Have any of you that are doing well on Viibryd experienced any night terrors? My doctor switched me from Lexapro 20mg to Viibryd. Around my 4th week of taking starter pack, I missed a dose while on vacation (completely slipped my mind with all of the running around). That night I had horrible, horrible nightmares like nothing I have ever experienced. It scared me so much that I was afraid to go to sleep the following night. Since then I have weaned off it and back on Lexapro but wanted to see if anyone that has had success with this drug has had something similar happen. If so, how did you deal or do you just suffer through the nightmares?
Viibryd - Nightmares/Night Terrors?
Question posted by yanksgrl827 on 14 Oct 2013
Last updated on 29 February 2024 by deBohun
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
51 Answers
Generally I don’t have bad dreams, perhaps the occasional anxiety dream, but that is about it. Consequently when these Viibryd nightmares started I thought something was wrong with me mentally. I didn’t realize for a week that they had started soon after starting this medication. These were horrifying dreams, the kind where you feel like you are awake but your whole body is paralyzed. Having already been the victim of one stroke, you can only image the terror this induced. In my opinion this stuff shouldn’t even be on the market.
I’ve been on Viibryd on two different occasions, this time for a little over a year. The first time I was on it I experienced brain zaps, but had so many other medical issues that I never connected the dots. This time, early on, I was frequently losing sleep due to brain zaps and the freakiest lucid dreams. After a couple of months I realized that it was because I wasn’t making a
point of taking it at the same time every night — I had to learn the hard way. I take it at night and have to take it at the same time (or 3 hours before I go to bed), if I don’t I have TERRIBLE brain zaps and night terrors, like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I also missed a dose once due to my pharmacy not filling on time and spent the day waffling between uncontrollable crying and sleep. It was insane to see how quickly my body started withdrawals. All in all, viibryd has been incredibly effective for me, but it definitely is a finicky medication that has really weird and scary effects if not taken properly.
ALL side effects should be reported to your doctor. It's the only way they have to gauge your progress or lack thereof leaving them unable to monitor you. This is especially critical during the initial stages of treatment as your metabolism adjusts to the medication.
Consult with your doctor for professional advice. There's no need to suffer!!!
I just wanted to say thank you for suggesting taking the medication in the morning. I just started an increased dose and so did the night terrors.
"Psychiatric
Common (1% to 10% of users): Abnormal dreams"
This is usually a side effect for some people when they're first starting the medication.
However, it can also be a symptom of withdrawal which can start as early as an hour two after stopping abruptly or missing a dose.
The trick is not to miss doses but if it persists or is severe you should notify your doctor.
I'm currently having bad dreams and constantly do when I stop taking it (only stop because my doctors and pharmacy can't seem to get a couple of numbers right for my script to be reliable). But it started with my brain going "thoomp", that's when I knew tonight would suck... and sure enough I've been "asleep" for about 3 hours, and it feels joke I haven't gotten a wink. Sorry for typos I'm literally nodding out while typing this but too terrified to go back to sleep. Need to figure something out because I don't think I can do this anymore it's really, really bad
Ugh, I’ve been on this for about two to three weeks and I’m laying here scared to go back to sleep because the last few nights I have started to have the night terrors and paralysis. It only happens when I first fall asleep. It’s so real and I truly can’t tell I’m in a dream, I feel fully conscious and aware. I finally realize I’m dreaming once I get ao
Scared that I wake up. It takes
Me another few minutes to decide if im not still in the dream. The dreams are so terrifying. I don’t wanna fall back asleep but I’ve noticed the last two nights when I wake up from them I will put on some sleep music and that helps me to fall back asleep without another terror. I am going to try another posters suggestion and take it in the AM with food (non sugary) wish me luck.
To End Night Terrors on Viibryd:
1. You MUST take the medication at the BEGINNING of your day. MUST.
2. You MUST take medication with FOOD. MUST.
3. You should not take with sugary food such as donuts, sugared syrup.
That's it. I think these are advised in the Rx literature, but I found by experience that these steps will work. I've been using this for 15 years.
Yessss. I have demonic dreams that make me feel like I am having sleep paralysis and I’m screaming for my husband to come and help me and he can’t because at the end of the day I am not really awake. I feel like I’m paralyzed. I have woke up and I can see the whole room is red. I’m not religious and this has really made me think that I need to think about that again. So I’ve seen articles to switch taking your medicine in the morning and you won’t have these kind of side effects
Hi, I was on Viibryd for about a year and on quite a high dose. I always took it at night but every time I’d go to sleep, especially if it was during the day, I’d have extremely vivid nightmares where I was very much so mentally conscious. The first night I didn’t take a dose they were really bad and then after that I never had one again until last night which is why I’m back researching these nightmares. They’re completely unique and I can always tell what kind of nightmare they are once I’m awake but it’s peculiar I’ve had another one even though I’m off the viibryd because I was sure that was the cause. Overall, I still think it’s medication related and that maybe Viibryd isn’t the only medication that causes these symptoms.
