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For some people who stop taking an SSRI or SNRI antidepressant, they can get a weird side effect called brain zaps. And even though we've known about them for decades, we still don't know exactly why brain zaps happen.
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Emotions are reasons
We forget emotions are chemicals reactions not the chemicals themselves
When do you talk about akathisia and GENERAL intolerance to antidepressants caused by it?
Cocaine works by keeping the transporters from mopping up the dopamine.
I wonder if the comments on this video (though anecdotal) could be analyzed for research purposes.
I remember trying to describe this sensation to my doctor about 10 years ago.
To this day, I think she thought I was full of crap.
Crazy considering how common brain zaps are. Some doctors shouldn’t be doctors
Lol I feel like it my brain shutting down for a split second
My housemate just said exactly the same thing. He was the only person I ever heard the word zap used in that context.
If it makes you feel better, my doctor explained brain zaps to me when I started my meds a few months back, so medical professionals know about it now.
Yeah it's like it feels like . Two wires crossing touching and feels like a flash bang grenade going off but zap seems more fitting. Even though for me it's bigger than a zap
"Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome" is just a fancy way of saying "drug withdrawal". My dad explained these symptoms of "withdrawal" to his shrink like a decade ago and the dude said he wasn't going through withdrawal, and my dad retorted with "well why the hell does it feel like I am?!" and he had no response.
That’s actually crazy, I might expect a medical doctor to try and gaslight someone like trying to get more prescriptions, but a therapist or counselor of any type of all people saying that and then just having no response blows my mind.
Yeah, it is "drug withdrawal", but specifically from seratonin drugs. The symptoms are very specific, just like they are for anything that causes a physical imbalance. Alcohol withdrawal can cause fatal seizures, opiates don't. SSRIs can cause brain zaps that are unique.
"Drug withdrawal" is just a neat way of saying you feel like crap in some assortment of fun and exciting ways because your body doesn't have a chemical that it got used to having. But they're all different things going on, just like cancer isn't one disease.
I also had a doctor get awkward when I said I wasn't interested in an SSRI/SNRI because of "the withdrawals".
They just couldn't believe for a long time that they were giving something that caused physical dependence. Yay drug companies.
@@NicholasA231 They know it causes physical dependence and call it something else so patients do not get scared. Because physical dependence is not that bad in this case. You can get dependent to many things that are unpleasant but not dangerous to get withdrawal from. For psychotropic drugs, it's almost impossible to experience 0 withdrawal or rebound effects. You are not as smart or well informed as you think you are.
It's worth noting that ""antidepressant discontinuation syndrome"" is just a pharmaceutical term for withdrawal. Corporations are reluctant to admit that their drugs cause withdrawal for some reason.
The fact these drugs are a scam is hiding in plain sight.... depression shouldnt be a side effect of anti depressents, it took an absurd amount of willful ignorance for these drugs to be approved when there was never any evidence they worked and a million known side effects.
i was going to point that out but saw you already made this comment. the term discontinuation syndrome is intentionally misleading. obviously, the truth is that SSRIs are addictive. not addictive in the sense people abuse them, but addictive in the sense that people struggle to stop taking them, which is still addiction
Medicine is evil it's made by torturous mad Science experiments (animal testing) . They should ban medicine even though I take it myself but those taking medicine aren't responsible for the crimes of the medical field. Ideally medicine should be banned then when we get sick we'll just die as nature intended. Mad Science experiments are far worse than any disease.
I told my psychiatrist i was having withdrawal and he didn't believe me, as he told me "SSRIs don't cause withdrawal :')
@@laelaps5246 they were either gaslighting you or they dont know basic facts about drugs they prescribe. they were smart enough to become a psychiatrist, so i assume its gaslighting. a psychiatrist told me its impossible to get addicted to benzos, when in actuality, you can die from benzo withdrawal. people like this are psychopaths who harm their patients and still sleep soundly at night, which contributes to the yearly quarter of a million deaths caused by medical malpractice in the U.S (third leading cause of death in the U.S, and canada)
Another important side-effect of SSRI discontinuation syndrome is potentially wild/dangerous mood swings and/or anhedonia (the feeling that nothing will ever make you happy ever again). Patients taking these medications **need** to be warned about these potential consequences of missing too many doses in a row, or suddenly discontinuing the SSRI/SNRI.
Yeahhhh. I won't give you the details here, but... yeah.
I got post-SSRI sexual dysfunction from taking 10mg of Prozac for six weeks and the full thing hit me a month later after I quit because it almost gave me a psychotic episode. :/ Going on 9 months with some improvement. I'm incredibly lucky I have pleasurable orgasms even though they don't feel the same as before. They started out feeling like nothing.
One thousand percent. It has made me agitated and even aggressive. Thank you
These have definitely been my symptoms when stopping ssris suddenly. Not fun.
Yeah
"All roads lead to tuberculosis."
I will turn this car around right now, Mister.
That's it! Back to Winnipeg!
You'll just be going back to Tuberculosis.
"...... He's been talking to John too much....."
Y'all, imagine if the mongols weaponised tb...
All roads lead to tb... or to becoming crabs.
When I've stopped my SSRI I've always ended up being able to HEAR my eyeballs move laterally.
On SSRIs I felt like a zombie who instead of feeling depressed 80% felt no emotions 100% of the time, certainly not for everyone
Sorry to be that person but I’m curious, what does it sound like?
THIS
It’s like liquid whooshing way too fast, every time you move your eyes
I could hear this comment
Psychedelics are just an exceptional mental health breakthrough. It's quite fascinating how effective they are against depression and anxiety. Saved my life.
Can you help with the reliable source I would really appreciate it. Many people talk about mushrooms and psychedelics but nobody talks about where to get them. Very hard to get a reliable source here in Australia. Really need!
Yes, dr.sporessss I have the same experience with anxiety, depression, PTSD and addiction and Mushrooms definitely made a huge huge difference to why am clean today.
I wish they were readily available in my place.
Microdosing was my next plan of care for my husband. He is 59 & has so many mental health issues plus probable CTE & a TBI that left him in a coma 8 days. It's too late now I had to get a TPO as he's 6'6 300+ pound homicidal maniac.
He's constantly talking about killing someone.
He's violent. Anyone reading this Familiar w/ BPD know if it is common for an obsession with violence.
Is he on instagram?
Yes he is. dr.sporessss
As someone who has tried more than a couple antidepressants… It’s amazing how a pill that seemingly does nothing for you can certainly do something awful when you try to stop taking them 😅
It's like many medications, but I use ADHD medication as the example since so many people have experienced it. You take it throughout your childhood, and when you stop for whatever reason, you never grew up learning how to cope with it naturally, so everything is far worse. Now you're drug dependent, or you go through the arduous process of learning how to keep focus when doing mundane tasks.
I'm very against the, "Here's a pill for your problem," mentality that has likely seriously damaged multiple generations and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Not to say there aren't cases where they are warranted, however, they should be last resorts.
@@Yarsigvery sad reality. prescribing mind altering drugs to children to deal with simple behavioral problems.
@@Yarsig yeah. Not having access to ADHD meds as a child, does not teach you how to cope better. Or else we wouldn't lose jobs over and over, have depression, fail in school, burn out for months or years at a time etc. Etc
The only way I learned processes to cope with ADHD, was learning how while taking medication.
@@foolishlyfoolhardy6004 💯
I barely graduated high school unmedicated. Tried college, dropped out. Tried again, dropped out. Got diagnosed, got medicated, straight As for 2 semesters, stopped being able to afford the medication, failed out again.
@everyone else...
Not having meds as a kid doesn't make you "better able to cope" as an adult because ADHD is an inability to focus. Inability. Our brains have our Default Mode Network turned on 24/7. The default mode network is supposed to only activate when you are day dreaming, sitting and staring blankly into space. It's the part of your brain that activates while you are driving home from work, pull into your driveway, and realize you don't remember half the drive.
When a neurotypical person tries to focus, the DMN shuts off. It might break through occasionally with a random thought, but a neurotypical person usually has control over it. A person with ADHD doesn't have any control. It's on, all the time, and WORSE. When a person with ADHD tries to pay attention to something, the noise from the DMN gets louder not quieter. That's why people with ADHD compare the sensation to TV static. It's a low hum in the back of the brain that never goes away, and when trying to concentrate, it gets louder and for some people can be physically painful, like sensory overload.
There's no will-powering your way throught that. There are tips and tricks you can learn to work around your deficits which are all just ways of stimulating dopamine to simulate the effect of the medications. But each of those tricks has a very short shelf life. Maybe it'll work once, maybe three times, maybe for a month or two, but they all eventually fail and you'll be out looking for new one.
@@foolishlyfoolhardy6004 Well said. Even if you can “cope” for a period of time that usually just means surviving, not healthy & sustainable habit formation like you can achieve with meds, therapy, & accommodations. Signed, former gifted kid who later flunked out of college before being diagnosed lol.
The wierdest part of the zaps for me were the perspective changes, like I was walking into a different room
Same! I'd automatically think of certain things and have to pause to bring myself back to "reality" as it would send me into a short daze.
I know what you mean
Yes! This is what I get. The most 1:1 to a 'baseline' experience was running VR on a machine with a very underpowered graphics card. I would be moving in a 3D environment with stutters of 2D pictures that twisted slightly. It felt almost identical to when I get brain zaps.
Yes! And a noise a bit like an old tv turning off. It’s actually really similar to my tinnitus, but as a sharp tweak rather than the normal background tone
I feel this. I sometimes would describe it as if i were a character in a mobile game and someone kept tapping my head with their fat finger on the screen lol kinda get disoriented like a flashbang
One side effect I didn't see mentioned for SSRIs is the effect on libido/anorgasmia. I know it's kind of awkward to bring up but that's why so many people (including my past self) quit taking their meds and many doctors will either not mention it at all or brush off concerns about it. It would be interesting to understand the biology behind it.
serotonin just tends to inhibit libido. dopamine has the opposite effect and it increases libido
Yeah, I'm finally ready (stable with talk therapy) to taper down a bit, to try reconnecting with my body ... after 12 years.
Its No awkward , But As a person whe is celibate😂 it doesnt affect much
Been on these meds since I was 14, I don't really experience sexual pleasure or arousal like other people, but I've learned different ways to have a relationship with my sexuality. Thought I was broken for a long time though.
Yep. It’s actually the one thing that has me considering taking my Paroxetine again when I’m so far into quitting. Not only did they help with my anxiety, but they’re also a big help for PE, and I don’t mean gym class. It’s such a huge source of shame and self hatred. But when I’m on the medicine I feel my emotions are dulled, and I have a harder time making emotional connections. I’ve been off them for a little while, and I’ve really been connecting with a new special someone, but now we’re getting intimate and I’ve realized just how much they were helping, and I feel I have to choose between being able to truly feel a deep connection, or being a good partner in bed.
I was literally trying to explain this to a psychologist this morning and I was describing it like "someone just touched a 9-volt battery to my brain for 6 months every time I adjusted my eyes." I was at work walking from my desk to the bathroom and decided to count and I know it was over 100 times in the 2 minute walk. Thank you for this video!
Why don't doctors warn patients about this?
@@mikeoxsbigg1 most of them just don't care... that's my take. They only care about getting you on meds and not about learning how terrible the side effects can be, especially on withdrawal.
@@mikeoxsbigg1
My psychiatrist did! He's a very good doctor so I understand that most people get worse care than I do.
He played out every side effect with me and we weighed the pros vs cons while I was in high school. I made every decision regarding my mental health care.
Sometimes the pros really outweigh the cons.
Plus they aren't sure how you will respond to a certain medication before you take it. You may find the best medication first try or you might end up with one that makes you suicidal. The mark of a good doctor is one that listens to you and does patient first treatment.
I don’t think those were brain zaps. That sounds like nystagmus. That’s my #1 discontinuation syndrome symptom. I can get it after missing only one dose and it lasts for months after I stop!
Psychologists are not psychotherapists
I never knew this was a common thing.. I always described it as a "TV static", like someone was changing the channel in my head. I could practically hear the "Psst" sound it would make.
Great description, along with a brief mental disconnectedness/numbness as if your signal dropped out for a fraction of a second
For me its more of a BZZADT instead of a psst but yes
@@jakebrantley8889 Yes! Spot on, sometimes with lesser aftershocks that go on for a few fading bursts
Strangely enough I know the exact same sensation although I never took any antidepressants. It started a few weeks after I had covid and occurs manly when I didn’t get enough sleep…I thought I was the only one experiencing this😮
I would tell people my brain felt fuzzy. But like physically fuzzy
I have found both lateral eye movement and lateral head movement make the zaps worse. Moving too quickly in general seems to aggravate it. Love the leaf sheep shirt by the way!
Same here. But closing my eyes helps. If it happens when I'm walking it can be disorienting though
Same experience especially the head movements!
Same here.
Agreed! I have had the same experience.
YES! When I wanted to look at something, I had to turn my entire body instead of just looking at the object or turning my head. It was really annoying having to consciously watch my movements, or suffer the brain zaps.
Can confirm: ran out of Paroxetine on a long weekend and had to ration. Got brain zaps. Best way I can describe them is that it's kind of like that feeling when you're trying to fall asleep and you jerk awake (hypnic jerk, IIRC there's a SciShow episode on it), plus that feeling when you're zoning out and your attention snaps back, plus a sneeze, plus a jump scare, all kind of at once. "Zap" really does describe it well, though. It is not a fun experience.
Fun side fact: one reason you might discontinue your SSRI or switch is that the FAA has a very strict list of medications approved for pilots, and if you're not on one of the very short list approved SSRIs, you will be automatically denied the medical approval necessary to get your certificate. Ask me how I know.
Thankfully, the symptoms haven't been bad switching from paroxetine to sertraline (Zoloft). I liked the paroxetine better, so far, but oh well.
@@RhynoD2Would you mind elaboraring about why you prefer zoloft to paroxetine? Have been told paroxetine is very hard to withdraw from, and one approach is to switch to zoloft or prozac (as mentioned here) and then taper off that.
Thank you!
@@johnbauman4005 Oh, no I much prefer the paroxetine, so far. I've only been on Zoloft for a monthish, and it's mostly the same, but I feel a little more...off. I'm switching because I want to get a private pilot certificate and paroxetine is not on the FAA list of approved medications. It's an automatic medical disqualification. There are only five approved SSRIs, Zoloft among them. My doctor recommended it as the best alternative available.
Thankfully, I'm on a super low dose. I just have very mild anxiety and depression. The transition has been very mild. I felt dizzy and awful for a couple days, but no brain zaps. It's nothing like the weekend when I just ran out of paroxetine.
I actually think they're kinda fun. I don't mind them at all aside from the fact they're an indicator I haven't been taking my meds 🤷
I always described them as like your head is underwater and you're trying to move but it's staying behind. It succkks. Weird thing I realized last year is if I smell mail polish remover (I work in a LTC facility and sometimes have to paint nails) it makes them feel worse.
I will never stop talking about how little we know about psychiatric meds. My prescriber was shocked that my WD symptoms lasted so long and were as bad as they were. I felt like I had the flu for a month.
I felt unbelievably angry, to the point to potential but not actual violence, for several weeks back in the day.
I developed gastroparesis from making a mistake with my meds and at the time there was nothing I could find talking about the gastrointestinal side of SSRIs.
Look up BIND it can last years
You prescriber was shocked by that because pharma companies heavily downplay the amount of withdrawal these drugs cause
For me when I took them even just once I would feel extreme hyperactivity to the point of breaking down. A feeling like my brain was doused in gasoline and then all my veins are crawling with ice... so vile you will do anything to stop it... Never again... I tried so many of them.
