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).
I tapered off of Effexor and started bupropion while tapering off. The brain zaps came and didn’t go away so I had to taper off of them all over again (which did not work either). So now every time I feel the zaps coming on I take half an effexor to make it stop. It’s never ending and making my life hell.
I’ve never been on any antidepressants, but I do get migraines. I get a feeling like an electrical pulse zipping from one side of my temple to the other. It’s not painful, just weird. Very cool to find this article; I guess I’m not as crazy as I thought.
There is possibly another cause not mentioned here, and although it may upset some, it needs to be recognized as well: withdrawal from illicit street drugs (in my case methamphetamine) can and does cause these ‘jolts’ (I call them ‘shocks’). They aren’t what I would call painful… They are however disorienting, frightening, and very uncomfortable.
They can be one at a time or several in very rapid succession – the first time I experienced the shocks I had maybe seven in a row very quickly that made my knees buckle suddenly, dropping me to the floor suddenly and unexpectedly. My vision went what I can only describe as fragmented, as it someone had broken a mirror over my head and laid them out in front of me in uneven, jagged pieces.
The reason I said that methamphetamine withdrawal can and does cause shocks is because not only have I experienced them myself as a withdrawal symptom, but I have seen my significant other suffer them as well, usually during periods of heavier use; they are definitely much more frequent and intense when I decide to quit ‘cold turkey’ after using fairly heavily for a few days.
I find that the “flash bulb” sensation is fairly accurate, though there is no light really. It just describes the intensity and suddenness of the sensation. There is a sound also associated with it as well for me, a kind of intense rushing sound. It has a very sudden onset and disappears as suddenly.
The idea that these can be triggered by eye movement is not apocryphal in the least; that is when I experience them the most. I am currently experiencing that phenomenon, which has been attenuating over the two weeks I have been off Effexor. As a matter of fact, the only two times I experience “brain zaps” are when moving my eyes, and when going to sleep, particularly when I am exhausted.
When I have been putting off sleep it is almost guaranteed to happen, and be pretty intense. There is a difference between the ones I have when moving my eyes, and the ones I have when going to sleep. The eye movement ones pretty much follow the eye movement, and then stop immediately. The ones I have going to sleep usually range from this simple popping, rushing sensation, to a prolonged shudder that actually pops my ears sometimes, and feels almost like a seizure of some kind.
The sleep transition “zap” can be much more loud and intense, enough so that it jolts me out of that transition to unconsciousness to wide awake. Interestingly, I have had the second variety even when not coming off of any medication at all. It only requires extreme exhaustion.
I abruptly discontinued Effexor after running out of the medication and deciding to be lazy about refilling it since I intended to go off it anyway. I should have known better than to do that, as I have taken Venlafaxine 4 other times in my life, and the only time that going off it was not unpleasant was with a very slow taper. I highly recommend it, and it works, at least for me.
I think a lot of what is written here is written in frustration and can sometimes feel like a bit of a contest to see who is more screwed up. Trust me, we all are. What would be the most helpful is if we all try and share as many objective observations of this experience as possible, with the times they occur, what we’re doing and how we feel emotionally when they happen, what else we are taking at the time, what we are being treated for, etc. The more of that information that can be mined for useful data by professionals, the closer we get to not only a solution to the problem, but possibly clues to new and more effective medications.
Taking my own advice: I am being treated for panic disorder, OCD, and major depressive disorder. They’re comorbid. The more anxious a period of my life is, the more, ritualistic my behavior becomes, and the more depressed I am. I found Effexor to be a very effective drug, particularly for just making me feel more focused, and having that critical bit of distance between my thoughts and emotions.
Unfortunately I also found it to be a libido and sexual sensitivity killer. Kind of a deal breaker. My withdrawal symptoms last about a month, and get better each day. I’ve found that when stopping Cymbalta or Effexor, as insane as it may sound, is made enormously less difficult by tapering, and my body responds to as little as one or two of those beads in the pill.
It sounds crazy, but it’s true, and I am sure others here have had a similar experience. Your body is clearly not happy about having the SNRI rug yanked out from under it, and it is hungry for whatever amount of that medication you still give it. I have an outstanding new Psychiatrist, and she has put me on medication I would never have thought would prove effective for the above conditions.
I am taking Lamictal, Gabapentin, and Seroquel, despite definitely not being Bipolar or Schizophrenic. And they’re working. I don’t know what she knows, but she clearly knows something. Don’t fall for the trifecta of neurotransmitter thing. There is a very sophisticated process going on in all that gray matter, and though Serotonin is clearly one of the key players, it is oversimplistic to assume that increasing its availability in the brain is going to fix the problem.
It may not even be getting made in the first place, or may be working overtime to mitigate sodium channel imbalance, blah-blah-blah. Nobody, including the doctors, really has a firm grasp on what’s going on just yet. They just know that certain medications seem to improve the problem, some don’t seem to do anything at all, and some seem to make things worse.
