Sleep Paralysis W/ Hallucinations (Page 7) (Top voted first)

Has anyone else experienced sleep paralysis accompanied by hallucinations since starting viibryd? I have been on the medicine for about 4 months now and for the last 2 1/2 months have had several very scary episodes of sleep paralysis... I have never been on a anti-depressant before and never experienced sleep paralysis until i started this medicine. I am a 23 year old female and i take no other meds except a daily multi-vitamin. Ive noticed that if i accidentally miss a viibryd pill i have sleep paralysis... but have also had it on occasions of not missing a pill. It occurs about once a week... its to the point where i dread going to sleep at night in fear of sleep paralysis, but the hallucinations that come along with it are what I dread the most. Has anyone else had a similar experience with this medicine?

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I just wanted to follow up and say that I've reducing my dosage over the last three weeks and am now completely off it. I do have a few moments when I feel light headed but generally it has been easy to get off of. The night terrors and sleep paralysis stopped within days of reducing my dosage from 40 to 20. I am so happy to be off this. It did more harm than good for sure.

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Holly, I talked to people I know and I think they think Im crazy too. So I try to NOT talk to them about it but feel I have to talk about it, probably because I want to understand what is going on. Glad you came here. Only certain people can relate with us. I dont believe we are Crazy, even the times WE think we are after a sleep disturbance happens, Ha! I try to think "Others experience this, It was just a dream," Those thoughts take a while to register because things just seem so real but thats just it: They only "seem" to be. Im practicing niiping the thoughts in the bud and will continue to do so until I get some sort of better relief even if it takes years. Got no other choice upon awakening, the fear and craziness of its insane. Id rather live without giving it much thought during my days but it has me here researching so yeah, Im thinking about it huh? I only thought I was crazy before, now with these experiences I began to believe I was lol until I found people like you. Thanks for coming. (I know it seems like its no laughing matter, its scary crazy stuff I just have decided to try to find the humor in it. It helps keep me from thinking of it so much and allows me to stay on its brighter side. Glad you are here.

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Hi Pam,
No one should experience 1 episode of SP. IMO, even if you take it another year....the crazy SP, brain explosion feelings, auditory psychosis will probably still be there. Don't suffer another night! Just 20 mg. of Prozac at bedtime was enough to end the SP. (in replace of my weaned down to dose of 20 mg. Vii) You aren't crazy! It's the Vii. I took Vii for 8 mos. and now I am trying to clean up all the clutter I accumulated during that time (papers,etc). I am still taking 300 mg. of Wellbutrin or I cannot focus as well & I feel irritable. And I've decided to stay on 20 mg. of Prozac. Libido is down, but I am no longer (almost) biting my nails with anxiety, especially when it comes to trying to relax. Sleeping more, but my body & mind needs it. Btw...every time I get an email saying someone else replied, I have total empathy for that person who suffered the night before. See a Dr. & replace Vii with something else? If you feel u can. I will tell you that no amt. of Ambien or Xanax at night will keep Viibryd's evilness away. It irks me that even my Dr's kind of brush off my SP stories. So glad that is all behind me. Praying that everyone can also feel relief! :)

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OMG so glad i found this forum!!!! I am loving the vibryd but can't deal with the sleep paralysis!!!! does anyone know anything that can make it better???? holy s*** i thought i was going insane!!!! its so terrifying, and its weird cause you know its just a dream but you are just filled with fear!!! does it get better if you just stick with it? its like if i get one episode that night - i know im gonna have like 20, 000 more episodes that night, it either happens full blown one night or it doesn't happen.

also - it seems like people's nightmares/ hallucinations match with mine! dreaming of large black shadowy figures - freaky freaky shizzle!!!!

i really do not wanna stop the vibryd cause other than this side effect its fine for me...

anyway what a relief its just a side effect and nothing more.

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Freaky freaky shizzle is right! (Lol--like that). I'd get the 'F' off this med. NOW. I don't know what I'd do if I was still having SP with terrifying dreams. When are Forest Lab. going to listen!?!? This is not right. If someone can find anything on the Internet with another anti-D causing the same side effects, then I want to see the link.

How is it possible that everyone is dreaming of the man in the cloak....reddish face....beard.....face kind of indistinguishable. Then that nasty evil creature that swatted my freaking feet when after the many nights is SP I screamed internally....get out of my body!!!! That 'thing'force' pulled and pulled at me...my soul and I had to use all my strength to stay in my body. I can hardly believe I am writing this. But it's true. Viibryd is evil!!!!

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I've been taking 40 mg of Viibryd for a few months now to treat my depression and anxiety. I haven't been having anymore anxiety attacks, but I think I hate this drug, and after reading through these messages and seeing so many people with similar experiences to mine, I'm getting off this drug ASAP. I'm currently in college and rarely visit home, so it makes it difficult for me to keep in contact with my family doctor about my progress with the medication. And I'm tired of repeatedly switching medications, trying to find something that works for me. But the side effects on Viibryd are like nothing I've ever experienced. I have this constant pressure in my head. I have severe insomnia, way worse than I've ever had before. And when I do sleep, I have really intense, vivid stress dreams. Often before falling asleep I'll experience "zaps" or "waves" in my brain and sometimes sleep paralysis and hallucinations. So naturally, I'm exhausted all the time. Sometimes I feel like my eyes can't focus, I can't concentrate on ANYTHING, and often lack the motivation to do the things I need to do. I also have crazy mood swings. Like right now, I feel majorly depressed, which hasn't been an issue for a while. And almost everyday I have suicidal thoughts. I know I'll never act on them like I have in the past (not since about 5 years ago), but they still run through my head constantly.

I just want to feel normal and happy again, but I don't know what to do. Viibryd has made me want to quit anti-depressants altogether, but I don't know if I'll be able to function. And I'm scared to go off of Viibryd because of all the negative withdrawal symptoms.

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Isn't it something...another person having SP. Hmmm...when is Forest Lab. going to listen? Anyway, so I know the fear about stopping the med. I was so frightened. My neuro. Dr. gave me 2 sample packs of Viibryd & told me to take it backwards. I was not successful with that. I became very irritable at my last day of taking the 20 mg. & couldn't go down to 10 mg. I gave it more time, saw my family Dr. (I was his first patient to take Viibryd!) & explained the SP. He was puzzled. Having never experienced that before, it was difficult to explain the terror. But he prescribed the Prozac (20 mg) & told me to start the next day with the Prozac, but I took it that night. I had been snapping a little off the 40 mg. pills for about 2-3 weeks to finally get off of it. So you can do that. I am not sure if my prayers were answered or if my body was burnt out on the 20,000 in & out terror episodes I was having, but I was able to wean down to about 15 mg. for a week+. I remember only feeling a little funny or more irritable when getting down to 20 mg. But with Xanax, that helped. Dr. said I could take up to 4 (0.25 mg. Xanax) at a time, but I never took more than 2 on a couple occassions. *** Now if you are feeling suicidal...that's another story. I fear death, since I am a young cancer survivor...and I love life...as difficult as times might be. Please see your Dr. Of course, not everyone can take the same meds. But just know you are not alone! Hope you feel better soon! :)

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Well hey there Parker! Welcome to the SP club! (lol) And yes, this group is very much AWAKE & ALERT and it sickens me to imagine others' suffering. You have the right idea with weaning. Like I've said, it took me 3-4 tries to get off of it. I've explained in another reply exactly what I did. You are going to be better off taking Prozac for a few days to a week the 1st night you are completely off Viibryd. Even if your dose of Viibryd is down to 15-20 mg. And yes, Xanax. But I wouldn't mix Xanax & Benadryl. Ironically, I have a story for you. I had the pharmacy wrongly give me Effexor 150 mg. once, instead of 150 mg. of Wellbutrin. (the pharamacy ended up cutting me a check for $2,000 for my suffering...it should have been more though!) I took the Effexor, thinking it was the WB, got in the shower & 10 min. later it HIT me big time. Oh my frikking God. Now come to find out when trying to wean off Viibryd, seeing my neurologist....she explained to me that Viibryd & Effexor are similar drugs. NO WONDER!!!!!!! Because after the accidental injestion of 150 mg. Effexor, I basically had a BAD TRIP (if that's what people on bad ACID would say) for the following 24 hrs. The pharamacist apologized over the phone & told me it was already in my system when I called him freaking out asking him what the heck he gave me. I tried vomiting. Nothing helped. In hindsight, I should have went to the ER, because I think they could have given me something to counteract the drug. But my Dr. said there was nothing I could do, but take 2 Benadryl and ride it out. So I laid in bed for HOURS. I vaguely recall feeling of being shocked. My brain was all over the place. Awful. So always triple check your meds everyone! How this happened, was because I had been taking 75 mg. of Wellbutrin & I spoke w/ the nurse about still not feeling well. She mentioned Effexor and we decided to just increase my dose to 150 on the Wellbutrin. But for those who know Wellbutrin, it comes in different names at different strengths (the Budproion at 100mg is weird...always gave me side effects, but the Bupropion is FINE). I think you have to go to 150 mg. to get the Bup. & not the Bud. 'version.' When I picked up the refill of what I thought was WB, it was called something else. In small print underneath, it said Effexor. I THOUGHT that this was just another name for WB! Because I had even discussed the prescription dosage with the pharmacist (Asian accent...). Long story short, he felt really bad. As of today, I can tell you that the brain can put up with a lot of meds. & not go cuck-koo (sp?). But that's still NO EXCUSE for whatever is in the Viibryd. ....... So yes, your dreams are familiar to me. I haven't had ANY SP since stopping Viibryd. But I have resorted to taking Prozac, which I am still unsure about....it's still too early to tell. And I take 300 mg. of WB. I do recommend 5 mg. of Ambien at night....20 mg. of Prozac.....and maybe 1 Xanax. Then you should sleep like a baby. You'll be fine. But stop suffering with that horrible medication! I was afraid to sleep. But not anymore.

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I would like to share with all of you, my experience, because I think it can be VERY helpful. I started 20mg Viibryd in April and started getting bouts of Sleep Paralysis about 4 months after I began this medication. The SP seemed to get more frequent. Having done some extensive research on SP and also majoring in Psychology and Psychopharmacology, I learned that severe sleep paralysis is almost always treated with Antidepressants. Sleep Paralysis is a REM sleep disorder. When your brain goes into REM sleep, you experience atonia (your muscles paralyze) so that you don't lash out in your sleep due to dreams. With Sleep Paralysis, you awake from REM sleep unable to move because your muscles are still paralyzed, and your brain has not signaled this atonia to stop. It is my opinion, that Viibryd acts on the chemical that stops the paralysis, even aggrevating the paralysis even further.

So, the first treatment for Sleep Paralysis is to use an antidepressant. But wait, Viibryd is marketed as an.. ANTI DEPRESSANT. What the heck, right? I was determined to find out if it truly was the Viibryd, so I took 40mg instead of the usual 20. That night, my sleep paralysis was so severe that I even had what felt like a full-blown out of body experience. I was totally unable to move for at least a minute.

I decided that was it. I told my doctor to give me a different antidepressant, and he did. That night I stopped the Viibryd and started 20mg of Celexa (Citalopram) Haven't have sleep paralysis since.

Definitely talk to your doctor. This side effect is real. Feel free to respond if you need some help.

~Mona

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Ramona,

Wow that is the most in depth I have heard anyone speak of SP. I posted that discussion from another place at the beginning of this thread because I wanted people to know it was really real!!

I have had it long before Viibryd, but the Viibryd did make it worse at first....actually for a few months. But the Viibryd has been such a blessing to me. Glad my SP has gone back to normal! It is so awful I know!

Thanks for the science. Makes me want to look into it more!

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I was thrilled to find this thread.I went on Viibyrd about 10 weeks ago after being on Lexpro for 10 years. Had to switch because insurance stopped covering it and couldnt afford to stay on. So my doctor who I adore switched me to Viibyrd. So the transition from Lexapro to Viibyrd was not bad at all. However, I have now begun to experience severe, terrifying night terrors/dreams. When I had my first one, I actually felt like I stopped breathing for a moment and couldn't move. I brushed it off and attributed it to just a bad dream. Then another and now it has gotten to the point that I am stressing about going to sleep. So after a particularing horrible one last night, I sent my Dr a text today and told him to write a script for Lexapro again. I will order online from canada and get back on something that does not cause me such trouble. Thank you to everyone who has written to this thread. You proved to me I was not losing my mind.

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I am so glad I found this thread as well. I was on Lexapro for the last 10 years and my insurance company decided to stop covering it. So to save $$, my Dr recommended viibyrd. The transition from 10mg lexapro to 20 mg viibyrd was non eventful. Now I am about 10 weeks into Viibyrd and regrettiing it. The first night terror I had felt as if I stopped breathing and had to actually force myself to take a breath. I chalked it up to my asthma and being tired. Now I have started with even more intense teffifying dreams and like someone mentioned these brain bombs. Its always right before I totally crash out and I end up waking up terrified. last night a brain bomb happened and nearly jumped out of my skin, awoke tryiing to explain to myself of course what had just happened. So tonight I shot a text to Dr and told him to write a script for lexapro. I will figure out a way to afford the lexapro again, gonna have to be a canadian pharmacy I guess. I actually dread going to sleep tonight.Thank you to everyone who posted..you really helped me confirm it wasn't just me.

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Yes this just happened to me last night. I forgot to take viibryd early in the day, and decided to skip the dosage when I got back late since if I take it too late it gives me very bad restless legs. Big mistake I had ridiculous nightmares all night, sweat through my pjs, and woke my husband up about five times screaming!!

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My story is exactly the same as yours! Was on Lexapro for many years and switched to Viibryd about 2 months ago. I forgot to take my pill yesterday and by the time I remembered it was too late, and we all know what taking any anxiety/depression med can do if you take it too late. BIG MISTAKE! Woke up screaming literally every 15 minutes with TERRIBLE dreams. Now I am afraid to go to sleep lol.

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Your post took my breath away, because I experienced much of the same. I was the one who called up Forest Labs & complained. Never heard anything. I swear, I think our gov't is up to something with 'shock treatment pills.' And how in the world can so much evil flood our brains, sensations, auditory crap...when especially in my case, I never watch scary movies or ads for scary movies. As I've said before, Stephen King would be amazed. So where do we all go from here. I know I too have PTSD from Vii. Also, repeating myself here, but I was my Dr's guinea pig....the 1st to take the med. Lastly, the feeling like you were hit in the head. Mine felt like a softball crack right in the forehead. I also had those all over brain bomb explosion sensations. There is no way that the makers didn't know about the side effects. Class action suit anyone?

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I encourage everyone to read down to post 70, as I explain some of the science behind this awful experience.

I tell you, our minds know EXACTLY what freaks us out. That's what is so terrifying about Sleep Paralysis. It's literally our own minds working against us, bringing our own worst nightmares to life. But it's completely normal, and you're not going crazy. I promise.

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Hi Holly,
I have been taking viibryd religiously accompanied by several vitamins (fish oil, vitamin C and a multi). I've been having reoccuring hallucinations where I feel someTHING crawling into bed and pinning me down. I am a 22 y/o female who sleeps alone and lives with her parents. The episode lasts for a few seconds and as I try to shake it off I see the THING standing across the room staring at me. This happened last night. I was so afraid I literally hid under my covers and cried, then I turned on my TV and stayed awake until the sun come out and slept then. I'm glad I'm not alone, however I'm sorry to hear that this is a common side effect because other than this the viibryd has been controlling my depression very well. Which I've only been taking for about 6 weeks, 20 mg. This week I see my psychiatrist and she may bump me to 40 mg.

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I think it is both a withdrawal symptom AND a side effect. I was never late taking it, and it caused me SP every night. Sometimes 8-10 times per night.

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I am done with Vibrid . I have had zinging in my head after 7 hours of taking it and full blown siesures and paralisis and near authentic episodes of being gang raped ,electicuted and the list goes on and on .Stay far away from this demon drug Ive been on it a year and I just figured out it was the Vibrid.DUH how Nieve of me . Im wiening off gradually and it aint no picnic either.Emitt Dean

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So sorry you are still in the stages of suffering from this. But there is hope of feeling better from Vibryd w/d instantly. I played around with the weaning several times to know that my SP & nightmares weren't going away while I was still taking Vi. As I've mentioned before, my Fam. Dr. prescribed me 20 mg. daily dose of Prozac & he said to take it the next day I wasn't going to suffer 1 more night. I took the Prozac & stopped the Vi. after I was already weaned down to the 10mg pill on Vi. Titer down as people normally titer up. Most Dr.'s will still have the sample packs. Be prepared to allow yourself time to wean & my Neuro. Dr. had prescribed up to 4 (.25) Xanax while weaning, if necessary, but never too more than 2. I just wanted to share this, because I feel Vi. is so evil that it should be stopped cold turkey. I never had the SP until I missed a dose one night. So you'd think the SP was a w/d symptom, but then I found when I was still taking it, the brain explosions would continue. But I did have that brain tilt to the right sensation too. As if on a boat & everything could slide to the right. It is def. the best anti-dep. for libido, BUT those came with really weird & uncomfortable side effects the 1st month of taking it. But you'll also feel like you've entered the gates of hell in your sleep & that you've been abducted by aliens while napping. lol!!!

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