Viibryd experiences
August 12, 2011 12:16 PM Subscribe
Does anyone have any experience taking viibryd (vilazodone HCl), the newest anti-depressant? Care to share?
Viibryd was just FDA approved in January, and went on sale around June/July. A psychiatrist I'd never met before, and who hadn't looked at my copious records at all, gave me a month sample pack today. Also this is his first time prescribing this drug period. So, somewhat understandably, I'm nervous about taking it. But hey, I've been on everything else at this point (no really).
So, I'm reaching out to metafilter in the hopes that there are at least a handful of people out there who've been taking viibryd for the past month or so and know more about it than the dry clinical literature. I'd love to know if it's working for you, how it's working, and a few specifics --
1. I have read that the side effects people experience are often of the intestinal discomfort type. Is there anything I can do to alleviate that? Maybe something I should be eating, or not eating?
2. Any weight gain/loss?
3. I suffer from anxiety at least as much as I have depression; in fact, I'm mostly depressed because my panic causes me to miss out on life. Has viibryd impacted your anxiety? Is it better or worse?
4. I have a lot of trouble sleeping, usually because I am too anxious to fall asleep. Sleeping medications don't work for me, but I'm wondering if viibryd has any impact on your sleep patterns? Does it keep you up, calm you down, or put you to sleep? The literature says it doesn't really affect sleep, but I've never taken an SSRI or SNRI that did not impact my sleep.
5. Does anyone else take half or grind up the pills instead of swallowing them whole? I physically can't swallow pills, so drugs tend to impact me differently because they're not entering my system through the normal mechanism. I'd love to hear if people who do this have noticed anything different from the normal literature.
6. Has viibryd affected your self control or ability to concentrate at all? I was distressed to see that some of the potential side effects were loss of ability to concentrate and memory problems, but I wanted to know exactly what that meant and felt like for anyone who's experienced those feelings. Is there's anything you've been able to do to overcome those problems?
7. Anything else you've noticed, tips you can share?
If you'd prefer sharing anonymously, it's viibryd@gmail.com.
Viibryd was just FDA approved in January, and went on sale around June/July. A psychiatrist I'd never met before, and who hadn't looked at my copious records at all, gave me a month sample pack today. Also this is his first time prescribing this drug period. So, somewhat understandably, I'm nervous about taking it. But hey, I've been on everything else at this point (no really).
So, I'm reaching out to metafilter in the hopes that there are at least a handful of people out there who've been taking viibryd for the past month or so and know more about it than the dry clinical literature. I'd love to know if it's working for you, how it's working, and a few specifics --
1. I have read that the side effects people experience are often of the intestinal discomfort type. Is there anything I can do to alleviate that? Maybe something I should be eating, or not eating?
2. Any weight gain/loss?
3. I suffer from anxiety at least as much as I have depression; in fact, I'm mostly depressed because my panic causes me to miss out on life. Has viibryd impacted your anxiety? Is it better or worse?
4. I have a lot of trouble sleeping, usually because I am too anxious to fall asleep. Sleeping medications don't work for me, but I'm wondering if viibryd has any impact on your sleep patterns? Does it keep you up, calm you down, or put you to sleep? The literature says it doesn't really affect sleep, but I've never taken an SSRI or SNRI that did not impact my sleep.
5. Does anyone else take half or grind up the pills instead of swallowing them whole? I physically can't swallow pills, so drugs tend to impact me differently because they're not entering my system through the normal mechanism. I'd love to hear if people who do this have noticed anything different from the normal literature.
6. Has viibryd affected your self control or ability to concentrate at all? I was distressed to see that some of the potential side effects were loss of ability to concentrate and memory problems, but I wanted to know exactly what that meant and felt like for anyone who's experienced those feelings. Is there's anything you've been able to do to overcome those problems?
7. Anything else you've noticed, tips you can share?
If you'd prefer sharing anonymously, it's viibryd@gmail.com.
It looks like there's a few threads at Crazymeds on Viibryd. They're usually a good place to look if you've got personal-experience-type questions like these.
posted by nebulawindphone at 2:36 PM on August 12, 2011
posted by nebulawindphone at 2:36 PM on August 12, 2011
I'm as curious as you are - Viibryd isn't available in my area yet and I'm waiting to try it. I also have anxiety/mood disorder stuff and since I discontinued Zoloft (the sexual side effects were killing me) I have been plagued by near-constant state of anxiety.
My doctor suggested it for me because it's supposed to do all the good things that I get out of SSRIs with a much lower incidence of the unpleasant side effects I've experienced on every SSRI I've ever been on. My doctor has been treating me regularly for about 5 years, knows my medical history and is pretty diligent about his research, so I trust his judgment. That said, he's not YOUR doctor and I'd be wary of any one who prescribes for you without knowing your history.
posted by echolalia67 at 4:08 PM on August 12, 2011
My doctor suggested it for me because it's supposed to do all the good things that I get out of SSRIs with a much lower incidence of the unpleasant side effects I've experienced on every SSRI I've ever been on. My doctor has been treating me regularly for about 5 years, knows my medical history and is pretty diligent about his research, so I trust his judgment. That said, he's not YOUR doctor and I'd be wary of any one who prescribes for you without knowing your history.
posted by echolalia67 at 4:08 PM on August 12, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
Hey, I'm nervous for you! This sounds like a bad situation. Any chance you can talk to the other psychiatrists who have worked with you in the past?
The anxiety question is a big one, and if the doctor didn't address those fears at all, RUN away. Seriously. Do you really want to start, have a bad experience, THEN have to taper off a drug, if it's not even indicated for your situation?
posted by barnone at 1:10 PM on August 12, 2011 [1 favorite]