It reminds me of our understanding of weather patterns a hundred years or so ago. We saw patterns, and they seemed to obey some kind of rules, and some people claimed to have cracked the riddle, only to be humbled by the complexity of the problem. Anyhow, this kind of went off the rails. Mainly I just wanted to share my experiences in the hope that it contributes to this dialogue, or to a better understanding of the issue. B
I am reading the comments on this site and noticed that everyone started to experience brain zaps after getting off an antidepressant. I was never on it and still getting brain zaps. This is my story: After having my daughter I put on some weight and purchased a box of Chinese ‘slim tea’ from the local Chinese grocery store. The tea cleaned me out like crazy!
I suppose to drink it for not more than a week order to lose some weight. The third day after I had my ‘slim tea’ I decided to watch some TV when I experienced the first time in my life several brain zaps. The first hit me and zapped down back of my head on the left side like a lightning bolt, fast and strong. It burned my scalp inside and caused lot of pain on my scalp and inside my left ear.
The rest were mild zaps. This happened about a year ago and my head still hurts. Sometimes I forget about it then the pain hits me. This happens about 10 times per day. It is both painful and annoying. I noticed, if I am eating lots of sugar it happens, or if I think hard it happens.
I have the feeling that I have to live with this problem for rest of my life and for what? Just because I tried to lose some weight? That’s crazy! I wish you guys the best.
I had brain zaps all of my life. They tended to come in clusters at the moment and grouped several a day or more or spaced out by months. In other words, they were completely random. I was in at least my 40s before I mentioned brain zaps in conversation and the person didn’t know what I was talking about.
Multiple inquiries later, I discovered that I could find no one else who had them. I have been on generic Wellbutrin for six years and have not had a single one. I am uncertain whether I had any while on other antidepressants. I have been researching tapering off and have found many people have the zaps while withdrawing. Has anyone else had brain zaps before taking Wellbutrin?
I thought I was going to jump out of my skin and pass out. At first I thought it was allergies or an inner ear infection or tinnitus. Then I found this site. I have been withdrawing from Paxil 10 mg for 4 months. My psychiatrist never prepared me for different symptoms I was experiencing only recommended more meds including replacing with Prozac, Remeron, Seroquel and more.
It was until went to Stanford care and the internist said my panic attacks, my problems with breathing, hissing in my ears, dryness, tingling sensations, blurred vision and muscle cramps were from Paxil withdrawal. I have been on Paxil 20 yrs. I have had 4 psychiatrist attempt to remove Paxil. All 4 psychiatrist used the same type of protocol removing Paxil and replacing instead of a smooth gradual taper.
I hate psychiatrists for not properly educating me withdrawal. I know Paxil is the worst but why would they keep trying the same approach and expect a different outcome. The body, mind and spirit can heal. There was no good reason to put me, my family and friends through the worry, anxiety and cost of many emergency room visits because I was freaking out from withdrawals and the destabilization it created.
I have found that exercise, distracting myself and vitamin supplements help. Recently started sub-lingual B12 and it seems to help the hissing noise. I will never recommend antidepressants for long term use or for dealing with peri-menopausal transition. Crazy drugs not crazy people.
I forgot to mention that first symptom was extreme migraine type headaches and my internist and I thought it was hormonal. When they lasted for 2 months I was sent to a Neurologist recommended by my psychiatrist who put me on Magnesium, CoQ10, and riboflavin. The medical costs have been ridiculous all due to my psychiatrist not paying attention and monitoring the meds he was prescribing. Thank you for allowing a place to vent my frustration and heart ache.
It has been twelve years since I weaned slowly off Effexor 150 mg per day. I have experienced brain zaps since; sometimes they happen five times a week, sometimes I don’t have an episode for a month. They usually occur when I am going to sleep. The zaps feel more like the sensation of a gunshot in my brain, along with electric shocks… I actually feel the vibration and the sound of a gunshot and it can wake me from a deep sleep. I feel my body shiver. Does anyone else feel this sensation?
I thought after my brain stem stroke I would have to live with my brain zaps. They got so bad I was getting them all the time. I also had vertigo and most the time dizziness of some kind plus a huge headache. I thought I was crazy. My MRI came back fine after 6mos but this whole electricity in the brain was leaving me couch bound. I yesterday started SAM E, 400mg morning / night and I haven’t had any. Look it up it helps. God bless.
So glad I found this page. I have had crazy shocks for years now. I’m 30 years old and used to get them so bad my whole body would sometimes jolt an inch off my bed either whole trying to fall asleep or wake me from sleep. I’ve been on all different kinds of antidepressants and anxiety meds since I was 12. For about a year while I was pregnant and not on my meds the zaps and jolts and twitching went away.
Now I’m back in viibryd, buspirone and trazodone and I get dizzy vertigo spells with slight nausea ears ringing and as I try to fall asleep I get the electrical current feeling with zaps and flashes of white red and blue light. It’s horrible and it hurts. Last night I experienced one that took my breath for 30-40 seconds and my body came up off my bed the jolt was like being electrocuted. Talk about terrified.
I’m so scared to go to sleep. This is so scary. I have told close friends including my husband and no one gets it some think I make it up. Seriously how do you make that up? I’m glad I finally looked it up and realize I’m not the only one. Shame on drug companies. I’m terrified they won’t ever go away. I’m going to try supplements I hope it helps. Thank you to everyone here and their honesty. It’s nice to not feel alone.
