Help! Coming Off Of Viibryd (Page 2)

I was wondering if any of you out there have come off of an SSRI and had severe panic attacks that lasted a month or longer. I am in such distress. I wasn't taking any sort of medication a few years ago and was fine. I almost went through a break-up last summer, got super depressed and my primary care physician started me on Viibryd. At first, it worked great, I felt happy and alive and things smoothed over with the boyfriend. Once he bumped me up to 40 mg however this past November I started to notice I was having panic attacks every now and then. I decided I wanted to get off of it and he cut me down to 20mg for a week, then 10 mg for a week and then nothing. The more I got off of Viibryd, the more panic attacks I would have. I would especially get them while driving.

I would get a feeling of not being able to breathe followed by tachycardia and my hands would go numb. I was taken t the ER so many times this past month and even hospitalized for a weekend after being off of the stuff. I believe the last Viibryd pill I took was on February9th (a month ago today) and my panic attacks have lessened but only because I have been taking .5 mg of lorazepam (ativan) 3 times a day. Whenever I don't take an ativan, its inevitable that a panic attack will come on. I am in such distress and don't want to get on another SSRI because while I was in the hospital, I was diagnosed with hyper seritonin syndrome from the viibryd. The doc I saw said I was taking too high of a dosage for only weighing 115 lbs. I want this torture to end and I just want some comfort in knowing someone out there went through this or something similar and that they made it through it.

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I went through the SAME thing yesterday down to the fact that it happened while I was driving.

I didn't know what was going on. This was my first panic attack but now that I've read your post it is clear to me that what I was experiencing was a full on panic attack.

I've been on Viibryd for about 1 month. I started with the starter pack and after about 3 days on 40 mgs I started to feel like the medication was too strong but stuck with it in hopes of getting better.

I called the doctor's office today and he said to stop cold turkey. I'm glad because I was scared to take viibryd again even to trickle down.

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I have been on many anti- depressants over the past 20 years. I was given a 30 day sample pack of viibryd and was on 40mg. For approximately 4 weeks. I had very frightening nightmares and felt revved up, but not depressed for the first time in years. I woke up in a panic several times. The worst incident resulted in my calling 911 for the first time in my life. My blood pressure was 220/100. Viibryd was reduced to 20 mg.
While taking viibryd I was evaluated in sleep lab. Found out I was thrashing my legs and according to brain wave evaluation, I was awake 3 hours when I thought I was asleep. I immediately stopped taking viibryd and I am sleeping much better now. No more nightmares, waking up in a panic, and early waking in the morning. Depression has come back, but I am done with medication. If you want to wake up from sleep terrified, take viibryd.

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I couldn't agree more! I am off all ssri's & feel better than I have in a VERY long time. I was prescribed Prozac, then Zoloft, then Paxil for PMS/PMDD. The Paxil worked great but I gained tons of weight & skept constantly. I asjed my doctir to swith me to sinething thatcwas non- weight bearing, thus Viibryd. Had a hysterectomy Dec.18,2012 and have been OFF all meds shortly there after. I suffered tapering SLOWLY down but survived & feel like I have my life back. I was scared I would go crazy & end up in the psych ward going off it, thankfully, that did not happen. Best if luck to you!

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Sorry for all the typos!

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I had GeneSightRx psychotropic testing--a cheek swab test sent to lab which analyzes the compatibility of psych meds and your genetic profile. Found out I was prescribed antidepressant for 8 years that was genetically incompatible for me and should be "used with caution". Unfortunately Viibryd is too new a drug, and testing does not currently exist for it. I recommend save yourself some suffering-get swab test. I am on Medicare, and it was paid for. If we can land a Rover on a specific spot on Mars, why trial and error with psych meds?

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I feel AWFUL. I've been on VIibryd 40mg (18yr) for about maybe a couple months. And I am on my day 3 of not taking it. WORST nightmare of my life . I keep getting zaps of electricity almost, throughout my body and head. I seriously do not know what to do !.~completely flipping out~

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I started taking Viibryd for depression in 12/11. Not a good ride--40 lb. weight gain from carbohydrate and sugar addiction to quell the anxiety that came with this drug. Also, the skin on my fingers and fingertips started to peel off and formed painful bleeding slits, which have started to heal now that I am off this nightmare of a drug. I never slept through the night, and had constant diahrrea, extreme mental fogginess and lack of initiative to the point of losing my job and financially falling off the cliff. The nightmares were bad, too. So, despite my family doctor's exultations about how great Viibryd is (the drug reps' probably send him and his wife to Sedona for prescribing it), I finally decided to slowly wean myself off the Viibryd by reducing the dosage per week by 10mg. I have my life and my mind back and didn't realize I had been in a mental "cave" until this past week. I am addressing my issues and am going back to what worked for me in the past--professional counseling, proper nutrition, support groups, yoga and exercise. With the Viibryd I felt like isolating all of the time instead of reaching out. It's good to be back in the world. I'd rather be in touch with my pain and anger and consciously deal with it than be shrouded in that numbness and fog. I am accountable for myself and ultimately need to take responsibility for my self-care.

