Be Very Cautious Mixing Alcohol With Viibryd!! (Page 2)

This is a warning to you all... A little bit about me first: I'm 6'3" and only 130 pounds. Naturally I am very susceptible to side effects of any drug. I also didn't have my first taste of alcohol until October 2011, which is when I turned 23.

Throughout November 2011 I took Cymbalta. I also drank occasionally, but not often and not much. Cymbalta gave me a lot side effects such as an upset stomach, dizzyness, inability to sleep, etc. About mid-December I switched to Prozac, and took it through February. Throughout this time I drank a lot. Very often, and sometimes I'd get incredibly drunk, but I didn't have any bad experiences with mixing Prozac and alcohol. At the beginning of March 2012 I started taking Viibryd because Prozac wasn't giving me the results I desired. The first time I drank while taking Viibryd was on March 14th. That night was also my first and only ride in an ambulance. I drank a good bit of alcohol that night, but it wasn't the most I've ever drank. I also drank a little too fast. I ended up throwing up everything, then stomach juices, then dry heaving all the way to the hospital.

Since then I've only gotten drunk once while on Viibryd, and I did it slowly. I took about 10 shots of vodka but over a four hour period. I didn't feel any bad effects that night, and thought that maybe if I was just careful with my drinking that I could still get drunk while taking Viibryd. But the next day I was miserable. After havingstopped drinking at 11pm the night before, I was still drunk at 8am and unable to drive. The entire day I was sick and on the verge of passing out. I couldn't function at all. And the effects even carried over slightly to the following day.

I would just like to warn you all. It wouldn't suprise me at all if someone could end up dead due to an accident of mixing Viibryd and alcohol...

REPLY

REPORT

I have sleep problems now due to Viibryd!!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

That sucks. As far as sleep goes, the only change for me has been really bad dreams, like being repeatedly raped. It is't often but it still sucks pretty bad. And I have gained so much weight that I am now weaning myself off. I'd rather be thin and miserable than fat and miserable. I truly already have enough to worry about without this new weight issue.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

I started Viibryd 8 days ago, and I am now up to 20mg on the starter pack. I have had alcohol two times, and have been fine each time. The only problem is that when I drink alcohol I don't sleep well, and that makes me feel bad the next day. I don't do 10 shots of vodka, though :) Last night I had two martinis and a long island iced tea over a 4-hour period. I felt tipsy/drunk, but not overly drunk. I do not drink every day, especially not hard alcohol. So far I have not felt negative effects that are strictly from Viibryd. I just try to watch my alcohol consumption; I do not want to overdo it. "Everything in moderation" is my motto.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 6

I am on my 11th day on viibyrd, at first I was having very bad dizzy spells but they seem to have gone away but last night I woke up very sweaty and shakey and had a pretty bad panic attack... Anyone else experience anything like this?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

The medication can take a while to start working fully. My psychiatrist told me to take .25 mg klonopin in the evenings, if I was having anxiety while starting Viibryd, until it is at full effectivity. I am on day 10, and I my Dr. told me that until the full week of 20mg pills is over I may still have anxiety periodically. It is normal to have anxiety sometimes, especially if there is stress happening in one's life. I try to identify what the stress is, and also identify how to control that stress. I ask myself, "What can I do about this stress?" If I can fix it, I decide to do that. If I have no control over it, I don't worry about it and just accept it. Sometimes that helps me deal with panic attacks.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 2

Thanks for the response! I was on celexa for two years mainly for severe OCD/intrusive thoughts and anxiety disorder and it ended up getting worse, so I got switched to this medicine! Hoping it takes away my negative thinking!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I wish you lots of luck with Viibryd! I have Post Partum Depression, and am just 6 months into the 1st year after having my baby. I am probably going to go to the full 40mg for a while, and then come down to 20mg eventually. I was first put on Buspar for depression/anxiety, and then was taking Effexor XR for many years. When I wanted to have another baby, my psychiatrist switched me to Prozac, which didn't really do much but blunt my emotions so that I didn't feel much of anything at all. When I had my son, I stayed on Prozac, and eventually weaned off by myself, due to it not really doing anything for my PPD. Now I'm trying Viibryd, and I found a bit of relief into the end of the first week of 10mg. Now that I'm on 20mg, I'm feeling a lot better (day 10). My only complaint is that I'm still having disrupted sleep, but that could also be because I'm somewhat paranoid that my infant is going to wake up :) It will pass, for sure. I do take melatonin in the evenings to help me relax and fall asleep, and I also try to keep similar sleep hours from day-to-day. That helps. I also supplement vitamin D, especially when the days start getting shorter, like right around now. I try to do everything I can to help the meds work their magic, and to improve the things in my life that are upsetting to me or stressful. I hope this lends some perspective for you; I realize how intrusive thoughts can be very upsetting, and difficult to deal with. I had that a whole lot when both of my children were first born. Best of luck to you.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 2

Thank you so much for the response. It's nice to know your not alone in the world and your not the only one feeling a certain way. My biggest problem is feeling so alone and like I'm the only one experiencing the anxiety, I have a three year old daughter as well and I suffered from ppd but never told anyone about it and held it in for two years which had a lot to do with my anxiety building up and getting worse. I do think viibyrd is helping and I even had a couple beers last night for my birthday and so far feel fine just having a little trouble sleeping. Have you ever heard of cognitive therapy? I read about it a lot online but haven't much idea as to what it is or how it works?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Yes, I know what cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is. It is when your therapy sessions emphasize *thinking* in how we feel and what we do. It is supposed to help patients understand the thoughts and feelings that influence behaviors. My therapist uses CBT to an extent, but only where there are problem issues. She used it more when I was first seeing her. Now she really just uses it when I'm having tougher issues. I think it really does work.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

I did initially feel very shaky- loopy, now (I started about 9 days ago taking 20 mgs) I wake up extremely shaky, and I remain the same way all day. I have never been like that nor do I want to continue to feel this way.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Yep, you're crazy.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I've been on Viibryd for 3 months now and have never taken any kind of anti-depressant or anxiety medication before. The first two weeks of were MISERBABLE!! I didn't get any of the stomach issues, mind was mainly TERRIBLE panic attacks. I've never had a panic attack before and these were of the epic kind. I was"lucky" enough to have one in the office of my therapist so was able to work on clues or signs of an oncoming one. Other than that, I've had no issues with Viibryd. I feel better. Now, my therapist did tell me there is a period when on Viibryd that it doesn't feel like anything has changed - stagnant. So I expected to feel like, "eehh, this isn't doing anything for me", but will continue taking as planned. I do, however, drink on the medication. Not a lot, and my therapist said that the main side effect of drinking, is the increase of anxiety and mood swings the next day. I did notice that my tolerance level is WAY WAY lower than when I wasn't on the mediciation. Maybe that is why people are getting sick. It wasn't high to begin with but I could drink two beers and not be drunk. Not the case anymore, geez! So becareful. Also, it has warnings EVERYWHERE to NOT TAKE cold medicines with Viibryd. My therapist warned me as well. It has a TERRIBLE reaction and will make you violently sick. Hope this helps people :)

REPLY

Was this helpful? 2

I've been on Viibryd for 3 months now and have never taken any kind of anti-depressant or anxiety medication before. The first two weeks of were MISERABLE!! I didn't get any of the stomach issues, mine was mainly TERRIBLE panic attacks. I've never had a panic attack before and these were of the epic kind. I was"lucky" enough to have one in the office of my therapist so was able to work on clues or signs of an oncoming one. Other than that, I've had no issues with Viibryd. I feel better. Now, my therapist did tell me there is a period when on Viibryd that it doesn't feel like anything has changed - stagnant. So I expected to feel like, "eehh, this isn't doing anything for me", but will continue taking as planned. I do, however, drink on the medication. Not a lot, and my therapist said that the main side effect of drinking, is the increase of anxiety and mood swings the next day. I did notice that my tolerance level is WAY WAY lower than when I wasn't on the mediciation. Maybe that is why people are getting sick. It wasn't high to begin with but I could drink two beers and not be drunk. Not the case anymore, geez! So becareful. Also, it has warnings EVERYWHERE to NOT TAKE cold medicines with Viibryd. My therapist warned me as well. It has a TERRIBLE reaction and will make you violently sick. Hope this helps people :)

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Like most of you I have been on and tried many different anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medications over the years. I am only 22 but remember dealing with the effects of anxiety from when I was just a little girl of 3 or 4. Viibryd seems to have the best effect for me and the least side effects, until I drink alcohol that is. I can usually hold my alcohol very well and not feel the side effects of a hard night of drinking the day after, I've been on viibryd for just over 2 months now but every time I have more than a couple drinks I feel like I'm having a mild hangover with nausea, headache and stomachache for hours the next day. As much as I hate to have this be happening to all of you, I'm just glad that I do not seem to be the only one experiencing this. Now to talk to the doctor about why this is and no drinking until then.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

does anybody else get really bad withdrawals if they aren't on point with their dose. As soon as I exceed 24 hours since last dose, my face gets itchy i feel like im getting sick and i become miserable and irritable.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I've had problems now twice with drinking alcohol and Viibryd. Last time, I had two shots of tequila over three hours, and driving was super hard (it felt like I was in a spaceship with things rushing by on either side). Then I had horrible almost psychotic dreams each time. And in fact, since starting Viibryd, my dreams have been terrible almost every night (which was never true before).