I told other Dr’s as well but this one just really got my goat… with his reaction. Thank you.
WOW I always thought I was on medication to make them go away. I’ve had them far back as I can remember… they’ve never gone away. I’ve been wanting to be off my medication for a long time already. I think I’m ready to be off. Pray for me… if I’m not getting any better then I shouldn’t become worse unless I go cold turkey.
This article really scares me! I had brain zaps for years BEFORE I started taking antidepressants. I even went to the emergency room once thinking I was having a stroke. Crazy thing is that doctors I went to see gave me a funny look when I told them it felt like an electrical short circuit in my brain (I’m an electrician, so that’s how I described it).
I have been on Vybriid for a couple years now, and I want to wean myself off of it. I only recently started having brain zaps again. In the past 4 months it has happened twice. After doing some research, I’m thinking about swapping to a mixture of B complex vitamins, 5-HTP and L-Tyrosine.
I plan to start taking these as I start decreasing my dose of Vybriid. Hopefully (Lord willing), I won’t start having anxiety attacks and brain zaps like I did before I started on the SSRI meds. One doctor I had, who retired ):, prescribed me B-12 shots that really seemed to make me feel stable. Unfortunately, I haven’t found another doctor since that agrees with her.
I’ve gone on and off a number of SSRIs and one Tricyclic. I get zaps every time. Sometimes they come back a month later out of nowhere. When I switched from Clomipramine to Zoloft this last time, they were pretty awful. My doc (who is very knowledgeable since he’s a researcher as well) told me to try ibuprofen. It’s crazy, but it works. I have no idea why, but I assume it has something to do with NSAIDs effect on the p11 protein, which is implicated in serotonergic function. But that’s just a guess. Hope it helps.
I have been on this new Anti-Anxiety med called Viibryd for about 5 months and was told by my doctor to taper off the xanax. I did taper the xanax as slow as I could because I was told not to stay on the Xanax for too long BC it can become addictive. However, I was at 1mg per night 3 months ago, tapered to .5mg then to .25 and now I am down to maybe taken .25mg every 2 days at night only.
Not sure why I am getting these hard to tolerate brain zaps from using such a low dose of Xanax, but evidently the experts were right. I guess I did become dependent on them. I was trying to taper off the Viibryd too. I honestly do not know what to do BC I am afraid to fall asleep BC these brain zaps are terrifying and Xanax helps me sleep and prevents those zaps.
Stopped cold turkey from 20mg Citalopram 2 weeks ago. Not by choice, my doctor would not continue the script until I came in. Not sure if it was the doctor actually, more likely the nurse. They had cut off my meds previously for not coming in for follow up, but always continued Citalopram. My yearly is not due until October so this pisses me off a bit.
I’ve been wanting to get off of Citalopram for a while now, I’ve been using it for about 8 years now and I believe I really didn’t need it to begin with. So I decided this was a good time to quit. I’ve always experienced Brain Zaps when missing a day or two. At most, for me, they are annoying and not debilitating.
After reading this, if feel better knowing more about the symptoms and that, hopefully, they will subside after a few months. It pains me that some folks are reporting years of unending symptoms. I wish I had a suggestion for them, I don’t. Ending my comment I thought I would try to describe what my symptoms feel like. Hot Flashes without the heat in my head including ears and in my arms and fingers.
Micro burst of vibrations in my head, ears and arms and fingers. Enhanced ringing including vibrations in my ears. The duration is always less than a second and typically occur less than 15 time a day. Good luck everyone, I hope this comes to light in the public, on the news and in articles that folks don’t have to search for.
I’m sure that there are millions who have this condition and aren’t sure what to make of it. The pharmaceutical companies should be more forth coming about this condition but I doubt that will happen.
I feel the same as you… I want off!!!
I’ve been on Effexor XR 150mg for about 9 months, started with 37.5 once a day, then to 75mg a day to 150mg a day. I ran out of it, no insurance for it… in transition… moved across country. I was not in the stressful environment anymore, so I decided to just keep going with quitting. Here’s my experience. If I missed a dose, the next morn/afternoon I got the brain zaps.
I then took a pill & as it kicked in it would stop. So now, cold turkey, nauseated horribly, close to vomiting, tired, brain zaps- an immediate sensations simultaneously consisted of zaps in the head w/ dizziness sensation continued down my neck to my chest and my heart palpitated, like a few (2-3) heart beats were harder all at the same time and this was just the first 3 days.
I experience these brain zaps w/dizziness & heart beats about EVERY 30 seconds to 1 minute. For the last 3 days. It’s scary trying to fall asleep. One night as I finally fell asleep, the zaps came and it seemed or was prolonged and I couldn’t move or breathe! I could only in my mind call on JESUS because my mouth wouldn’t move. As I did within seconds I was able to move a finger then jerked as hard as I could just to move.
