[survivedurcode]

I think there’s more to it than just messing with serotonin.

There’s something about Sertraline (Zoloft) that seems to make it quite reliable at causing brain zaps. 3 people I’ve known who stopped Sertraline all experienced brain zaps. 1 of those people also talked about stopping Prozac (cold turkey) and Lexapro (4wk taper) and did not have the zaps, but a 4-month taper of Sertraline was not enough to avoid them.

In fact in the article they recommend switching to Prozac and then tapering that, as a way to avoid the zaps.

[wormius]

I don't know enough specifics, but there's multiple subtypes of serotonin receptors. It's possible that perhaps Sertraline affects different subtypes or a combination. Perhaps the binding affinity is different, but yeah, each of these are different (hence why they're different drugs, and not just generics of the same thing).

I've had a brainzap when I was used MDMA somewhat regularly for a short period in the 90s. It was only once, so it was more a weird "What is this? I feel... something... in my brain?" But I don't think I would want to deal with it happening spontaneously and constantly like withdrawal symptoms present. Sounds awful.

I take Effexor which is an SNRI... From what I've read, is one of the worst in terms of withdrawal (brainzaps and other side-effects). I'm really not liking the idea of me having to someday go off of it, so far for now it keeps me stable, but... if something happened where I would need to go off of it, I'm not looking forward to it.

[olyjohn]

When I was taking busiprone, it would give me zaps about 30-45 minutes after taking it. Its pretty much the main reason I quit taking it. Nobody could tell me WTF it was or why it was happening. Not something you want when you already have anxiety problems.

[heavyset_go]

Prozac has a notoriously long half-life, which is one of the reasons it's indicated for adolescents who are likely to skip/forget doses.

The long half-life is also the reason it's prescribed for SSRI withdrawal symptoms.

Sertraline is a potent SSRI in terms of inhibiting the serotonin transporter protein itself. It also has a relatively short half-life. Makes sense that cessation would induce withdrawal symptoms.

It's the same principle behind prescribing Suboxone for opioid withdrawal. The drug has a ridiculously long half-life, so it has the potential to smooth out what would otherwise be acute withdrawal.

[spangry]

I've heard similar about Zoloft, and Effexor (which is notorious for causing withdrawal symptoms when coming off it).

I believe Lexapro is a highly selective SSRI, which might explain its lack of withdrawal symptoms (and also its "does absolutely nothing" effect for some people). Prozac has a very long half-life compared to other SSRIs so it's basically got an in-built taper, and is why it's often 'cross-tapered' to when coming off another SSRI.

[TexanFeller]

I took Lexapro for a month one time. Luckily I happened to also be seeing an endocrinologist so I happened to have before and after blood work. A few weeks after Lexapro my prolactin level spiked to far higher than is normal for a male. The endocrinologist was worried I had a prolactinoma and had me get an MRI! I stopped Lexapro and gradually the prolactin level went back to normal, but it took a while. There are far more effects from these drugs than are well documented or acknowledged by most of the medical community. I had to go digging myself to find studies and case reports connecting SSRIs to elevated prolactin and suggest the possibility to my doctors who said that's the first they'd heard about it. If your hormones are messed up or you're feeling more gender nonconforming, work with your doctor to see if it's your SSRI.

[unionemployee]

How long did it take? I’m doing an MRI for extremely elevated prolactin. Even if there’s no tumor I’ll probably be prescribed cabergoline, but would prefer to return to normal without using another drug.

[sbrother]

I’ve been on Lexapro for a few years now, and if I skip it for a couple days I get very unpleasant brain zaps and dizziness. If this is a lack of withdrawal symptoms then I hate to imagine what other SSRIs cause!

Still, it’s been a life changing drug for me and I haven’t really had any bad side effects while I’ve been taking it.

[SOLAR_FIELDS]

I took Lexapro for a short period in my early 20's. Perhaps like 3-4 months. I definitely remember having significant brain zaps when I quit. It was a pretty low dose I was taking too - 10mg IIRC. Definitely no more than 20mg. I don't remember the zaps causing me significant stress at the time, but that was primarily because I knew to expect the zaps going in to the experience. Education helps a lot with anxiety. If people know to expect it, and that we are pretty sure that it's completely harmless but uncomfortable, the general anxiety around the symptom will probably be less.

[Blackthorn]

It's different for everyone. I've been on it for over ten years and have never experienced any of these zaps. When I attempted to go off I just got extremely depressed. Never any zap though.