Viibryd Side Effects (Top voted first)

What if any side effects are people experiencing on viibryd

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Having been on Zoloft, Celexa, and Effexor, I must say I am soooo much better on Viibryd. I had the same side effects on the previous 3 (fatigue, huge weight gain) and TERRIBLE withdraw on Effexor. I have had absolutely no side effects on Viibryd. Not to mention way more energy and normal appetite. Everyone is different though!

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I've been on vii several months now... I have noticed a lot of hair loss!!! I lose a huge handful every shower! Also have the weird brain zaps which are very annoying and bothersome... Also have noticed that If I'm even an hour late for my pill I get very emotional...

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You're right Lacey. Viibryd helped my depression, but the joint pain is too awful to bear. After almost a month of joint pain, I finally figured out it was a side effect of Viibryd. At first the tops of my feet hurt (almost like shin splints), then my knees (felt like bone grating on bone), my hips, my elbow (like tennis elbow), and my knuckles. I've been off it for 19 days now but my joints are still aching. The doc put me on an Cataflam which is an anti-inflammatory, and it's helping. Does this mean that Viibryd causes joint inflammation, or whole body bursitis? The joint pain is supposed to be a side effect of only 2-3% of patients; lucky me.

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Oh, yeah, forgot about a couple of the most troubling side effects I'm experiencing:

Terrible memory loss (much worse than what I had with major depression and any of the other meds I've been on the past 20 yrs). For instance, I'll set off to phone someone about something and I've forgotten what it was by the time they answer. A couple times I couldn't even recall my own address!

The other thing that's troubling is blurred vision. I'd recently gotten the 'over-40' thing where I couldn't see closely very well, but the Vii is causing a blurring in things that are far away now... that's scary!

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Since beginning viibryd ive began having sleep paralysis along with hallucinations. VERY scary!! I had previously not been on any anti-depressants and never had sleep paralysis. Now i am scared to get off for fear of having sleep paralysis on a regular basis... Would rather have dealt with the depression than fear of going to sleep at night! :(

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Hi everyone - 24 year old female. I'm on the second week of my Vii trial pack. I have an issue with "compulsive negative thinking" that has caused some pretty terrible issues all of my life. I also have ADHD and take 20 mg of Adderall. I am on the 2nd week (20 mg pills).

So far I feel like this pill is slowly helping me. I say this because instead of my brian automatically calling out everything wrong in every situation, I've actually had a few instances where I was just happy and those things didn't cross my mind...it felt amazing.

Side effects so far...

I haven't had any joint pain like the other people posting about this med online have. I also do Bikram yoga 3-4 times a week, so that could be the reason why I haven't experienced that side effect.

One thing that I've noticed is every time after I eat a meal I feel like within an hour I have to use the bathroom. It's not diarrhea, it's just really soft stool. I used to go maybe once a day or every other day, now I'm going multiple times a day. My DR did advise me that I may have stomach discomfort for the first few weeks. I'm not sure if this is what he meant.

Anyway, so far so good. I hope that the frequent bowel movements will pass.

I will check back in after I've been on the 40mg for a while.

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I experienced pain in my shoulder, but put it down to surgery 6 months ago. However, I did notice tenseness in my jaw and in my muscles all the time. I have been on Viibryd for over a month. I have tried every other anti-depressant over the course of 28 years. This one has caused the worst side-effects. I experienced nausea, loss of appetite, (I lost 10 pounds in 1 month), diarrhea, trouble sleeping, tenseness, dry mouth and panic attacks almost immediately. My doctor felt these were not attributed to Viibryd and that the side-effects would go away, but they only got worse. I became even more depressed and anxious after my dose was increased to 40mg. My psychiatrist just shrugged and advised I keep to that dose for another two weeks. I decided to take matters into my own hands and began decreasing my dosage from 40 to 20mg for a few days, than 10mg for a few days and then 5mg for two days and then none. I went back on 20mg Cymbalta as soon as I started decreasing the Viibryd. My side effects decreased along with the decrease in Viibryd. I see my psych today and am going to be very proactive on insisting these were actual side effects. I'll also contact the company. Anyone else experiencing strong side effects besides muscle and joint pain?

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I have noticed hair loss, been on it about 4 months now.

