Stopping Antidepressant Makes Brain Shiver

When I read the description of "brain shivers" in this column I was elated to give this feeling an accurate name. I too have suffered from these brain shivers that started about six months after I switched from Paxil to Effexor and had a partial historectomy. They began a few days after surgery and were attributed to an after-effect of the anethestic. However they persisted and became routine with my monthly cycle.

I went to many doctors and neurologists who wanted to do a battery of tests, yet NONE connected it to the Effexor. My doctor even upped my dose from 150mg to 225mgs per day. (I am 53 and weigh 135) I realized that if I didn't take it at the exact same time every day or forgot it, I went into this "brain shiver" withdrawal.
I'm still not sure how my hormones came into play here. But I recently changed to Lexepro (via my own research and request) and have not suffered the brain shivers so far. I will continue to be my own health advocate, and continue to read your articles as part of that process.

Please check with your doctor to see if you can receive small doses of an anti-anxiety drug like Xanax or Ativan while you are stepping down the dose. Some people have reported success with this method. I recently switched from Effexor to Cymbalta, stepping down the Effexor over a two week period from 150mg to 37.5, then stopping altogether. My psychiatrist even said I could break open a capsule of Effexor (not usually recommended) and take an even smaller dose if I needed to. He cited an unusual situation of a woman who could not take solids and just opened the capsule and sprinkled it on her tongue to take her daily dose.

People who take AD drugs refer to the "brain shivers" as "brain zaps" which seems more accurate. Please consult your doctor for more help with your symptoms, you should not need to suffer unecessarily. Hang in there!

I have been put on several anti depressants for various reasons (Effexor for fibromyalgia). I never had any trouble stopping them but after knee replacement surgery I was on narcotics for 7 months. I did feel the skin sensation of crawling across my shoulders for a day but two days on anti-anxiety medication ( Xanax) took care of that. I hope this can help someone else who is having withdrawal troubles from Vicodin.

I was given Cymbalta along with another drug to help with chronic headaches. It did not help HA but caused stomach problems, so I quit taking it after 3+ months of usage. I then opened the capsule of Cymbalta and mixed some with applesauce and slowly decreased the amount I took each day. I believe I took it for a week or more decreasing the amount of granules in the applesauce daily. I did not have any problems. Hope this will help someone!!

HOW TO STOP THE BRAIN SHIVERS:

Go to your local GNC or Whole Foods store and buy some Omega 3 fish oil capsules. I can't remember who makes the ones that worked the best, but it was Omega 3, and it was called EPA EXTRA. The important thing is to get an omega 3 with MORE THAN 500mg of EPA per dose. I took the EPA EXTRA with 800mg and the brain shivers went away almost immediately. They just recently came back, so I got some more, but in any case this stuff is great for lots of things--it just improves general brain function and should help ASAP. The stuff is kind of pricey for a vitamin supplement at 20-30 dollars a bottle, but SO, SO WORTH IT!!! Good luck, this stuff sucks but you'll be all right.

I was reduced from 90mg to 60mg of Cymbalta. I started this AD when I had been off Paxil for about 1 year. I knew about AD withdrawal because it took me 6 months to get off of Paxil. I repeatedly asked my perscriber about the addiction level of Cymbalta. She reasured me that the withdrawal would not be anywhere near as bad as the Paxil.

Wow, how wrong the information that Lilly puts out is. I was sick, brain shivers, dizzy, short tempered, headaches, yawning, restlessness, not able to sleep, skin crawling. I did not realize what was happening to me. When I did I was so crazy that I took the 30mgs that my body wanted and understand why addicts do not want off the drugs.

What do I do now? I want to sue Lilly for not being truthful about the withdrawal. I am scared to death to miss a dose. These ADs are great when you need them but they are useless if you want to kill yourself when you are withdrawing.

Was on Celexa (Citalopram 20mg) for about 6 mos. (was devestated, as my sister was dying from pancreatic cancer). I just recently decided to stop gradually & then cold turkey (my sister died 3 months ago). Whenever I move fast, or read, my head feels these weird pulses. It is scary.

I am so angry that I was not told this would happen to me. I just wanted something to get through the devestating experience of my lovely sister dying. Now, even though I grieved more b/f she died, I am still grieving (not depressed) but, on top of that I have to try to deal with these brain chills.