Good to see people finally talking about this. Whenever I'd tell doctors I was feeling "electricity in my brain" when stopping venlafaxine, they'd give me a confused look.
I’m on venlafaxine. If I forget a single day to take it I get the zaps. I’d be happy to serve as an observation test subject for the docs lol.
Same, even with the lowest dose
I am on 50 mg of desvenlafaxine. I NEVER forget to take em because I hate the brainzaps and the nightmares
@@derikWG I would take the zaps over the night terrors every time, no question. The zaps are uncomfortable, but I can still function (albeit slowly and carefully). But the night terrors are something else; absolute mind-destroying terror every time you close your eyes to sleep, but being so exhausted you can't help but drift off again less than a second later, to be met again by the terror. And you know it's going to happen if you've had the zaps within like 6 hours of bedtime.
Do you get brain zaps or whole body? I’ve never gotten brain but will get whole body jerks/zaps if I miss more than 2
@skinnyjeans91 On Venlaflaxine just the brain, but before anything and whilst on SSRIs I got those weird single shudders/full body twitches I think you are referring to.
As an engineer the medical world looks like total madness sometimes. Trying to fix something before understanding exactly how it works is not how we do things x)
Medicines kinda like: "it works, we just don't know exactly how or why it works, so thats good enough"
Engineering is like: "make sure it works before you deploy it, and you need to be able to explain how it works."
Where's the fun in that? I bet you wear your seatbelt, too!
Except if we do nothing people die....so we do something. I'm thankful for the meds I had and I'm thankful I'm able to come off some now.
@@DudeWhoSaysDeezonly in this case we know they DONT work
@@OnceUponATimeLorino, thats not true. Ssri only make things worse
"Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome", known as _withdrawal_ for drugs we are not gaslighting about, can be rough stuff.
This describes what I experienced after binge-using and suddenly stopping an illegal stimulant that i struggled with a few years ago. It would happen during the worst cycles of abuse. I called them brain zaps, too. I have been sober 5 years this summer!
Congrats on 5 years! 🎉
Congrats friend
SciShow: a survey found that lots of patients said brain zaps were brought on by specific bevahiors like lateral eye movement.
Me, who uses paroxetine: ...Ohhh, so *_that's_* what that thing is whenever l make my eyes go left and right quickly.
For me, it feels more like the clicking of a lightswitch when it happens, but if said lightswitch is somewhere in-between the back of both eye sockets; it's not really painful per se, it just feels particularly overwhelming, especially with the nausea and dizziness on top -- like if my entire sensory system became hypersensitive or something.
When I try to describe it to people I say it's uncomfortable disorienting.
kinda like lhermitte’s sign in MS which i experience at random especially if i move my neck funny it feels like im being tasered especially since it accompanies a following vertigo episode
Oh no not paroxetine! I'm on that and trying to slowly switch because the withdrawal symptoms legit makes me want to go to crisis.
I always thought it felt more like a bouncy ball thudding around inside my skull.
Paroxetine users, thanks for the comments! I've been on it for more than 10 years and have tried getting off it three times...it's terrible. Brain zaps, anhedonia, panic episodes. I feel like if I go off it again I'll need to go inpatient. 🥺
My sparkles! I feel seen
*~*~sparkles~*~*
I love this reframing! Thanks
You people are insane.
@@enterpassword3313that's a funny way to say normal people are weird
@@probablyapigeon no its not. Taking medication that doesnt work and gives you horrible side effects is not normal
@@probablyapigeon no, you are like the sheep from dystopian novels. Take your meds and obey
I love that John now appreciates space things and Hank now appreciates TB things… that’s what brotherly love is all about
You guys should do an episode on the psilocybin trials that are being done for many different mental illnesses. I hate having to be on an SSRI, and I know a lot of people on them have had the same experiences I have had. While they do dampen the depression, they also dampen the happiness and regular sadness that one needs to be able to process. It feels like all your emotions have turned from brightly colored to a grayscale, and the scariest part is that I hadn't realized that I hadn't felt true happiness in ages until I had to go two weeks without my meds at one point. The zaps were horrific, and the depressive lows were almost intolerable after being on SSRIs for 4 years at that point, from ages 15 to 19, but I also felt happiness like I hadn't in a very long time.
Forgetting to take SSRIs for a day can cause brain zaps. I tell people to imagine that their brain stayed still but their skull suddenly shifted half an inch to the left or right and then immediately back into place.
Mushrooms are medicine
@jameshatton4405 I believe this. And clinical trials seem to prove it. I am, however, hesitant to try an uncontrolled dose in an uncontrolled setting, as the illnesses I have could make me more susceptible to a bad trip. I would be more comfortable trying a small amount in an office with a professional. From what I understand being comfortable also increases your chances of having a good experience
@@Willow_Sky I've mushroom tripped probably more than 300 times now. I just my first experience when I was 18 and there was no information on mushrooms internet bank then; so I well and truly overdosed myself on my first trip....big time! All my friends chickened out too so I was the one person who had them (well until my friends saw how much I was enjoying myself)
But I had probably one of the most memorable experiences of my life that night.
I'm saying this to be reassuring. I did everything wrong that night according to "best practices" but still had the most epic night. I was 17 then and I'm now 42.
I stopped taking mushrooms for like 10-15 years and didn't really know why i stopped in the first place? Then it wasn't until 2018 after my dad died and I was suffering with depression that i started to look back into psychedelics as possible solutions?
I tried DMT and LSD among many psychedelics, but nothing seems to stack up as satisfying and fulfilling as mushrooms? Mushrooms make life good 👍
@@jameshatton4405 judging by how you write, maybe the mushrooms weren't as helpful as you think....
@@necoji4910 I'm autistic. It's not the mushrooms but thanks for criticism
I used to get these a lot. The lateral eye movement thing is definitely a thing, and the sensation of a zap is something like when you lean your chair too far back and you just barely catch yourself. It was for me, at least. Maybe it's our brains confusing lateral movement and thinking we are falling. Idk. I remember it being distracting but painless and somehow invigorating. Kind of like being shocked. 🤷♂️
hmm, i used to get that feeling quite a bit 'before' i started on antidepressants... weird. i haven't felt that since i started taking them, though.
@edwardvermillion8807 I don't think I ever had them before antidepressants, which I started as a teen with Zoloft. I can cold turkey Prozac with no noticeable side effects, but quitting Zoloft was like putting a 9 volt battery in my head.
I always felt like phasing in and out of existence for 0,25 seconds, each transistion accompanied with an electrical sensation.
It's interesting to see how other people experienced it.
Ah, that description of just barely catching yourself on a chair. I originally described my brain zaps as "like that sensation you get on a rollercoaster when the 'drop' starts, but only in my head". That was reinforced by the 'electric shock' sensations in my feet when walking.
@AthAthanasius that seems to go with my suspicion that we're experiencing a false fall when we're zapped. I bet it's what cats feel when they rotate in mid-air. Or maybe we're just not very well grounded.. in reality or otherwise. I know I'm not. 😅
Yeah I get these when I run out of my medicine. It’s a terrible feeling and makes me super anxious.
Bro you need to stop that stuff. Maryjane is what you need just educate yourself about the strains and effects before you try.
Please please get off that crap the doctor gives you. The doctor wants money not your health
@@TonicofSonicHave you got a medical background, or are you just talking out of your arse?
@@TonicofSonicI agree. These medications are trash
@@TonicofSonic
1. I kept trying to kill myself until I got onto my antidepressant.
2. maryjane makes my anxiety worse, yes Ive tried different strains. its not for everyone.
3. I kept trying to kill myself until I got onto my antidepressant.
4. I haven't paid my doctor a single dollar, and I don't even have to pay the health tax.
5. I kept trying to kill myself until I got onto my antidepressant.
@TonicofSonic I use both. Pretty sure my emotions were paralyzed many years ago.
