Cymbalta^® Withdrawal and “Brain Zaps”

We are no longer accepting new Cymbalta withdrawal cases.

​In his book, The Antidepressant Solution, Joseph Glenmullen, M.D., of Harvard Medical School, describes a common symptom of withdrawal from SSRI and SNRI antidepressants, referred to by many as “brain zaps.”

“These are lightening-like jolts inside the head that make patients feel as if they are having a dangerous neurological event, such as a stroke…. In some patients … bending the neck brings on waves of electric shock-like sensations down the spine, arms, and legs.”

Dr. Glenmullen gives a detailed report of a patient who experienced shooting electric shock sensations, accompanied by severe shaking and trembling. An electroencephalogram (“EEG”) provided evidence the woman was having seizures and she was put on anticonvulsants.

In 2007, two British psychiatrists wrote an article describing “sensory symptoms (e.g. sensations resembling electric shocks) or symptoms of disequilibrium (e.g. dizziness) in brief bursts when they move their head or eyes. Such symptoms are highly characteristic of primary discontinuation syndrome” (emphasis added).

What Is a Brain Zap From an Antidepressant?

The exact cause of brain zaps and other withdrawal effects of Cymbalta are unknown, but they are thought to be related to changes that occur in the brain when exposed to antidepressants.

Nerve signals are transmitted from one cell to another through the release of a chemical messenger, called a neurotransmitter, into the space between the sending and receiving cells. The receiving cell has receptors into which the neurotransmitter fits like a key in a lock, triggering complex reactions in the cell. Antidepressants like Cymbalta increase the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine (similar to adrenaline) in the gap between nerve cells. The cells have multiple reactions to this increase. The sending cell becomes “desensitized” – it doesn’t fire as much – and the receiving cells decrease the number of receptors.