Viibryd Nightmares (Page 2) (Top voted first)

HI I am on Viibryd for 4 months now and i have these terrible horrific nightmares that i am dyng or sufficating a kind of sleep parasis and it happens a few times a night to where I am aware this drug is causing it. However it happens maybe once a week or once every otherweek so should i just stay on 20 mg i decided to bring it down and go on prozac but i want to make sure i am making the rght dec w doctor of course. I have been on cymbalta 2 years and ristiq 2 years prior and they were terrible to get off i notice that if i am 2 hours late for viibryd i have a night of hell with the nightmares. Does anyone else? Is viibryd going to be a nightmare to get off im very nervous. ;/

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I have been taking for over a year now and also had insane nightmares in first few months of starting, but the nightmares do subside. This drug has helped me so much, I just kept taking and eventually the side effects do go away. It has really changed my life . I am taking for anxiety.

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The sleep paralysis & nightmares started for me after 4-6 mos. and were not letting up. If Forest Lab came fwd & put a warning on this med about SP, seizures, exploding head syndrome, demonic dreams, etc. and said that in x amt. of cases, these symptoms went away after 12? mos. of continued treatment, then maybe some would consider sticking it out. But for many, the horrible memories made by this drug are enough to wean off & wait for a legal suit (per state).

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Please don't miss another dose. I had to stop taking it. The demonic dreams were enough for me...I hope this helps you...
Is this your first time experiencing the dreams?
What dose are you taking?

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For me no they have been going on for a month or so but its not all the time. I am on 40mg and have been on it since March. Last nights was just the worst.

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'Hi Battlemedic. I'm so sorry to hear about your horrid nightmares, especially that you can remember them as though they actually happened. I've always had nightmares since I was a child, but the ones that I've been having during viibryd treatment are literally like I am awake, and someone tells me to do something, example: In the middle of last night, I have been suffering from severe spine/back pain, caused from the viibryd I firmly believe, had an MRI, results ok so told. Since May 19th I have weaned from 20 mg now to 5 mg. When I weaned from 20 to 10 the awful headaches, jaw aching/clenching, neck/muscle pain went away, but then after two days, all that pain dropped down to my lower spine, and it has been some of the worse pain I have ever experienced! I'd like to share a nightmare I had last night. After being told to "bend the right side of your body down to the top of your thigh, this will give your spine a "healthy" stretch, by a voice in brain, uh, freaky,right? I couldn't believe the excruciating pain when i woke & found I was trying to. I believe, deeply! that this medicine is poison to human beings. I strongly advise no one to take it!! There has only been one positive thing about it, and that is it lifted the darkness of my depression, but the addition of physical pain it has caused is not worth continuing treatment. At least when I was depressed badly, I could comfortably sleep for hours, without agonizing physical pain. This has given me a whole new perspective on how well we can trust our physicians. I believe we are living in a world that is more concerned about making more money, "greed" despite the cost to human lives. We must all be more consistent in researching med's before we just become "guinea pigs". I hope things will work out better for you. I'm also seeking a new Psychiatrist, the one I've seen for a dozen years seems indifferent to my health anymore. I don't mean to slam bam him, but he negligently allowed me to get Lithium Toxicity last year, requiring ER admittance and flush system, put back on same mg that had poisoned me. He didn't listen to my symptoms that led up to the ER visit. He put me on Latuda, I kept telling him I felt like some people were standing on top of me holding me down under water, I was struggling to breathe, but would not die. I am now addicted to Alprazolam 2mgXR twice day, I have to remind him to order my Lithium Serum levels be checked. Anyway, this long----response seems to have been all about "me", I apologize for that, and truly wish not only you, but the rest of the viibryd community of sufferers healing and relief. I appreciate the support here. Vanessa.

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Just an update, I discontinued the medication immediately after those horrific side effects and have had no further issues.

