Help! Coming Off Of Viibryd (Page 6)

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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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101

I hate reading that more people are taking this and almost consistently having the same symptoms. I had the same experience, trying to get hold of my dr. after starting this medicine. Everything says you can't just come off of it. It's true, I never experienced withdrawal like this, I am months out of coming off it after only taking it two weeks 'full' strength. I have not felt the same since, anxiety and depression like I never had before but I have not gone on any other meds since I am terrified of having another or similar bad experience. When my doctor did not return any of my calls, I decided I would not depend on them for my mental health, but it is hard to live with a brain in my head like this. Dr.s need to know this is a bad medicine. Tell everybody you know that could influence doctors. Bad stuff! Viibryd is the worst pill I have ever swallowed. Glad you have a back up!

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102

I know how I have been feeling, and I concur with what I have been reading here. I am going to see my therapist this afternoon and ask LOTS of questions about how to get off of Viibryd! They also have me on Remeron and Atavan, and I think the meds in combination are being counter-productive. Reading what everyone has to say makes me what to contact an attorney and see if we can file a legal suit against the company that makes this. Any thoughts on that?

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103

I am weaning myself with 10mg for a week and them 1/2 that for a few days. I need this out of my system. Have hives that itch and are painful. Also nightmares where my husband woke me up to save me. waking up with chest pains and anxiety is NOT why I agreed to try this med. I will never take another one. Also it has numbed the libido which to me is unacceptable and I told the Dr. if it does that I will Quit it! I do have Lorazapan for panic attacks when needed. Also ruining my 50th birthday/retirement party this weekend. I will somehow smile and have fun with my husband and friends. lots of sunblock and hiding in the shade.

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104

I agree that something should be done to get this awful drug off if the market.

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105

I just missed a dose yesterday, and have had sleep paralysis and vivid nightmares all last night and this morning. I didn't think about it being the Viibryd because I figured it was only one missed dose (I am currently at 80mg). I do notice when I miss too that I get a feeling like allergies and dizziness pretty strong.

Thinking it's time to taper off. I was actually a strong proponent early on, but now it is kind of scary stuff.

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106

This is unbelievable to me. I am so confused and angry. I read the print outs from the Viibrid and the pharmacy. The drug pushing Psychiatrist never explained what happens when you get off this crap! I have been on 21 different antidepressants and all I ever get is side effects. They always say to taper off these but this had no Extra Warning! This one however is the worst and why is it on the market? What are the long term affects? How can they do this to people? Does anyone think this is wrong? What can we do to stop this? Call the FDA? I'm mad this is insanity! I want to warn everyone? How can I? This is a living nightmare! I'm scared to death!

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107

I am going to look online and read some of the legal cases. There are some already.

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108

Hi im 17 and my Dr. Prescribed me Viibryd to treat for my depression . He told me to take 10mg pill for one week and for the 2nd and 3rd week i took a 20mg pill. Ive decided to discontinue taking the pill just 2 nights ago it is currently july 3rd 2014 . I have taken 22 days worth of pills in total but i missed a couple days it wasnt continuously taken everyday sometimes. I was thinking about just stop taking it suddenly and i have read about tapering off the dosage but that would mean more of the medicine going into your system so i would rather just stop. It gives me diarrhea randomly and i have beginning to have concerns about my libido. Usually I would get an erection daily but now I've noticed that i haven't been getting one. I was with my girlfriend this past monday (june 30th) and at one moment i had an erection but i didn't act because i was thinking it was going to go away as soon as i get started. I didn't get an erection after that since last night (july 2nd) when i was concerned about my libido so i had to make my self get an erection . Therefore i know it works and this just recently started happening before i had no issues. Is this the cause of my problem?? Please help and respond {edited for privacy}

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109

Could you please keep us updated or informed if you get any information on the legal case? This drug needs to be pulled. Thanks.

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110

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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111

don't go off.

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112

This viibryd is bad stuff, I have been taking it for a year or so and I have gained weight and cant sleep, not so much with the panic attacks. I am in the process of getting off it too. Needing to cut the pills in half, and not have the head throb. I would not recommend this to anyone. It is way to expensive and the insurance dosent like to pay for it.. I am now looking into the essential oils. I know people that have had good experiances with this.

