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Today I'm talking about a fairly new medication called Viibryd, or Vilazodone. The history of this medication is that it was approved for use in the United States, first in 2011, and later, it was approved in Canada in 2018. 

In the year 2019, it was the 334th most prescribed medication in the United States. So, it's quite a way down that list. It is new. It hasn't exactly gained a lot of popularity, and the big thing is, it hasn't really shown that it's that much more effective than current medications that are on the market. 

So, the drug lost patent protection in June 2022 for adults and is scheduled to lose that patent protection in 2023 for pediatrics. This medication does already have some generics approved, so you can get it cheaply. 

It's mostly used for major depressive disorder, like other SSRI medications. This isn't quite an SSRI though, it’s a little bit different. It is used to treat major depressive disorder and also generalized anxiety disorder and other disorders of serotonin. 

What it does is very similar to other SSRIs, where it blocks that reuptake transporter. It prevents serotonin between the two synapses from being reuptaken into the neuron. What it does is it allows you to have more free-floating serotonin in the synaptic cleft, or that synaptic space. What that correlates to is how you feel. So the more serotonin you have in that space, the more of those feel good chemical messengers that you have, the better you will feel.

Okay, so what is unique and specific about it? And why a doctor may prescribe this to you over another SSRI, is that maybe you failed another SSRI or two or three, and you've had bad side effects with them. Well, Vilazodone or Viibryd acts a little bit differently. 

What it does is it blocks out reuptake, like I talked about, but it also activates a serotonin receptor. In a sense, it takes the place of serotonin. So not only does it increase the levels of serotonin, it also replaces serotonin. 

You can get a double benefit from that. So, in 2011, the United States FDA said that it is unknown whether it has any advantages compared to other drugs in the antidepressant class. It's not necessarily more effective, but it does work a little bit differently. 

If you failed other antidepressants, then maybe this will work, but it's not going to necessarily work better than if the other antidepressants had worked for you, if that makes sense. So a 2019 review stated that present studies do not suggest the superiority of Vilazodone compared to other antidepressants. 

Okay, so let's talk about vilazodone side effects. They're very similar to other SSRI like antidepressants with nausea, diarrhea, headache, vomiting, dry mouth, dizziness, insomnia. It can affect sexual function, make it difficult for a man to achieve an erection, or make it difficult to reach orgasm for women. 

For men and for women, those side effects can be treated with other medications. But that's something that you can usually expect to experience with an antidepressant. 

Viibryd or Vilazodone is not a medication that I have a lot of experience with. It's not something that I see prescribed very often in an inpatient setting, and it's also not something that I've ever taken before. I don't have any personal insight about it other than it possibly acts a little bit differently than other antidepressants. So if you failed other ones, this one might be worth a try to see if it works differently for you.