Localized seizures. Psychology Today had an article a few years ago, and that was the theory, and it was partly based on the fact that SSRIs and SNRIs are not the only drugs that do this. The antibiotic class "fluoruquinolones" also can cause brain zaps, and so can the antibiotic metronidazole and its sister drugs. One thing all have in common is changes in GABA, not serotonin. Fluoroquinolones can damage mitochondria directly; metronidazole causes mitochondrial damage through its destruction of thiamine, both classes causing mitochondria dysfunction that can lead to an accumulation of glutamate, which results in a lowering of GABA, which then leads to a condition called "neuroexcitotoxicity." This can lead to seizures, but usually people experience an over-stimulated central nervous system and, yes, brain zaps. As someone who experienced this with metronidazole, I thought I was dying, and I wouldn't recommend it.
OMG, this is even more interesting than the Sci Show video itself!
i had brain zaps my entire life before trying any type of medication, which i realize now may have been a mild type of seizure. i had the intuition that there is something to do with disturbed GABA levels that is causing this sort of thing. a few years ago, went on a low dose of a benzodiazepine for an anxiety disorder, and it stopped my brain zaps entirely. i dont reccomend that people take benzos, they're dangerous, but after taking benzos i realized that i was probably born with a messed up GABA system. i also was diagnosed with a mild form of autism, and i have read articles about how people with autism have problems with their GABA system, and 30% of people with autism also have seizures, which i think means there is probably something wrong with the GABA/glutamate balance
I got these when quitting an ssri almost two decades ago. Felt like a crazy person trying to describe this feeling. I’m glad it’s more widely acknowledged now
Oh hey. I take venlafaxine. Outside stressors make the zaps worse. And I’m on a pretty high dose. My psych has lowered my dose because it was making me so sick I was throwing up all the time.
Too, zaps are a whole body experience for me. Like I’m being slapped backwards out of my body. I feel like I’m a step behind reality. Like I’m stuck halfway out of clothes just barely too small.
Also, thanks for reminding me to take my meds. I forgot to this morning.
Hey, I have random question (you don't have to answer if you don't want to) - do you get brain zaps only when you get off meds/forgot to take them and are experiencing withdrawal symptoms? Or do you also get them, like, usually? Also, also, I experience this weird thing where my body experiences random jerks, starting from the neck - it looks like a pinched nerve or a mild seizure, but is neither of those things - it seems to be correlated with my autism. I'm wondering if your brain zaps are akin to my "jerks". Again, no need to answer if its too personal or you don't feel like it - I'm just curious :)
You need to go for an EEG if you haven't already... Mine were full body too. I was tapering down from Cymbalta back to Vortioxetine and the brain zaps changed but didn't go away for months.
I'm on epilepsy meds now.
Venlafaxine and Cynbalta/Duloxetine are both SNRIs...
@@DarthJarJar10 oh, I have. I get a regular check once a week. I’m fine, I just feel them different.
@@Karishma_Unspecified it’s also triggered by outside stressors, or intense emotions.
I'm also on venlafaxine! For me it feels like I'm suddenly falling. Like when you're falling asleep and you get that feeling you're falling
As a pharmacist, I can't argue with anything mentioned here! I've also been on escitalopram for many years now, and in those years have tapered and discontinued a few times just to see if the medication was still needed (yes) but have thankfully never dealt with the zaps myself.
We forget emotions are chemicals reactions not the chemicals themselves. And emotions are reasons if still have reason to feel sad slow down process 's
Same thing should be recommended for strattera. I was on it for a period of maybe 10 months in highschool, but it has a similar side effect profile to ssri's, but good gosh there's some physiological effects. Years later i chatted with a psychiatrist about my experience; I said few can tolerate it in experience.
Anyway, I wanted to mention that because I cold turkeyed it over spring break and found a doctor doctor that cares about emotional well-being. That was a weird week and my first run-in with brain zaps.
I wish I just said no to my own doc. Never been the same since Lexapro but it was almost worth it for the dreams.
I'm currently on an MOAI and it's working for me as I have atypical depression. I tried quite a few. One of the anti depressants gave me the brain zaps when I started to go off it.. It's scary!
it takes a while to recover
Yess I have had this happen- quite many times! Scishow viewer with Bipolar 2, I take Escitalopram (SSRI).
I was happy to see upon googling around the first time it happened that brain zaps happen to others, too. As happy as one can be when accidentally running out of antidepressants. I am in agreement with the others who note that fast head movements seem to trigger/worsen it. Hugs to all my fellow neurospicy people ♡
Never really had any other big side effects that really stood out
Titles a video why something causes something ,then opens with, we have no idea what so ever. I love you SciShow never change.
Bump. #FeedTheAlgorithm
Do you also love how they are pushing meds that dont work that also come with horrible side effects???
@@enterpassword3313 Well i do yes. i have been on SSRI's for 8 years now and if i wasn't my depression would have gotten the better of me years ago so yes i do recommend SSRI's over death.
Brain Zaps are such a strange feeling. I use to get these, and I would freak out everytime.
I'm just glad it wasn't a psychic attack or brain aneurism.
@@mikeoxsbigg1or an aneurysm caused by psychic attack
I suffer from schizophrenia and many doctors tried many treatments for me. Now I take venlafaxine and risperidone. Because of olanzapine I gained a lot of weight in a short time, from 60kg to 107kg, and my skin broke. It felt good taking olanzapine and venlafaxine but I had to change to risperidone and venlafaxine. I hate my medication, but life before this treatment was hell. I felt tons of bad side effects when I had to change medication but I don't remember ever having brain zaps. I hope that scientists will discover a new and better treatment in the future with no side effects.
Reading trough comments made me realize that I experienced brain zaps 😂. Weird stuff.
Thanks for sharing! I went from 65kg to 120kg while on olanzapine, and my memories from those years feel eerily dreamlike. I have stretchmarks on my upper arms and stomach from the rapid weight gain.
@@linuslarsson8094 It's hard to look at myself in the mirror and to see haw fat I am now and to see the stretch marks, but It's something that I have to live with. I am lucky to have parents and siblings that love and support me. I wish you the best.
Omg I was on risperidone for tics for a few months and it was awful. The only way I can describe my mindset during that time is... It felt like the meds were looking so hard for psychotic thoughts, but since I didn't have any they assumed that EVERY thought must be symptomatic. So I felt like I was just waiting for my reality to melt away like that one guy who got in a crash and experienced a whole lifetime while laying in the road and the thing that brought him back was a lamp that looked weird. Like, I was just waiting for my lamp to come into my life and I wake up as a 5 year old in the hospital or something. I also lost track of time hardcore, like I'd be standing in the middle of my room like a NPC and suddenly it'd be 10 minutes later. I have almost no memories from that time because I'd be trying to do work and it'd be hours later with nothing done. It didn't even help my tics... But honestly I can see how it works for psychosis! It certainly was looking for unreal ideas!😂
But I also get the weirdest bad side effects that are like super rare too... Like tbh if someone wants to know side effects of something I've taken, they can ask me and I'll be able to list them all. But risperidone made me start losing actual clumps of hair, but that's such a rare side effect that I only found out it was a thing by finding a few academic articles! Also I did get one of the more common side effects... Which comes from risperidone raising prolactin levels... It was embarrassing to say the least.
Tldr; risperidone definitely has an effect, just not the one I needed! I hope all goes well for you bro🫡
I've known folks who were on olanzapine for years, and I swear everyone eventually gains 200lbs and ends up diabetic on that stuff. It works as far as it's purpose goes but holy cow is it a scorched-earth victory. I hope they develop something as useful that doesn't trash people's metabolism in the process.
If you dont mind me asking, what was your life like before the meds and how have they improved your life? I ask because I have a family member who's currently struggling.
Bruh. I remember having these in not just my head but also through my shoulder as well after I stopped Lexapro. I didn't even bother telling a single person about them because I didn't think anyone would believe me about it. SciShow, as always, manages to go above and beyond and try to explain the unexplainable and show me that I'm not alone and there are people trying to figure out even the most obscure and seemingly benign things. Thanks guys.
