# Has anyone experienced this? Head/ear zaps/buzz/shock usually when waking up?



## Confusedandtired (Aug 11, 2015)

I'm probably 90% sure that this is a symptom of anxiety, and I know that it can be but I wanted to see if anyone with DP/DR has experienced similar things. Because I've experienced anxiety before DP/DR but only these symptoms with DP/DR.

The symptom is painless, a sort of shock sensation in my head that manifests the most in my ears it seems. Each zap lasts very briefly, only a fraction of a second. I notice it most because my tinnitus (ringing in the ears) is about 10 times louder during each zap. Like I said it's painless and just briefly interrupts thought, which is the only other sign besides the sharp buzz/ring increase in my ears.

I mostly experience them when waking up. I went through a period of about two weeks or so when it was a few every morning. Now it seems to be a lot less frequent, maybe one or two a week in the morning.

What's weird is that when I had the panic attack that triggered this I experienced a brain zap about every 10 minutes for maybe 2 hours. Whether I started to panic before or after the zaps is unknown to me. The experience was amplified by weed though, which made everything worse and was the other catalyst of DP/DR for me.

Anyone experience this? I know anxiety sufferer's and people withdrawing from SSRI's can experience this; what about everyone with DP/DR?

I've got OCD so of course I've googled for just about every cause under the sun, anything from tumors to epilepsy. It seems to be related to serotonin imbalances; which is also a cause of OCD.


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## asdf1234 (Sep 11, 2015)

I have experienced really bad brain zaps in response to discontinuation of SSRI (most notably paxil/paroxetine). My psychiatrist didn't explain the withdrawal effects of SSRI and it freaked me out the first time it happened. When I brought it up he was like "oh, that's not a withdrawal effect that's a rebound effect" as if it was different and excused him not telling me about it... asshole.

Are you on any medications associated with serotonin levels? Perhaps one that you take in the morning when you wake up, which would explain why they start to go away as the day goes on?


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## Confusedandtired (Aug 11, 2015)

asdf1234 said:


> I have experienced really bad brain zaps in response to discontinuation of SSRI (most notably paxil/paroxetine). My psychiatrist didn't explain the withdrawal effects of SSRI and it freaked me out the first time it happened. When I brought it up he was like "oh, that's not a withdrawal effect that's a rebound effect" as if it was different and excused him not telling me about it... asshole.
> 
> Are you on any medications associated with serotonin levels? Perhaps one that you take in the morning when you wake up, which would explain why they start to go away as the day goes on?


No I'm not on any medications, I'm too afraid of the side effects and that the only reason I'd feel better is because of drugs; and therefore would be dependent on them indefinitely. I've recently been considering it though if I think it could help enough.

I think it's related to low serotonin. I suffer from OCD and depression which is usually a result of low serotonin. Additionally, serotonin regulates the sleep wake cycle and is at it's lowest in the morning; which is more than enough evidence to me to indicate a causative factor.

That and because withdrawal from SSRI's involves a depleted level of serotonin, which seems to fit my bill fairly well.

I guess I was just wondering if anyone else experiences this, but everybody is so different and most of us likely have different causes of DP/DR.

My psychologist didn't really seem to know much about them, except that it can be an anxiety symptom. I'm seeing a neurologist eventually so hopefully he can shed more light on it.


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## eddy1886 (Oct 11, 2012)

I experience this all the time...have done for years!


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## asdf1234 (Sep 11, 2015)

I would consider it... I'm thinking about going back on paxil even though I've been off for years.

My ex-girlfriend had OCD (mostly obsessive thoughts and not so much actions) and when off of prozac she would do things like obsess for weeks over whether she had diseases that she couldn't possibly have. For like a month or two she was worred that she had herpes even though neither of us had had sex with anyone else in like 6 years or ever had anything that could be construed as a symptom of herpes. And she didn't even have a history of sleeping around or having unprotected sex at all and was basically the least likely candidate to have contracted herpes. She would, like, talk to other people about it to alleviate her worry and get reassurance that she didn't have it... it was out of control. Just being on a relatively low dose of prozac really helps her.

I have wrestled with the idea you have about "only being happy because of meds" but I'm getting to a point (and have in the past then discontinued meds eventually) where I think "fuck it, I just want to be happy and I don't care why". And if you have depression, anxiety or OCD you are probably more likely to do things that make you happy when you are on meds... I know from experience that mental problems can reach a point where it's nearly impossible to make yourself "happy". Like a "so far in a hole that it's so dark you can't see the ladder" kind of thing. If you take meds to raise yourself 10 feet maybe you will be able to see the ladder to climb the rest of the way out, and can always look at discontinuing meds at some point down the line.

Just a thought... I do understand not wanting to rely on meds to get by. But then again I've been using alcohol and drugs for over a decade to get by so I guess that counts as medicating. It's just a much more "fun" way to medicate yourself, haha.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_head_syndrome

https://www.sleepassociation.org/patients-general-public/exploding-head-syndrome/


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## Guest (Sep 11, 2015)

asdf1234 said:


> My ex-girlfriend had OCD (mostly obsessive thoughts and not so much actions) and when off of prozac she would do things like obsess for weeks over whether she had diseases that she couldn't possibly have. For like a month or two she was worred that she had herpes


I think she is more likely to have Pure O, which is just the obsession side of OCD.

It's very common within anxiety disorders and DP/DR.



Confusedandtired said:


> I'm probably 90% sure that this is a symptom of anxiety, and I know that it can be but I wanted to see if anyone with DP/DR has experienced similar things. Because I've experienced anxiety before DP/DR but only these symptoms with DP/DR.
> 
> The symptom is painless, a sort of shock sensation in my head that manifests the most in my ears it seems. Each zap lasts very briefly, only a fraction of a second. I notice it most because my tinnitus (ringing in the ears) is about 10 times louder during each zap. Like I said it's painless and just briefly interrupts thought, which is the only other sign besides the sharp buzz/ring increase in my ears.
> 
> ...


OP, this is a common symptom of SSRI's and the continuation of SSRI's.

I also get it sometimes, mostly when I'm sick with the flu.

I notice it more when I move my eyes from left to right, it feels a little electric shock pulsates through my head.

I don't think it's anything to worry about because I first experienced it about 3 years ago and now it only shows up when I'm sick.


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## Confusedandtired (Aug 11, 2015)

Thanks for the responses everyone, it's good to know I'm not completely alone. Anxiety can do weird things to all of us and it's not prudent to always fear the worse or focus on it too much.

Also, I've got what you might consider pure-O, and have been diagnosed with OCD. While you will never see me washing my hands, checking locks, or anything like that pure-O doesn't mean that you don't do compulsions.

It's just that there internalized. Like feeling to compulsed to replace one though with another, or working your way out of anxiety, or endlessly researching things on the internet.

I also beat OCD before without meds nearly completely and was mostly anxiety free until I had a panic attack which triggered DP/DR. Than OCD of course returned predicting all kinds of doomsday scenarios, but I have since calmed that down and am know just dealing with DP/DR mostly. If it does get bad enough I would take meds though.

I got my degree in biochemistry, and actually took several classes with a synthetic chemist who created citalopram. I believe that they help a lot of people, but in my case I know too much about what they are doing inside your body and of their side effects to be comfortable with them, for now.


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