I never, never would have agreed to take these if I knew that I would have to go through this awful uncomfortableness. Pissed is putting it mildly. Do not ever, unless you are really, really in bad shape, agree to start taking anti-depressants!!!!!

Wow, I thought I was literally going crazy from these "brain shivers/zaps". I've been so incredibly uncomfortable the last couple of days I have wanted to lock my head in a vice. I am attempting to stop taking Cymbalta because I hate it so much, it makes me sick to my stomach and if I miss 1 dose only, I get these shivers/zaps. I can't even see straight or hardly drive they are so bad. I will absolutely try the omega 3 suggestion as well as another suggestion of taking just 1 prozac. I tried taking xanax, but it didnt help. Thanks for this website!

My experience: I went from 75mg Zoloft to fifty then to nothing. For several days I was fine, then I felt I was losing it. Totally irritable, very dizzy - had to lie down often, and the worst was what I now see people calling "brain shivers". For me it was like the sound of a race car in my head coming from a far, approaching quickly, and then zooming by - but all inside my head - very scary - really feels like your brain chemistry is flipping out. I couldn't stand it and went back on the meds, but only to 50mg. My plan is to reduce to 25mg for a long while and then try again from there. It is at least some comfort to not be alone in this - though I wouldn't wish this experience on anyone.

Thank you for this article and the informative comments. I'm withdrawing from Paxil (regular, not CR). I was on 20mg. With a pill splitter I was able to reduce my dose to 15mg for several weeks, then 10mg for several months. Just went down to 5mg the other day, and the brain shivers returned. I have experienced them at every step down, BUT since I'm going so slowly and since I know what they are and why I am having them, they are tolerable. My advice is to withdraw as SLOWLY as possible. When it's all said and done, it will probably have taken me 5 months or more to go from 20mg to zero.

I'm not angry at Paxil, it was very helpful to me when I needed it and worked well. I just wish there was more info out there about how you should stop very slowly, and start slowly too for that matter. When my doc prescribed 20mg for me, I instead started at 10mg for several weeks before moving up to 20mg.

This info should be coming from doctors, not being learned on the internet.

I'M SO GLAD TO SEE SOO MANY BLOGS AND DIFFERENT WEBSITES THAT YOU CAN GO TO AND FIND JUST ABOUT ANYTHING. I WAS ON ZOLOFT FOR ABOUT 8 MNTHS. STOPPED COLD TURKEY. A WEEK AFTER STOPPING, I NOTICED SOMETHING WAS WRONG. THE ONLY WAY I COULD DESCRIBE TO MY WIFE WHAT I WAS EXPERIENCING WAS THAT THESE LITTLE SHIMMERS FEEL LIKE THEY COME AND GO IN LITTLE WHISPF, WHISPF TYPE SOUNDS INSIDE MY EARS AND HEAD. VERY QUICKLY. LIKE SOMEONE FANNED THEIR HAND PAST YOUR EAR VERY CLOSE BUT NOT CLOSE ENOUGH TO TOUCH IT. I STILL HAVE THEM, IT SEEMS THAT MINE COME MORE OFTEN WHEN MOVING MY EYES AND IN A QUIET SETTING. BY THE WAY ZOLOFT DOESN'T EVEN WORK, NOT EVEN AT THE HIGHEST DOSE! BOOOO TO THE SIDE EFECTS TOO... ALL FOR NOTHING!!

I had been taking 120 mgs of Cymbalta for almost 2 years when I began to have symptoms of very stiff muscles, irritable, aching all over but especially at the base of my head and behind my ears. I suspected the dose of Cymbalta was much too high.

From the tapering off of the medication to the withdrawal I feel like I have been to hell. It has been 2 1/2 months since I have been totally off and I am still very fragil. My psychiatrist says this just doesn't happen. I am glad that I read the boards and know that it really does. Hopefully, one day I will be a whole again. Any success stories out there?

I've spent the past month going off of Lexapro, 1/4 of a dose a week. My last day was Friday, and I started to get the brain zaps on Monday. I remember them from last time I went off Lexapro, and I lived, so I guess I will this time too. I am going to try the Omega 3 though, can't hurt. I don't want to start Lexapro ever again, gained too much weight on it anyway.

