Help! Coming Off Of Viibryd (Top voted first)

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 KNOW!!!!! This drug needs to be taken off the market.

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i have been on the pill for 9 days now, could not find my samply pack ysterday so i did not take it...............last night was the worst night of my life!!!! my husband nor i got any sleep - it was like i was coming off of an illegal substance (i guess, never done it but have seen it in movies - such as walk the line, w.phoenix ROCKED in that role by the way, hollywood SUX for not giving him ALL the awards that year)anyway i started getting cold and got chills and was looking for my winter robe(it is may in savannahGEORGIA, been in the 90s out),then i got to sleep and started having the worse hallucinations i was waking up not able to breath, my husband said at one point i was wispering "wake me up joseph wake me up" and was crying - he immediately woke me up - i didnt get any sleep and woke up in pretty much a pool of sweat ------------i will NEVER take another one of those pills again - i feel like ive just been run over by a train this morn, lord please help me just get through this day!!

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Hello Kate. I have been taking Viibryd for about 3 months now. I seemed to be doing okay for about a month, but as I went up on the medication (40mg) I started noticing restless legs, itching and swelling in my face, severe agitation, crying spells... things that I have never experienced before. Keep in mind, I was diagnosed with panic disorder at the age of 17, and I will be 31 in a couple of days, not to mention that I am a psychiatric nurse, so I am not new to the medication world. I have been on a SSRI since I was in my late teens to control the panic attacks. I have been going through a horrible depression since the birth of my second child (he turned 3 in August 2012), which is the only reason my psychiatrist changed my medicine. The Lexapro was controlling my anxiety just fine, but was not controlling the newly diagnosed depression. I have NEVER felt so bad going on and coming off of a medication. I am tapered down to 10mg now on the Viibryd. Most of the ugly side effects were tolerable, however, I too started having panic attacks again on a daily basis. I haven't been this bad since I was 18 years old. My doc is aware, and as I said, is tapering me off of the Viibryd, and has put me on a very small dose of Buspar twice daily, hoping it will control the anxiety. I feel like this medication has sent me through a whirlwind of side effects, and a downward spiral, rather than improving things. I am happy for the folks that have had positive outcomes from this medication, however, I would personally not recommend it to anyone :(. Hope this helps.

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Viibryd sucks! Worst medication ever! I was started on it to "take the edge off" because I was super stressed out. Well I started on 10mg for a week, then up to 20 for 2 weeks, then the night I took 40, I woke up super scared and my heart racing. I called 911. I blacked out and was so confused, I didn't know who the president was. This occurred on the night of June 21, 2012. It is now August 4th and I'm in and out of the hospital still. A few days after the reaction happened I was getting numbness and tingling in my head and face and my anxiety went super high. They gave me ativan. Things went ok some days and others I needed to take an ativan. Well, about 2 weeks ago, I had horrible and strange thoughts and was so scared, I signed myself in. It got worse, I wanted to jump out windows and became extremely paranoid. They have me on Klonopin & Risperdal and it is helping, but the anxiety is still there. The doctor said he thinks the Viibryd may have activated bipolar disorder in me because my grandmother has bi polar disorder. My mother's boss was also on Viibryd and had to sign himself in because of his super high anxiety level after being on Viibryd. Obviously, I would NOT recommend this medication to anyone. It destroyed my life. I'm only on a pass right now, have to be back at the hospital soon. My advice is to stay away from this drug. I have been on numerous anti depressants before and never had a reaction no where near like this.

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Viibryd worked pretty well for me. I was on it for about 4 months, it made me feel happier but l didn't like the cloudy-headedness that came with it. I've decided that mental clarity is more important for me at this time. Sexually, it numbed things down a bit, I could achieve erection/ejaculation but it just took a lot of mental focus and really extreme/perverse/kinky fantasies to get off, not to mention making my women do extreme stuff, I'll spare the details here. Here's my plan for withdrawal after 4 months at 20 mg:
15 mg for 1 week
10 mg for 1 week
5 mg for 1 week
2.5 mg for 1 week

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I'm getting off it too...My Doc's nurse said to cut the 40 mg tabs in half,take 20 mg's for one week, then cut 20 mg in half take 10 mg's every day for a week, then every 2 days..for a week, and then ev 3 days until i run out of med, then stop. I was on 20 mg of Lexapro before and got off it, she said it was ok to get back on it the day I stop the viibryd. Wish me luck. I hate that Viibryd. I am having crying episodes and really down moods....bad stuff for my brain. Going back on the Lexapro. I am also on 300 mg of Wellbutrin and it helped me quit smoking and I have no urge for alcohol or nicotine. Good luck everyone. Depression is the pits and bad meds that make it worse are even worse. The world we live in is hard. Gpd can help ease our pain and tortured souls. I find comfort in my Faith, but I do need a chemically balanced brain. It takes time, but keep trying the different meds to help you and do not give up!!!!! You can get through this. With God,ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. Say that ten times , every morning when you wake up and all through the day and keep seeing your Doc till you figure this out. I am. Hugs- Kim

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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 have been on viibryd for 2 months or more. I had every side effect possible. If i missed a dose omg it was a bad night. my insurance wont cover so i have weaned myself off it slowly and last night was first day without it. I had the worst night of my entire life. i had a complete breakdown crying screaming at my sleeping girlfriend. i wanted to kill myself on the spot. (which is nothing i have ever wanted to do) i managed to take 2 ativans and finally fall asleep around 12. only to wake up an hour later in the worst pain of my life. my brain was completely swollen and there was no room in my head for it. i tried everything i could for 4 hours. so here i am at work with no sleep, in pain and not to mention i threw up and still feel like throwing up. i shouldve called out to work. i have an appt to day with the dr so hopefully he doesnt lock me up when i tell him how awful last night was. and thankfully i still have a girlfriend this morning. last night was that bad.