Remember this is MY experience, and if I trust anyone, it is my Lord. I am alive because of Him. Sorry to get preachy, but when I was scared, the Lord came through for me. So I see that I got heart palpitations in addition to zapping. Also, as each zap happens, I hear a high pitch sound. I never want to be on any drug EVER again!!! Man! It’s only 3 days!!! Lol THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME EVERYONE… PRECIOUS
Precious I know that feeling completely…I had the same exact situation. I prayed too, wrote down my experiences and wrote a letter to my boyfriend. I was afraid that if I didn’t wake up the next day he would never know why and wouldn’t have anything to tell doctors why an extremely healthy 43 year old woman died in her sleep. I am actually sitting hear in tears right now because I am scared to go to sleep again and have that feeling. I feel somewhat relieved knowing that I am not alone, but I am still terrified of those brain shocks.
God Bless you.
I took Paxil for almost 10 years and it stopped working for my panic attacks so my doctor switched me to Prozac… I was not crossed titrated correctly and ended up with a VERY rare Serotonin Syndrome! Life threatening, worst thing to ever happen in my life! The first stage of treatment with SS is to immediately withdrawal the SSRI’s, cold turkey!
They put me on Klonopin to keep me from having withdrawal seizures and to “help” with the anxiety to come. Talk about BRAIN ZAPS!!! I’m on week 7 of no SSRI’s and I’m still having horrible zaps all day long and the benzo is doing nothing for my anxiety. I feel like this is my new life…
I’m experiencing brain shocks coming off of 10mg of Lexapro. I quit cold turkey which was a mistake. I want back on to taper off more slowly and that has helped. I have found being triggered by anxiety has increased brain shocks and tinnitus. My anxiety treatment included anxiety classes, counseling with a therapist, as well as medication. Working with my therapist, I’m managing without meds and I’ve learned three critical principles of dealing with Anxiety;
1. Self Talk (anxiety won’t kill you. Try saying it out loud!),
2. Breathe (from the diaphragm not upper chest),
3. Exposure therapy (don’t avoid places, bring the damn Anxiety if it wants to come with you, or not if it doesn’t), Face it you got it, and you can Live through it, the more you face it the less you’ll be intimidated by it.
Learn to Live with it and it won’t be a big deal. Resist against it and you’ll create a monster (like I did)! I’m not a doctor. I’m just a man that was overwhelmed. I reached out for help. I got the help I needed. Brain Shocks are going and will continue to go away! (Say it out loud, I just did again cause it works). Thanks for the info because it helps to know what’s going on with my head and others that are out there. Good luck, we’ll be fine if you believe!
Thank you for those encouraging words Jeff.
Thank you.
I was taking 60mg of Cymbalta daily for nerve pain. Although it worked great for the pain, I experienced severe sweating because of it. My doctor decided to switch me to Lyrica which is working for the pain. I tapered down to 30mg of Cymbalta and the sweating reduced considerably. Then when I stopped taking the Cymbalta about 5 days later I’m experiencing the zaps. It is not debilitating, but it is quite annoying and even sending electrical shocks down my arm to my fingers. It happens only when my eyes change focus from one thing to the next. I’ve experienced these before coming off tramadol. Hopefully it’s not long term.
I like to add my experience to this site. I’m experiencing heavy brain shocks for about 4 days now. The shocks come with the feeling like I am going to faint. I didn’t take any medication. I did however take MDMA, Coke, XTC and GHB for 3 days on a row. This isn’t the first time that my drugs abuse causes these symptoms. I feel the following:
– extreme depression
– brain zaps
– light shocks when trying to sleep
– fainting
– tired
– dizziness
My girlfriend feels the same as me. We are going to stop our drug abuse now, but I really wanted to share this with you guys. Don’t do drugs cause these brain zaps reallyyy suck! Also I see a demon-like person standing at my bed at night, watching me. It watches me and points at me, while I can’t move. My girlfriend and her best friend experience things like that too… Also I sometimes wake up shouting cause I was falling or having a car accident in my dreams.
Janssens I really hope that you and your friends get help for your recreational drug abuse. Your body was a gift giving to you to protect your soul and there are things in life that can give you natural highs. What sucks is that I personally didn’t want to take ANY drugs or any reason because of the uncertainty of the side effects. Now by no choice I am suffering these brain shocks. I am extremely frightened to fall asleep because I am afraid I won’t wake up and leave my family abandoned.
I was prescribed Paxil for high blood pressure as I could not tolerate most meds for that (beta blockers, etc.) and the dr felt that reduced anxiety may alleviate the need for them. Well! I have to tell you that withdrawal from this legalized poison is torture! After eliminating all causes for head pain, the last recourse was to quit Paxil.
A gradual tapering of 2 weeks made all symptoms worse, so decided to bite the bullet and go cold turkey. If not for the loving assistance of my family, I am pretty sure I would be hospitalized. Horrific, is the only way to describe this withdrawal. PLEASE! Be sure you know the consequences before ever starting this drug!!
It helped me at first with anxiety, but then wore off. I was told to up the Paxil to 20 mg instead of 10 mg then started the headaches, brain jolts, light sensitivity? No one knew the causes. I had to find out myself. Be warned. This drug is Dangerous!