I want to thank every one on this site for responding and giving ideas about the brain shivers. I have been on Paxil for about 4 years and I just found out from my doctor what some of side effects are... for one, In the last 4 years I have gained 75 lbs and couldn’t figure out why. So I told the doctor that I wanted to get off of the Paxil… My doctor told me just how to get off of it. I followed his instructions and then the brain shivers began. Not even knowing what to call them I went back to my doctor and tried to describe to him what I was feeling. I’m now going in to get a CT scan on Friday to see if there’s anything wrong with my head.

I just got home from work and my boyfriend tells me he looked up Paxil and found this site. I am so glad that I know how to describe what is going on in my head to my doctor … Tomorrow I will be calling him and telling him what I found out from this site. I also want to know if there is or will be a class action law suit for people like us that have had these horrible brain shivers… I will try the omega 3 and see if this helps. I am still wondering if I don’t take omega 3 or If it doesn’t help how long will they actually last. I can’t go on my whole life feeling like this. It sucks and all I want to do is cry. Even reading all of your comments makes me just want to cry because this medication has been in my body for 4 years now and I'm really scared!

Thanks again every one …

Hi Folks,

OK, here is some info that may/not make you feel better.

Being on any AD that is an SSRI (Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) has about a 60/40 chance of being difficult.

A number of websites exist that explain how to taper down. *HINT* Most Dr's, PA's, Nurses do -not- believe anything but what the Manf. provides or tells them.

Most people can cut their dose by 25-50% with no problems, brain zaps, etc.
If you do this, you want to stay at this level for at least 3 weeks.
Once you've stabilized, you can then start reducing 5-10% every 2 weeks.
If you go to fast and get some withdrawal effects, you can take a fraction of a dose to get you to your previous level.
Stay at the previous level for another 2 weeks, and then try cutting down by a smaller amount.

AS YOU GET TO THE LOWER DOSAGES, start lower your % reduction, ie. if you were cutting 10% every 2 weeks at 20mg/day, then at 10mg/day, cut dose by 5%/day.

People!
Most AD's now prescribed affect Serotonin Reuptake.
Basically, they act like a drain block, not allowing the serotonin to drain from the inter-neuronal space as quickly.

As you lower your AD dose, you effectively are -unblocking- the drain bit by bit.

This allows more serotonin to escape more quickly from the interneuronal space, IE. closer to 'normal', pre-A/D state.

However, our brains are a staggering amount of pathways, conduits, bio-feedback mechanisms, and cascading triggers that operate with a certain balance.
Your brain adapted to the start of A/D over the course of several weeks or months.

Going the reverse, is simply something that will take more than a week or a month for most people.

Some people can quit with no side affects.
Most people can quit with a tapering regimen as above with a month or two with minimal side affects.
A good 20-40% need longer.

Work with your doctor.
See if you can get a compounding scrip or a liquid vesion for more accurate dosing.

www.paxilprogress.org is one a several good sites to check.

I took lexapro for 2 years and went off of it March, 2006. I tapered SLOWLY, slowly, but still had the brain zaps. They were horrible and lasted for well over a month and then slowly diminished. I have been terrified to try another antidepressant after that, but am not doing well. My doctor has prescribed Pristiq and said there are very few side effects, but after learning it is an active metabolite of effexor, I am very concerned about starting it. Any thoughts/experiences?

PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: MARY, WE HAVE NOT YET HEARD FROM OTHERS WHO HAVE DISCONTINUED PRISTIQ, SO WE DON'T KNOW IF IT WILL PROVOKE SIMILAR REACTIONS AS EFFEXOR. PERHAPS OTHER VISITORS CAN TELL YOU OF THEIR EXPERIENCE.

I was on 60mg of Cymbalta for 2-3 years. It worked ok, but I still experienced down moods, anxiety, and racing thoughts. Eventually through persistence on my part, I was diagnosed w/ bipolar. I found a good psychiatrist who put me on Lamital, ramping me up from 25mg to 150mg over several weeks. I love this drug (so far), as I feel like me again for the first in decades.

