By Ann Tracy on December 16, 2009
Paragraph two reads: “After cutting my dose in
half, I have had brain zaps (impossible to explain) and
pressure in my ears.”
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/lifestyles/local_other/article/S-PHAR06_20090902-190006/290023/
Q:I have been taking Effexor XR for two
years. At first I was pleased that it relieved the anxiety, depression and
excessive worrying I had been suffering. Then I began experiencing insomnia and
night sweats and decided to taper off this antidepressant.
After cutting
my dose in half, I have had brain zaps (impossible to explain) and pressure in
my ears.
Answer: Many people find that antidepressants such as Effexor
(venlafaxine), Cymbalta (duloxetine), Lexapro (escitalopram), Paxil (paroxetine)
and Zoloft (sertraline) are helpful for depression. But there can be a dark
side.
Stopping this type of drug can lead to withdrawal symptoms such as
dizziness, headaches, insomnia, anxiety, sweating, visual disturbances and
difficulty concentrating. Many people complain of shocklike sensations in their
head (brain “zaps” or “shivers”).
Posted in Recent Cases Blog | Tagged Antidepressant, Brain Zaps, Cymbalta, Duloxetine, Effexor, Effexor Withdrawal, Effexor Xr, Escitalopram, Head Brain, insomnia, lexapro, Lexapro Escitalopram, Night Sweats, paroxetine, Paxil, Peoples Pharmacy, Sertraline, Shivers, venlafaxine, Visual Disturbances, Withdrawal Symptoms, Zoloft
a Ph.D. in Health Sciences with the emphasis on Psychology, is the director of the International Coalition for Drug Awareness. She has specialized for 14 years in adverse reactions to serotonergic medications (such as Prozac, Sarafem, Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox, Celexa, Lexapro, Effexor, Serzone, Anafranil, Fen-Phen, Redux and Meridia) and has testified before the FDA and congressional subcommittee members on Prozac. She has testified since 1992 as an expert witness in Prozac and other SSRI related court cases around the world. Her first book on the issue was published in 1991. During the last twelve and a half years she has participated in innumerable radio, television, newspaper and magazine interviews. We know of no one with such extensive experience and expertise on all of these issues surrounding the SSRI antidepressants as Dr. Ann Blake Tracy. You can learn a lot about these medications from her latest book on the Prozac family of antidepressants: PROZAC: PANACEA OR PANDORA? (2001). The book is the product of many, many years of intensive research, and the cases of approximately 1,000 patients on a long-term basis.
Dr. Tracy also has an hour and a half long audio tape/CD, “Help! I Can’t Get Off My Antidepressant!,” which explains the safest withdrawal methods from these antidepressants and how to rebuild the body and brain after the use of these drugs. She has spent the last thirteen years working with patients coming off of these antidepressants. That experience has helped her to know much about the serious and very dangerous withdrawal effects and how to avoid those in coming down off the drugs.
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