I actually don’t remember when I started Viibryd. I think it was almost 2 years ago now. I’m 99% sure the problems that everyone seems to be having are withdrawal symptoms. Not long after I started I started getting significant brain zaps. I’ve had them before on other antidepressants but these are awful. It’s like a full body electric shock of uncomfortableness. It was happening within the 24 hour cycle of taking it before I could get to the next day I was withdrawing. I switched over to taking 20mg twice a day and that has helped for a long time, but now I will have withdrawal within 10-15 hours of not having the med. Sometimes it feels like I’ve skipped it when I know I haven’t and I get a little agitated and itchy and sad. I’m to the point now where I can only sleep for around 4 hours at a time with extremely vivid dreams and 90% of the time they’re nightmares.
Even though all of this is awful, the real hell is missing a dose. I have missed a dose 2-3 times and fell asleep on accident. Every single time I had sleep paralysis, hallucinations, woke up with an extreme headache, dizzy, agitated, itchy, in a psychotic/manic state and panicking. 2 of those times when I finally woke up I was standing up. I lost time and had no recollection of getting up or walking anywhere. I just came to standing in the kitchen. This medicine has been the one thing that has helped to turn my anxiety and depression around. When it’s good it’s amazing, but when it’s bad, it’s what I can imagine hell is like. I want to be off of this med so bad but I can’t go back to how I was. I’m so scared of feeling that anguish/despair/panic again. I don’t know what to do. Every time I talk to my psychiatrist I am in a good state because I’m awake and the med is working, so I decide to just keep going, but this is not ok. I’m scared of what could happen if I have to go too long without taking it. This is dangerous for my mental health and it feels like it could be deadly if I don’t get it in time. I so desperately need the good part of this med but the trauma is has caused is equal in intensity.
Hello. I just started taking this medication 13 days ago during hospitalization in a mental health facility for major depressive disorder. My depression is severe and I need my life back. Last night I had the most terrifying nightmare and sleep paralysis. My husband heard me trying to call out to him so he gently shook me to wake me up. I awoke but wasn’t fully awake and aware of what was going on. I started to scream because I thought he was trying to murder me. I screamed so loud and for a long period of time that I woke our two kids up at 2am. My throat hurts today from screaming. I couldn’t really get back to sleep after that. I’m terrified to take the medication again but I’m also terrified to stop. I think it is starting to work for my depression. What did you end up doing? Did you stop due to the nightmares? Did you find any relief?
Yes. Notably so. And no other medication has had an effect on my dream state, positively or negatively. So this was entirely unexpected. I'm not prone to nightmares and am scarcely even inclined to experience fear in general. I still think it remarkable that it provoked an experience of terror as raw and visceral as it did for a span of a few nights during my trial of it a few years ago. FWIW, and I suspect this will be a highly variable detail, but my dreams were not particularly fantastic or macabre per se. They were quite vivid, however, and replicated by way of my unconscious imagination a truly terrifying enactment of what it would be like to have a loving family member psychologically snap and then repeatedly attempt to go after one's life.
I dare to think, given its affect on somone such as myself with a respectable emotional fortitude against fright and horror, how such an experience would impact someone with traumatic memories of actual events of a similar situation. I can't imagine it would be mentally healthy. While I at least could say it wasn't a mere placebo, I had no desire to stick it out. And though the nightmares were ultimately imaginary, the sleep disruption wasn't. YMMV, of course.
I just searched for this group today and I am so happy I have! I have been taking viibryd for almost 10 years, and it is the best med for my symptoms!
Recently, tho, I am experiencing more of the withdrawal effects that I noticed early on when only a few hours past typical dose time. Having been on the med for so long, I recognize the night terrors, itching and "awake but asleep" and fatigue feelings and they seem to linger now. I was taking my med in the night--9PM. Has anyone experienced anything like this? Is it because I am now taking around midnight? (off of work) I get up at same time...
Do not skip dose!
Hi everybody,
I believe a lot of people, including myself have had a lot of depression relief, taking this medication. We also have experienced the night terrors associated with it.
From my experience and others who have posted, it seems that most of us need to figure out what time we're taking it, in order to combat the night terrors. It seems to work with some people, if they take it in the morning, or like myself, I take it a few hours before I go to bed each night.
I seriously, wouldn't wish these terrors on my worse enemy.
I hope this post helps someone who's coming on here, trying to get answers and realising their NOT crazy. Just know, you're not alone and hoping you too can make the adjustments needed to help alleviate these night terrors and you can continue getting the benefits from taking Viibryd.
Best of luck to all!
I am on it and I do have nightmares and vivid dreams sometimes. I’ve been on it a while, but it is really helping my mood disorder and the bipolar depression. I had them almost nightly when I first started taking it but now they are not often anymore. I get a bad dream maybe once every 3 weeks.
Related topics
nightmares, night terrors, viibryd
Further information
- Viibryd uses and safety info
- Viibryd prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Viibryd (detailed)
Similar questions
Search for questions
Still looking for answers? Try searching for what you seek or ask your own question.