Three weeks ago, my doctor decided it was time to wean me off the Cymbalta since I was having such a good reaction to the Lamital. He prescribed a 60mg-30mg alternating schedule. It has been pure HELL. Brain shocks/zaps, sadness, weepiness, short temper, all the things mentioned here already.

While I will be seeing him again soon, I have decided to change the dose to 60mg - ~45mg by splitting one of the 30mg capsules and mixing it into applesauce. This is my first night doing this, but so far, it seems to be helping. I'm edgy, but not as bad as I have been. The brain zaps are almost non-existent. Last night, I found that I felt almost normal after I had had a hot shower, but a person can only take so many of those. :)

I am also so angry to not have been told upfront what the withdrawal was like. I experienced a similar thing with paxil, but ramping down was a lot easier and the withdrawal symptoms not nearly as bad.

If there is a way to stop Eli Lilly from continuing to market this drug without fully disclosing the withdrawal effects, I want to be part of it. I can't work, I can't focus, and I can barely get out of bed in the morning. I started going to bed really early just to escape the awful emotional and physical feelings.

I wish everyone here the best of luck w/ each of your experiences and may we all be free of this hell soon.

Its been 6 days off paxil and i still have these brain zaps i took 40mg for 3 years and i am going cold turkey because to taper off you are just going back to square 1 i hope these brain zaps go away soon good luck to everyone that has been tricked by their docs

It is nice to know that I am not alone. My husband thinks that I am faking the symptoms of moodiness, "brain zaps', sadness ,short tempered you name I feel it.

Thank you so much for having this information available! I was looking on the internet to see if anyone had the same symptoms I am experiencing and found what is called "brain shivers" when I looked up Paxil. I about cried with relief! I had been thinking that I had a brain tumor or something more serious. My husband thought I was going to have a stroke. "Brain Shivers" is exactly what I have been experiencing! And they are horrible!

I have been on Paxil 10 mg. for about one year. I recently missed three doses because I couldn't keep anything down (flu). I started getting these awful symptoms and they haven't gone away. Prior to starting Paxil I was on Prozac for 20 years. I started taking Prozac for depression and then found out it helped my migraines. I could regulate the Prozac but I never had this type of withdrawal symptoms. They are almost unbearable.

These terrible shock like brain waves along with feeling like I am in a fog and can't concentrate, I was very worried. How do you try to explain what you are feeling to a doctor? Last time I felt these symptoms (must have missed a dose or two) I was sent for an MRI and all kinds of heart tests. Everything came back normal. That's great, yet, nothing was found as to why feeling the way I was. I don't believe regular doctors- not mental health doctors, know what antidepressant withdrawals are about. I am going to print off information about brain shivers and take it to my doctor.

I am so relieved to read that I am not likely going to die even though I feel like it. I am now convinced that I am going to get off Paxil for good! Thanks again for the information.

I just took myself off Celexa over the last month, though I am still on Wellbutrin. On Tuesday I got extremely dizzy, nauseous sweating and felt like passing out. Now on Friday the nausea has passed but I still have the dizziness. I did not tell my doctor I was going to do this. Even with these symptoms it seems worth it because life seems so much clearer than a month ago.

What about non prescription alternatives for depression? Anyone tried any, and with success?

I'm not sure if this is a result of taking Cymbalta or something else. I have been on Cymbalta for about 2 yrs. for both depression and pain control.
I get "electric shocks" through my head. They only last a millisecond and are unpredictable as for frequency and intensity. I've spoken with three Dr.'s about this; two said they never heard of such a thing and the third, (a psychiatrist) said he has heard of it but has no idea what it is or what causes it.
HAS ANYONE EVER HAD SUCH AN EXPERIENCE? And what the heck causes it?

PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: WE HAVE MOSTLY HEARD OF THIS SENSATION WHEN SOMEONE IS WITHDRAWING FROM AN ANTIDEPRESSANT LIKE CYMBALTA OR PAXIL.

Hello! finally I know what this sensation is! I am on 30mg of citalopram a day. but I have been experiencing these 'brain shivers'. I didn't connect the two things.. but the shivers come when I miss a dose! The shivers happen all day periodically, and are generally mild but annoying. The worst happens when I'm drifting off to sleep.. I get an overpowering throbbing sound in my head that gets louder if I try to stay sleeping until I can't take it anymore and force myself to wake!