I took Effexor 75mg for about 4 months. I also have had head zapping since fast-tapering Effexor about 15 months ago. They feel like a zap or whoosh, ranging from: sometimes a slight pulse without sound, to sometimes a strong zap with a sound in my head, (the sound being my underlying tinnitus changing for that brief moment). They tend to happen most upon trying to fall asleep, upon wakening, when I’m tired, or when I’m startled.
They happen literally dozens to hundreds of times a day. Every day. Haven’t had a single day without them since the taper. Never had them before. Also noticed that sometimes the feeling goes to my chest. Feels like a little jolt of adrenaline. I thought these would eventually go away, but in fact I’d say they’re worsening.
I used to have a few hours without them after waking up; now they start happening only a couple of hours after waking, and continue every few seconds all day long. The sad part is, I never even had depression – just going through some temporary life stresses. Never had anxiety. Functioned well – working, taking care of my kids etc. My doctor never even tried another AD on me – just started with this most harsh and dangerous of drugs, Effexor.
This fact boggles my mind. Now, I am anxious and depressed – about these zaps, which I strongly suspect are *not* harmless, and are not going away in my case. I have lost the ability to take joy in today, and to have hope for the future. I have pretty much resigned myself to the fact that these are a life sentence, since I’ve had them for this long, and the only change has been in the wrong direction (worsening).
This has taken on a nightmare quality for me and I’m grieving for the life I could have had, had I not taken this drug, which I didn’t need, didn’t even help me, gave me terrible side effects while on it, and gave me life -long problems to deal with afterwards.
Addendum to my comment above – I tapered over 3-4 weeks, and got no advice or tapering schedule from my doctor (just told to “go slow”). I now know that I should have tapered over a period of months not weeks, and might have gotten the zaps anyway, since my idiot doctor put me on immediate release Effexor and not the XR formulation – way too much stress on the neurotransmitters and receptors.
Happy I found this website, I am experiencing “brain zaps” although I couldn’t articulate my feelings until I found the word “zaps” . I feel like my whole body just jitters in a split second while it happens then it goes away, I can feel tingling in my arms, legs and finger tips… weird. (Tapering off from 20mg Citalopram for 8 months completely off now). I hope the feeling goes soon.
For more than six months I have been attempting to wean myself off of venlafaxine (effexor) which I took for only 8 months. I was having bizarre brain zap-like symptoms a few months after starting to take venlafaxine and so that was one of the reasons why I eventually decided to discontinue taking it from 175 milligrams. I am finally down to about 17 milligrams a day, however the entire time I have had horrible brain zaps and other symptoms which are constant and intolerable.
I cannot wean myself off of this medication completely. I have tried to go down to zero but always start taking a little bit because it seems to get worse even though I’m already at such a low dose. I don’t understand why I’m not moving past this period of brain zaps. In my case taking so long to slowly transition off of venlafaxine it seems that none the less the brain zaps have become a permanent feature, and I really don’t know what to do. I can’t go off venlafaxine and I can’t stay on it!
It’s nice to know that this phenomena is acknowledged. 20 years when I first started experiencing these, I had EEG’s and sleep deprived EEG’s and other testing. She never figured out what caused it. (& I wasn’t taking medication prior to experiencing them.) She put me on an anti-depressant because it masks menopausal symptoms and surprise! My zaps went away unless I waited too long to take it.
These included nausea, imbalance, vertigo. Don’t know what caused it, but now I know what has fed it all these years. I cannot go off of it now. I’m up to 225 mg/day and at the point when I can tell it’s getting close to time to take it. When I run out, I get physically ill and cannot function until someone gets it for me. Almost like an addiction, I guess.
Thanks for this webpage. It seems to describe my symptoms, at least in part. I say in part, because my brain zaps started very low level 1in10 many years ago, and have now increased to 7in10. The occur only after I have been asleep for an hour or two. The I wake up with a severe headache in addition to the zaps.
I sit up, and with my eyes open, more than not the zaps and headache subsides to where I can go back to sleep. However, I essentially alway wake in the morning with some zaps and brain fog of varying degree. This I manage with one or the other, but not both, of Codeine for the headache, or Lorazepam for the brain fog. My concern is that the condition seems to be getting worse.
Interesting development. My headaches became severe, so I scheduled another visit to the doctor. He booked me into the Sleep Analysis Clinic. The visit there was on the one hand fruitless, because they generally look for air intake issues that would in essence cause a drop in Oxygen intake. Not my problem.
On the other hand, the nice doctor there had good memory, dug out his “school books”, and looked up, a new description I learned, of my headaches as “electric shock sensation”. This has opened new doors. First (Google this for more info) it can be caused by withdrawal of meds like tranquilizers (even many month later), or their sporadic use (like I was doing), or secondly a B12 vitamin deficiency. Until last year I had taken low dosage Lorazepam for over seven years.
Last November I had no apparent issues with stopping them, because they appeared not to help anyway. Then I started using them off and on. Both moves perhaps not a good idea. I have now restarted the Lorazepam, and will handle the withdrawal very slowly. In addition had a B12 shot, which will continue monthly. I have reasonable success. The brain zaps are MUCH smaller, which allows me to sleep longer.
