Venlafaxine and those lovely little brain zaps.

Short version:

• Any anecdotal advice about what you can do to help yourself through brain zaps?
• Does it make sense that my arms are a little weak and tingly too?
• What's your experience with the suggested supplements?

Long version:

I must have been on Venlafaxine/Effexor for at least six months but I'm leaning towards the possibility of a year or a year and a half. Anybody thinking it's odd that I can't remember needs to know I perhaps foolishly gave up trying to keep track of the exact details of the drugs they kept throwing at me.

Well, it turns out I am actually an autistic and probably have C-PTSD. As you'll know, possibly, there aren't medicines for either of those. The medicines you will find in association with these issues are ones for comorbid problems such as what is diagnosed in me as severe clinical depression and severe generalised anxiety disorder with agoraphobia.

After receiving confirmation of my ASD, I decided I wanted to try life off anti-depressants for the first time in... oh, seven years. Not the longest you can go obviously but some time for a youngling like me (I'm only 25).

A general practitioner at the surgery I go to said he was entirely happy for me to discontinue as he felt it was likely that much of the depression and anxiety I contend with stems from my autism. Now that I will have specialised assistance through therapy and self-help, I should hopefully be able to reduce those head weasels.

Thing is, I was on 150mg and he told me to come right down to 75mg. I thought that was a bit of a leap, the drug being described as a "second line of defense" on our national health service's website, but I went along with it. One of my most wild and volatile months in sometime and almost saw me lose my girlfriend to my erratic behaviour.

So when I saw the next one, the other GP having left, I was heavily patronised (another story for another time) but then it was worked out I could have 37.5mg instead of their original plan for me to just pull the second 75mg away.

I thought it'd be another month but not, only ten days worth.

Ever since I came down from 150mg I've been getting brain zaps. They increased when I dropped a dose initially for a while and that really wasn't fun.

I am now completely off it, day two, and they are constant. Moderate at least, but not letting up. I've not been able to eat more than about 500kcal a day for more than a month so to be honest, that probably doesn't help. If I were to force myself to eat I would throw it all up. Sleep's been awful. Maybe I should ask for a sleeping aid?

All I know is I need to shower today and I don't want to fall flat on my face. I'm even paler than usual which means I look like a ghost. I'm "technically" now underweight although my body appears fine to myself and others.

Main issue though, these damn zaps. I know I'm being a bit of a whiner and it is likely they will just go away in a few weeks. I still want to know any advice people have.

Oh, and my face feels tingly and numb right now.

Oh my gosh, I feel so badly for you! You got terrible advice about how to taper down from Effexor.

As far as medications to help you with the side effects, Vistaril (hydroxyzine pamoate) can be helpful or anti-motion sickness medication that you buy over the counter. Sedating antihistamines like diphenhydramine can also help the zaps (it can leave you feeling like a zombie, though.)

Yes to the weakness and tingling in your arms and fingers. I've also had tingling in my lips before.

Are you taking any other antidepressants now? Usually if you start another antidepressant, especially an SSRI or SNRI, it will make the zaps go away more quickly.

You're absolutely not being a whiner. The withdrawal can make you feel weak and generally sick for weeks and not being able to eat enough calories just makes it worse. I can recommend foods like smoothies, applesauce, kefir, and yogurt as being the easiest to tolerate.

Please post more here if you need advice or reassurance.

I am currently on 225mg of Effexor and I do not have the twitchy sensations that you are having.

I am not sure what you mean by brain zaps.

You probably aren't experiencing them as you are not discontinuing like I am. Brain zaps get the same medical name as pins and needles but it is like... an electric shock inside your skull or when it is at its worse it's kind of as if two giant robots are whacking each other with Tesla Coils in there. It's a side-effect of discontinuing quite a few psychiatric drugs. To do with serotonin. For further info, just look brain zaps along with this medication name or even simply anti-depressants through Google.

Nope, no other anti-depressants or the like. I do have a beta-blocker and a benzo though. Propranolol is the beta-blocked, highest recommended dose for anxiety, I think around 180mg and slow release through the day. Just diazepam/valium for the benzo and only 14mg. I've a handful for gastrointestinal issues. And that's it.

I'd prefer not to go onto any other SSRI or SNRI to deal with these icky zaps. I may try the anti-histamine route as I may have some in the house. Uh, but yeah, *puts brain into order* going entirely anti-depressant free. I'm no longer accepting them. They help others but have never helped me, which is why I switched so many times.

I was doing okay with eating noodles but tried that today and it was... urp. I am on my period currently though; sometimes I can feel quite ill at this time anyway, something I should have remembered. Maybe after it's run its course I'll have better luck.