I've been on Cymbalta for 5 years, taking 60 mgs. I've gained a lot of weight and my Dr. told me that he's rather see me on Wellbutrin instead. I've been hospitalized 1x for 7 days the last time I tried to stop on my own cold turkey. I was a mess. I was throwing up, shaky, dizzy, had brain shivers, crying constantly..etc.

So, this time, he decided to lower my dose to 30 mgs of Cymbalta AND start adding 100mg of Wellbutrin. The first couple days I had brain shivers, but I got used to the 30 mgs of Cymbalta and 100mgs of Wellbutrin. I did this for 20 days..and 4 days ago, I went completely OFF cymbalta and only on 100mg of Wellbutrin.

I'm in hell. I had thoughts of suicide last night, was shaky, I couldn't sleep and when I did I woke up completely wet from sweating all night, my brain shivers are God awful..to the point where I don't want to drive..I cried this morning because I was out of coffee. I called My Dr. and he told me that I'll feel better soon. When?!?!? I feel like a looney toon and I need to be in a psychiatric ward getting treatment.

All I want is a Cymbalta to take these feelings away. I asked my Dr. if I could increase my Wellbutrin to 200mg and he told me not to until another 7 days. I'm SOO sick of feeling like this! I want to be normal. Feel normal.

I'm in tears realizing happily that I'm not going crazy! These "brain shivers" are terrible! I twitch in my head, like a low voltage of electricity is being uncontrollably streamed through my brain...mostly on my left side, behind my left eye. The dizziness, nausea, and straight-up anger and impatience are scary as well. I was a Zoloft patient. I took myself off slowly, because of all the side effects I had over thanksgiving when I skipped a few doses - uncontrollable crying, hip joint pain, fever, nausea, exhaustion,...I thought I was dying. I'm soooo angry! Everyone seems like, "oh well...life goes on." I'm P.O'd!! Nobody told me about these side effects... Isn't anyone going to do something about all this?

After being on Paxil and then Effexor for about 10 years I am finally drug free. Unfortunately I have been having severe insomnia for three years which is slowly getting better but also have been suffering from brain shivers for over a year. I don't think this is something that is going to go away for me. I will try the omega 3 as I am willing to try anything to get rid of these zaps. I wish the medical community was better informed about this subject as I went months trying to find an answer. Doctors didn't have a clue what I was talking about.

I am on my 4th day of being off Effexor and the "brain shivers" and depression are driving me up the wall! My doctor gave me Wellbutrin instead and its doing nothing for me as far as I can tell. I only took 37.5mg of Effexor for one month and the brain shivers are uncontrollable.

I made an appointment to see my doctor tomorrow and will fight off the urge to scream at them for doing this to me. I am going to ask her for the Ativan, I see a lot of postings online that say it helps. If they wont give it to me I will try the Omega 3.

I cannot go through this right now, there are layoffs coming at my job and I have to fight to keep myself there and I don't have the strength to battle both stress and withdrawl at the same time.

THANK YOU! I am SO relieved to find out about brain shivers. I couldn't figure out what on earth was going on, until I finally googled my symptoms,and found a name for the "electric shock" feeling I was getting in my head.

THANK YOU! I am SO relieved to find out about brain shivers. I couldn't figure out what on earth was going on, until I finally googled my symptoms,and found a name for the "electric shock" feeling I was getting in my head.

I am currently trying to stop Pristiq. It's been almost five days since my last dose. I've been dealing with brain shivers/zaps, extreme fatigue, very vivid dreams, irritability, crying easily. I also think my pupils are really small. And this might be totally unrelated but I've been really hot. I thought I had a fever so I took my temperature but it is actually between 97.1 and 97.4. Granted my temperature is usually slightly lower than 98.6 which they say is normal for some people but it's never been in the 97's.

Anyway, like I said, could be totally unrelated but thought I would mention it. Fortunately I was able to make it through the work week but it was very difficult. I am sooo glad the weekend is here. At least I can just stay at home for the next two days and hope these symptoms get better. Does anyone know how long it will take??? I don't want to try to taper off.

