Brain Zaps

Please, please, please can the thousands of people suffering from brain zaps have some answers from the medical profession???? Doctor's dismiss our complaints as very few doctors have even heard of brain zaps and the associated headaches, tinnitis, etc. Why are they happening and WHAT WILL MAKE THE BETTER? So many thousands of people are blogging and googling-away trying to find answers. Doctors give us these medicine (anti-depressants), take us off them and then can't help when out bodies go haywire. Any answers you can give will be greatly appreciated by so many people.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

You are quite correct, these are real withdrawal symptoms...I rarely prescribe these medications for this and other similar reasons...the only thing that seems to work to eliminate them is to wean very slowly, and go back to small doses every third day for a longer period if the slow weaning does not work, and get coverage from your doctor for the first week or ten days off the drug by using klonopin.

[rosepainter]

I was on Lexapro for about two or three years for mild panic attacks.  It never helped, but it made me feel hyper and emotionally numb.  Recently under a psychiatrist's supervision, I tapered off Lexapro from 20mg to 5mg over about eight weeks.  He put me on 250mg Depakote to "balance" my moods "just in case"......I felt  fine and stable the whole time.  THEN I went to zero mg Lexapro and within three days I started having brain zaps  -- only I didn't know what they were at the time: I went to the ER and was admitted for testing for heart irregularities, but everything on that score was absolutely normal -- the doctor discharged me with a diagnosis of playing too much violin (said the upper chest and jaw and head sensations were from practicing too much -- why this hadn't ever happened during the past ten years that I have played the violin never occurred to the doctor)  and put me on naproxen!!!!  I learned about brain zaps after googling lexapro withdrawal!!!   I'm now trying fish oil and potassium.  If  I tough it out and finally recover my old normal self, I will then taper off the Depakote.  I hope that won't cause new unforeseen problems.  Can it?  Can I get seizures or anything else?