pill but I haven’t forgotten any lately and keep getting them every day. Anyone else experience this?
Kelsey, I was on Zoloft for panic attacks for 17 years then I started feeling the zaps while still on them. My dr said that the drug was not working anymore so he changed me To Paxil and have been on it for about 8 months and am still feeling them. I don’t think these drugs are working on my system.
I think my body is too used to them and I can’t increase dosage anymore. The Brain zaps might mean your drug isn’t working any more or you might have to increase dosage. I also am looking into eating better and weaning myself off of Paxil and following diet for adrenal fatigue. Hope this helps. Thank God for the Internet so we can research for ourselves.
Like you I was looking for answers. Just into my 3rd day off of effexor that I was taking for migraines. I thought I was going crazy with yet one more weird thing going on and seeing someone else describe my symptoms exactly was very comforting. I know I will get through this with God’s help and love but seeing that I’m not imagining things is wonderful. Sure was not looking forward to telling hubby of yet one more thing being off. God bless.
Effexor is the hardest one to get through. I have several friends and, because it causes many intolerable side effects, we all hate our doctors for not bothering to disclose the misery in getting off that drug. God bless.
I would like to second the omega 3’s as a complete cure to brain zaps in those going cold turkey off of medication. I used them going off tramadol and they completely eliminated the brain zaps that I otherwise would have had. I used ultimate omega 3 by Nordic Naturals I think.
Thank God I have been withdrawing from citalopram after 5 years and it’s horrible. I feel so sick and dizzy I don’t want to even try to function. Thank God this will go away.
I last took Citalopram 10 years ago, I still get the zaps.
How often do you get the zaps? Do they reduce in frequency over time?
Funny, I found this site researching electric shocks also due to missing my Citalopram. It looks like Celexa and Citalopram are the hardest to come off.
Had these for years now, started with one or two every few months and at the moment getting them every day. Never been on antidepressants or any of the listed drugs above. I have discovered that eye movement does make them worse especially looking to the left for some reason!
Thought I was either going mad or coming down with some neurological / nerve related disease. |Asked Doctors about them but they either don’t know what causes them or have never heard of them. Wish someone could just tell me what they are and how to stop them.