Posted by pfinstegg on September 14, 2002, at 21:28:40
In reply to Re: cortisol considerations (long) » pfinstegg, posted by EarlyWakening on September 14, 2002, at 18:41:56
It's not hard to get tianeptine, as it's legal all through Europe, where it has been used for about five years; if your pdoc is willing, he/she can easily obtain it. I would like to tell you a bit more about that, but if I do, Dr. Bob will probably reprimand me!
All the posts that I have read on Psychobabble have described tianeptine as being ineffective, and that's the reason given for why no drug company has been interested in marketing it here. Granted that everyone reacts differently, but this is by far the most effective anti-depressant I have used, and I haven't noticed any side effects at all; compared to the SSRIs, I feel much more alive and interested in things and people, much more interested in sex- just much more the old me.A month ago, I was really struggling with just trying to get going in the morning, and had recurrent suicidal ideation all day long, so I am so relieved and grateful for this change.
I feel that I'm fortunate with my doctors, as I have an open-minded pdoc, and an endocrinologist who is genuinely interested in the pseudo-Cushing's Syndrome which can accompany depression. He wants to follow the cortisol levels a few times a year and think about additional treatment if they don't come down with what we are doing now.
It's my understanding that tianeptine blocks cortisol from harming the hippocampus, but doesn't actually lower the circulating levels. If it can eventually reset the HPA axis, the levels should come down over time, but I'm not sure whether it can do this or not. I'll let you know.
take care,
Pfinstegg
poster:pfinstegg
thread:119302
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020914/msgs/119885.html