Sleep Paralysis W/ Hallucinations (Page 8)
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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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Unfortunately I think this is just the beginning if you stay on thi horrible medication! Your best bet is to get off now!! I startes thos thread... this medication only made my depression worse... and constantly scared to sleep. I weaned myself off and will never ever try another antidepressant! I know some people NEED them but viibryd has scared me away from them! Good news is I beat my depression myself! I lost 120lbs through exercise and eating clean foods and have felt great emotionally and physically since! With the exception of pms :). I hope the best for you!!! I would run from this drug and never look back! Its just a horrible memory for me now!

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My new medicine is making me crazy!! I have been taking Viibyrd for about three weeks. First of all I accidentally forgot a dose, it's hard to explain the feeling, unless you have experienced it yourself. My 'brain' felt wonky. I was having trouble focusing, like the world around me was moving but my eyes couldn't keep up. I was emotional, irritable, and normally I am a pretty passive person. Easy come easy go right?? Well not that day, but I haven't missed a dose since. Last night, however, scared the living crap out of me. I was laying in bed, at that stage where you can feel your self drift off... then I started hearing laughter. At this point I am thinking what the hell, I'm tired not in the mood for a midnight laugh-fest. So as I am about to elbow my husband and tell him to go back to sleep all the ambient noise from my house felt like it got vacuumed into my ears and stopped (imagine Ghostbusters, and that Proton Pack, my ears were the Proton Pack) then I heard the evilest demonic laughter I can not put to words how deafening loud it was. I opened my eyes and I start chasing shadows around the room. Anyone who has been in my apartment can verify that even in the day my bedroom is pitch black, so what light source is casting shadows??? I was so scared, I got up and checked on my kids, lol, and as soon as I was up on my feet the shadows and laughter stopped. Anyway, my point is my medicine is the only thing that has changed in my recent life and I'm 100% sure that is the cause of this freakout. I really hate explaining all of this to the doctor, I feel insane confessing this to you. I am wondering is this only the beginning or if I tough it out will it get better? I can't tell if it is working on my depression. There is no 'happy pill' I am not going to get a cure to be a bright and shiny happy soul. I am in this monotone state always, I still worry obsessively but that's got no cure either. I just don't know what to do. There is more to life than feeling oppressed by yourself. Anyone that may still be reading this have any advise for me, I would greatly appreciate it.

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yes weaning has been difficult, my brain felt too weird without any at all, like really strange sensation in my brain i cant even describe it, so now am back on 20mg daily and doing ok. no depression on this dose.

the sleep paralysis and nightmares - its really a crazy side effect, not to sound like a nut job but it really feels like you're in contact with some truly evil other dimension when you have the horrible hellish nightmares!

anyway, dont want to give anyone a false sense of security, but all of those side effects did go away after about 6 months. to be honest i'd rather have occoasional contact with the gates of hell than have gained all this bloody weight!!!

any advice on weaning? i don't really want to start another drug if possible.

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I can attest to the fact that taking it every day at the same time, for me, didn't make a difference. The only way I got it to stop was to stop taking it and switch cold turkey to Celexa. It completely stopped.

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Yes, I have found that if I miss a pill, that night I have sleep paralysis with bad nightmares

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Hi, not to sound cranky, but I wouldn't give people a false sense of security w/ taking the (curse word) Viibryd at the same time each day.

I was never perfectly consistent, tried decreasing, had an irritable moment & went back up on my dose again. It wasn't like yo-yo dieting, but similar. I was trying to figure out the best time to take the Vii & Wellbutrin. I even went off the Wellbutrin for some time while on Vii. But the Wellbutrin helps with neuropathy discomfort, irritability, & focus. I had missed my pm dose several times to try taking it in the AM instead. But on one fateful night, the SP hit like a Mack truck. When I was finally able to move (1.5-2 hrs. later) I made my way downstairs, took the 40 mg. of Vii, Wellbutrin too, & a Xanax....went back to bed & laid there worried that I'd go back into that entrapment nightmare & climb out the 2nd floor window. My dreams had become real. The nightmares that I hadn't had for many years, suddenly came back. The Vii triggered the nightmares.

From then on the SP continued. Trying to wean w/o success. For those who believe the drug works, you've moved past the SP, I can pretty much assure you that you will have awful side effects when trying to wean. And some may need to be hospitalized.

We will eventually hear about a class action lawsuit over Viibryd & we'll hear the stories on the news. Just wait until drug addicts taking bath salts gets their hands on some Viibryd. Ever stop to think that maybe those people who turn into zombies have taken Viibryd? Think about it. It's new. Zombie eating people in 2012...new.

