Stablon (tianeptine) experiences

[DaneV]

Hi,
The reason i joined this forum is because I am/was looking for an antidepressant/anxiolytic called Stablon (tianeptine).

I have been using fluoxetine and escitalopram under my dr's supervision without much success. All these meds did is kill my libido and made mee feel like an idiot. My doctor wants to put me on a TCA now (anafrinil) but i decided i first want to try Stablon because i've seen good reviews about it and the way its promoted to work makes sense to me. And I hate the fact that TCA's have strong anticholinergic Side effects, allthough i don't know in what degree they will affect me.

It's an SSRE (Selective serotonin reuptake enhancer) so the opposite of an ssri. Users report a non-sedative anxiolytic and antidepressant effect without the nasty side effects SSRIs are known for (like feeling numb and sexual side effects). Allthough the exact mechanism of action is unknown, it is demonstrated that stablon increases neurogenisis in certain areas of the brain (especially the hippocampus) and thereby restoring damage that is caused by an excess of stress hormones. Just like ssri's do in a lesser degree (and with alot more side effects).

This theory sounds a lot more plausible to me then the serotonin deficiency theory that has been spreaded by pharma companies since the launch of prozac.

Also enhancing the serotonin reuptake is believed to increase dopamine levels in some parts of the brain, which could also be a partial explaination of tianeptine's antidepressant, but not its anxiolytic, effect. Because of this increase of dopamine, tianeptine also seems to be moderately effective (allthough not as much as stimulants) in treating ad(h)d. This is another reason why i have the feeling this drug might be suitable for me. I have ADD and SSRI's make it alot worse (probably because the excess serotonin decreases dopamine activity).

Anyway i would like to hear from people who have used this medication, if there are any on this forum. More info on tianeptine can be found at tianeptine.com

[DaneV]

I'll update this thread with my experiences with this drug, hoping i can help someone who is considering this drug.

I took my first 12.5mg dose yesterday. After about an hour I felt a certain calmness coming over me. This might be a placebo effect, but i have seen this described by other people who start using it aswell. Anyway its certainly better then the "weird" feeling i get the first days on a SSRI. But its the long term effect that counts of course.

Took my second dose 2 hours ago. Feeling fine, no side effects yet. I think I'll stick to 4x12.5mg for the upcoming two weeks, see if it works and then maybe lower the dose to 3x12.5 (which is the recommended dose by servier but some people say its too low).

Still any opinions/comments on this drug are welcome :-)

[DaneV]

Still taking 4x12.5mg and i think i'm allready strarting to see the first effects of this drug.

* Had very vivid dreams last night, when i woke up i really could remember everything in detail, where normally dreams are very vague.. Funny side effect, luckily my dreams are (allmost) never nightmares. I had this in some degree when taking prozac, allthough it didn't start untik the third week and it wasn't so strong.
* Apart from the dreaming no side effects (yet) yaaay ! (knock on wood)
* Today i woke up and at some moments i was actually looking forward to my day (very rare for me in the morning).
* Still anxious feelings, but today it was like they they weren't as overwhelming as they would normally be.

So far so good... Definately not feeling shitty as when i was on the SSRI's, but far from where i want to be yet. But hey, it's been only 3 days and if I continue to progress the way I seem to be doing now this drug could just be the helping hand i've been looking for all this time. I really hope so because i dont want to resort to the more dirty antidepressants with their nasty side effects.

[DaneV]

Quick update;
Still doing well on the tianeptine and i'm 100% sure its working by now. The antidepressant effect is quite noticable, the anxiolytic effect is definately there but i hope it will become a little stronger over time. I used to be anxious 24/7 before taking this drug even when i was at home. Now this seems to be improved alot, but i still get pretty anxious in social situations, and when i start worrying about my future and all. But again this is a big improvement compared to a week ago, when i was lying in bed most of the day because i was to anxious too get out.

Experiences so far (1 week):

* Big improvement in mental clarity (which was BAD due to years of depression, its still not great but compared to last week it is)
* Anxiety seems to be reactive again instead of having it 24/7. Its still beyond acceptable levels though..
* Amount of needed sleep decreased from 12 to 9 hours a day.
* Increased sex drive
* I was able to meditate again the last two days.
* My chronic dizziness seems to improve slowly.
* Taking 2 tabs sublingually produces a mild euphoria for about an hour
* Best of all; no side effects whatsoever (except the vivid but pleasant dreams) This is just great compared to the SSRI's. I'm not feeling like i'm on a drug at all, just feeling natural and healthy.

Seriously people i would first try tianeptine over any SSRI if you're in a situation where you are considering one. There are no miracle drugs for depression and anxiety, but tianeptine is the closest thing to it for me. I hope, and believe i will improve more but it already gotten me from a state from not being able to do anything to somewhat functioning again. In less then a week!

Ordered 3 more boxes today... And this is where the only downside so far comes in. The stuff is a little expensive. I buy 60 tabs for $ 32 which is $ 0.53 a tablet. I currently use 5 tabs a day so thats $ 2.65 a day (+shipping). All other meds i had were free because of insurance. Oh well, i guess $80,00 a month isn't a bad deal to ease depression without s/e's.

[Gup]

I found I had increased anxiety issues while trying tianeptine, but am not entirely sure tianeptine was the direct cause. It was bad enough I was not willing to continue the trial, however.

As always, reactions to antidepressants can be very idiosyncratic.