When I wake, the brain fog is also much less. For now I am cautiously optimistic, because of SO MANY past disappointments in treatment. I plan to report back on progress (if I remember where I posted this; my apologies if I don’t). I forgot to mention the importance of B12 during the tranquilizer withdrawal. One theory is that while taking tranquilizers the brain actually “rewires”, to handle the new conditions.
This is normal, and goes on all the time. The withdrawal, same theory, creates the probable conditions that cause the brain zap. The theorists state that the process is not well understood. However it sounds good, and for now it actually feels right.
I’ve been having brain zaps for 7 months, I was on Sertraline for a couple of months, came of them Jan 2016, it’s now Aug 2016 still having brain zaps and tinnitus, my tinnitus is constant worse in the evening and morning, with bursts of zaps, sometimes I have one big zap that makes my whole body jolt, maybe one or two per day, I’ve also been taking medication for high blood pressure for a year now.
The severity of the zaps seems to be getting worse especially the big ones that sometimes nearly floor me, anxiety levels are high all the time. I feel pretty low most of the time and the light at the end of the tunnel is slowly getting dimmer.
So glad I found this as I’ve been experiencing these in the last couple of months. Currently going between different anti depressants every couple of months trying to find ones that work so it fits. More interestingly though I can definitely confirm the looking side to side spiking them worse as I’m doing it right now.
If I focus on looking up and down without deviating off to either side I get no shocks, looking to one side I get usually about 2 and looking left and right repeatedly makes my head feel like I’m having a seizure (not fun, do not recommend). Thanks to whoever put this post up though, I don’t feel nearly as worried about the zaps as I did before.
It is unfortunate that we all have to experience this. I have been suffering for six years with these with no help. When I don’t sleep they are worse and if I move my eyes from side to side or my head at times. They can be very light or very deep. I wish we could all write something and come together cause Dr’s just don’t understand. I am so sorry for all of you who go thru this as well, it’s torture!!!! No one would ever believe how bad it is!!! If anyone comes across a Dr who has heard of this no matter how far please give us his/her name!!!! Thank you so much!!!!!
I have weaned myself off of Zoloft and for about 2 weeks now I’ve been having these “brain zaps.” I couldn’t ever describe them to anyone to get them to understand what it was I was going through. It’s almost like someone startles you. It’s been quite annoying. I just started with Fish Oil today so I’m hoping it help. I have been taking b12 supplement all along, hoping the combination will help.
If I sit still, it’s not that bad, but when I go to move, I get hit. I was going to go to my doctor, but then started doing some research. So glad I found what I did. At least I can describe my symptoms better and I know how to deal with it. I’ve also read that after coming off certain meds, either cold turkey or weaning, stress and anxiety can bring on brain zaps as well.
I guess the key is to try to relax and not to take things too seriously. (I know, easier said than done). Just remember that we can support each other and sometimes just giving a word of encouragement to someone else, give you some peace as well. I hope we can all find something that will help us feel more like ourselves.
I have been having brain zaps from stopping Effexor. I have had no luck finding a doctor that understands Effexor withdraw.
Nancy, I started weaning myself off venlafaxine because I couldn’t tolerate it, and I started having a really bad horribly difficult time weaning off of it and I still after six months have not been able to get off of it. But I did see my psychiatrist and he was completely surprised at the symptoms I described, including brain zaps. He claimed to never have heard of such a thing and had absolutely no advice as to what I could do. So I don’t know what to think when even my psychiatrist doesn’t know about this.
Hi, I’m so glad I have come across this website. I have been on escitalopram 20mg for a year. I suffered severe RLS (restless leg syndrome) upon taking it. Also it seemed to stop working, therefore, I decided to stop taking it. My doctor wanted to replace it with another antidepressant drug, but I was not convinced that my RLS with improve.
So, I decided to taper the drug of. However, even though I reduced the drug from 20mg to 10mg then down to 5mg ( I did this over a period of about 6 weeks), I have suffered very uncomfortable brain zaps, as well as vomiting and generally feeling so rotten, that I feel like I will never be the same again… It’s been 4 days now, that I have gone cold turkey from a 5 mg dose.
I’m beside myself, but I really do not want to take anymore. I’m crying, scared, dizzy, and even felt suicidal. But, after reading the information in this site, I feel that maybe there is a light at the end of a horrible dark tunnel. The worst thing about the whole experience, is that it took 4 months for the drug to work, then I suffered RLS, so I couldn’t sleep.
It looks like I’m destined to suffer with anxiety. Good luck to all those going through similar agony. I shall post again when or if things improve.
Amanda, I hate that you are going through this and anxiety does suck BIG TIME!! I’ve been dealing with it for years. It now just come to a head with me not being near my main support system. Some things that have helped me, is some sort of meditation: when you feel an attack coming on, the best thing is to try to calm your mind.
Breath, focus on what needs to be done in that moment, forget everything else except that one task. “All I have to do at this moment is do the dishes.” Once the dishes are done, move onto the next issue. “Okay, dishes done. Now all I have to do is get the kids a bath.”… and so on. Just take it a minute at a time. It took me years to learn this and you have to remind yourself every time.
If it helps, make a list and cross things off as they are completed. And remember, just breath. Deep calming breaths. Hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck!!