I would not trust it. The SP comments keep rolling in. And my Dr, who prescribed the med (I was the 1st patient) has never seemed to fearful over the med. when I've told him what happened. He has a blog promoting the drug. Some had came right out and asked him if he was receiving special credits (?!) by Forest Lab. Google it. It's all online.

Watch the movie 'Side Effects' too. Awesome movie.

I survived Viibryd. Happy to say that. I got off that drug many mos. ago. It was not a wonder pill. Like I've said before, only worked for PMS.

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Only experienced hallucinations and sleep paralysis if I missed my dose. Best to take Viibryd the same time every day.

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Thanks everyone for the feedback. Yesterday and today first two days without vibryd. Def feeling weird senasation in my brain...also crying whilst watching mama Mia (that can't be normal) hope this is all just a temporary withdrawal syndrome and not my depression coming back. Anyone else have trouble weaning off vibryd?

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I started Viibryd a few months ago. Eased up to a full 40 once a day. 40's messed up my sleep and dreams. I would fall asleep and would dream of myself sleeping and figured walking around my bed watching me. I could not force myself awake. I dreamt once that my DH was trying to pull me off the bed violently. It seemed to take forever to desperately pull myself awake, it seemed so real and vivid I was shocked that DH was already gone to work.
While on the 40's I also experienced weird light headedness when overly agitated, and my actual eyeballs would twitch very quickly, like a seizure in my eyes and a feeling of almost passing out.
I talked to my doc and now am down to 20's once a day for the last 2 months. So far, much better. The scary parts of the dreams are gone, but I still experience sleep paralysis from time to time. I try to focus on what I know is REAL and pull myself out of it. Knowing what is happening though it doesn't scare me anymore. I let myself float into my dreams, it's really weird.
As far as weight gain, I've lost 20 pounds in 3 months. With the gym and trying to benefit my mental health, nothing to do with the drug itself.
I've been on Prozac making me puke. Zoloft took away all libido. Effexor gave ma severe long hot flashes. Currently taking Viibryd once a day and Xanax and Ambien as needed. 37 year old female with depression and severe anxiety.

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I also gained weight, about 15 pounds over 6 months. i noticed i started craving carbs (prob for comfort) from all the demon nonsense.

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Oh yes, the gunshot sounds. As if they go off inside your head and your ears are still picking up the sound. WTH kind of drug is Viibryd?! And yes, I did gain weight on the drug. It definitely worked thru the intestines, causing a regular schedule, that's for sure! It did not kill my libido like Prozac has done, but my sense of well being is so much calmer now on Prozac. Viibryd only cured, & I mean cured...! any PMS. That was nice. I never cared about bad weather days. It did not help my anxiety. And I basically was obsessed with HGTV, leaving it on all day. And guess what, since I stopped the Viibryd, I can't sit thru HGTV anymore. Too much on my mind to focus. Prozac causes more fatigue, but the main driving mental anxiety switch is mostly off in my brain. Everyone needs prozac. I can see why the military used to put it in the water. It's fluoride basically.

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So after a few months the sp, the brain zaps, the shadowy evil figures, it resolved and all was good. However, I have gained a LOT of weight. I moved from a size 8 to a 14. Anyone else?

I am now weaning myself off, been on 20mg for about a week now(dropped it from 40) but now I have a rebound insomnia. No sp or evil nightmares though thank god!

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I get the loud noise gunshot sound and zap feeling. Almost being shocked. And have experienced the SP with demon like shadows on 40mg. I thought I was the only one.

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Gosh....I am sooo sorry you are all having such a hard time. I hope it gets better! It did for me and I am very happy with the effects.

ls

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I know exactly what you guys are talking abotarted a 26 y/o female, started Vybriid May 2012 and I'm still taking it because I'm terrified of the withdrawal symptoms.

The first 3-4 months:

-hellish, vivid, violent nightmares
-feeling worms/bugs/snakes crawling in my ears, especially at night before I go to bed
-SP: seeing demon creatures in my room. feeling them bite and torment me.

forgetting a dose caused
-detailed auditory hallucinations
-paranoid delusions, thinking my friends wanted me dead. wanting to kill myself bc of this.

I was diagnosed with major depression and anxiety and never experienced anything like this before. no history of anything but depression in my family. my psych doc didn't really believe me about the dreams and I had low self esteem so I just went along with it. For awhile I thought I was possessed. I'm very careful to take doses on schedule. 20mgs at 8AM and 20mgs at 6PM. If I take it too soon or too late (or once I accidentally doubled my dose) Im afraid to go to sleep bc I know I will be tormented with SP and auditory hallucinations.

