Brain Zaps after tapering off anti-depression medication

Posted by dablues @dablues, Jul 27, 2020

Years ago I went off a depression med can''t remember name suddenly and got sick with Brain "Zaps" and other symptoms. Brain Zaps never went away. I also was on clonazapam but stayed on it and still had brain zaps. Weaned myself off of Clonazapam but now had to go back on it. I periodically get brain zaps when I first wake up in the morning then they go right away. They are infrequent but today I have had them all day long and get a bit dizzy. Any ideas as to why I still get them and why today I had it all day and am still having them.

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dablues | @dablues | Jul 31, 2020

In reply to @paris48 "I’m not sure, what does the sensation feel like?" + (show)

Like if you stuck your finger in a socket and got zapped! I hate it!

dablues | @dablues | Jul 31, 2020

In reply to @lioness "@dabllues Going back to the Y is great just be safe you don't need to get..." + (show)

I know, and I have to take a Covid test this month before eye surgery and I don't trust the test since there's so many false positives. If I get a positive I'm going to get a second opinion but they still will cancel my surgery!

stimme | @stimme | Sep 14, 2020

I don't know if this is relevant but when I was depressed I would eat a whole Spanish onion raw. My God, everything sparkled!

Ellen | @helenfrances | Sep 14, 2020

In reply to @stimme "I don't know if this is relevant but when I was depressed I would eat a..." + (show)

I used to put chopped onions on all my sandwiches.. with catchup, of course. I felt great!
I think I had better start doing that again... but remember to to use mouthwash before social activities🙊
I forget if onions have a vitamin. Anyone know?

Ellen | @helenfrances | Sep 14, 2020

Holy cow!
Eat an 🍎 .....no, eat an onion every day!
Just looked for onion info.
Let me know what you found.

grandmaR | @grandmar | Sep 14, 2020

In reply to @amandaa "Hi @dablues, I am sorry that you are dealing with such discomfort. I know that @jh31251,..." + (show)

@amandaa

Hi @dablues, I am sorry that you are dealing with such discomfort. I know that @jh31251, @texasduchess, @sheffieldsmith, @rwinney, and @cp6401 have experienced tapering off of anti-depressants/anxiety medication.

One of the Connect members in the past mentioned weaning off of her medication (Effexor) for depression and suggested the following tips which I think might be helpful during your search for an answer.
1) You may need to ask your doctor for a slower tapering program than other patients. Some people are just more sensitive to dosage changes. Be aware that symptoms will get better, then may reappear each time you taper. AAFMA (practice group of family physicians) says that the symptoms typically last 1-2 weeks and as long as 4 weeks, so I just kept reminding myself that it was temporary.
2) Be watchful for things that make your symptoms worse. For example, caffeine seems to trigger the brain zaps for me (still, even after being off for several weeks), so I cut back my caffeine intake. I didn’t give it up completely (because I still need to function), but cut back on how much real coffee I was drinking, mixed decaf with regular, and switched to tea sometimes. In the end, I probably cut my daily caffeine intake in half, and it did help quite a lot.
3) Ibuprofen or other pain reliever can help with the flu-like body aches.
4) Benadryl helped with the brain zaps.
5) Exercise helped with both. Even if I wasn’t up to a run, a few blocks of walking would settle down the symptoms for a while at least. (Then, when they come back, just take another walk. We took a lot of walks for a while there).
6) Get enough sleep. As I came down off the meds, my normal sleeping patterns returned, which was great, but it did mean that I needed to plan time to let my body rest.
7) Pay attention to your diet. Your brain uses carbs to make seratonin, so now is not the time to go on the Atkins diet. Eat well and make sure you’re getting enough healthy carbs. You may crave sweets; I certainly did. I tried to counteract this by having bananas, graham crackers, and other healthy things I could snack on instead of sticking my head in a birthday cake like I seemed to want.

There are a lot of people that experience "brain zaps" when tapering of anti-depressants at a rapid rate. How long ago did you wean yourself off of the clonazapam and how long was the intermission before starting it back up?

Jump to this post

Hello!
I've haven't been on this site for a very long time. You mentioned a past member who weaned herself off of Effexor. I don't know who you were talking about, but I weaned myself down from Effexor.
I've been on Effexor for many years. Throughout the years and due to circumstances, I was up to 150mg in the morning and evening. I was having lots of memory issues as well as weight issues and keeping my moods even. When my psychiatrist left her practice, I decided it was time to reduce the amount of Effexor I was taking. I knew, after being in this group, that cold turkey was not an option.
Here is how I did it.
I started with my PM dose (and when I did my AM dose, I did it the same way).
1. I was taking 2 tablets. I removed 1/4 of 1 tablet. I took 1 3/4 tablet every other night for 3 weeks.
2. After 3 weeks, I took 1 3/4 tablets EVERY night for 3 weeks.
3. Then I removed 1/2 of 1 tablet. I took 1 1/2 tablet every other night for 3 weeks.
4. After 3 weeks, I took 1 1/2 tablets EVERY night for 3 weeks.
5. I continued the pattern until I was down to 1 tablet in the PM.
6. I remained on this dosage for about 3 months before I attempted my AM dose. I also wanted to make sure I didn't have anything planned away from home just in case.
7. After the 3 months, I started on my AM dose. I followed EXACTLY the same pattern.

NOTE: I had it planned that IF I had a bad reaction, even once in the 3 weeks, I would remain at that dosage for an additional 3 weeks. However, I must admit that with this plan I had NO reactions at all!

When I got a new psychiatrist (because I needed meds) he wanted me to not do anything without him. When I told him how I did it, I asked him how he suggests. Like most docs, IN MY EXPERIENCE, he weans much to quickly! I have managed to reduce my dosage 50%. It was never my intention to come off the Effexor. I know I need meds and Effexor has been the only med that has worked for me.

I have Clonazapam for emergencies ONLY. I was told by a previous doc that it is not a daily, long term drug.
I AM NOT IN THE MEDICAL FIELD AND I AM NOT SUGGESTING YOU FOLLOW WHAT I DID. ASKING YOUR PSYCHIATRIST IS BEST.

Good luck!
GrandmaR (Ronnie)

douglasebaker | @douglasebaker | Sep 18, 2020

Explain Brain Zaps. I have had what can be described as electrical jolt in my brain.

grandmaR | @grandmar | Sep 18, 2020

In reply to @douglasebaker "Explain Brain Zaps. I have had what can be described as electrical jolt in my brain." + (show)

Hi!
I am sorry but I cannot explain them.
I've never had them.
For me, it was forgetfulness and brain fog.
I am sure someone will be able to help you.
Good luck!
Ronnie

sadnancy | @sadnancy | Sep 18, 2020

I had brain zaps years ago after being discharged from a mental institution. That was in the 1980's. I have memory issues now so I can't give you a lot of detail. I thought I was imagining them. I didn't want to be examined by a doctor because he wouldn't see anything so he would probably just think I was crazy. I just wanted to let you know they are real. Once they stopped, I never had that symptom again.