Benzos Brain zaps from Zolpidem withdrawal

[ninjapirateroberts]

I have been 5mg Zolpidem for the past 6 months (occasionally 10 mg), and 10 mg for the past 3 weeks. I'm planning to stop. I once successfully stoped it after 3 months of continuous use, but I got back 6 months ago due to sleep issues. I take Vyvanse every day (pretty late, 30 mg at 12:00) so I get sleeping issues when I try to sleep around 11:00 or 1:00 AM. So I take Zolpidem to manage that. But I'm cutting back on Vyvanse for sometime to WD from Zolpidem.

I first experienced brain zaps when WDing from benzo (which was about a ~10 months ago).

But now what I'm trying to cut back on Zolpidem, I'm experiencing them again. Especially when it's time for my Zolpidem dose (or when trying to sleep). I'm pretty sure some of you have experience with brain zaps (from benzo WD or Z-drugs WD), so I would appreciate any tip/advice for managing brain zaps. It's almost as if I'm getting mini-seizure or my brain gets electric pulse - first I feel "impending doom", I would feel tinnitus, and then boom, I get a brain zap (as if I get electric shock in my brain).

 

[Jabberwocky]

Hypnic zaps? Do they only occur while your eyes are closed and trying to sleep?... and yeah it feels like a seizure that lasts .2 seconds... sometimes my whole body jolts in tandem with the zap, full body zaps.

I get them from alcohol wds, benzo wds, z-drug wds, GHB wds.

any GABAergic withdrawals.

I have no advice nor do I know any remedy other than time.... but they're fairly normal and ultimately harmless... I've had them for many years. They no longer startle me, but still annoying as hell.

In extreme cases for me, the zaps turn into full blown sleep paralysis which is 100x worse than zaps.

 

[ninjapirateroberts]

Hypnic zaps? Do they only occur while your eyes are closed and trying to sleep?... and yeah it feels like a seizure that lasts .2 seconds... sometimes my whole body jolts in tandem with the zap, full body zaps.

I get them from alcohol wds, benzo wds, z-drug wds, GHB wds.

any GABAergic withdrawals.

I have no advice nor do I know any remedy other than time.... but they're fairly normal and ultimately harmless... I've had them for many years. They no longer startle me, but still annoying as hell.

In extreme cases for me, the zaps turn into full blown sleep paralysis which is 100x worse than zaps.

Yeah, that mostly happens when I closed my eyes and trying to sleep. I would feel like I'm just going to give in and enter sleep and then boom, a sudden brain zap kicks in and I feel like my whole body and brain is electrocuted for like a second and then wake up. It starts with feelings of impending doom, tinnitus, and then there goes the brain zap. I guess what I'm experiencing is also Hypnic jerk but I don't know much about it. I only know about brain zaps (but reading wiki seems like it'd also fall into something I experience during sleep). But I also experience the brain zap while completely wake up (especially when it's time for the next dose, like around 11:00 PM). I'm experiencing constant tinnitus after 8:00 PM.

 

[mauve]

I have been 5mg Zolpidem for the past 6 months (occasionally 10 mg), and 10 mg for the past 3 weeks. I'm planning to stop. I once successfully stoped it after 3 months of continuous use, but I got back 6 months ago due to sleep issues. I take Vyvanse every day (pretty late, 30 mg at 12:00) so I get sleeping issues when I try to sleep around 11:00 or 1:00 AM. So I take Zolpidem to manage that. But I'm cutting back on Vyvanse for sometime to WD from Zolpidem.

I first experienced brain zaps when WDing from benzo (which was about a ~10 months ago).

But now what I'm trying to cut back on Zolpidem, I'm experiencing them again. Especially when it's time for my Zolpidem dose (or when trying to sleep). I'm pretty sure some of you have experience with brain zaps (from benzo WD or Z-drugs WD), so I would appreciate any tip/advice for managing brain zaps. It's almost as if I'm getting mini-seizure or my brain gets electric pulse - first I feel "impending doom", I would feel tinnitus, and then boom, I get a brain zap (as if I get electric shock in my brain).

I get that also. I'm currently tapering valium, the zaps occur more when I'm sleep deprived. It's sort of like an electric current going up my spine, and I feel like I'm about to drop and I wake up with a high pitched noise in my ears and pins and needles all over my head. What helps me is laying on my stomach so I avoid the dreaded sleep paralysis demon and when I drop into the mattress sort of like sinking also having something on in the background helps.

 

[ninjapirateroberts]

I get that also. I'm currently tapering valium, the zaps occur more when I'm sleep deprived. It's sort of like an electric current going up my spine, and I feel like I'm about to drop and I wake up with a high pitched noise in my ears and pins and needles all over my head. What helps me is laying on my stomach so I avoid the dreaded sleep paralysis demon and when I drop into the mattress sort of like sinking also having something on in the background helps.

I’m going back to 5 mg dose and then take it for a week from now (until Mar 11) and then quit it totally. I'm going to take 10 mg melatonin with L-theanine supplement when going to bed along with the 5 mg dose, hope that is better than nothing.

 

[mauve]

I’m going back to 5 mg dose and then take it for a week from now (until Mar 11) and then quit it totally. I'm going to take 10 mg melatonin with L-theanine supplement when going to bed along with the 5 mg dose, hope that is better than nothing.

Did you CT zolp?

From personal experience, I'd stabilise on the lowest effective dose, and taper very slowly using my symptoms as a guide as to how fast to reduce. Holding the dose when the WD symptoms are trying and reducing when you're able to.

 

[ninjapirateroberts]

Did you CT zolp?

From personal experience, I'd stabilise on the lowest effective dose, and taper very slowly using my symptoms as a guide as to how fast to reduce. Holding the dose when the WD symptoms are trying and reducing when you're able to.

What does “CT” mean?

 

[mauve]

What does “CT” mean?

Cold turkey. Have you heard of benzobuddies.org ?

Definitely check them out, priceless information about everything benzo related

 

[ninjapirateroberts]

Cold turkey. Have you heard of benzobuddies.org ?

Definitely check them out, priceless information about everything benzo related

No, not cold turkey yet. I’m currently lowering from 10 mg to 5 mg, do this 5 mg for a week and then quit it cold turkey from that 5 mg.

 

[XxGumbyxX]

I had experienced something similar when I stopped taking Lexapro almost 10 years ago and has turned me off to antidepressants forever. I'd be driving home from easy off season shift at my restaurant and feel the best I can explain it as a brain flutter or a .25 second of seizure ( although I have never had a seizure so this may not be accurate) I'd come back to reality still in. control of my vehicle but scared sh1tless b/c of the possibility of losing control of vehicle and possibly hurting someone or myself. I ask my doctor about the physiological reaction I was having to this medication he had put me on but I couldn't afford to purchase as often as I was prescribed. He actually said that it was a mini-seizure but as long as they only were as small as I was expalaning, then it was nothing to worry about. I stopped taking them alltogether that day. Anothermed that gave me similar reaction was Remiron. Might be spelling it wrong. RIDOC psych doctors love to prescribe this med to anyone walking into Adult Corrections Institute in. Rhode Island. Took me over a year to completely lose the jolts and mental sucker punches that would come out of nowhere and feel like someone right crossed my jaw from behind. Then as fast as it came on, it was gone. Everyone had different reactions but I will forever say away from psych drugs even knowwing they've helped alot of folks. Thanks for listening...