Why head shcoks????

[fretty freda]

Ive been on cipralex for many years , i havent missed a dose( i only get shocks when i reduce / miss a dose ) and ive been taking the correct dose yet today i have got bloody aufull head shocks .... anyone know whats causing this all of a sudden , i dont want to even walk around move my head its horrendous please help

[jen2503]

I dont take medication so i dont know anything about that but i get head shocks/zapps when im tired and anxious, or even just when im tired and stressed. they scare the crap out of me! luckily i dont get them often but i have been told they are normal with anxiety so maybe its not actually your meds that are causing it.

[haz]

I get head shocks a few days before my period. Maybe serotonin levels drop at that time of the month??

[nomorepanic]

I get them for no reason too.

They are harmless

[RLR]

The shock or pulse sensations are induced as a consequence of the effects of the Cipralex and similar drugs in the SSRI class. Realize that these drugs affect the reaction time of the oculo-vestibular complex, which works constantly to provide feedback about the body's orientation in space around you. A combination of visual sensory feedback, together with the vestibular system within the middle ear, coordinates your body's ability to make constant subtle adjustments by comparison to your position.

When the steady-state plasma level of the drug is altered either through cessation of treatment or change in dosing schedule, it can produce a brief lapse in time between the information being relayed between the ocular sensory network and that associated with the vestibular system. The result is an odd and rather significant jolt or pulse sensation that occurs either singularly or several pulses in rapid sequence.

What patients do not realize is that these jolts are being induced by rapid changes in lateral eye movement, which under normal instances produces no lapse in sensory feedback to the vestibular system. Sitting still without moving the eyes for several minutes and then looking sharply left and then right can usually precipitate the event to occur. Continuing to move the eyes rapidly back and forth ultimately extinguishes the jolt or pulse sensation because feeback at that point is constant.

The phenomenon does not constitute a symptom that anything is actually wrong, but merely a disturbance of human physiology as a consequence of changes in serum plasma levels of the drug, most often SSRIs, being prescribed. It can last anywhere from several days to 6 months or longer in some instances. Regardless, it will not harm you in any manner.

Best regards,

Rutheford Rane, MD (ret.)

[fretty freda]

thank you very much for the usefull info Haz your completly right my period startrd the next day and rutheford rane that is some detail you gave me there were did u obtain the information from very interesting

ps is it possible for me to get notifications so i am aware someone has replyed to my thread or is it just a case of checking your self x

[haz]

You're welcome Fretty Freda. Happens every month, I don't panic about it any more cos I know it will go away when my period does. It did seem to be worse when I was on seroxat but seroxat seems to be one of the worst SSRI's for head shock BUT it was VERY effective at controlling my anxiety.

:)

[fretty freda]

i was on that nearly killed meto ge off it one day i was told by dc stop taking it now and start this tomorrow thought i was gunna die never suddenly stop my doctor is crazy !

[KK77]

thank you very much for the usefull info Haz your completly right my period startrd the next day and rutheford rane that is some detail you gave me there were did u obtain the information from very interesting


RLR is a retired doctor.

Excellent post RLR. You certainly have more insight than most of the GPs I've spoken to re this subject.

[Pinkella]

I only ever got head&body shocks with Seroxat...frightened the life out of me,i changed to Citalopram and iv'e never had the problem since .....

Good post RLR but why do some people get body shocks as well as head shocks???just wondered if you knew??? be interested to know .....

[nomorepanic]

ps is it possible for me to get notifications so i am aware someone has replyed to my thread or is it just a case of checking your self x

You need to "subscribe" to the thread. Click on thread tools and then subscribe to it

[RLR]

The intensity of the pulse effect, ie felt within the head or more broadly throughout the body, depends upon the particular SSRI being prescribed, the prescription strength being taken or withdrawn from, together with genetic variations in the sensory feedback being derived from the oculo-vestibular complex. Thus, some patients are affected more than others.

Seroxat, otherwise known as Paxil in the U.S. market, is particularly prone to patient complaints with regard to what they describe as shocks, pulses, winking out and similar variations which are all speaking of the same effect.

While bothersome, it nevertheless does not constitute a sign of trouble.

Best regards,

Rutheford Rane, MD (ret.)

[Pinkella]

Thanks RLR:)

When i was on only 10mg of seroxat i had no problem at all with head/body shocks,it was when i increased to the 20mg that they begin...
Shame really as they seemed a powerful anti-depressent with good results at 20mg...but i just couldn't put up with the shocks every few minutes!day in day out.....

Citalopram which i'm on now is quite a good anti-depressant...but only in higher doses!So i have to take 30-40mg to get the same affect of seroxat at 20mg if you get my drift....and if i'm honest i think seroxat worked better for my depression.....Maybe the Seroxat is stronger than the citalopram...??? who knows:shrug: