r/Akathisia

I don't know if it's my mind's way of dealing with this or what! Pacing started first. I can't go on FB it's too triggering.

I'm scared but can give you guys timeline to help me. I'm 26, f, healthy. I have diagnosed OCD... been on Fluvoxamine for years just fine.

First time I got Aka was October 2025 with 1 dose of IV Reglan. I was lucky it only lasted 24 hours and went away.

In March 2026, my psych noticed my OCD was still severe so she added risperidone (antipsychotic) 0.25mg which is the lowest dose. I was taking it for about 2-3 weeks till I noticed I was having stiff muscles and twitching, so I stopped the medication. There was no taper bc it was the lowest starting dose.

About 4-5 days after my last dose, that Akathisia feeling came back again. Thankfully it was not as terrible as Reglan IV, it was just an electric, buzzing, crawling in my skin feeling, constantly. I took vitamin b6 and after 3-4 weeks of Akathisia it was gone... or so i thought

last week, right before my period, the feeling came back and its been back ever since. I'm lucky that propranolol can take the edge off and i might get a window for a couple hours but it feels worse than before, wtf, why did this happen... what can i do?

i haven't taken any new meds or increased doses of anything. no withdrawals either. i suspect its my
hormones but i thought my akathisia was healed, i can't have this every menstrual cycle

I’m a paramedic on the 911 ambulance system. A few days ago I asked a coworker to give me a dose of droperidol after gastroparesis made me unable to keep liquids down for two days. They stopped by my house to give me a small dose of drope as well as some fluids, then left. Within minutes I got the “something is wrong” feeling I’m sure all of you know too well. Then the horrible itchiness started. I was writhing and crying for hours with absolutely no idea of what was happening to me. The only saving grace was that I somehow remembered that Benadryl is used to manage other bad reactions to droperidol, so I took a literal handful and was able to get a few hours of sleep. It took two days to get back to something resembling normal - I know I got lucky compared to some of you poor folks. But now I’m thinking about all the patients I’ve inadvertently condemned to suffer the way I did, or even worse. I give droperidol pretty often, it’s in our protocols to use as a sedative or an antiemetic. I feel absolutely heartsick at the thought that any of the people I’ve given it to had this reaction. I could have caused someone to endure this torture for days or months or years.

I consider myself pretty informed about medicine but I had zero idea what akathisia was before I experienced it. It’s horrifying that we’re given the ability to administer a drug with this potential effect, and not taught about it. Needless to say, I’m never giving droperidol again and I’m telling all my coworkers about the risks. I might even ask my supervisors if we even need droperidol; we have meds that work more effectively for sedation and vomiting, while unpleasant, is far better than akathisia.

I sincerely hope anyone I’ve caused to suffer in this way is able to find relief.

I took 2.5 mg of Zyprexa for 4 months ( I had taken it in the past for longer but it made me tired.) This pacing started in July and hasn't stopped although it stops at night, it stopped for a week once, it stopped for 2 days.

I cannot get into the Neurologist. I can also stop if I'm completely distracted so it's not Akathsia, right?

After the pacing started I started doing vocal stims/tics 😭 I'm 50 I've never done anything like this!

And why would it randomly stop when I restarted ADHD meds? I stopped when it came back. Why would it stop when I lay down?

At this point I don't think it was Akathsia. Or it was and it became a habit? The anxiety is horrible but I do have an anxiety disorder. Now I'm on something for Psychomotor agitation, Depakote please no horror stories. I do have family that are bipolar and it's possible I guess that I am. I basically begged for it because I feel like such a weirdo.

I just want to rule it out and I'm never going to get to a Neurologist (Medicaid) and incompetent people.

And I'm scared to go. When I have to try to stay still I rock. Well this is just weird sometimes I just run through my little house again unless I'm completely distracted.

I feel like it's just anxiety but I don't know anymore.

