Buspirone - Brain zaps?

August 21, 2022 7:35 AM

YANMD, but while I'm waiting for a response from her, I'm curious: has anyone else experienced brain zaps after increasing their dose of (or starting) buspirone/buspar? Or: is what I'm experiencing actually brain zaps?

I started out at 2.5 mg for 6 days, and then (today) increased it to 5 mg, and the only side effects I'm having are slight drowsiness and (what I'm calling) brain zaps, which started today--almost like hypnic jerks, but without the physical part. I've felt something very similar (if not the exact same) when I'm very tired and struggling to stay awake, like my brain is shocking itself back to wakefulness.

I've seen brain zaps mentioned as a side-effect of SSRI withdrawal, but not so much for starting or stopping buspirone... And subjective experiences are hard to describe, so I'm not even certain this is "brain zaps," vs my brain fighting the drowsiness.

So: has anyone else experienced this? It's not completely unpleasant, but anything out of the ordinary makes me very worried (hence the anti-anxiety medication...).

posted by boisterousBluebird to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

That sounds like brain zaps to me. Buspar didn't do that (or anything else) to me but when I googled it I found several articles like this one saying it is common for Buspar and often goes away. As long as it's not getting in the way of something important, I would give it a few days before worrying about it, and of course you should tell your doctor. If they don't go away or are seriously distracting it may make sense to try something else, but this is not an unusual side effect
posted by JZig at 8:09 AM on August 21, 2022

does it feel like an electric shock going through the middle of your brain? it's pretty characteristic.
posted by j_curiouser at 9:35 AM on August 21, 2022

JZig, thanks for that article! Definitely reassuring that it's not an unheard-of symptom, and that they don't seem to be dangerous...

j_curiouser: Yep, that's a very good description of the feeling... Although thankfully not as strong as an actual electric shock!

Sounds like ultimately I don't need to worry, so thank you both for your help! I'll see what my Dr says, but if this is the only thing I have to deal with in order to reduce my anxiety, I think it might be worth it...
posted by boisterousBluebird at 10:53 AM on August 21, 2022

When I had brain zaps they got increasingly uncomfortable. I needed to take about a half of a pill every 3-4 days after the titration should have been completed. It helped the brain zaps and after about another week or two I didn't need to take any more.
posted by Ochre,Hugh at 5:24 PM on August 21, 2022

Ochre,Hugh: Gotcha, good to hear that they went away eventually, even if you did have to take more than expected… They are definitely less prominent today, so I think it is just a matter of letting my brain adjust.
posted by boisterousBluebird at 11:15 AM on August 22, 2022