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I am new to this board stuff but I have a side effect that is concerning me. I've been on Viibryd for several months. Worked my way up to 40. It was added with Welbutrin I'm already taking. And I have been taking Ambien for 10 years after a mastectomy and trouble sleeping. I have been waking up in the middle of the night seeing things in my room and closet that look real. I will stare at it for a long time and it doesn't go away. And to see if it moves. I will close my eyes and when I open them it's gone and I'm able to see what is actually there. I'm now starting to see them move and appear to be looking back at me. I know I'm awake. My husband said he saw me last night holding my head up looking at something. If I miss a pill one day I will wake up the next morning feeling bad. I tried Cymbalta in the past, liked it, but negative side effects sexually. Does anyone have the same experience?

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I stared Viibryd 3 days ago. I was only using a starter pack from my doctor's office and it stared off at 10 mgs only. I took it at night with some trouble sleeping but got to sleep after a while. Woke up ok and no effects. I told a friend I felt great that day and thought that this may ne the Drug that finally helped me out of my "funk". 2nd night fell asleep right away but felt nauseous most of the night ointo the am. It went away and was at work normal time...early even! Lots of energy and I was happy! 3rd night I took it beforeed and feel asleep as normal. during the night I felt aches and pains and my stomach was churning. I woke up out of sleep and had to run to the bathroom. I was throwing up and going diarrhea at the same time with little control of it. I had severe head ache and my joints were killing me. I thought I was dying!! That day I went through hell. I could not get out of bed..only when I had to get to the bathroom to puke or the other. It tool too additional days for it to get out of my system. Tonight is the 2nd night I have not taken Viibryd and I am stillfeeling sick, had a slight fever and have to eat broth and Ginger ale only. Worst side effects I have ever had on a drug and there is no way I can "deal with this" to feel better. I'd rather be depressed thean dead! I was on Prozac and I think I will try that but at a high level. Just wanted to share my 5 day experience with Viibryd. PURE HELL!!

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I also have joint pain as a side effect... sigh. I was doing much better mood- and energy-wise, but after getting to the 40mg mark for a couple months, the pain in my arms / elbows (also like tennis elbow) is sometimes so excruciating I can't bend the arm at all.

Dr. took me down to 20mg and it's been ~3 wks, no change with pain.

Another side effect is intermittent loose bowels, and trouble getting to sleep / staying asleep.

No change whatsoever in libido.

I, too, am having vicious sweet cravings--hadn't connected it to Vii until seeing that others have it too!

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Hi Paxil Jim,
Yes, unfortunately, joint pain IS a side effect. My Dr. said that it allegedly only happens with 2-3% of those on Vii, but from what others' have said on various boards, we must all be congregating online....
And I, too, have excruciating joint pain in one of my arms/ elbow / shoulder area. Also sore to the touch and some days can't even lift it.
Even after the Dr. reduced to dosage it hasn't gotten better.
My primary concern is if I get off Vii, will the pain ever go away? And what on earth is this drug doing to our joints to cause this? If it's leaching cartilage, how will that ever come back? Scary stuffl

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I do want to add something positive to that post. My husband says it has worked wonders for my irritability and I seem like I am in overall a more positive and patient mood. He wants me to stick it out and give the meds a change and to stop GOOGLING, lol

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HAS ANYONE HAD BAD JOINT PAIN? MY KNEE HAS BEEN HURTING VERY BAD SINCE TAKING THIS CRAP. AND THE MUSCLE IN MY FOREARM IS SORE TO THE TOUCH. I HAVE READ THAT JOINT PAIN IS A SIDE AFFECT,BUT WOW THIS IS AWFUL. SURE ITS BETTER THAN PAXIL BECAUSE OF NO SEX SIDE AFFECTS AND THATS ALL. IM GOING IBACK TO MY PAXIL ITS NOT WORTH THE PAIN IM GOING THROUGH

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Wow, Crystal, I can totally relate to the aggression (verging-on-violence). That's why I had to go off Vii. That and the excruciating joint pain. Oh, yeah, and the inability to remember ANYTHING AT ALL.
Didn't have headaches tho.
Anyway, coming off Vii was a bummer b/c I had high hopes for it. It was also a b**** to come off. Not the actual drug (like Efx XR was), but I became so suicidal/ violent that my husband and Dr nearly put me inpatient (weeks 2-5 after stopping Vii).
Thankfully I've found a new pdoc who 'thinks outside the box.' I'm on new meds that made a marked difference moodwise w/in a week!
Anyway, at ~7 weeks off, the aggression is WAY better than it was. Only occasional flareups.
The joint pain is still here, sadly. But not as bad. Used to be some days I couldn't even lift my left arm (b/c of elbow & shoulder joints), now, most days, I can, but still can't really lift anything else without pain (less than it used to be, but still present).
Memory's still pretty shot, too. :(
Anyway, perhaps your pdoc can offer some insight into how it's effecting you and possible solutions. Hang in there! :)

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ok...i'm a 41 yr old female, who has recently been diagnosed as diabetic after gaining a bout 25 lbs and my sweet tooth is in complete overdrive!! there are days that i feel like i might seriously die if i dont have some sugar. its horrible.
i have had some incidents of being very snarky and crappy with my friends and family, and if i miss a pill, i feel like a total B. ive actually gained some weight (ok, lotsa wight) but i dont know if the vii is connected or not. i did just recently start to notice that my knees hurt going up and down the stairs, like needles poking into the backside of my kneecap, but again, i'm not sure if the med has anything to do with that. sigh...overall, i'm seriously considering going off the medicine just to see if i lose some weight if my knees get better. i've only been on this medicine for about 3 months, with the last 2 being at 40mgs. has anyone else suffered weight gain?

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There are SO many of these stories on this site, and I am sure there are many more all over the internet. It is without a doubt the worst medication I have ever been on....too many complaints and lawyers love drug cases.

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been on vii almost 2 months. worse side effect is restless leg. if i get it taken early enough in the day, i don't notice it as much. if i take it noonish, then its really bad at bedtime. also didn't help the libido which is why i switched from lexapro. it has also worsened my sleep paralysis.

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The Viibryd worked well for me. I would wake up rested, ready for the day - no anxiety or depresson but if i forgot to take it at all or on time NIGHTMARES!! It is horrible! I went down to 20 mg lost my energy, slight level of anxiety. I'm going to try Cymbalta if that does not work I'm going to set my alarm to remind me to take my drugs...otherwise I'M AFRAID TO GO TO SLEEP!

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I was on viibryd for a year and a half. Soon after starting the medication (40 mg) I started having aches and pains in my joints but I didn't think anything of it because I had recently had ankle surgery and attributed some of the discomfort from that. As the pain in my joints spread I became more concerned as I have Crohn's disease and there is arthritis that is related to Crohn's disease. So as the pain and inflammation increased I went to see my GI DR. and he felt it was Crohn's Arthritis and started me on Humira. Well this didn't help and the joint pain and inflammation continued to progressively get worse. So I was referred by my primary to a Rheumotologist and was started on heavy doses of Prednisone still with the diagnosis of Crohn's arthritis. This brings me up to 1 year on viibryd. At this point the inflammation was literally in every joint in my body including the bottom and top of my feet and palms of my hands and forearms. My hands and elbows and shoulders and knees and neck and ankles and feet I mean literally everywhere. I was now switched to Cimzia a stronger immunosuppressant and was still taking steroids and using Vicodin for pain and Trazadone to help with sleep. I again continued to get worse with no end in sight. I had to quit my job as I could barely walk and holding things in my hands was excruciating. I then went to see a specialist in Crohns Arthritis as this is still the dx. He had no idea what was going on but he felt it was not the Crohns disease like everyone else did. He ran every test that had already been done and more. He asked me to give him some time to review info and come up with something to help me. Well what he came back with was a true shock to me. He felt my pain for the past 1 and half years was caused by the anti depressant viibryd. He felt I should come off of this with my primary doctors assistance and see how things went from there. I did this and slowly things have gotten better it has been 6 weeks now completely off meds and I feel about 80% better. I have had a couple of relapses with my hands and some on my feet and elbows but I feel so much better. I was able to stop the immunosuppressants and cut way back on my pain meds and prednisone. I know it was the Viibryd that caused this and I am so glad after suffering for so long that the doctor was able to figure this out. I was so hopeless at one point I literally thought about suicide cause the pain was so horrible. I now have hope and know that in time I will be better. If anyone else has experienced this please let me know. I highly suggest that this med not be taken. I want to add that the pain is absolutely excruciating that the swelling is horrible and it literally effects absolutely every avenue of your life. I have literally spent thousands of dollars on medication and doctors and tests! I haven't been able to work and doing things with my family has been limited. I wish there was someway to get the drug company to answer for this!!

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