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Jesus after reading the experiences of others on this site i feel like i am sane lol. I have been on this drug for 2 months and i have had at least 6-7 night terrors with the Jaw clenching sleep paralysis think you wake up but instead you have woken up just in your dream again type of stuff too. I have always been a hard sleeper i mean an earthquake could not wake me up. Since using this drug i feel a lot better depression wise as it has been lifted somewhat and it really does calm me down to a point where i feel almost immune and blah when situations arise to where before i would be losing my mind. It's the night terrors that frighten me the most. Yesterday i could not remember if i had taken my pill before i left the house or not and i did not want to just take another one if i had so i just said i will pick up where i left off tomorrow. VERY BAD IDEA. Last night i had three episodes and the last one being a jaw clenching back twisting sort of one in which today the pain from is still there. If i can give anyone any advice do not forget to take your meds not even for a day you will pay for it i promise you.

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It does great with depression issues, just the side effects that come up if i miss a dose or are late taking it that are terrifying

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I've been on Viibryd for about one month now and it has made my life absolute hell. Before Viibryd I was on a different prescription but I can't remember the name of it....anyways that old one made me very suicidal and depressed and weepy so my doctor took me off of it without weening. I started Viibryd and thought "hey I feel good" and i was very productive in the day. I felt happy about myself and pleasant all day long. That lasted for maybe two weeks. Once I began the 40's, i literally cringed daily activities and going to bed. I take Viibryd in the later evening, with food on my stomach, right after I shower. I normally watch tv or study.... I started to get this loud, painful wave like sensation in my head and ears, and it wasn't a one time thing. It kept happening maybe like 5 times in a row or every hour. I actually hold my ears and head, it hurts that bad. Then, twice now, I experience sleep paralysis around the first hour i'm asleep. I fall asleep around midnight, so this isn't even stage 2 of the sleep cycle....During SP i experience terrifying, realistic, demonic, trippy night terrors to the point where I am screaming bloody murder and punching and slapping and kicking, etc. and that's when my mom has to come in and try to get me out of it. Once, i even punched her in the shoulder she told me, when she was trying to calm me down. I finally come out of it but when i wake up the next morning, i have dark circles and i'm in the weirdest mood ever. i have no emotion when i wake up. My mom thinks i'm exaggerating and being dramatic when i try to talk to her, but i'm not. I need off of this drug. The side effects are worse than my MDD symptoms. I'm calling my doctor tomorrow. This has happened too often to be normal. I'm glad that I'm not crazy and others experience this too, but im not glad that this drug has affected us all so traumatically.

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Omg!! I wish I could say I don't understand, but I do. I felt like I was living in hell, I was afraid to sleep, when I did the terrifying demonic dreams took over. I got off the meds cold turkey, that was a terrible decision. I felt like a crazed zombie. I pray that you get help/freedom from this nightmarish drug!

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I have been on viibryd for several years now and helps my depression more than any other meds I tried. I too experienced vivid bizarre violent dreams in initial titration of dose but if you can hang in....those dreams do disappear. They were night after night for awhile....and continuously all night.

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This med is HORRIBLE! I have been trying to wean off for months but the nightmares and sleep paralysis is so bad I have to keep taking the med to prevent them.

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It took me a while to put two and two together. But this stuff does indeed cause the most vivid and terrifying demonic nightmares, that leave you confused about what's real and paralyzed to help yourself. Especially after reading SO many people having these same issues, I am immediately beginning the process of getting myself off of this.