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Oh I was completely entombed in this frozen death grip state during my SP episodes. And I fought it so hard and after 3? mos. of on/off again SP I became strong enough at fighting it so I could every once in awhile moan out in my sleep. I was saying HELP over and over so many times. But I can't recall if I was ever able to mutter a word. What if its like this for people stuck in a vegetative state or in a coma? Stephen King's work was nothing compared to what I experienced. When are Dr's going to get this message & stop prescribing it. I've read & responded to enough of these replies to be able to tell you that Viibryd seems to be the only med. causing such much terror. Thank God I pulled thru. If it had continued, I would have had to go to the ER for help weaning off of it. If you've been on 40 mg. or 20 mg. for weeks or mos. & are wanting to go off, then I highly recommend a faster approach than I did. I cut down my 40 mg. by 10mg., so was taking 30 mg. for a week...& so on. I got all the way down to 10mg. and even knowing of the SP symptoms, I was SO irritable (more PMS?) that I went straight back to 40. Which was too much & I felt odd that evening. Saw my neuro., I was given a starter pack of Vii. but told to take backwards. After a week or two, I got down to 15 mg. for a few days, saw my Dr, was prescribed Prozac, took the 20 mg. that night in place of the Vii. and not one SP episode since. As I've said many times, neuro. said I could take up to 4 (.25) Xanax while weaning. Never took more than 2 at a time. It's not that I was having major panic symptoms from weaning, but took the Xanax as more of a preventative to SP nightmares. I wouldn't recommend going cold turkey off 40 mg., but I feel you can at the 20 mg. dose as long as you have a regular SSRI to take in its place. And a side note, I've been told that Effexor is similar to Vii. I had a horrible experience on Effexor due to pharmacy error years ago. So I know not to touch the Vilazidone (sp?) meds. HTH! You're not alone! Tell your Dr. about us! Let him/her read what is happening to people!

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Get off it. Took me 4 weeks to get off little by little. I feel 1000 x better best decision I've made in awhile. I now remember what sleep felt like without any of these crazy ass symptoms. GET OFF.

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I am in same boat as everyone else here. Have been on Viibryd for aprrox 4 months and my hellish nightmares started about six weeks ago. At first I laughted them off telling everyone about my silly scary dreams, but now I am seriously having scary scary scary nightmares
but unlike everyone else I cant wake up so I am literally kicking and screaming in my dreams
for help but I cant kick or scream! I am totally
paralyzed I guess until my rapid heartbeat
wakes me up with excruciating headache that
is pounding to my heartbeat! I ask my boyfriend if he ever hears or feels me and he doesn't. I see doc next week and will def share my horrifying story with him. Good luck toeveryone out there dealing with depression and having to try all these different drugs. It is not easy but we will prevail♥

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Yes I have had 9 sleep paraylis episodes I think from starting when I dosed down from celexa. When it happens I think I wake up and I don't wake up I become paralyzed and crippled with fear entities and evil demons appear and I literally feel the bites and the pain they inflict on me I fight them in slow motion cuz I can't move much. It then stops and I think I wake up again only to have another terrible possession all with new real horrors to face. They come in waves of 3 and then I finally have overcome and wake up. The last wave was so unbelievably scary today. I thought I had awaken again. Then everything went black and I felt overwhelming fear and paralyzed then I heard a buzzing it was a fly buzzing for me it landed in my ear and went in my brain and squirms around in it no freaking joke unbelievably scary I've dug in my ear and got it out and it tried to fly in my mouth and I closed it right before it flew in and then after that I really did wake. If I told you the the other 8 possessions you would not be able to sleep at night please pray for me. I am so scared to go to sleep.

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Maybe not understanding the brain zaps.... Think I asked about it before... I have and again even before Viubryd have these aloud sounds that would wake me... I finally found it was nothing but still I of course continue to listen... Just in case. Also found that when a mirror crashed to the floor for no apparent reason in the front if the house... That wasn't the same type if sound... I guess cause it was a collision if sounds and pitches.. Ha that kind of makes since.... Sorry that y'all couldn't work through the side effects if you were actually benefiting from Viibryd, but I WELL know the SP! U guess since that has been a part if my life... And though worse when starting Viibryd.... I knew or thought I could work theough it! Thank the Lord I only have the good side effects now!!!

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