Posted by SLS on October 10, 2001, at 0:16:27
In reply to Question about *Electric Head* ..., posted by Janelle on October 9, 2001, at 23:03:34
> Okay, for the first few days after I completely tapered off EffexorXR, I experienced that *electric head* feeling (which didn't surprise nor alarm me; I almost *expected* it!) ... then it was gone for about 2 1/2 weeks so I figured I was home free. Well, now it has returned (not frequent, but definitely happening a few times during each day).
>
> My question is this - aside from being a withdrawal effect immediately after stopping an SSRI a-d, can the return of *electric head* mean that I'm not getting enough serotonin in the synapses and therefore this is a sign that I should be back on an SSRI a-d.
>
> I'm feeling reeeeeeeal cruddy in general so I'm about to go back on Paxil, but I can't help wondering if the return of *electric head* is some kind of signal that an SSRI a-d is needed?
>
> Thanks for any info, comments, etc.
> -Janelle
Dear Janelle,You have asked very intelligent questions. I have no intelligent answers to them. Perhaps someone else does. In the meantime, I don't think it makes sense to theorize as to what physiological processes are at work to produce the "shock" phenomenon and how their appearance might be indicative of desease state or predictive of effective treatment.
It might not be a terribly popular idea amongst us who suffer from affective, anxiety, obsessive, or schizoid disorders, that neuroscience has not yet reached the point of understanding them in the way we naive laymen would believe ourselves to. There has been no demonstration that depression is the result of abnormally low concentrations of serotonin in the neural synapse. Any theory or explanation that relies on this premise is bound to be unworkable. It can neither explain what causes mental illness nor forecast how it will be cured.
It is my advice to you not to take too seriously posts that purport as fact explanations of how things work.
You could be right, though. Perhaps a latent return of "electric head" is indicative of a need for continued treatment with a serotonin reuptake inhibitor. However, it is perhaps better to look to your case history for answers. If your depressions have been recurrent and progressively more severe or difficult to treat, a case can be made for continuing treatment indefinitely. I would at least consider continuing treatment for 12 - 18 months beyond the point that maximum response is first attained.
Why did you decide to discontinue Effexor anyway?
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:80815
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011007/msgs/80822.html