Venlafaxine is very effective for my depression, but about 8 hours after forgetting a dose, i will get weird sensations in my head and limbs. Almost dizziness but not exactly. I know if i ever want to stop it will be rough, but the benefits were worth it.
Thanks for answering this! As a longtime venlafaxine or Citalopram user I get those those brain zaps when I've forgotten my meds. It's such a strange sensation, like my heart skipped a beat but didn't.
Same on venlafaxine. I stopped cold turkey cause I hated those Zaps. One helluva week later I felt great again. Now I'm on escitalopram and i haven't got any zaps anymore even after forgetting to take them for a whole weekend.
Woah, I’ve had that sensation but I never associated it with missing a dose. Wow, bodies are so weird.
I get it a few hours after a missed a dose. It literally reminds me I forgot
I’m on citalopram. Nothing interesting has happened to me.😞 Except when I was deathly ill, people checking on me not bringing in the mail, bills didn’t get paid, and I forgot I needed a refill. 3 nasty days and someone got the refill. Yay.
Nice talk. However one remark: I had a relatively low dose of an SSRI over twenty years ago. I got brainzapps when discontinuing the medication. After that I tried tapering, but still got the zapps. I ended needing a small dose (about one tenth of a normal dose) to prevent the zapps. Since then I tried several times to stop the medication, but even after month I still get the zapps. Now I gave up and still need the small dose, probably for life. So it is not always the case that the brainzapps are temporary.
They most often do, but may take several months to years to resolve, sometimes more than a decade for drugs like Paxil/Aropax.
I am 3 years into protracted withdrawals, symptoms do get better but new ones come and go all the time and it's a massive roller-coasted of hell.
I stopped the two meds I was at 1/150th and 1/60th the original low doses I was on and there wasn't a moment where I wasn't free of symptoms and my symptoms were so bad I was in emergency at least 5 times due to symptoms of parkinsons, spinal injury, excruciating neuropathic pain, loss of body sensation, stroke etc...
Lol of course your drug dealer will try convince you to take them forever... smh
Why are you commiting to take the thing that caused the problem!?!??! Everyones thinking is so backward on this video
So, I was on Effexor (Venlafaxine) for YEARS, and when I wanted to stop also ran into a wall in terms of going to lowest dosage that could be prescribed (I believe it was 35mg at the time) and still experiencing symptoms in attempted discontinuation of the meds bad enough it would have incapacitated me for work (taking weeks off to try to get through and hopefully past withdrawal was not an option). Brain zaps (which also travelled as electric waves all the way down my body, not just a head feeling), nausea, dizziness, etc, no way I could be on my feet all day like that.
Doctors were of no help. "This is the lowest dosage I can prescribe" was all I got. So i went to forums online to see if anyone else had had this problem and what they did.
I GOT OFF THEM. How? My pills were not solid, but the kind where there are granules inside a casing. So what was suggested on one of the forums, and the ONLY thing that worked for me was to each day open up my pill for that day, and take out one granule more than the day before (i.e. day one- take out one granule, day two- take out two granules, day 3- take out 3 granules). If I started to feel anything, I held that number until I felt steady on that amount and then proceeded to remove more and more granules until I got down to taking out ALL granules but 1 and then going off them completely. It took a few months, but I did it, and I was FINE.
Only method that worked for me, and I am now so very glad to be off them. Personally, I will NEVER use these meds again (for many reasons), especially after experiencing how terrible it is to try to get off them and how little help doctors can be in this matter.
I do not know what you have been on, or if this method could work for you, but I was so very grateful I stumbled upon that suggestion in that forum all those years back. Maybe it can help you too:)
Hope that helps. Good luck!
@enterpassword3313 how do we stop!!!! It's miserable!!
I'm honestly worried more about the other side effects, I stopped taking SSRIs 15 years ago, i just refused to do it anymore. They just made me blank and unfeeling rather than curing or even just helping with the depression. Killed my sex drive which still hasn't returned. And mangled my memory. People herald them as miracle drugs and I'm sitting here absolutely shattered and destroyed wholly by them wondering why.
Right there with you, buddy. Every time I have a new psych they want to try out their fave SSRI/SNRI like "this one is different, I promise!" and it never is. I've never had a brain zap but it is certainly not the only concerning side effect these things can cause.
Very much in the same boat. Though my symptoms come and go constantly and change all the time ever evolving as described by support groups as waves and windows which are considered as normal part of post acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) which is what long lasting withdrawals should be officially known as.
Mine, so far 3 years but I also took 2 years to taper both drugs I was on and I am better relatively speaking but still crippled and unable to work. Was diagnosed with the usual FND because withdrawal syndromes are "officially" recognised.
The sexual side effects are absolutely debilitating. These meds can cause a condition called PSSD and a flip side called PGAD, sounds like you have PSSD. I have both but they always change, slowly getting better though. For some people PSSD/PGAD never resolve :(
The chemical imbalance theory has been debunked about a year ago. Research it. You were right not to take the drugs anymore.
Medications are like 60% placebo anyways so I feel like taking them should be reserved to the most extreme cases.
Histamine is now known to affect mood and energy. Psychiatric drugs with antihistamine profiles like TCAs and anti-psychotics are sometimes used to treat the mental symptoms of immune diseases when Histamine levels might be elevated too much. We did not even know that there were Histamine receptors in the brain until recently.
We’ve known about histamine receptors in the brain for several decades
It has taken ten years for my brain zaps to stop and I still get them every once in a while, usually just as I'm about to fall asleep, leaving me wide awake, so frustrating! I took twice as long to get off Cymbalta as my neurologist recommended and wish I had taken even longer. Gave up on all depression treatments; just focus on holding myself together going on about my life.
I'm free of brain zaps, but I do still occasionally get 'electric shocks' in my finger tips. I got those during the withdrawal (two different medications), but can't be sure *these* shocks don't have another cause now.
Actually, those sleeping disorder brain zaps are apparently called "exploding head syndrome". At least what i can think of. I don't know for sure. I'm not a doctor.
But i get them too, its super rare but scary af.
@@MemplerI just looked it up and I dismissed it when seeing it before because although there are similarities, I don't experience any auditory hallucinations. Just pain and my body jerking.
@@Memplerbut you experience it? The excruciating shock from your head down your body? What is it like for you? Do you hear a noise too?
(Sorry for three separate comments)
Ive gotten brain zaps before sleeping but for years before i started any SSRIs. I dont particularly get them with the antidepressant im taking right now (fluoxetine).
Thank you for talking about these!! I was on such a low dose that my doc didn't advise me to taper, and hooo boy did I get these bad. They were debilitating and I thought I was losing my mind, and I ended up figuring out a tapering regimen based off of articles I read myself in Harvard medical journal (~not~ advisable, I should have asked another doctor). I'm so incredibly thankful to my SSRIs, they saved my life without a doubt, but it was a rough few months to get back to normal not taking them.
If you're reading this and feeling apprehensive about SSRIs, I promise you will be okay. This sounds scary, and it's definitely something to talk to your doctor about, and to be aware of. But life is so, so sweet over on this side.
Well said, I was hesitant to take SSRIs because I'd swallowed a lot of unnecessary concern but they probably saved my life as well and I am very grateful that such medications exist even if they aren't perfect 💜
as a pharmaceutical chemist, i am convinced, in 15-20 years (when we'll finally understand the mechanisms and have effective substances) these drugs won't be on the sidelines like maois are now, but rather viewed in the same way we see cocaine toothache drops now.
right now we're giving a huge number of people medications, whose main action is based on a disproven hypothesis (the monoamine hypothesis you describe in the video is beyond outdated now), permanently change brain chemistry, cause a plethora of sometimes permenent side effects, get people dependent (for many it is impossible to withdraw), because there is an as of yet unknown downstream effect that improves the symptoms of anywhere between 10-30% of people who take them.
the really sad thing is that it's still the best tool we got. at least if you discount psychedelics (preliminary results look good, but with the current data we cannot be sure yet how safe and effective they'd be in widespread clinical use - it's a shame that research here has been halted for decades for legal reasons).
