Cymbalta Withdrawal Brain Zaps

Cymbalta Treatment and Brain Zaps

Brain zaps and other indicators of withdrawing from Cymbalta can be viewed as the brain's response to the drug suddenly being eliminated from the unnatural environment to which your body has adapted, such as a deep sea diver who floats to the surface too fast. The authors of a 2003 paper in the journal Psychopharmacology implied that paresthesia (senses of tingling, tingling, or creeping on the skin, including electric shock sensation in the mind ) resulting from antidepressant withdrawal might be linked to the function that serotonin plays in controlling muscle movement and sensory function, noting that shock sensations frequently intensify with motion. "Substantial alteration of neuronal activity might occur during therapy, possibly increasing with higher doses or longer periods of therapy," they wrote.

How long do Cymbalta Brain Zaps Last?

Other researchers have theorized that the brain zaps could also be related to antidepressants' impact on norepinephrine (also called noradrenaline), arguing that brain zaps are almost like "pre-seizure symptoms in epilepsy, and there's now evidence of the appropriate role of the noradrenergic system in regulating seizures." They also provide proof that the withdrawal symptoms might not be dose-dependent. The persistence of withdrawal effects, which can continue for more than a year, suggests that Cymbalta and similar medications can cause alterations in the brain with a degree of permanence that's not easily reversed.