Thanks

If you are experiencing severe panic, adrenaline surges, or terrible inner restlessness (akathisia) on Buspar—even though your gene test says it’s a "Green" medication—here is the scientific reason why and how to fix it:
The Parent vs. The Metabolite: Your liver breaks Buspar down into an active byproduct called 1-PP. Buspar itself uses the CYP3A4 pathway (which is why the test says "Green"), but the 1-PP metabolite relies on CYP2D6 to be destroyed.
The Bottleneck: I have a CYP2D6 activity score of 0.00 (Poor Metabolizer). My body can make the 1-PP metabolite, but it completely lacks the enzyme needed to clear it out. It pools in the brain, blocks alpha-2 receptors, and cuts the brakes on adrenaline.
Why Standard Tapering Fails: Traditional tapers tell you to drop a dose and "hold" for weeks to stabilize. But if you have a 0.00 score, a long hold just keeps you trapped in a toxic puddle of the metabolite. It makes you feel worse, not better.
How I Fixed It: I stopped doing long holds. I bought a digital gem scale, crushed my tablets, and put the powder into capsules. I made tiny micro-adjustments every other day. By turning down the dose "faucet" continuously, I allowed my body to slowly drain the built-up metabolite without shocking my nervous system.

I had aka 10 months ago from 1 dose of compazine. It settled but I’ve had some bouts of I believe dystonia/ aka around my period that only last a night or so. I started taking hydroxyzine for sleep 4/5 times a week 12.5 mg for about a month and I didn’t take it for 4 days and i’m now in the worst akathisia i’ve ever been in. This med is an antihistamine but i’m seeing it affects dopamine. It’s been 3 days 24/7 and I’m surviving min by min. Restlessness and inner chemical adrenal dumps and it feels like i’m dying 24/7, muscle jerks, chest burning and trembling in my head and chest. I don’t think I’m gonna survive this one.

I've been taking quetiapine, sertraline and paliperidone for a year and a half now. But nothing in my medication have change so how could I have akathisia now?

I feel restless and an overall uneasy feeling to my overall vibe.

I feel better when I move but when I stop the uneasy feeling comes back.

I’m a 21 male and I feel like my life has been completely stripped away from me as I type this I’m suffering so so badly pacing feeling like I want to rip my skin off but I don’t understand why I’m suffering with akathsia like symptoms is it even akathsia I truly feel like I’m losing my mind. The meds I’ve been on in the past was citalopram for a year and a bit from 2023-2024 which I then tapered off going into 2025 I’ve now been off this since then and in that last year I’ve been on and off vyvanse and dexadrine which were low doses I’ve never been on mood stabilisers or antipsychotics not given any anti nausea meds or anything so why am I feeling like this and I don’t know what to do how do I even get help or attempt to explain my issues to people????!!!

Is this Akathisia? I've been experiencing this... sort of aching pain, kind of like I need to stretch, but no movement/stretching seems to relieve the tension. Ever. I've described it being like RLS, but in the entire body. I've experienced the "crawling out of your skin" kind of sensation, but I wouldn't necessarily say that it makes me need to squirm or fidget (ig that's what confuses me). It's concentrated the most in my mid- to lower-spine, hips, and the front of my thighs, and at its worst it can cause muscle spasms in my legs and terrible stiffness/jerky movements. I've had this pain for three years and several medication changes, so I can't quite pinpoint what caused it. Exhaustion, fatigue, and hunger seemingly make it worse. I've been seeking evaluation for Fibro based on this and related issues, but I'm not too convinced it's that anymore. Any advice helps.

I started to realise my suffering with antipsychotics médication and torture that you feel discomfort in all aspects of your life and can't study or work or shower because your brain is blocked and you feel discomfort and akathisia so you're unable to sit or expose to stress so you're going to lose your job because of medication

I've been on an SSRI for many years, no issues.
Healthy, 26 yr old female.

I tried an antipsychotic on top of my SSRI (Risperidone 0.25mg, lowest dose) for about 3 weeks from March till beginning of April. I stopped it quickly, like I said. There was no need to taper bc it was the lowest dose.

After about 4-6 days after my last dose, I developed what I felt like was constant, but luckily moderate, Akathisia. It was more inner for me. Restlessness, doom, crawling in skin feeling, but I did not need to pace 12 hours a day thankfully.