I've had withdraw from SSRI's, I get literally all of the symptoms including brain zaps. Sometimes you think you have refills when you don't, and had to learn the hard way. Lateral movement of my eyes causes the zap, creating a literal sound, like having micro-restarts of my brain. I would have to walk around like The Terminator, being very aware of where I need my vision to go, by moving my head so I wouldn't have to move my eyes. It made me feel like I was a passenger in my own brain, aware of what's going on, being restarted over and over again, headache, lethargic, and nothing to stop it. My whole body tingles, feeling like I'm being stretched. It feels very dream-like.
yes, every brain zap feels like a stutter in processing reality, you have to snap back into it. It's like a micro seizure with a very loud high pitched whine in the ears.
Feeling like I’m being stretched! This is the first time I’ve seen anyone else mention this. I hope more people will talk about that aspect. It’s like my atoms are all being pulled apart. It doesn’t hurt but man is it uncomfortable and just bizarre
I want you all to imagine your brain sneezing while driving -- from personal experience, absolutely terrifying
Oh yeah when driving is the worst!
Ack! Do your hands clench on the wheel, making you swerve?
I instantaneously thought back to the weird af sensations I feel moving my eyes from side to side when coming off serotonin, and then you said it, and I feel so seen right now, it's unreal.
I was on anti-depressants for years, but about 7 years ago I came off my meds because the side effects that were supposed to dissipate didn’t.. and it wasn’t worth taking the meds if if had more issues to deal with that I did before I took them.
But the problem is that some of the side effects have persisted even to this day! They haven’t even become more manageable or lessened at all!
Right after I went off Effexor I started getting overheated very easily and it's never gone away in more than a decade.
I have one permanent side effect from my first time using escitalopram.
Which medication? And which side effects?
@@DudeWhoSaysDeez Escitalopram. I started remembering seeing dreams. At first it was fun because before I only saw a dream a few times a year. But when it escalated to seeing 3 dreams every night it became exhaustive. Also most of the dreams were intense in a way that I would wake up out of breath. I did try other medications but none had as good help and with more, though different, side effects. Decided with my doctor to use another medication to deal with the side effects. It has gone down to dreaming only on most nights and just the one dream. And also not quite so intense. First time using escitalopram was around 2005.
@@DudeWhoSaysDeez Brain fog, tinnitus, genital numbness, brain zaps, severe mood swings, lack of motivation, paranoia, anxiety and forgetfulness.
I cycled through 4 different drugs before settling on Fluoxetine (I think), which simply had the least side effects. Before I started taking meds I was always depressed, but I was able to cope with the symptoms, I was active, still going out, spending time with friends and still able to enjoy life in some small way. But when I went on the meds and all the side effects kicked in I pretty much became a recluse, I felt anxious about going out at all! To the point that I was unemployed for a year because I had become too afraid to go outside… When I eventually went onto Fluoxetine and with the help of my partner, I was able to get my life back on track. But I still felt anxious all the time and unable to actually enjoy myself.. I basically felt nothing almost all the time with bouts either extreme highs or extreme lows.
Now off the meds for so long and I basically still feel nothing most of the time, but when I do feel something it is extreme. Added to all of the other side effects I mentioned above.
The number of SciShow followers on these meds really makes me feel that I’m in the right place!
you are!
No, you are the wrong side of history. You are living in a dystopian hell, these meds are a mistake, your society is very sick
Fascinating. I STOPPED TAKING fluoxetine, "Prozac" a few years ago after being on it for 5 years and my God the brain zapps were crazy! Lasted about 2 weeks. "ZAPP" is an exact and perfect description! Very unpleasant!
I got this and I freaked out when it happened
I got major grief. And than a brain injury. And than idk what happened but i had these. But it went past my brain. It faded over years, but it was a hell of a lot. Heart goes out to anybody experiencing things in there head. ❤
This is me. Same. Lost my Mother, then , a real bad concussion. Seems like epilepsy, just everything short of a grand mal. Hopefully it will go away.
I have brain zaps when I'm just 1-2 hours late for my med. It literally reminds me. It happens when I move my head
Me too.
I never did the anti depressant thing but I have experienced brain zap. this is the first time hearing anything about it. I would get it a few times throughout my life when falling asleep.
looking into things I found hypnagogic jerk but even though it would jerk me back awake It did not seem right to me. Brain Zap on the other hand describes it perfectly.
I have the same thing! No antidepressant use but really recognise the Zap feeling. As if a current runs from one part of my brain to another. Almost always around falling asleep.
I've had brain zaps from SSRI discontinuation syndrome and also get a lot of hypnagogic jerks and I don't find them to be that similar except that both are very jarring. A hypnagogic jerk is like a little burst of anxiety from something like tripping, falling or dropping something. A brain zap feels like a physical thing, like electricity in or brain or like a something slamming through your head. One particularly bad one hit me when I was teaching once. It felt like a big metal bar went through my head from the back, completely wiping my memory. My students were all just staring at me and I only knew that I had been saying something, but not what it was. One of my students got up and put a chair behind me and asked me to sit because she thought I was going to fall over and I nearly cried from confusion and someone being kind to me.
There is another thing though that I don't know a word for ... if I get woken by a faint sound right about the moment of falling asleep, it feels like it runs right through me as a wave of disgust. I used to have a bedside lamp that let off a single, quiet little click as it cooled down, maybe 20 minutes after I turned it off and it ran through my whole body and I felt disgusted and really weirdly like my teeth were about to fall out, like it had damaged all of my bones or something.
Same!
Same here. Have never taken antidepressants, but have had brain zaps. It's not common, and is associated with falling asleep.
For me also. I always thought it was funny to enduce them by being tired in a well-litt room with white walls and then moving my eyes quickly around. They are pretty anoing when I'm sick, because I'm unable to controll them. Never heard of 'brain zapps' before, but the discription is exactly how it feels. I've never been on any medicines.
Kudos to all of us who’ve gone through withdrawal with brain zaps and come out the other side. It’s truly one of the most unpleasant sensations, and half the time we weren’t even believed.
I’m so incredibly grateful for science education channels like this one!
When it got to the part about lateral eye movements, my jaw dropped and I ran upstairs to show my husband and stepdaughter because I can’t believe other people have experienced this too, I feel so validated!
I get brain zaps around 14 hours after I've taken my last dosage. Eye movement/head movement and sloshing around of the inner ear can increase their intensity.
They are so loud I've asked my partner more times then I can count if she could hear them.
I kind of like them. I like sleep peralisis to... So maybe I'm weird.
so great to see something on brain zaps! When I was getting off Effexor I had terrible brain and body zaps. I know to me it felt like all my neurons short circuiting for a second. Massive white noise burst in the head. The body zaps were like rolling shutdown and restart of nerve endings all happening in a micro-second. It took me months to gradually ramp down the dosage and I took prozaic during this time to lesson the withdrawal. But each time we lowered the dosage, no matter how small a decrease, I'd experience some brain/body zaps. oh... side note - I had a friend who took Effexor for a while and had no effects when they stopped.
fun? fact: the maoi diet includes avoiding liver, beans and alcohol. the legendary line from silence of the lambs was hannibal lecter making a joke he wasn’t on maois. a type of joke that would make a lot of sense to a psychiatrist (hannibal lecter’s day job)
That's the best thing I'll see on the Internet all day. So, I'm out! Thank you. I'm freeeee!
@@JLakis glad i could be of service! i need to try that “quit while you’re ahead” thing
Great presentation Hank! I hoped you would have touched on the tetracyclic (TeCA) group of antidepressants, like Mirtazapine a presynaptic alpha 2 adrenoreceptor antagonist unrelated to the SSRI or SNRI groups you focused on. Perhaps review them in a future episode concerning antidepressants?
