I feel really bad. I had a restless night. I kept wake/sleep thinking I needed to get up and check my blood pressure or something. I can’t tolerate much more of these brain and spine zaps. I don’t know what’s going on with my meds. They want me to stay this way for another three weeks before they do anymore changes. Fu*k them. I hate everything. I keep looking for a silver lining. I keep praying for a light at the end of the tunnel but all there is is more tunnel.
Leaf, what’s your experience with antidepressants? Brain zaps can be a sign of low serotonin - they can be awful for someone coming off of ADs.
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I’m coming off 200mg of Zoloft cold turkey
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That’s really tough. Your doctors can’t think of anything to ease the transition for you?
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what can they do? what are the options? do you know?
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They can titrate you off them slowly. 200mg one week, 150 mg the next week, 100mg the following week and so on. You know @Leaf.
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They can also sometimes put you on a low dose of a different AD to cushion the fall, and then take you slowly off of that.
I know in your case they probably felt that getting you off Zoloft as quickly as possible was most important, but ask if there is some way to make this gentler. Feeling like you’re being electrocuted throughout the day is brutal.
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oh my god these brain zaps are like torture. I want to crawl in a hole and die. Will it ever end? They are getting me in on an emergency basis IN TWO DAYS a-holes. What the hell kind of emergency basis is two days? Fuc*ers. My brain could be fried in two days. It’s funny though, I can think very clearly, but the sensation is just awful. It’s like having a bad flu without the snot. Hot/cold zap, hot/cold zap. Please let there be a God and let him bless me with relief.
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sorry for talking about God, I hope no one was triggered
Hollering for God is a fervent wish for change. Who else can help. A band aid isn’t going to help.
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I’m so sorry. My brain zaps were torture when I stopped amitriptyline, and that was with a slow titration. Magnesium supplements and Gatorade helped a little bit. Just don’t overdo the magnesium or else it will give you diarrhea. If they become too awful, you can always go to the hospital again. Sadly, two days is a quick response time for most pdocs.
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It also helped when my husband would lie with me and rub my back until I fell asleep. It kept my focus on his hands and off the zaps. I don’t know if your husband has time for that or not, but it definitely can help.
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Brain zaps are sometimes a sign of Vitamin B-12 deficiency. May be worth getting a B-100 complex pill to cover that base.
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