Help! Having severe brain zaps!

[Petar]

I think I was given them before I even knew what depression was. I was probably 10 maybe when I was prescribed zoloft. I've also been on prozac, paxil, viibryd, etc. I've never been on any of them for very long, much to the chagrin of my parents. The sexual side effects were always intolerable to me, especially as a teenage boy. The longest I've stayed on any of them was wellbutrin, since it didn't have that problem.

I've been on clonazepam since 2005. I have to take 4mgs a day for it to work. I've tryed to taper off of it once, but the timing is bad. I was and still am going through some stressful shit with my family. I've just been in hell since 2011 when my dad died from cancer. My mom has a fiance and I hate him. My oldest sister has gone crazy. I really wouldn't mind if I just dropped dead.

Sounds pretty rough.

Maybe you should work on getting far away from your mom and her apparently shitty fiancé.

I think that life gets better as you develop a more positive routine.

I don't even think that meditation is really necessary.

I find that video games kind of keep me from going crazy at times.

 

[brandon]

I"ve been having stupid brain zaps for the past week and I don't even take medicine. I can't make any sense of it. Not fun though.

 

[MelissaWV]

I"ve been having stupid brain zaps for the past week and I don't even take medicine. I can't make any sense of it. Not fun though.

If you truly mean brain zaps in the sense we're discussing (a sense of electricity or "insects on/under the skin," usually travelling around a given area of the scalp) then there are some basic possibilities, as I mentioned earlier. If you are experiencing other symptoms that disrupt your life, you will want to consider tests to rule out multiple sclerosis. It is a notorious cause of brain zaps, but certainly not the only one. High blood sugar can do it. Head trauma (specifically repeated) can cause it. Nerve damage from lacerations, burns, or other injuries can cause it. The list goes on and on. Just keep track of things and ask yourself whether it's just annoying, or has a negative effect on your daily life.

 

[brandon]

Thanks, Yeah I have a few theories as to my issue. My "brain zaps" are more like a quick rush of lightheadedness that last a second or two and feels like a jolt of energy to my head, and is followed by a ton of anxiety. Not sure if that is the same thing as the SSRI brain zaps.

I don't really suspect MS. I have a long standing anxiety disorder that presents with all kinds of wacky symptoms at different points in time, so that's my primary suspect. I also drank a shitload of alcohol last weekend so I may have thrown my brain chemistry a bit extra out of whack.

Anyway, I'm feeling a bit better today, so I'm trying not to worry too much.

 

[kcchiefs6465]

Clonazepam is one of the most evil drugs I've come across.

I took them for about a week and when I stopped I had an anxiety attack so bad I wanted to jump out of an eighth story window. I spent the night holding onto a chair, shaking, with a heart rate of probably 180 beats a minute.

I would bet that that is what is causing the brain zaps. I would sooner take Vioxx before I take another Clonazepam.