Iāve seen this symptom mentioned here and there and people call it different things. Iām wondering if there is an actual medical word for it.
It feels like a ābrain zapā and lasts only a split second. Itās as if Iāve been hit with a lightning bolt and my body and everything else seems to move a millimeter or two. Also feels like a split second of hard core vertigo. Itās been happening over and over and over (sometimes several times in just a few minutes) ever since my vertigo attack last weekend and is making it very difficult to feel anywhere normal. Things that make it worse - noise, moving, people touching me, being startled even slightly.
not coming off any meds though it is similar to what I felt when i went off Lexapro many years ago, but this is much stronger and more often and closer to a vertigo feeling.
Simonw - yes, I just looked at your post and it is similar to what you are feeling, but maybe a bit stronger. Itās very disconcerting. Iāve googled it but canāt find much other than it often happens when coming off SSRIās which isnāt my case. I wish I could find a medical name for it so I could give to my doctor instead of saying āI have brain zaps.ā
I think I know what you mean (few months late in the reply LOL) itās like a burst of vertigo that last a fraction of the second in the head and with some kind of electricity going down the armsā¦? Do you still have them?
Hi bookworm
I had this constantly when MAV first started for me over 2 years ago. I think @napagirl is right in saying itās a hypnic jerk. Before all of this started I used to experience that when falling asleep if I was really exhausted. When MAV started this would happen to me randomly in the middle of the day - sometimes sitting on the couch and it would feel like my brain had just bounced inside my head, I was dizzy constantly then but the bounce would cause a momentary increase in the dizziness inside my head - it never developed into a full vertigo incident but I could have a number of these in quick succession. The sensation reminded me of being on an airplane when the altitude suddenly drops and your head and body ālurchesā even though you are stationary. I think this happens because you and your brain are literally exhausted - try to sleep/nap as much as you can to give both your brain and your vestibular system every opportunity to rest and recover. From memory these zaps went on for about 8 weeks, I only get them now when I am overtired.