New anti-depressant called Viibryd

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I just got put on a new anti-depressant called Viibryd, it's only been out for a few months. This medication is amazing. It starts working in the first week and has brought me out of a severe depressive state within 2 weeks. I also noticed that I want to do more things, even going outside and I've been fighting agoraphobia for a few years now. If anybody needs to switch their anti-depressant medications, I highly recommend it.

What can you tell me about it? I'm doing very well on Dexedrine and Celexa.

It's going to be a hard-sell. Most SSRI's are generic, and much of the focus in the medical community and advertising campaigns have been shifted in favor of SNRI's.

Did they finally get a ketamine-based antidepressant? I read they were doing studies using low dose ketamine to treat severe depression and it acts immediately

I read about vilazodone not long ago and it looks great because the side effects are reported to be milder than other SSRIs and it does not seem to cause weight gain/low sex drive.

I live in Britain though, so I'll never get prescribed that drug, especially on the NHS.

I started feeling better around the 3rd days dosage. On Viibryd, you start the first week at 10 mg, the next week at 20 mg (you also stop taking your current anti-depressant at this point also) and on the 3rd week is at 40 mg. I've always had problems with side effects & allergies. By the 3rd day, I felt better about myself, I found myself interested in doing stuff, even chores like the dishes, laundry etc. For the 1st time in my 25 year marriage (with dogs throughout), I felt like scooping the poop. I've become more interested in the neatness of my house and yard. I've got a lot of anxiety and phobias and there was an immediate decrease in the levels of anxiety. I could even go outside without taking Imodium. I've been taking my dog to the park for walks & training. I haven't been able to do that for several years because of the agoraphobia. My depression went from "the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train" to "the light at the end of the tunnel is the sun".

I've been on it for about three months now. I haven't stopped drinking alcohol. I also take Serax to sleep and Wellbutrin as my antidepressant.

It scares me because it's so new and right now I'm listening to a podcast of 'On the Media' and they're talking about how docs are being paid to market drugs.

I've been in a severe depression for a couple of years and Viibryd was a last-ditch-effort drug for me. It makes me hyper and shaky.

When I found out my shrink prescribed it for a friend of mine (a psychologist) who was experiencing a depression that she deemed might be severe enough to need an antidepressant, but for no clinical reason---she's not a recurring depressive--it made me suspicious. She'd only been feeling "down for a few months"

I feel like I still have a "normal" range of emotions, so maybe it's just my paranoia---I'm doing better than usual---but my gut instinct telling me there's something really dangerous about this med that us lab rats will only discover in a few years...

Sign me 58.5 yrs old and a scaredy cat...

If you're taking more than 150mg/day of Wellbutrin, you might want to talk to your dr. about reducing it by one notch, or possibly reduce the Viibryd by one notch. The Viibryd might be potentiating (multiplying) the effect of the Wellbutrin & making it act like a much higher dose.

I believe Viibryd is weakly dopaminergic. Wellbutrin is *massively* dopaminergic. The combo, even without potentiation, might be pushing your dopamine too high, which might be experienced as feeling "raw", edgy, paranoid, irritable, etc.

As for your friend, you might be halfway right. An antidepressant for her is certainly appropriate, but I'm surprised he didn't start her with something a little more "tame", like Wellbutrin (WB is usually a good drug to start with... it tends to work, work quickly, and have few side effects.) On the other hand, if your friend is a psychologist, she almost certainly "did her homework", and probably asked her doctor for it by name after reading about it. Viibryd might be better for "anxious" depression, for example. WB is more appropriate for "lethargic" depression.

Either way, your friend was smart. Depression is real, and there's no reason to let it run your life into the ground before treating it. As a psychologist, she knows what it looks like, and just recognized it sooner than most would.

The truth is that doctors *are* apt to favor newer, heavily-marketed drugs, but the consequences tend to be more financial (higher cost) than dangerous. Newer drugs often do have more convenient dosing or more tolerable side-effects by virtue of longer half-lives or "cleaner" metabolization.

Forest Pharmaceutical can shove this medication where the sun doesn't shine. As far as I'm concerned, Big Pharma can take all of their psychiatric poisons and shove them. I've been to that well 6 times and had severe reactions each time. If you're on the spectrum, these drugs should not be used.

Even if you have severe depression and are on the spectrum?

this is good news. I'm glad they are bringing out new ADs and psychiatric drugs. This gives people who are not responsive to the other medications a chance at kicking the blues.

However I'm concerned if it is actually ketamine based. In my humble opinion as a pharmacy student all amphetamine based substances to treat psychiatric disorders are a bad idea. Anything that increases dopamine above a certain threshold is never a good thing. That's why I really disagree with the use of ADHD drugs like ritalin. You find quite a relatively high percentage of people on these drugs develop psychotic disorders.
Dopamine is one chemical in the brain that should not be messed about with!

I've been on this since Feb, and it has not helped at all. I selected it b/c SSRIs screw up my libido...and, to be honest, not having a libido is so depressing to me that I'd rather be depressed and still want sex, than be numb and not want sex. Anyhow, of all SSRIs this is supposed to have the least affect on libido.

Anyhow, I didn't notice any benefit added to the Wellbutrin XL I already take...praozac offered more "relief." What I did notice, though, is that if you forget to take your meds...WHEW! I get brain zaps when attempting to fall asleep that are so intense that literally my head will jerk off the pillow. It's like an airplane is trying to take off in my brain. NOT FUN.

So, if this works for you...thats f'ing awesome! Just be sure to keep it at stable level in your blood stream...I'd hate for anyone to experience the airplane brain thing.

If you decide to try it after this thread, and find it doesn't work for you...know its not a wonder drug, and you are not the unlucky bastard for whom it just didnt work.

I don't care how depressed you are, this stuff should not be used on ANYONE on the spectrum, Especially when you have other medical issues, like diabetes, hyper- or hypo- thyroid issues, lupus, lyme disease, etc.

Situational depression is best handled by psychotherapy. My issues with bipolar probably would not be as bad in the past if i had someone to talk to (other than family, who could care less most of the time).

Psychiatric drugs should be left to the NT's, who developed them in the first place.

^ Well, I disagree.

That is your perogative. I, and too many other people, have been harmed by antidepressants, no thanks to modern psychiatry and the 15 minute med check.

but not everyone has situational depression alot of time it is generalized. just like you are generalizing just because its not good for you doesnt mean its not good for anyone. those types of point of views or dangerous there are many reasons why people need pschiatric medication and you have to remember it is possible to have an autism spectrum disorder and another condition. so please do not judge

for example you mentioned bipolar for some talk therapy may be enough but for others its may not. but medication should be used alone, it should always when used be in combination with talk therapy