Brain zaps and jolts

[Greatful]

I am glad I ran across this tread.  I have the worst brain zapping, buzzing, crackling, tingling, paper crinkling and sore tight burning spots. Thank you sunnyside up 69 for mentioning that one.  These sensations move all around my brain. Sometimes its the whole brain. Makes me sensitive to noise and lights and I have a hard time thinking. I have them most days and generally all day.  They have quieted down at night.  I tried to explain these sensations happening to my doctor when I was trying to taper of Prozac and then when we were trying to find a med to work.  He had no idea way I was having all these sensations in my brain. It is very frustrating that he did not know when  there is documented information out there.  It could have saved me months (July 2020 to now) of pain and I would not have tried all those meds. I kept trying explain the sensations to him.  Turns out it was just withdrawal. Now I will have to taper off Lexapro.  The earlier post that solarpexus shared about the brain zaps was very helpful to learn you can get them going on a med and coming off.   Thank you  Thank you finally a answer!

[Greatful]

@AvrgejaneI wanted to touch base with you.. It sounds like you have horrible brain zaps too.

I have zaps, tingling, crinkling, burning, pressure and sore spots that some times feels like someone is turning a cork screw in my brain.  Or a vice grip tightening on both sides of my brain.  Painful at times, and yes it can feel like I have a headache also.  What is irritating is this will move around to different part of my brain, top, sides, back. There is some sort of sensation going on most of the time.  It does go away when I sleep now.  If I get to stimulated, noise, watching TV, people talking around me , trying to carry on a conversion it seems to get worse.  It makes it really hard to go out in public.  Sometime I come home from work and it feel like my head is going to explode.....  It can drive me nuts........and scared.........

 

It can make thinking and following a conversation hard.  Makes my brain feel disconnected. 

 

I have been trying to explain this to my husband and some of my girls...  My psychiatrists has no clue, he shakes his head I don't know why this is happening.....

 

Not that I would wish this on anyone,  do you have anything like this??????????????

 

I want reassurance that my brain is not damaged and it can be a normal WD symptom......

It also has happened when I start a new med...

 

Thanks for reading

Greatful

 

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[Wishes19]

Just checking in, hello everyone. I haven’t posted here for many years. I have brain zaps - (sometimes felt in my chest too, but mostly head) dozens, sometimes hundreds, of times per day - since a too-fast Venlaxifine taper 7 years ago. 

 

I am very worried that I will develop a medical condition of some sort related to this phenomenon. If any research is being conducted looking into this topic, please, someone let me know? Likewise, any long-term data on people who suffer with this condition would be much appreciated, if it exists. 

 

Best wishes to everyone. Thank you for reading. 

[DataGuy]

Hi @Greatful, @Wishes19 and others. Just a note that I have added a link to the first post on this topic called Brain Zaps: An Underappreciated Symptom of Antidepressant Discontinuation, a study from 2018. In it, the authors note that:

 

"The presence of brain zaps was typically transitory, but in a small number of cases it caused significant disability lasting for months or years with no treatment available. Patients’ inability to obtain effective help from prescribers and the perceived lack of interest in this symptom on the part of the medical profession risks fueling antipsychiatry attitudes among patients."

 

So further evidence that symptoms associated with PAWS can last for months or years. They don't really have any advice on how to manage them - no research on that - but they do note that:

 

"Even in the case of the second most frequently reported trigger, running/walking, the movement of the head or eyes can be assumed to be involved, thus further reinforcing the involvement of eye movements. In the few instances when behaviors reducing the severity of brain zaps were reported, the actions specifically involved not moving, or fixating, the eyes."

 

So it may be beneficial to identify triggers and minimize or eliminate them. Some behavioral treatment once they start might involve limiting movement or the lateral eye movements. I'm sure some have already come up with things that work for them. 

[PupperMintPatty]

What exactly are brain zaps and why do they happen? Is it because the electrical activity of the brain isn't being processed properly due to SSRI damage? And can it lead to seizures? When I was going through Long Covid hell I experienced what I believe were seizures after taking hot showers. My body was constantly freezing so I'd take hot showers to help but I made things worse because I had nerve damage that made me very sensitive to heat. One time I came out and immediately laid down in bed from how exhausted I felt. I started having convulsions and the "brain zaps" felt like someone was taking a drill and started drilling right into my brain. I would lose partial consciousness during these episodes and sometimes they'd happen while walking, standing, driving, etc. . . Will this also resolve? I've noticed that when I eat really high fat keto (close to 80% fat/ 20% protein) the zaps become significantly less intense and my gait stabilizes. I guess I'm just concerned that I won't fully recover from this and that I'll need to continue doing keto because I really don't want to stay on it for longer than 6 months. I believe carbs are essential for optimal health and Keto definitely raises baseline cortisol. But I also believe it is a powerful healing tool that can be used for short periods of time.

[Erimus]

See 

Fish oil is suggested as the best option for dealing with brain zaps. If you don’t want to take fish oil supplements perhaps consider introducing oily fish into your diet 5 times a week.

[tiredtess]

Hello, I have two types of zaps. There are  the big ones on going to sleep and in the morning the smaller ones on waking. I am a year from finishing Venlafaxine which I tapered slowly including bridging over to Fluoxetine 20mg which I am still on. This helped for a while but now the morning ones are back. GP doesn't know what I am talking about. Do I try increasing the Fluoxetine or just hope things will improve? I am struggling quite a bit mentally and physically to the point of not wanting to bother.

 

ADs for over 50 yrs most of that time on Parstelin an MAOI. Also ECT and anti psychotic drugs in the 1970s. In recent years have taken Citalopram for a short time then Venlafaxine + ER 75mg then 37.5. + Mirtazapine. Tapered down from that over many months. Suggested by another group to bridge to Fluoxetine as supposedly withdrawal affects less than with Venlafaxine.

26/06/23. Off Venlafaxine but still on 20mg Fluoxetine.