People mentioned weight gain, but that's not happening for me. In fact, I eat a little and get super full really quickly.

As far as the benefits, I notice less obsessional thinking--like the recent painful things that have happened feel further away in time. I notice I'm getting more angry (which the doctor says is great--that I'm not depressing). I went up to 40 mg, but went back down to 20 mg when I didn't feel any improvement from the larger dose.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I stopped taking Viibryd because it caused some really strange thoughts - intrusive thoughts that made me feel crazy ... And my sleep was suffering terribly. My doctor put me on Effexor XR, which I took for many years, with great success. It is working for me again, thankfully. I am hoping to be able to go off of all meds once my son is 2 years old or so. Maybe even before that ... Viibryd was not for me, after all. With any antidepressant, you need to be careful how much alcohol you consume. Effexor is probably the easiest to deal with. I have gone out once while being on Effexor, and I didn't have any ill effects. I drank quite a bit, too. Good luck to you all!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I'm glad this discussion board has become useful for everyone. I'm a little late to update but I think I should share a couple more of my experiences with Viibryd. I've always stopped taking Viibryd, back in July, but ever since then I've had constipation problems. They're aren't absolutely terrible but I ended up going to a gastroenterologist and he said the Viibryd could possibly still be affecting. Also it could be my new medication. But most importantly, in May I had a bad experience with mixing Viibryd with a painkiller. I had some left over hydrocodone cough syrup from a flu I had a year back. My throat was hurting one night and I had a headache so I took a *suggested* dose of the cough syrup. I did NOT take more than the suggested dose. And I ended up passing out in a restroom in a restaurant. I hit my head on tile floor and vomited. I went to the hospital and the doctor explain that Viibryd can sometimes cause a lack of blood vessel constriction that naturally occurs when you stand up in order to keep your blood pressure up. So basically, getting up to go to the bathroom caused a lack of blood to my brain. I never took a painkiller with Viibryd after that.

Well anyway, I'm now taking 300mg of Wellbutrin and 10mg of prozac and they're working quite well. Honestly not *quite* as well as Viibryd made me feel, but good...

I hope you all have good luck with Viibryd. It works great... it's just so dangerous...

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Dude 10 shots without viibryd will do that.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

I am not talking about drinking. When I drink on Viibryd I feel dead and emotionless the folling day. I am saying witout alcohol, when I miss my dose by only a few hours I start getting so itchy nad feeling flu like symptoms

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

I take 10 mg hydrocodone daily. I binge drank Saturday night and have been sick in bed with a tremendous hangover for 3 ...

5 REPLIES

Hi. My doctor gave me a 5day course of betamox and each pill contains 250mg powder. Is it safe to have alcohol while u a...

1 REPLY

can you drink alcohol beverage while taking Dinintel ## After gathering information on Dinintel and its appetite suppres...

1 REPLY

If you drink alcohol while take this medication could it be harmful or cause a bad interaction? ## wondering what pill t...

4 REPLIES

I drink 7 or 8 beers a day I can't afford to check into rehab I just want some benzos to clear the first couple of d...

2 REPLIES

Is this a fatal combination?If i started drinking heavily and the injested this amount, would it be deadly? ## Hi Savana...

4 REPLIES

A friend of mine well an old friend is making some very bad life choices right now. He use to be addicted to vyvanse and...

1 REPLY

Stopping Viibryd: From 40mg I tapered down to 7 days of 20mg followed by 7 days of 10mg. The biggest side effect I felt ...

37 REPLIES

Going off Viibryd: From 40mg, I went to 7 days of 20mg then 7 days of 10mg. I felt the affects and mostly it was anxiety...

19 REPLIES

I've been on Viibryd for about 2 years now, I think? I started on 10mg, then went up to 20, then 40. At first the si...

6 REPLIES