After about 2 weeks of this inner Akathisia I tried b6 and propranolol which helped slightly, and after a full month of this, I was healed... or so I thought.

I was free of this sensation for about a week, maybe 2, and now it came back 2 days ago. However this time, I have no idea why. I tried no new meds, no supplements, no sickness, nothing.

I just woke up and felt the same deeply uncomfortable feelings. Inside of my skin felt like it was electric, uncomfortable, crawling. It felt like restless leg all over my body, but again, I am lucky that it doesn't cause me to pace all day. I can *mostly* stay still if needed, but I do get relief moving

I've had anxiety for over 10 years and i know this is different from anxiety or panic. I just don't know if this is actually Akathisia or what to do...

Hi all- I have been apprehensive to write this, but I think I am finally far enough along in my journey to safely say I have recovered 🙂 this sub popped back up after having been out of it for over a year and I was reminded how I have likely scoured every single post on here desperately clawing for answers and hope, and I wanted to pop in and say there is plenty of hope for all of you!!! ❣️❣️

I am not going to write out my full story here, I will one day, but for right now it is too triggering for me. My story was very severe so I am going to be adding spoiler tags, I highly suggest the sensitive folks or newbies to not click on them, but id like to add them for the more severe cases to give hope to those people as well.

I had akathisia for *trigger warning* >!3 years!< & I suffered a very bad case, at certain times it was inner akathisia, mental akathisia, or physical akathisia but I consistently had some form of it to some extent the entire time. I initally got it from being taken off >!klonopin CT!< in the hospital & not knowing what it was or what to do at first, I tried many different treatments for it and came off a total of 8 meds during my journey, including 2 cts of the >!Klonopin!<. and a few CTs of other drugs including >!Celexa!< and >!Gabapentin!<. The extreme poly drugging i recieved in the hospital and afterwards from various doctors was the reason I believe I had such a bad case. I had many other symptoms than akathisia, but akathisia was by far the worst and I remember thinking, if I could just get rid of that ONE THING I could make it through.

Tips and tricks that helped me in a pinch and got me through -

When my akathisia was very internal, to me this consisted of >!massive pressure around my spine and feeling like my spine was going to rip out of my body, also similar ripping sensations in my chest!< if I took a COLD shower, like FREEZING cold it would snap the sensation out of my body for about 30 minutes and I was usually able to get some sleep during that time. I also had a massage mat (you csn get them for about $100 on amazon) that would distract me from the inner sensations when it was milder. I also had to contort my body in so many different ways, strange positions, mainly with my rear facing up towards the ceiling and head down low, I spent a lot of nights in a curled up ball to the point I now have back issues, but it did help. PRESSURE was also a huge one, I would have my husband lay with his whole body on top of me, and the squeezing sensation would completely knock out the sensations of inner aka. I also bought a 15lb weighted pillow off Etsy and would lay that over my spine. Finally, when the sensations got really bad, sometimes if I laid on the floor and placed my head onto a cool surface, it would relieve it even the slightest.

For physical, honestly just doing whatever you have to do to get the sensation out. I did a lot of rocking, shaking of my limbs, rolling around on the floor, repetitive movements, and pacing. I also had >!vocal tics!< badly and I would consider that to be part of the physical. I would also sometimes >!scratch myself, grind my teeth, and bite myself!< but these actions can be very harmful physically, so I ended up buying a mouth guard. But the bottom line is do whatever you have to do and dont repress it. Ive also had friends who got a pool noodle or something of the sort and beat it into a pillow to relieve their urges.

As for mental akathisia, its a doozy. Its going to get obsessive, terrifying, and dark. The best thing for this is to have supports, whether online, coaches, or irl to offload to and just talk and vent. Theyre going to get very tired of you, so id reccomend having as many people as you can to offset some of the load. Many people kept me alive during this, and I am forever grateful to each and every one of them. There arent as many tangible coping mechanisms for this one, but sometimes I would color just to get my hands moving so I couldnt think as fast, or just write the same words in a journal over and over again. Im so sorry friends, it is so exhausting, but there is a finish line where one day you may rest and have your mind and body back, I promise.

