brain zaps

[Tin417]

Also, can someone please describe what a brain zap is?

[mrcowbell]

It's when you get a sudden sensation that an electrical discharge went off in your head. This leaves you dizzy and disoriented for a second or two. Usually a side effect of meds.

[Paxiled]

It usually is a symptom of ssri or snri withdrawal., that is, when you stop taking one of these meds.  It's said to be caused by the reawakening of serotonin receptors that shut off because the body felt they were no longer needed because these medications bathe the neurons longer in serotonin than the body does naturally.  That's a theory, since nobody understand these meds fully.

[Tin417]

I went off Lexapro almost two weeks ago and two nights ago i was just sitting on the couch and i got this weird zap of a pain that was on top of my head.  it like shot across the top of my head.  seemed to go from one temple to another.  lasted like 2 seconds then i felt weird.  and it did it again a couple more times.  this happened three nights now and it's kinda scary.  it's a pain in my head that i never experienced before and i'm a migrane sufferer.

[Hensley258]

I get them with every med change. The worst was with my discontinuation of Pristiq.
My God it was so bad I seriously didn't think I was going to make it. It was even worse than my Effexor withdrawl and I took 350Mgs a day of Effexor.

I was on 100mgs a day with Pristiq for a year and when it came time to switch meds, I honestly thought I was going to die. The withdrawl and brain zaps were much stronger than I had ever felt before.

It took 6 full weeks for them to go away and I tapered slow too. I would rather chew on tin foil than go thru that again.

[Paxiled]

I've heard that fish oil helps prevent them.  Although going off Paxil pretty much destroyed me, about the only thing I didn't get were brain zaps probably because I was already using a fair amount of fish oil.  See if it helps.

[Shannon6295]

I started having this since I went on levothyroxine then it will go away for awhile and come back. It used to also happen when withdrawing from SSRI meds. I wonder if the doctors know what it is because if they get worse I want them to understand this. So far I can stand it-they are mainly mild. Sometimes if I move too fast I have one.

[Paxiled]

You may need to have your thyroid checked again and your medication adjusted -- that's common with people who take synthetic thyroid medication.  The question is, is your thyroid not functioning, or just underperforming?  If it's still functioning, you might be able to achieve the same results with iodine, such as in kelp or bladderwrack, as the med you're on is for hypothyroid.  If the thryoid isn't working, of course, that option isn't available.  And the longer you're on this med, even if you're thyroid was working but underperforming, the med will eventually render the thyroid incapable of performing on its own.  I'd say see your endrocrinologist, and hop on over to the thyroid forum for better help.