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I've been on 40mg for more than 2 months and missed a dose yesterday, had 20-30 ZAPS! and nightmares last night...I'm thinking about weaning 20mg for a week and then 10mg / week, then 5 then off. Maybe you should too, but I'm definitely going off this evil spirit of a medicine.

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The best thing I did was go off of it! Best of luck to you! Please make sure you let your prescribing doctor know that you are wanting to go off of it so that it is documented and for proper titration instructions! I titrated down to .25 because I was so scared if the effects!

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Like everyone on this forum, I too am having the same symptoms as everyone. I went from 5mg of Lexipro to 10mg of Viibryd because of sexual side effects. Then after 4 weeks doctor upped does to 20mg... that's when all the fun started... thumping heart rate, crazy thoughts, and a ton of anxiety. I'll take the sexual side effects thank you very much! Meds should NOT make you feel worse! I feel angry that I feel like this! Sometimes I feel the doctors are the "drug" dealers we should be worrying about!

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Well i figured id share my story with this crazy s***! Im a 28 yr old male who really didnt give a crap most of the time ,but to save my marrige and my temper decided to start taking this stuff . Now ive takin alot of other brands when i was younger, prozac, lexapro, effexor, ect. So i figured same thing right, wrong! I didnt see anyone on here mention brain zaps, that was my first adventure with viibryd! Vision blurring, hearing issues all wrap up in a zap, short 1-2 1/2 sec zaps! Enough to scare u a little and nothing really bothers me which measures the severity. I am still on this s*** right now just in fear of what will happen if i stop taking them. I am at 80 millagrams right now due to the fact i was going though severe withdraws every 12 hrs! My prescibed dose is only 40 every 24 hrs! It does make me feel better when im on it but the cons overway the pros. Thats y im on here right now because i missed a dose last night and now a feel like dog s***, pardon my french!

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I know I HATE Viibryd, I've always had really bad nightmares so I don't know if this med is messing with them, butI do know it's messing with me in other ways: I'm so incredibly sick all the time, throwing up and diahrea, starting the first dose til now (two months later!) every day I've been sick. And brain zaps, random bouts of not being able to talk or think of words I need to say. It does help my depression, but it doesn't help enough to outweigh my misery on this drug. Going to the dr tomorrow to get off if this dumb med. I've suffered with depression since I can remember, been on a whole slew of meds for it over the years, and none made me physically this ill. Ever. So hang in there guys, and switch meds YESTERDAY because the side effects ate too crappy and they don't get better with time.

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I feel like I'm still having side effects from it. Small brain zaps, inner shakiness & lack of mental clarity.am, I wish I would have never taken this medicine. I didn't have these problems with the Paxil. I wanted to go off the Paxil because I thought that was the weight gain culprit! I'm too afraid to go back on anything. I'm going to get back into yoga, breathing techniques & see a therapist. Maybe somebody should sue this company or should we complain to the FDA?

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Up until last fall I have never had a problem with depression or anxiety,and was on no prescription meds. Things started to get really bad at my job and I was having issues with some friends and just started feeling really down all the time. I would start crying randomly and when it got to the point where I felt like I didn't want to live anymore I went to my doc. First he had me try citalopram and things were going ok for about 4 months . Then my pharmacy switched manufacturers and I had a bad reaction and I decided I needed to try something else l. He chose to put me on Viibryd because there is no generic for it so they can't switch manufactures and its "had some really good results" with some of his patients. I started taking the pills in the starter pack the next day and felt 100% better. Everything was going fine until a few days after I started the 40mg dose. I started having difficulty falling asleep, then the nightmares began. Soon I started having the brain zaps. I ignored these symptoms for a few weeks figuring that my body needed time to adjust to the higher dose. For the most part I felt good during the day other than lack of sleep. At this point I had finally found a new job and was feeling really good about things as I considered my old job a major source of my depression (but I gotta pay the bills. Right?) Into my first week at my new job I'm feeling pretty good but I want to be sleeping better so that I can be alert. So I started cutting my pills in half and immediately started sleeping better without the nightmares, sleep paralysis , brain zaps, etc.(yes I did this without telling my doc, I just felt it was a good idea at the time) 3 rd day of taking 20mg as opposed to 40 I'm training at work trying to focus on what my trainer is saying and I begin to feel lightheaded, and end up blacking out for maybe 10 seconds. I work in a hospitalso they called a rapid response, I was wheeled down to ER and made a great impression on my new coworkers. Anyway, i'm currently taking 30 mg of Viibryd and SLOWLY weaning myself off of them. Has anyone else experienced fainting episodes while weaning off of Viibryd? Or after missing a dose? I really hope that within the next few months I can be off of it all together without starting something new. I wish I had been warned before I started taking viibryd. I still have a ways to go before o can completely quit.

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I am a 58 years old, 250 lb male. I have been taking Viibryd since July 2012. Had been taking Celexa off and on for years due to PTSD. I have bouts of depression. Nothing I consider chronic.

The reason I started taking an SSRI this time was because I was experiencing problems speaking. My symptoms were so bad, I thought I was developing Primary Progressive Aphasia. I would stutter and simply have trouble forming words. My kids were making fun of me it was so noticeable. After MRI's and blood work and a lengthy work-up by a clinical neuropsycologist, I was diagnosed with depression. Neurologist also found a meningeoma (benign brain tumor).

Wife says I'm irritable and I'm starting to believe her. I think aggressive behavior is one side effect and I'm probably experiencing that more than anything.

I take 20mg daily. I have never experienced nightmares or itching like everyone else seems to. The big benefit for me is that within a few weeks of beginning Viibryd, my speech problems stopped. 20mg may be a relatively low dose since I am a large person. I stopped at 20mg because my speech problems resolved.

I suffer from some ED that may be due to age or Viibryd. Cialis fixes that.MGIAO

I am planning to get off the drug since I think the aggressive behavior and irritability are becoming a problem.

Celexa didn't do crap for me. Took Prozac many years ago and it worked well on my depression. Had no problem with getting an erection, but lots of problems ejaculating. After having sex like a porn star, the wife would finally say enough is enough.

If I have trouble with depression or speaking again, I will go back to the Viibryd. Please don't throw rocks at me because I am more or less supporting the drug.

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I started taking Viibryd 10 days ago and have taken 10mg for nine days and yesterday I took 20mg. When I wake in the morning my neck and upper shoulders tingle and feel stiff. My mood feels more depressed and my head hurts. I am going to stop taking this medicine before I feel any worse.

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I started this viibryd a month ago. After 3 days of the 40mg I started hallucinating and seeing full color 3D wierd things. Then I started getting these dizzy speeds each time I moved my eyes from either side or moved my head. Then i got so depressed, useless and didnt care any more, took off on my bike at night for s two hour ride hoping i would end my life. at times i thought i was dreaming while i was driving then i would realize i wasnt and that would play on off for the whole trip. was glad to be home, wife was upset as i didnt take my phone or wallet, i was in the worst mood ever. Weaned myself from half for two days to a quarter for three days. It's been over a week now and still moviving my eyes or head gives me dizzy spells and I am hot and then panic attacks set in. I am still taking my .5 trazodone and .5 clonezapam. Taking two clonezapam a day for panic attacks. I still am not feeling right and don't think anyone understands me in my home. At some points I want to just scream! This sucks as I am between jobs now and don't feel I can cope with an interview let alone a job. My world is spinning out of control. My psychiatrist recommended me this drug as he tried many others on me as a guinea pig. Don't really want to go back to him. I just want to be like I was just taking trazadone and clonezapam. Life seemed better than it is now. Hope these feelings end soon cuz I am going crazy and don't think anyone can help.

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The medication made me so angry all of the time, and I could tell I was taking it out on my husband and children. Nothing in the world is more important than they are. I have never been an angry person. The Viibryd made me near suicidal and had to go. I found that therapy (in which I am in maintenance phase now) and regular exercise helped me more than anything! Coming from a girl who is 31 and has suffered from severe panic attacks and depression since age 17. Good luck!!

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my doc gave me the starter pack of viibryd. was okay the first week on 10 mg. the 4th day of the 2nd week on 20 mg. my pulse went up to 113. called doc and he reduced me back to 10. after 5 weeks i wasn't feeling any better, but i had gained 10 lbs. i'm stopping it. doc said cut it in 1/2 -- take 5 mg. for 1 week -- then the 2nd week take 5 mg every other day then stop. i've been getting panic attacks for over a year since my husband died. i've been on ativan, but since the viibryd the panic attacks are worse and more frequent especially now that i'm weaning off. i took an ativan an hour ago and still can't sleep -- going to take another one. this drug is awful. when it's out of my system i'm going to try a homeopathic remedy for my depression and grief.

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I have been taking Viibryd 10 mg X 10 days only. Do I need to wean off of Viibryd before starting Lexapro 15 mg which was my original medication at 10 mg?

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