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It is December 11, 2012. I am so glad I stumbled onto this forum while looking for dosage to wean off of vybriid. I am experiencing so many of the same symptoms, but I did not attribute them all to this med. I have the cloudy head thing, thoughts of how hard life is I just want to die, I would never harm myself, but scary that I am this depressed on an anti-depressant. Itching all over, hair falling out, sexual side effects, crabby mean mood swings, very often restless legs. I have a killer headache right now that makes me feel like throwing up, but I haven't yet. I saw my psychiatrist to go off, but she didn't want me to until we decided what to switch to. I am terrified now that I will have panic attacks after I'm off of vybriid. I'm sorry for all of us. I hope someone reads this before they decide to start taking this drug and maybe more importantly a prescribing physician.

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I experienced the same thing, missed dose one day. Had the most terrifying dreams. Sleep paralysis and I was so frightened I didn't want to go to sleep. I want to get on new Med, but I am waiting to see a psychiatrist instead of a gp. I have used wellbutrin, celexa, cymbalta and pritique over the years and never had a brain zap until viibryd.

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Only been on 5 mg a day for 4 days, and decided to get off, don't like the fact I can't sleep thru the night. Any suggestions. Like do you take it every other day and every 2 days and get off, or just stop, since on a low dosage for a short period of time.

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Horrible withdrawal after my doc told me their wasn't any for just stopping after after 8 days. Horrible panic. Called 911. Shaking. HORRIBLE.

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I agree. It's bad stuff. Just advocate for yourself and get off of the stuff. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

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I'm getting off it too...My Doc's nurse said to cut the 40 mg tabs in half,take 20 mg's for one week, then cut 20 mg in half take 10 mg's every day for a week, then every 2 days..for a week, and then ev 3 days until i run out of med, then stop. I was on 20 mg of Lexapro before and got off it, she said it was ok to get back on it the day I stop the viibryd. Wish me luck. I hate that Viibryd. I am having crying episodes and really down moods....bad stuff for my brain. Going back on the Lexapro. I am also on 300 mg of Wellbutrin and it helped me quit smoking and I have no urge for alcohol or nicotine. Good luck everyone. Depression is the pits and bad meds that make it worse are even worse. The world we live in is hard. God can help ease our pain and tortured souls. I find comfort in my Faith, but I do need a chemically balanced brain. It takes time, but keep trying the different meds to help you and do not give up!!!!! You can get through this. With God,ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. Say that ten times , every morning when you wake up and all through the day and keep seeing your Doc till you figure this out. I am. Hugs- Kim

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Hello all. I was first on Lexapro in February of 2013 to help me sleep as my brain would not shut off at night and then July of 2013, I became easily overheated on Lexapro and had a heat stroke at age 39. I am fit and healthy and had a heatstroke. Long story short, I weaned off Lexapro and sleep became non-existent, so I was put on Viibryd. A year has passed and I was outside just walking my dogs and became easily overheated again and knew what could happen. I went to the doctor and learned the SSRI's cause a major electrolyte imbalance for me and now my kidneys are not functioning well. The urgency to go off Viibryd was present so I slowly weaned off in a month's time frame. Nervous that my anxiety and sleep would surface again, I researched and started taking L-Theanine twice a day, Magnesium at night, Vitamin C and Omega 3 twice a day and a B complex every morning. That all seemed to be helping, but my anxiety was still slightly there. I finally realized that I might need support for my adrenals as anxiety and adrenals go hand in hand and started taking a wonderful supplement by Gaia that seems like a replacement for Viibryd, minus the heat stroke, blood sugar issues, weight gain issues, and all of the other lovely side effects of SSRI's. I am starting to feel alive again and love this feeling. I knew I now should look at supporting the adrenals and the brain and through research, the same herbs that help support the adrenals, also support the brain and sleep. I asked around at different health food stores and learned that one product has all the ingredients I was wanting to try. Go figure it would be named Gaia, "Sleep Thru". I feel like my old self, minus the anxiety and sleep issues. Exercise helps also or even just stretching before bed, no caffeine after 3:00pm and a little protein snack before bed. I hope this helps others when going off SSRI's.

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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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It does. Or at least from what I've been reading, people having bad reactions at the 40mg dose. How are you feeling now Kate? Have your panic attacks subsided or have gone away completely? If they did, how long did they take to go away?

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I hate Viibryd. When I first started to take it I felt okay. I did the start pack, but when I got up to 40mg i was basically a mean person. I went back down to 20mg. One night I had a half of a glass of wine and woke up with the worst headache ever, which never happens. if I drink anything on viibryd I get very sick the next day and a headache while drinking. When i say drinking I mean like 3oz of wine or less with friends. I am currently on 10mg and I want to get off of this medication. It makes me have mirgraines also. Does anyone have these types of issues while on this med? How do I go about getting off of this med? I tried once and got really sick. threw up and had an AWFUL headache for days.

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If you're down to 10mg and get sick when you try to stop it, break the 10 in half for a few days then stop. Viibryd turned me into such a mean, angry, agitated person, made my face swell, made my hair fall out. Ugh. Get off of it as soon as possible.

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I'm getting ready to wean myself off of it by tapering down. I am scared to death to do it but I'm afraid of this medicine. I'm on 20mg and have experienced the nightmares, brain zaps and night terrors! I pray to God to get he through this!

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