Posted by sukarno on March 23, 2007, at 6:16:47
In reply to Re: Tianeptine, posted by tessellated on March 20, 2007, at 5:03:36
This medication works very well at 12,5mg 4x/day.
I tried going back to 3x/day but my depression came back.I've noticed positive effects on my mood, less anxiety, improvement in asthma, and less pain. I'm not sure how it helps with pain, but I would guess that depression can cause pain so relieving depression could then help the pain. I also feel more social.
I think it has helped me to concentrate better or learn more, of course, then again, that could just be because the depression is gone.
All of these effects are rather mild and there are almost no side effects apart from the occasional mild dry mouth and temporary nervousness (but no anxiety) when increasing the dose.
Sometimes I swear it puts me to sleep, but I can't quite prove it. It just happens every now and then.
Oh and the dreams. Have any of you have vivid dreams on tianeptine? Very strange dreams and a few nightmares but it is still worth it to continue with this medication. I can tolerate it far, far more than I could tolerate SSRIs or TCAs and I just feel comfortable on it.
:-)
Servier applied for a patent for tianeptine for the treatment of neurological pathologies in 2001. A US patent at that. Very interesting. I wonder if it will be approved by the FDA one of these days. Too bad no generic manufacturers have tried to produce it because I'd love to see lower prices. I pay about 50 cents per tablet from Darya-Varia laboratories, the local manufacturer of Stablon, under license from Servier. It comes in foil strips of 10 tablets each.
When I was in Malaysia I had Stablon in the foil blister packaging..foil on one side and clear plastic on the other where you could see the white elliptical tic-tac shaped pills. Made by Servier..about 15 or 20 tablets per strip, can't remember exactly.
Tianeptine's half-life is very, very short: 2 1/2 hours
Be sure to take it before meals on an empty stomach for maximum bioavailability/absorption.
Does anyone else notice a "see-saw" effect from it? It seems that (probably because of the short half-life) in the mornings when I wake up I feel a bit down until I take a pill. Otherwise the rest of the day I am just feeling fine. :-)
I have tried doses as high as 6 tablets per day, but I really didn't notice much improvement. I've found that, over this two year period, 4 pills per day is the best for me.
A psychiatrist here told me to take it at least 3 times a day because of the short half-life. He said any dose less than that won't work very well.
Of course, everyone is different.
Another good thing about tianeptine/Stablon: No drug interactions as far as I know. I know they tell you not to take them with MAOIs, but very few people take those anyway and I think that's just listed as contraindicated because of tianeptine's tricyclic structure. In reality, the effect of tianeptine has nothing in common with conventional tricyclics. It has a totally different mode of action and is not cardiotoxic or harmful to the libido as with conventional tricyclics (TCAs).
Overall a great medication, especially for those who are sensitive to medications in general. Very few side effects, if any. Gentle. No withdrawal symptoms that I've found either (unlike SSRIs or other ADs)
Good luck with this stuff. I hope more people can try it and report back here. :-)Paul
poster:sukarno
thread:728547
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070320/msgs/743395.html