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I’ve been on Viibryd for about a month and a half now and Im currently taking 20mg. Since I’ve started I’ve gained 10lbs and I haven’t been able to sleep properly. I am constantly waking up and falling asleep is quite difficult. Last night though was the worst. I couldn’t fall asleep so I took half a melatonin and that seemed to help. That was until I started having these twisted and disturbing mini dreams. Subconsciously I knew they were a dream but I was still terrified. Although subconciously awake, I felt unable to awake from these nightmares and finally when I could wake up I jerked violently awake. During these dreams I could feel my heart racing but I felt unable to catch my breath. As someone who has a lot of nightmares this was by far the most terrifying and disturbing. Typically after I wake up from a nightmare I am able to realize it was only a dream and fall back asleep. But these mini nightmare episodes kept reappearing every time I tried to fall back asleep. Finally I got up and went out to speak to my mom. Even in her prescence I was anxious and scared. Let me tell you I have NEVER expirenced this before I started taking viirbyd. Although I have only had one terrifying night I will be weaning off of this medication. That one night was enough for me and I never want to expirence that again.

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I was on Viibryd for the first few months of 2012 and I had a very similar experience. I was having horrible sleep paralysis-like episodes at least once a week (though some were worse than others). I would also get these strange attacks whenever I began to fall asleep or let my mind go into a trance. It felt almost like a panic attack, but like I wasn't really there (feeling of falling, seeing bright colors, vision blanking out, dizziness...almost like having an out-of-body experience). I also gained a LOT of weight on this drug (probably 10-15 lbs, which is a lot considering I had previously gained much more on other antidepressants). Even with all of these side-effects, I still have positive things to say about this drug. For some reason, it helped me to reconnect with my spirituality. I felt a stronger connection to my higher self and a strengthened ability to tap into divine consciousness. I tend to be a more creative, intuitive person and it's difficult to tell sometimes whether I am completely in touch with reality. It's tough to say whether or not the drug was purely responsible for causing all of my spiritual experiences. Regardless of how much Viibryd had to do with it, I definitely gained a deeper understanding of my spirituality while on this drug.

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Yes! I made the connection after being on viibryd for about a month. Once I started taking the 40mg, about a week later the Sleep Paralysis started. After my third episode in two weeks, I knew it was the drug. It's been about 2mths now, and I have had 6 disturbing episodes. Demonic in nature. VERY disturbing. I am aging close attention to what triggers it, and it could be from caffeine combined with the drug. I am going to do more experimenting to see. But yesterday I had coffee, then a glass of black tea, and one 7.5 mg of adderall becaus ei was so tired. That night I had the SP. So I have ruled out anxiety pills and sleeping pills as the culprit, now I will see if its caffeine.

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I had a connection to the expansive and creative parts of myself. I think it was really like having a bipolar manic phase. I never felt that good. I was queen of the world. But then I fell into really b**** phases where no one could do anything right. I loved how I felt but realized that I was getting burned out. And I have been so low in getting off of it that I am tempted to go back...but I don't want to feel the angry parts again.

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I just read your posting.....I have been on Viibryd for two mos....it is making me crazy. I am really not nice to be around and I have nightmares but it starts in the afternoon around 3:oo I become extremely sleepy, cannot stay awake and then become paralized ( ) but feel I am trying to scream for my husband, cannot move. I think it last about 15 or 10 mins then I wake up and I am fine.....really, really upsetting and scary. I am seeing Dr in two days....I want off it!!!

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Who really pays attention to names when it's not capitalized to actually impersonate a Dr. She's Drbeth....not DrBeth. And....I am pretty certain that people aren't assuming she's a Dr. She could also have her doctorate in about anything. IMO... ;)

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Hi. Good to finally find an up-to-date message board! I've been on Viibryd about 2 mths now and only 2 nights now (in a row) have I experienced extreme nightmares. I don't find them demonic in nature, more like just twisted stuff you'd read in disturbing fiction mashed up into dream format. But they are really scary and my heart is pounding. I actually found out this drug is in the class with Buspar, which also gave me nightmares and I hated. I told my doc I wasn't approved for financial assistance for expensive Viibryd (in reality I never applied because I knew it wasn't working great). He's trying me on the old tricyclic Elavil, which also reports a bad dream side effect (ugh) but also helps insomnia?! So confusing! Anyway, any feedback about anything would be appreciated.

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