Brain Zaps

"Symptoms described as "brain zaps", "brain shocks," "brain shivers", "head shocks" or "cranial zings" are a withdrawal symptom experienced during discontinuation (or reduction of dose) of antidepressant drugs.The symptoms are widely variable in description and of unknown etiology; common descriptions include dizziness, electric shock-like sensations, sweating, nausea, insomnia, tremor, confusion, nightmares and vertigo"

So the above are symptoms of withdrawal from SSRIs or SSNRIs, which of course includes Venlafaxine, which I am currently taking. No big deal, I'll be on mine for a while. However, I forgot to take my dose yesterday...

So I'm in bed, feeling a little odd and trembly, when all of a sudden I get really dizzy and a crazy ringing in my ears. Before I can think: "What the hell?? I'm lying down!!", a frightening wave of electricity pulses through my body; starting in my brain, fuzzy electric waves shoot down through my arms and legs, right to my finger tips and toes and then back again like a sickening circuit. This continued for a few seconds, maybe longer, all the time, I could feel every second of this rapid circuit, like my blood vessels were filled with wires. Then it stops. All at once I'm feel with utter, white blind panic. My bed suddenly feels three times bigger than it was, I want to get my mum in her room, but it feels like it's several streets away. Then as soon as it started, the panic is gone; stops dead. I sit up and I'm calm, my head clears and lurking in the back of my mind is the term: "Brain Zaps". When I was first prescribed Venlafaxine, I did some research about it (naturally) and came across the term, but paid it little mind. I went back online and reread what I had found:

"Many patients stopping venlafaxine use experience SSRI discontinuation syndrome, i.e. withdrawal symptoms. This is especially noted if a patient misses a dose, but can also occur when reduction of dosage is gradual. The high risk of discontinuation syndrome symptoms may reflect venlafaxine's short half-life. Missing even a single dose can induce discontinuation effects in some patients"

Bugger. Talk about being stuck!!!