Reading all these comments and the information provided has at least stopped me feeling like I’m going crazy (the irony). I was wondering if somebody could confirm if what I’m experiencing is these “zaps” what I’m experiencing doesn’t feel like electricity, it feels more like a pressure wave or pulse through my head, it affects my coordination but only for the duration of the pulse.
The first time I experienced it it felt like I was about to pass out with each pulse so I dropped to my hands and feet, my limbs went like bambi’s legs when he’s walking on ice. Since then the pulses show up a couple of times in a week but never as bad as the first time, is it a sign that the medication is actually fixing something rather than sticking a patch on it?
It certainly doesn’t feel like a positive thing when it happens but if it’s part and parcel of the process I’ll stick it out. Sorry, rambled on… don’t know anybody else in the same boat.
I’m not exactly in the same boat as the others since I wasn’t on any medication when my brain zaps started, but what you’re describing sounds very similar to what I’ve experienced. “Pulsing sensation,” “pressure wave,” and the way it affects your coordination—these are what I’ve experienced as well. Maybe you don’t experience it as “electric” because it’s not as persistent or strong? I don’t know.
I first described my “brain zaps” as “constant lightheadedness—feeling like I’m passing out— and weird gravity sensations.” Later, my symptoms morphed into what I described like this: “It feels like I have a tens machine attached to my brain. The lightheadedness is still there, but now it’s intermittent.” In other words, my symptoms evolved. Plus, I never had tinnitus at the beginning, now I have it all the time. So it’s possible that you have the same thing that people are describing here, but maybe a different level/stage? I’m no doctor, but I do know these sensations are difficult to describe.
Your question: “Since then the pulses show up a couple of times in a week but never as bad as the first time, is it a sign that the medication is actually fixing something rather than sticking a patch on it?”
Good question! I’ve wondered that myself. I’m currently taking Modafinil and Clonazepam for these symptoms. They help quite a lot, but I wonder if this means I’ll be taking these meds for life. Is it a patch or a cure? I’ve heard some people can take SSRIs (or SNRIs or whatever) during an rough spell in their lives and then after a few years, they wean off and go on to live normally.
Well, I hope your symptoms are still diminishing. Good luck!
I got a stomachs virus where I couldn’t hold anything down which mentioned I was without my meds… I have PTSD and take effexor in the morning and trazodone at night. Three days in to this flu bug and I feel like my brain is jolting everywhere. I’ve learned sleep helps a lot as well as just not moving my head at all. Definitely not any fun and the Dr told me once I can tolerate it I should start taking my meds again.
Does anyone else get these brain zaps when you hear a very loud sound? That seems to be when I get them the most… I was on up to 60mgs of prozac off and on for 10 years now. For about 5 of those years I was on between 1 and 6mg of clonazepam every day. I’ve had substance abuse issues too because of back pain, and over prescribing doctors.
I came off of the clonazepam over a 6 month period… slowly and I was relatively ok… then came off of Vicodin over a 3 month period. At that point I remember getting brain zaps and developing tinnitus… I wasn’t on any antidepressants at that time… I started back on prozac and clonazepam a few months later and everything got worse, I was cut off of clonazepam rather abruptly, as well as starting suboxone therapy.
Panic attacks, muscle tension through my whole body, random jerking movements and brain zaps… The only thing that has lingered is the jerking motions, tinnitus and brain zaps. At that point I started seroquel too. The brain zaps happen when I hear loud noises, pop my ears or sometimes just randomly. It’s been almost 5 months now and it’s annoying the living sh*t out of me.
The seroquel is supposed to calm the electric signals in the brain, but I still get this stuff. The jerks are one of the side effects of seroquel, but I had them before I started. I also from time to time get a metallic taste in my mouth if I get startled. I’m just starting to think with all the meds they put me on over the years, they screwed my nervous system up royally.
It’s been over a year now that I’ve had the worst most persistent issues, I’m losing hope that it’s every gonna get better. I can’t work, I’m 35 and living with my dad. Every day is scary and I feel like doctors don’t listen to me anymore because of my anxiety. They think EVERYTHING is in my head. I could have a cracked skull and they’d say… “well you have a history of anxiety, so maybe it’s related…”
I don’t trust doctors anymore.
As a somewhat terrible medication taker, (I let refills run out and don’t get appointments, just stop) I can confirm this happens to me every time I stop taking sertraline (Zoloft). It’s purely in my head and ears. It feels like a sort of electric echo. I tell people it makes whatever sound is present have kind of a whoosh sound without the “sh” part like 2-3 times.
It’s really jarring and unpleasant. It also is consistent when I am focused on something, a cell phone screen for example, and looking away. It’s like the depth perception change triggers it. I read that shifting the eyes left to right triggers this for some people, I can verify this. I assume it’s something to do with depth perception and focus, but I’m speculating, these are my experiences, thank you to everyone for sharing!
After years of on and off use of antidepressants I’ve noticed these brain jolts/zaps only occur for me when quitting cold turkey. Fluoxetine/sertraline/citalopram have all induced these zaps. Noticing that head movements provoke the zap occurrence, also initially before falling to sleep. Personally I’d recommend tapering off antidepressants as the only way to prevent these zaps.
