zzz head zaps from SSRI zzz

[Charlene141]

hi Everyone--

I guess I'm here tonight to cry about the darn "head zaps" from SSRI. Fortunately, not everyone gets them [little zaps in the head that feels like someone snapped their finger against the head]. Today I had one that lasted longer than usual -- felt as though I had an electric shock -- buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Wow!!:rolleyes: *ack

Buzz Buzz Buzz--I get so tired of it. Towards end of day, I guess, when med starts wearing off? Who knows? The drs I question have little advice and seem somewhat unknowledgeable about this side effect of SSRI (Paxil) .

Well, just letting off steam here tonight.*candycane

IF anyone has suggestions on this, it would be nice.

[tic chick]

hey, charlene! *smallrose

i have taken paxil, no brain zaps, though.

a family member was weaning off of paxil and was getting the zaps. i suggested taking 2 benadryls, 3 times a day. benadryl is an antihistamine. you can buy it over the counter. it might make you a bit drowsy, but you'll get used to it.

anyway, it helped this person until he had weaned off. try it and i hope it might help you.

maybe you should try another ssri? paxil is a pretty old one, the ones they have out now usually have fewer side effects.

take care of yourself,
jeannie

[moose53]

Oh, yeah, ((((((Charlene))))))

Haven't ever had 'em, but, I've sure heard of them -- click here (http://www.google.com/custom?client=pub-1077118099078376&forid=1&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&cof=GALT%3A%23008000%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23336699%3B VLC%3A663399%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BLBGC%3 A336699%3BALC%3A0000FF%3BLC%3A0000FF%3BT%3A000000% 3BGFNT%3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000FF%3BLH%3A75%3BLW%3A1 00%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.dr-bob.org%2Foculus.jpg%3BS%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.dr-bob.org%2F%3BLP%3A1%3BFORID%3A1&hl=en&domains=dr-bob.org&q=brain+zaps&sa=Search&sitesearch=dr-bob.org)

I take Effexor XR and sometimes in the winter when I can't get to the pharmacy because of transportation problems or weather, I go into major league withdrawals. Feel like a freakin' drug addict.

SSRIs (like Prozac and Paxil) and SNRIs (like Effexor and Cymbalta) mess with our chemistry a lot.

Those brain zaps that you're getting are an indication that you're going into withdrawal.

There's lawsuits about Paxil. If people come off these SSRIs or SNRIs too fast, they can have withdrawal symptoms for MONTHS. Some people -- a lot of people -- have to titrate down very slowly -- sometimes to the point of taking only a few sprinkles out of each capsule near the end of withdrawal.

In your case, it sounds like the amount that you're taking is not spread out evenly enough throughout the day. How many pills are you taking per day?? If you're going to continue on this drug, you might want to ask your doctor to split the dosage -- for example, instead of taking one pill per day, take smaller pills twice per day or even three times per day -- depending on the size that the pills are available in, of course.

If you're taking a small dose now, these brain zaps might be an indication that you cannot take this drug. In this case, you need to ramp down very-very-very slowly or switch to a drug that will ease the brain zaps.

This is a really good website about these type of drugs: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/. Anyone that is going to be taking these classes of drugs OR PRESCRIBING THEM should be reading this. Send the link to your doctor -- sounds like he/she is not as educated as he/she should be.

You might want to read this too: http://tinyurl.com/yte23z

Good luck. Hugs.

Barb

[Charlene141]

Hello Tic Chick and Hello Moose:

Thanks for replies.:) :)

I can try taking a benydryl tablet. I haven't tried that yet.

I take my pill at nighttime. I tried taking it in the morning, but then I went most of the morning with bad zaps. I think the pill takes a while to begin working.*dash

I have tried several other meds: SSRI meds. They all have the zaps with me. Do I need a higher doseage? Maybe? Does the body adjust -- requiring more and more to get rid of zaps?

Yes, my drs don't seem knowledgeable about this medication. They seem very puzzled when I mention "head zaps". I've gone to two neurologists about it and a cardio guy and internal medicine. The psychiatrist who prescribed it has moved, relocated. Finding anew one just for this.......well, I guess so.:(

ANYWAY-----THANKS %100 FOR YOUR INTEREST AND THE SITES INCLUDED WHICH I HAVE ALREADY READ. Thanks Brain Talk Friends.*silverbells