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113

I have been on Viibryd for 2 years. My new Primary Physician says I need to get off of 'This junk". She says I must find a psychiatrist to get me off it. I've never had a psychiatrist to manage my anti-depressants. I've started tapering down myself down from 40mg. to 20mg in a couple of weeks. 40mg.one week
20mg. up and down with 40 then 20mg
I'm on my own this week beginning March 1. I want to stay at 20mg but I'm not sure actually what I'm doing. I've never gotten off by myself. The Dr. who first prescribed this med was Ob Gyn. He said he knew he was stepping over the boundary of is range. I'm rambling, but I need to get out of this crazy cycle. This may not make sense to anyone, but anything you can you can say would be wonderful

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114

The vitamins are called THRIVE. I can tell you I have been thriving for a year and have been off all meds, lost 15 to 20lbs, my acne went away, and I have a ton of energy! It has changed my life! {edited for privacy}. I am hoping the best for you!

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115

I have been taking Viibyd for about a year now. I have read some other blogs and found that the things I have been going through, (itchy skin, bad or weird dreams), irritability, finding it hard to climax (not normal), are all the same side effects others are having. I am thinking of getting off of this medication and just being drug free which is what I prefer. I am a little scared to do this, however, because others have reported more intense side effects while coming off even though they are tapering.

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116

i have been taking viibryd for some time now. i was switched to viiybrd from anatriptallin 25 mg. i always took.my depression meds at night. no not this one. i felt like a walking zombie for 2 weeks. I called my doctor and he said to take it in the morning. since then i have no problems with viiybryd unlesss i miss a dose. then i itch from head to toe and have these kinda dizzy/out of body experiences. i hate it. the itchin alone keeps me up.

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117

All of these drugs are useless. I can't believe I paid over $200 for 3 months for the luxury of intermittent explosive diarrhea. None of the other meds have ever worked either. But I was dealing with an ongoing life "tragedy". But the doctor said, "Oh, you must stay on it. It takes a while to work." No it doesn't - I read the diarrhea was the result of my body ejecting the OD of serotonin. Scientists don't have the first clue about how the mind works. And any additional "depression" is only my realization that I got conned AGAIN into voluntarily signing up to be a guinea pig. Now, 3 days off, I feel like the heater is at full blast on a 61 degree night with the A/C pumping. The field of psychiatry doesn't have "dark periods" - it's nothing but a long black stain on history.

And, oh goodie - now Priests send you to these snake oil peddlers rather than doing their job. Or maybe the Catholics started all this crap - weren't institutions formerly run by nuns before the government took over with their "workers"? The only GOOD advice I ever received was from a psychologist who told me that only I could control my own mind. So no more pity parties. This is some seriously nasty poison. Tomorrow (well today) I'm gonna get in a good workout and have some fish oil. The doctors say that does NOT work, so it probably does. "First, do no harm" - ha.

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118

Viibryd is awful. On it for five months. Helped a tiny bit but side effects were terrible. Sleepy all he time. Sleep 12 hours per night and then want a nap during the day. Nightmares and would wake from the dream unable to move or reach for my husband for a few terrifying moments. Also unable to talk to wake him up because I was so scared. I'm now taking Wellbutrin which works on dopamine vs serotonin. Very few side effects. It works much much better. Everyone is different.

Viibryd is a scary drug.

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119

Omg I am going thru same thing right now! Driving me insane ....I was only on 20 mg for about 4 months, dropped weight like a fly, was happy in beginning, been to emergency room several times, panic attacks, high blood pressure, restless leg syndrome and now have severe paranoia and ocd...I'm only taking one milligram of lorazepam and cannot stand feeling like this anymore! Its been 3 days since I went off of the poison & still feel weird wondering if it gave me a stroke or what the hell happened to me! My doctor won't help me because I did not want to take it anymore, so she wont prescribe me anything to help with hideous withdrawals. I've been taking fish oil supplements and 800 mcg folic acid, multivitamin and vitamin c daily. I will never take this s*** again! Too much for my body to handle obviously! Prozac is suppose to help withdrawals, but like I said she refused to help me period! Good luck getting back to normal again hun!

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120

AtIvan is very addictive I was on this drug many years ago and trying to come off it was very hard terrible panics shaking etc stick with it but reduce very slowly

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