Brain zaps happen to me even if I only forget to take meds until around noon.. It is such a gross feeling, It feels like a pulse/wave of nausea radiating from my head/eyes. It happens each time I shift my eyes (like look left, then look right, etc.) I take Venlafaxine and Bupropion (it happened before taking bupropion too)
I think it only happened after years of taking Venlafaxine, I don't remember it occurring early on.
Also, it eventually goes away if I take the meds later on (if I missed taking them early)
Wow. For years since stopping the same meds I have had "migraines" and "seizures" that are exactly like what you described. Never hear anyone else describe it that way
Thank you! I hate the brain Zaps, such a weird sensation!
I remember trying to explain the zaps to my doctor as a middle schooler while on Paxil (I was a clinically depressed kid and the medication absolutely did help). This was over 15 years ago and it was so frustrating that no one believed me because it wasn't a recognized side-effect at the time.
I only realized it was the sensation of being shocked/electrocuted after I was shocked by a live wire in highschool!
Thanks for this factual and gentle presentation. Long-time venlafaxine user: The ONE time I ran out 20 years ago, the effects were SO severe, I felt like I wanted to hit my head on the wall and tear off my face. A compassionate pharmacist gave me enough pills to make it through the weekend when my new prescription would be filled. I NEVER LET THAT HAPPEN AGAIN!
Great, I literally started taking an SSRI today... something else to worry about, awesome
Give them a chance. My experience is some nausea for two weeks or so, then things settle down. I know others have worse side effects. Just keep in mind that if you have any reason to stop the medication you shouldn't do it cold turkey, both so as to avoid these withdrawal effects and in case it *was* helping (we can be very bad observers of ourselves at times).
FTR: I've been on all manner of anti-depressants (and other medication) for anxiety and depression, and none of them ever really helped. But I know people who swear by them and would always fight to stay on them. The best thing you can do is find out if they work for you.
Hold on and good luck, I hope these work for you! It gets better.
Take your medication on time as perscribed and you shouldn't have issues.
If you do, at least you now know it's normal and not anything to freak out about when you first experience. Consider it a reminder to take your med. Around 15 minutes later the zaps stop.
Brain zaps sound weird, but they're really just a weird feeling for most people who experience them, not painful or even unpleasant really. Just... weird.
That said, as always, if your meds cause you to feel or act in ways you don't like, reach out to your psychiatrist immediately! There's lots of different options out there and different ways to use each medication.
Best of luck!
I would recommend you stop immediately unless you enjoy feeling numb with zero sex drive.
Tapering strips will be mandatory for all medications that have purported side effects
Yeah, unlikely here in this country. 🙄
OMG I'm so happy to watch this. THANK YOU FOR COVERING THIS TOPIC!!
OMG, I found a current SciShow video with Hank Green...amazing!
I've experienced the brain zaps a number of times when I was tapering off Venlafaxine. I know this is anecdotal and I could be falling prey to the placebo effect, but I was able to minimize the side effects and taper off rather quickly by supplementing with 5-HTP after having read studies on how it affects serotonin levels. I'd very much like to see if this is something that could be replicated, as there's a possibility that it could help people taper off their antidepressants faster and with far fewer side effects.
I had brain zaps when I went off my bc pills. It was super weird. For me it was like passing out momentarily.
I am in the tapering process now! I’m already anticipating the brain buzzes. They are no fun. This is inspiring me to do a little more research to see what people are doing to alleviate symptoms.
I was told that I was making this symptom up when I decided to dc my SSRI. My Dr totally gas-lit me and flat out told me I was making up the problems I was having with this class of medication.
My venlafaxine dose was dropped slowly from 225mg to 75mg. After the drop there's couple really bad days with side effects including brain zaps.
Venlefaxine has a short half life so the side effects can be pretty intense
Thank you! This has been bugging me for years!
It's so great to see zaps being openly acknowledged and discussed now. When I first got them from paxil withdrawal in 2000 there was no help
FINALLY. I've struggled with this SO many times before, I'm glad you finally made a vid about it.
Not only do I get brain zaps but I also get really dissociative when im in withdrawal. I've run through the gambit of different antidepressants and sertraline is one that's always worked.
Brain zaps happened to me when I stop self medicating with Weed. I had horrible mood swings, became tremendously anxious. I play the guitar and the brain zaps started when I tried to relearn some old songs I knew but they had never happened before
I'm having these right now, trying to come off of Sertraline. I've had them for over 3 weeks now. Weird timing..
This will still take a while. But they suddenly stop, like literally.
They wont get better only worse but then suddenly just stop.
It still wont hurt and will still be a minor inconvenience, still annoying lol
That's my experience.
glad to see a video on brain zaps from y’all! personally it’s what holds me back from going back on antidepressants (probably not always the best decision, but they really were /horrible/). mine were also able to be triggered by lateral eye or head movement- and i also had a spike in icepick headaches as a side effect (about one or more an hour, also awful).
I take an SNRI daily and it seriously changed my life. Taking medicine and going to therapy allows me to live a "normal" life, and I'm so grateful I have access to both.
The brain zaps are the worst!! Thanks for talking about it
Hey, I have random question (you don't have to answer if you don't want to) - do you get brain zaps only when you get off meds/forgot to take them and are experiencing withdrawal symptoms? Or do you also get them, like, usually? Also, also, I experience this weird thing where my body experiences random jerks, starting from the neck - it looks like a pinched nerve or a mild seizure, but is neither of those things - it seems to be correlated with my autism. I'm wondering if your brain zaps are akin to my "jerks". Again, no need to answer if its too personal or you don't feel like it - I'm just curious :)
You are not alone.
I wouldn't have described it as zaps, but if I miss a day of my Venlafaxine I can hear a swishing sound when my eyes move. Really uncomfortable.
It seems your not the only one! This is so interesting because I'm a pharmacist and I literally had never heard about this until now. Good real life counseling point that I can bring up thanks to this comment section. 😊
@@Hexsyn At least it's a good reminder if I forget to take it!
@@acdchook who needs a phone alarm reminder when you have loudly swishing eyeballs? XD
Not everyone gets the actual zaps. You probably had other withdrawal symptoms, but not zaps or I guarantee you’d describe it as zaps.
Thank you! "Brain zaps" is exactly how I tried to explain this to my doctor. Never knew this was a thing before now.
Although I have never taken antidepressants, brain zaps is a good description of something I have experienced my whole life. For me it’s a very short buzz that sometimes feels like it flashes from the front to the back of my head occasionally I feel like there is a very slight jerk at the same time.
Mine happen when I start to doze off before I’m actually asleep-asleep. It feels like I’m in a falling dream and I have hit the ground and made impact-WHAM! ZAP! Punch the wall on accident! Smack yourself on accident! So annoying 😂
best comment describing it for me! its annoying but also kinda scary since those short zaps always came in short periods which leaves me anxious..
also not antidepr meds triggering this for me in my case its not prescriped meds
@@SirkyNL not a prescribed med..? So you just GET brain shivers for no reason?!
@@thisischris5351 Saturday night meds yk
THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO. for years my psychiatrist has dismissed this symptom I get and invalidated my experience.
You can assist with the research! Communicate what is going on in detail with your primary care provider. And if you want to go any extra steps, ask them if anyone is looking for study volunteers relative to your medical conditions or treatment plans.
"All roads lead to tuberculosis."
...John write for this episode?
Nah they are actually just the same person in disguise the whole time.
So I was not crazy.. had zaps for about a year long after stopping (cold turkey) with anti depressants.
Also ended up with a nasty case of tinnitus in both ears.
This all happend over 20 years ago.
Did it get any better? I also got tinnitus 3 weeks ago, on the left ear high pitched.
Have you tried other things? AFAIK the cilia are fine; it’s the nerves after the cochlea that are ‘stuck’.