As for how I finally ended up getting rid of the akathisia, that was just time, tapering, and for me I had to get off an offending med towards the end that I was on, >!Morphine!< by DLMT off of it in 5 months. Once I got down to the last >!20mg of it, 1 mg mirtazapine and 2.4mg celexa!<, the akathisia slowly started to go away. Yes, I was put on that medication to treat my akathisia, and it did help at first, but eventually turned on me and made it 10x worse. I am now still on the >!mirtazapine and celexa, as well as 10mg of propanolol I am tapering!<, but I can safely say I really do not think its coming back, as this week ive even had to take a steroid for a full body rash, and I am miraculously fine. It goes away differently for everyone, but id say my case of needing to get off a med was out of the norm, typically what i see most often is people can just hold their meds and it will slowly abate. My biggest regret in this entire process was trying so many treatments for it, there were many times I was convinced it was either that or die, but I learned the hard way as it got worse and worse that I could handle much more than I thought. I have seen people recover by getting on meds tho, so it really is a case by case thing, but getting on meds really is so risky if you don't absolutely need to.

Anyways, it is the end of the night here, im sorry if my writing was sloppy, I really just wanted to spread some hope. You are all stronger than you think & i promise it is possible to get to the other side of this. The only symptoms I am now left with are depression & anhedonia (I think this will take awhile to lift as my dopamine was so entirely screwed), inner vibrations, tinnitus, and neuropathy. None of these symptoms are 24/7. If you look at the list for benzo withdrawal symptoms, I had almost every single one and ALL are gone except for these.

So much love to you all, please keep fighting ❣️ any questions, feel free to ask.

I’ve been dealing with it for 3 month now from Abilify adverse reaction. I’m off the drug now for 3 months after ct. I took Abilify for 1 week only with dosage 5mg then 10 mg for 1 day. Any recovery stories?

im afraid it’s gonna be permanent… my pacing is almost gone but internal aka is still there, I feel like a rock sitting, feel weird and shuffle when I stand up From place to place.

I got Akathisia in 2011 and it finally subsided in 2022. I’ve been taking Ozempic since 2019 and recently I feel my Akathisia coming back. I also take 10mg DHEA supplement and increased it to 25mg, and Pepcid AC.

Anyone on DHEA or Ozempic and issues with Akathisia? I saw only 2 posts for it.

I've had all I can take three ago I was taking testosterone shots for 3 months I took only nine ambiens all I took within 3 weeks because the testosterone shots are giving me anxiety and I got where I couldn't sleep after the 9th ambien I took I've got severe vertigo like really bad for about 2 weeks my doctor told me I'm late on my testosterone shot so I got another one and this thing blowed up had full blown AKA electricity and body where my worst symptoms I had music playing in my head flashing lights in my eyes when I close them rapid blood pressure ringing in the ears histamine problems chemical sensitivity food sensitivity rashes which I've had rashes for 8 years now but they're gone away I take Dao supplement I didn't sleep for a year and a half maybe an hour or two a night and that's all I got I cold turkey to testosterone shots I quit taking Ambien the same time I quit drinking that was 3 years ago my question is I've been on Remeron now for 13 years 45 mg I never had a problem with this drug never in my life now I'm starting maybe it's it I don't know if people get protracted and it lasts 3 years Nicole lamberson told me that it's not the Remeron please don't touch it but I had all I can take she told me I'm going to protracted benzo withdrawal because 12 years ago I came out of rehab getting off benzos and I had a hell of a time but 6 months later I was living like 5 years after that I took Ambien for a month same thing happened I was messed up a good 6 months I didn't think that the 9 ambience within 3 weeks would do this to me does anybody suspect it might be the Remeron now I don't even know anymore but I'm thinking about going to this rehab detox place to go get ripped off I'm tired of dealing with this has anybody survived anything like this and cold turkey is another medicine just to be free of it any help thanks and by the way the only thing I got now is the electricity in the body I don't have all the other symptoms like I have I'm not really pacing no more either I am getting 7 hours of sleep at night but this has gone on too long the electricity is killing me it hurts so bad feel like I'm sitting in a electric chair

I have this restless feeling that feels so uncomfortable like I have to rock my whole body, clench and stretch my muscles, it feels like my body needs to turn itself inside out? Not sure how to describe the feeling honestly but it's a physical feeling, I wouldn't say I feel anxious or nervous because emotionally it doesn't feel that way but the physical anxiety?? is present? Sometimes my heart races or beats strongly when it comes.