I was only taking 50mg which is supposed to be the lowest dose. I won't bother asking my doctor. I already know he will tell me that I shouldn't stop it. Also, before I started taking it, I asked about withdrawal symptoms and he said that Pristiq wasn't supposed to have withdrawal symptoms like Effexor. Obviously he was wrong!

PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: PRISTIQ HAS SIMILAR WITHDRAWAL PROBLEMS TO EFFEXOR, BUT WITH LESS FLEXIBLE DOSING IT IS HARDER TO TAPER.

I'm so thrilled to see this, i thought there was something wrong with me. I'm on 75mg + 37.5mg, I have cut myself down to just taking the 75mg but even still when I miss a day I end up in bed all day with spins and those brain zaps, does anyone else get a kind of strange feeling in their tongue also???? I'm actually reluctant to try come off my effexor because it makes me feel so bad.

Thanks for everybodies suggestions.

I've been on ADs for almost 20 yrs and the absolute worst is Effexor! I used cocaine in my twenties and frankly continued to use because coming down was worse the the high! That is how I feel with Effexor...I stay on it only because the withdrawals are so bad.

So I was relieved to see a description of the feeling I was experiencing when missed a dose. It would at times get so bad that I'd be woken up from a dead sleep with a throbbing headache that could only be alleviated by sitting up and would return with a vengeance whenever I tried to lie down before the missed dose kicked in. There have also been times when I've told my husband that if I can't be awoken in morning to tell doctors I had a bad headache on left side of head behind by left eye!

Almost exactly the way someone earlier described! And don't get me started about the side affects -- weight gain, bruise easily, hair falling out, libido decrease (ha! more like none, zilch, nada and would actually stop dosage for one or two days so could be intimate!) and farting -- really!!

I will defined talk with my doctor about getting off this with or without her consent.

I am so sorry for the difficulty that many people experience when withdrawing from antidepressants, but I have to say that not everyone will experience these withdrawal effects. I have been on and off lexapro and celexa for 9 years MANY times with absolutely NO withdrawal effects whatsoever. I currently take St. Johns Wort for my mild depression. I just felt the need to put in the word that if you really need antidepressants, don't let the scare of withdrawal keep you from them. Some people do not have these withdrawal symptoms at all, and the benefits of the drug may offset the any negative withdrawal effects you may experience.

I was on Zoloft for 2 years for severe anxiety. I slowly stepped down to get off it and experienced these "brain shivers". I had no idea what was going on but I knew it was some kind of withdrawal from the drug. I just dealt with it and my symptoms gradually stopped after 6 months without the drug.

It was not fun but after a while they were tolerable. I ended up needing medication again after my second child was born and I was put on Lexapro. I am trying to get off and I am only taking 5 mg every 6 days. That's as far as I can go without a pill. After 6 days my brain shivers are out of control.

Doctors think I am being stupid and that since I am on such a low dose already I should to stop. But the brain shivers are much worse for me with this drug than the last one. And this time I also get headaches and mental fogginess. It is hard to take. I am hoping I can try to stop all together again and just cope with the symptoms for a while.

It sometimes takes a long time I guess before it will go away. I am sorry to anyone else going through this. Be strong. I do not regret taking the meds because they did help me. I just feel that this type of withdrawal NEEDS to be explained to people wanting to begin taking AD's. They may not want to deal with it.

To the person who said to buy omega 3: I was a little confused by your comment this was your comment:

"Heather | June 15, 2008 6:16 PM | Reply

HOW TO STOP THE BRAIN SHIVERS:

Go to your local GNC or Whole Foods store and buy some Omega 3 fish oil capsules. I can't remember who makes the ones that worked the best, but it was Omega 3, and it was called EPA EXTRA. The important thing is to get an omega 3 with MORE THAN 500mg of EPA per dose. I took the EPA EXTRA with 800mg and the brain shivers went away almost immediately. They just recently came back, so I got some more, but in any case this stuff is great for lots of things--it just improves general brain function and should help ASAP. The stuff is kind of pricey for a vitamin supplement at 20-30 dollars a bottle, but SO, SO WORTH IT!!! Good luck, this stuff sucks but you'll be all right."

I was just a little confused about the part that you said you used you used 800mg and the brain shivers went away. Then you said they recently came back. Did they come back because you stopped taking the omega? I'm confused. I just want these things gone!!!