@@euden_yt The tinnitus stays more or less the same over the years. Except when tired.
I use an ipod with music or pink noise to fall asleep.
During the day it is ok most of the time.
Things like this always scared me so much from taking meds. I also had a very bad experience as a child when I got diagnosed with adhd. They gave me a really high dose of Ritalin. I was tripping so hard at school, my teachers faces would grow and strink as I watched them. Like their entire bodies blew up like balloons and then slowly deflated. I've also watched my family members get worse while their doctors tried to find them the right cocktail of meds to help them. I think we all need to look at talk therapy again because the depression I get is from feeling disconnected. I've worked with my emotional guide (therapist) it's helped me recognize what the real issue was and help get on the right track. Because your brain does the thinking about the bad whether you have the happy drugs or not. Meds with therapy, I hope does help those who can handle it. I also hope doctors take a closer look at the system as well to make sure we don't lose people anymore because of the overwhelming of things like 'take this drug to fix all your problems'
Sorry express my opinion, thank you for listening. I send all the good vibes to people that are going through the deep sadg. I hope y'all have an amazing day. 🥺✨
I take duloxetine for diabetic nerve pain. Brain zaps were an unpleasant surprise when my insurance was slow one time in covering a renewal of that prescription right when I was also starting a new blood pressure medication. I wasn't sure which caused the zaps until another slow renewal occurred and so did they. I did a LOT of googling trying to describe what was happening and I've got to say, "brain zaps" is truly the right name! I've tried explaining it to people as "vertigo without the vertigo" -- sudden flash of nausea, an internal lurch, and a feeling/sound like my brain was on a recoiling spring, but no sensation of myself falling or the world spinning around me. So weird!
Fortunately, the insurance issue has been cleared up (and my own fear of more zaps keeps me on top of my renewals 😅).
I had an insurance issue once with betablockers. I called Walgreens and my hospital, gave them the contact number for my insurance and had my prescription within an hour.
LOL SO THAT WAS WHAT I HAD
I used to take paroxetine , took it for a few years, maybe around 5 years, and then one day I decided to stop taking it because I didn't want to take them all my life.
It took me a 1-2 weeks to get over them, though I did it unsupervised which I don't recommend. I just took the pill once a day, then once 2 days and so on.
My side effects were insomnia, the feeling of not being alone in the room and those zaps with the electric shock sound that appeared every time I was almost falling asleep.
The first time I got really panicked, then I was getting used to the zaps.
It exactly felt like an electric shock but in the brain and also the electric zap sound in my head that would just wake me up EXACTLY when i was falling asleep but the sound didn't come from outside my head, but from inside my head, idk how to explain it, it wasn't like hearing something in the same room with you but instead hearing something INSIDE your head, If I would to point it out it would be somewhere around the area where your brain connects to the spinal cord and the sound goes outwards from that area in my case but instantly, and it would wake me up.
The worse part is that It was happening EXACTLY when I was falling asleep for like 10-20 times in a row every time it would bring me back to consciousness
Its been 1-2 years since I've quit it and now I feel better though I think I still get those electric shocks really rarely, I think it happened like 5 times in the last 2 years, don't remember the last time, but it was a while ago.
Now I'm overall fine, I sleep better, I'm in a better mood, though still a little bit more depressed than before but overall I feel better than before mostly because I sleep better.
But for sure it was a really weird experience. Luckily I started to get better over the first week and I was fine after the 2 week mark or else I would have gone to a professional.
Those aren't the zaps. I've expierneced antidepressants zaps. You had exploding head syndrome. I've experienced that too and they're both very different. Brain zaps are nothing compared to the intensity.
@@Erin-000 a lol yea, after searching it online it sounds more similar to that one.
Thanks for info!
The discounting symptoms, flu like, brain zaps, sweating in bed, nightmares. Honestly for me quitting heroin was easier
Always appreciate the fun facts from SciShow and I was so excited to see this one come up! While I was weaning off of my Cymbalta recently, I joked about my zaps feeling like “brain lag” - which honestly feels right considering how important to general processing/mood those now-less-rampant chemicals are. I’d often get them when performing more intensive/focused tasks or when I’d move or turn too quickly; felt like I couldn’t keep up! 😅The best way I would describe the feeling to anyone who hasn’t experienced it is to think about the sound of wind and the slight vibration in your head when you yawn. That, coupled with the mentioned dull shock. SO WEIRD!
Starting an antidepressant 21 years ago at 51 yoa, I've never even tried to go off completely. Tried tapering but even after only 3 days of that my symptoms were noticeable to me and I'm not EVER going to that black hole again. I've been in various meds or combos but the combo I'm on now for about 4 years, is what you called, The Goldilocks. Thank you as this has been one of the better explanations of antidepressants and their effect on the brain.
Uh, What is it if you don't take those medications but get brain zaps anyway?
Does it usually happen when falling asleep or waking up? If so, maybe (the very evocatively named)"Exploding Head Syndrome"?
@@linuslarsson8094now that i think about it, brain zaps feel similar to that what you described given that everyone has experienced those "exploding head syndrome" thingy...
Who named that ? Its not even a dangerous disease, yet sounds harmful.
@@Mempleri think a minority of people have experienced that
@@flipsterfloppa9065 Maybe, or you don't remember. Until just now, i didn't remember it either lol, it comes and goes and is really rare.
once or twice per year for me
Possibly a myoclonic seizure.
I can't take even one of these pills. Within 45 minutes or so I have a very violent, rage filled reaction to them.
Thank you for acknowledging withdrawal symptoms for antidepressants are a thing. When I stopped mine and suffered severe nausea and lightheadedness, none of the doctors I went to believed me. They just thought I was crazy and depressed and told me to get back on my medication. Funny thing is, I was never even diagnosed with depression in the first place, and yet that psychiatrist just told me to take them. To this day, I still have noticeable symptoms and it's been 1.5 years!
I'm so glad I saw this video today! It has given me an answer to what has been a terrifying ongoing experience randomly over the years. I didn't even realize it was related to me missing doses of my Cymbalta (SNRI) but it totally makes sense now. The way I experience the brain zaps is usually when lying down or sitting and then suddenly for a split second I will have this feeling like I've completely disconnected from my brain and its oddly somewhat painful and sometimes accompanied by that feeling of failing, like when you're going to sleep and suddenly you're jerked awake by the sensation of falling, like that. Also if my eyes are open at the time the zap occurs, such as laying down watching a TH-cam video, my vision goes out too during the split second of the brain disconnecting zap. The hardest part to explain is the pain that is associated with it. It isn't severe but its unsettling. It somehow reinforces the feeling that I'm being cut off from my own brain.
So far the worst experience I've had with the brain zaps was one night laying down watching Hermitcraft and suddenly I had 3 brain zaps right in a row. Never had that happen before.
Now that I know what the cause is I'm going to make sure I don't miss any doses or take them late.
Thank you very much for making this video! ❤
I don't need my anti-depressant, venlaflaxine, anymore.. my original issues have been resolved, and i have learned lots of coping skills with dbt and cbt . But I CANNOT stop taking it because the withdrawal is unbearable. Brain zaps, dizziness, everything moving in slow motion, nausea, lethargy. My doctor has started the weening process with me, so I hope this works.
It took me two years to get off of Lexapro for trichotillomania and when I got entirely off of it my problem came back heh. I just took a low dose every time the zaps started. I hope you get off of it soon and safely!
Ask them to put you on Prozac and then wean off that. I couldn't handle the effexor withdrawal alone, but the Prozac helped
I could do nothing but lay on the couch and missed 3 days of work when I got off venlafaxine. I had such bad side effects from being on it, but getting off of it was absolutely hell. I still get the brain zaps and it's been a couple years now. I'm on Prozac now, which seems to be a better fit for me. I don't blame you for staying on it if your body tolerates it.
My friend used cannabis to help with withdrawal, could be worth looking into especially now that the govt finally decided it's not actually harmful