Herbal drinks like St. John’s wart and salvia do help the brain to produce serotonin but why prolong the experience. Some illicit drugs also help, I’m not advising anyone take that route. Simply do as the doctor advises, taper off medication. From my experience the zaps do stop after 3 months however everyone is different.
I’m so happy I found this website. I recently tapered off of 100mg of zoloft I’ve been taking for 4 years due to a severe anxiety disorder in my brain. I get these brain zaps but only when I move my eyes left to right. Everyone thinks I’m crazy or I’m making it up. I hope it goes away soon because it makes me look crazy that I shudder when I move my eyes. It feels like everything gets 10 times louder for a second and I get a jolt throughout my body.
Wow reading these comments just scared the bejeezus out of me. I’ve been dealing with the zaps on and off for about a year now as I was constantly playing with and adjusting my dosage of effexor, but now I’ve been off it completely for 4 days and I thought the zaps would be diminishing by now.
However now that I know some people have permanent zaps, I’m f#cking scared! How come nobody warned us about this? I really don’t want to feel like my brain is being electrocuted every 60 seconds for the rest of my life… Is this really the price of trying to attain some Goddamn happiness?
Currently experiencing Brain Zap’s after slowly tapering off escitalopram. I’ve taken escitalopram for about 3-4 years, and have been experiencing the symptoms for about 2 weeks now. It’s not particularly scary, just a little annoying. I’ve tried to see what induces them: it seems moving my eyes from side to side is the main thing that makes it happen, and also when I’m in a stressful or anxiety inducing situation.
Weird thing is, I don’t feel any anxiety like I would expect to in these situations, just the zaps. To be honest, while inconvenient, I would put up with it for the rest of my life considering how content and happy I feel now compared to before the medication.
Ok but what about people who haven’t ever taking any of those medicines stated? Me and my friend get them in such an extreme manner that it jolts our whole entire body that it really does mimic an electrical shock with as much volts as slightly stronger than a lightbulb socket. I heard an example, if your body was about to die so to speak, about to fall asleep for good, your brain sends a lifeline, a shock to wake you up in order to keep you alive.
Anyways, the brain sometimes mistakes this with falling asleep, if thats the case, then if theres anyone like my friend and I who get such extreme jolts that it really has you wondering with concern (for that evening anyway) then this should be taken as a good thing, our brains are working in such an amazing way, but sometimes it just gets confused.
Thank you to the OP for this page/post, it’s a great read, nice work, it’s not exactly the most common subject, thanks!
I have had these brain zaps for about 6 months and they are more frequent when I lay down to rest or go to bed at night and wake in the morning. I am very glad to have found this site also… I have been getting more and more afraid of the effects.
I too was on citalopram/celexa… All of this could have been avoided if my doctor would have just checked for peri menopause (hormone levels) instead of dx me with anxiety. Long road to feeling better.
Wow! All of these comments…I’m not crazy! What a relief but I have been experiencing these zaps and I have not changed meds in quite sometime so why would they start if I have not stopped taking them? It was very scary the first time this happened to me last week and since then it’s only happened one other time but I’m so dizzy and foggy minded it’s driving me nuts!
Sea bands for nausea. Chocolate to help with zaps. OTC sleep aids – I plan to sleep through this unbearable effexor zap and worse. Klonopin to keep anxiety down which keeps zaps lower during day – 1mg.
I was on Cymbalta for almost 3 years and I tapered down, but was unable to cope with the “brain zaps”. So while I tapered down, I started taking Zoloft to help with the withdrawal symptoms. It definitely helped. I then slowly tapered off of Zoloft and was fine. A few days later, I started getting “brain zaps” again and it has been continuing now for almost 2 weeks.
I also have been extremely sensitive, irritable and easily loose my cool. This is so frustrating. There is no way I’m going back on any antidepressants to help with this. This website has been a great find though. I will be trying the fish oil and I am going to increase my B12 vitamins.
After stopping Zoloft I experienced brain zaps for a while. Eye movements definitely were a factor in triggering brain zaps. Looking to the extreme left or right would trigger one.
Thank you. I’ve taken antidepressants off and on for close to 20 years. I’ve missed dosages before but never had these “brain zaps” before last night. At 1 am last night, thought I was having a stroke. This makes so much more sense.
I never had this even after discontinuing Zoloft more than a decade ago which is odd after everything I’ve been reading here and elsewhere. The only zaps I had were down my arms into my hands which I compared to being electrocuted. And I startled very easily. Even about 12 years later I still think I startle easily.
But now all I take these days is .25 mgs of Klonopin as needed for anxiety and that might only be once every 2 weeks. I had a brain zap yesterday while sitting here working on the computer. Prior to that I had feelings of vertigo…just briefly… for several days.
I was thinking it could be the stupid bi-focals that I started wearing a year ago. Maybe my prescription needs adjusting now. But I’ve had a couple of very very slight zaps since yesterday, nothing major but I’m getting annoyed by it. It certainly doesn’t help the anxiety issue.
I think the zaps are awesome. I stop taking them every few months just to kick them off when I am on vacation. It actually kind of tickles a bit.