This feeling isn't 24/7. It lasts for a minute or 2, leaves a lingering feeling like my body needs to be stretched out, then it's gone. It comes back, sometimes it happens multiple times within an hour, sometimes it takes hours before it comes back again.

I've always been fidgety and I've always experienced this even years back, but it just happens frequently these days that I started researching on it and found out about akathisia. I'm wondering if this could be akathisia or is it just a normal thing people experience?

Hi everyone, I didn't even know there was a name for this feeling. I felt this feeling ages ago when I was a teenager and in the ER for stomach pain and nausea; they gave me something for the nausea + the pain, and the feeling was worse than the symptoms I came in with. I'm not sure if it's considered traumatizing but it freaked me out so badly, and gave me the worst panic attacks. I couldn't take Benadryl either without feeling it flare up, it seems.

Now I'm in my late 20s, went to the ER for the same issues except way worse. They gave me compazine and Benadryl since zofran wouldn't work, that freaked me out for hours until I was able to sleep it off (woke up many many times, though), then later in the night I refused to be given more, so they gave me reglan and Benadryl... -_- you can probably tell how my body reacted to it. No one could understand why it made me feel so bad.

It's been two days since I was discharged, and I keep feeling that small nagging restless feeling. I keep having panic attacks, and I'm so scared I'm going to feel bad again. Since I've been really badly sick with some viral stomach bug, my body is already really weak. I just tried to take some tramadol they gave me, I was hoping it would help me sleep, but I just started having a panic attack.

I hate this restless feeling so so much, I thought I wouldn't have to feel it ever again. The worst part is so badly my body panics from it, I'm so tired. I'm scared I'll never feel normal (in a sense) ever again. It feels like my body got a second case of ADHD, but this isn't medicated lol

I've recently started taking b6, magnesium, iron and folate, as well as a shed tonne of camomile tea and avoided caffeine and alcohol. I have just started to feel some relief and I wondered if anyone else had tried similar?

I’m really struggling today and feeling deeply depressed. I’ve been going through so much, and right now it feels hard to escape these painful thoughts and emotions.

After suffering from Akathisia for a couple of years, I finally started getting better, and recently I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. I also live with OCD, Borderline Personality Disorder, depression, anxiety, and other mental health struggles, so everything feels very overwhelming right now.

I don’t know where to turn for advice, support, or understanding during this difficult time. My faith in the Lord is very important to me, and I trust Him with all my heart. I truly believe He had a hand in helping me heal so much from Akathisia, and I continue to pray for guidance and strength.

I want to be clear that I’m not suicidal. I’m just carrying a tremendous amount of emotional pain and heaviness in my soul. I struggle with a lot of shame and self-hatred because of behaviors connected to Borderline Personality Disorder, and sometimes it becomes very hard to cope with those feelings.

I love my family deeply, and I want to get better — not only for myself, but especially for them. But my negative thoughts keep taking over my mind, and I feel exhausted from fighting them all the time.

God, please help me. I still need You. I can’t do this on my own.

I pray that someone reads this and helps me in some way. I’m so scared and so sad. Sometimes I just want to sleep to escape everything, but even that makes me feel more depressed. I’m desperate to feel better.

I have a hard time trusting people enough to talk about my problems. My mind convinces me that something bad will happen, and I become paranoid and avoid getting the help I desperately need. I don’t want to die, but I don’t know how to keep living with this much emotional pain.

I’m also terrified of trying new medications because I’m afraid of getting sick again after what I went through with Akathisia.

I know most of you don’t know me personally, but please pray for me. I truly need prayers, support, strength, and hope right now.

Thank you, and God bless you all.