[DaneV]

I found I had increased anxiety issues while trying tianeptine, but am not entirely sure tianeptine was the direct cause. It was bad enough I was not willing to continue the trial, however.

As always, reactions to antidepressants can be very idiosyncratic.

Yeah an increase of anxiety is described by more people allthough it often subsides after a couple weeks of usage as far I know. The occurence of this side effect doesn't seem to be as frequent as with SSRI's (for ssri's an increase of anxiety is more rule then exception) however. Just out of curiosity; for how long did you use tianeptine and in what dose?

Maybe the increase of dopamine is to blame for the anxiety.. I dont know. I do know i didn't have this effect at all. Indeed everyone reacts to AD's in a unique way.

[ishmael]

@DaneV, just curious how this continues to go for you? I'm one of those that seems to experience, and never gets past, every negative side effect of the SSRI's I've been on...

[DaneV]

Doing fine still... I had two bad days this week, but this seemed to be a temporary relapse. I guess most people that are going to improve will have their ups and downs in the first week of treatment and its when you use the drug for a couple of weeks when you can really tell if a drug helps you to be stable or not.

Unfortunately i didn't plan my reorder well enough so i'll be running out on thuesday. Hope i will receive my new order by then, else i have to do a while without. Shouldn't be a big problem though since this drug isn't known to cause withdrawal effects.

I also can't tolerate ssri's well, at least not the ones i tried. Last one i tried was fluoxetine and allthough it went fine in the beginning, after a couple of weeks i became confused, more anxious and i was gagging all day. I toughed it out for 3 more weeks, but it didn't improve so i quit.

[ishmael]

Thanks for the info! I had never heard of SSRE's before, and, based on your posts and experiences, so far, I'll be researching this a lot more!

[DaneV]

I`m still so glad I have found this medication!

Now, after two weeks of usage my depression lifted significantly. I`m able to thing more clearly, amount of sleep required decreased (now 8 hours instead of 11) and general mood is better. Anxiety is still there, but it wears of much faster then before. I dont really know how to explain it but it seems like my body/mind is able restore itself quicker after an anxious period.

Of course i still have my ups and downs and I don`t consider myself in remission at all. But because i`m able to think more clearly, and don`t feel helpless anymore i`m confident that I will be able to change things in my life that are needed to further improve my mood and decrease anxiety.

I felt really anxious and depressed 95% of the time before starting the Stablon, now only 25% of the time and it seems to get better very slowly still.

But the thing I like most about this drug is that i`m not feeling like i`m taking anything at all. Not a single side effect, other then sometimes lucid dreaming (which I experience as pleasant because I believe dreams are useful in "processing" emotions).

Based on my experiences I really recommend this drug over the other meds I tried (Fluoxetine, Escitalopram, Wellbutrin and various OTC stuff). Its great to be on a drug that works but doesn`t have any downsides (at least so far ). I`m still on 4x12.5 a day, thinking of trying 6x12.5/day for a couple of days next week to see if improvement will raise more. But I believe the real benefits (due to increase of neuroplasticity) of this drug will be over the longer term (months, not days or weeks) and only when also working on yourself physiologicly.

Also I`m hoping I will further imrpove by quitting smoking (planning to do that next week) and adding 2.5mg Seligiline to help the quitting process (Seligiline has MAOI properties which cigarette smoke also has) and maybe to increase motivation, concentration and energy (stablon has done this already in a certain degree).

[SomeKindOfBird]

Hey DaneV. I'm glad to hear you're doing better. I started taking tianeptine today. I've been facing depression and some kind of social anxiety for around 3 or 4 years now with highs and lows. Some of the "lows" have been really disheartening. I'm hoping this drug will make me see some things a bit more clearly.

Do you always take them sublingually or swallow them? I tried taking one sublingually but the taste was unbearable and made my tongue hurt for half an hour after taking the pill.

[DaneV]

Nah I just swallow them. Tried them sublingually a couple of times but indeed the taste sucks

Good luck with it !

[seekingtinapetine]

I am really looking forward to finding Stablon/tianeptine because I have major depression caused by massive abuse of MDMA. I think this will reverse some of the effects.

*This post was auto-merged. The following text was added 5 minutes after the last post:*

this is just a test to see if you automoderate posts after the 2nd post, so that people can't just make 3 long fast posts.

it's your site to see to run as how you see fit but I needed to test that theory.

[barbital]

Currently, Tianeptine is approved in France and manufactured and marketed by Laboratoires Servier SA; it is also marketed in a number of other European countries under the trade name "Coaxil" as well as in Asia and Latin America as "Stablon" and "Tatinol" but it is not available in the UK or US.

[SomeKindOfBird]

How are you doing DaneV? I never really noticed anything during my first week, not even the supposed anxiolytic effect. I'll probably continue taking it one week more and see how it goes, I just won't have much more money left after this

[DaneV]

@SomeKindOfBird
Sorry to hear the tianeptine isn`t working as you hoped. But you do have to keep a couple of things in mind

* The antidepressant and anxiolytic effect of this drug takes 2-3 weeks to arise and after 5-6 weeks the effects should be very noticable. You might get a mild buzz when you take it for the first days, but this isn`t the effect you`re looking for. Like any antidepressant; you`ll have to try it for some time before you`re able to judge it.

* The 3x12.5mg dose servier advices is actually on the low hand. Studies on this drug were done in dosages between 25mg and 300mg a day. The amount that you`ll need depends on your problems, your metabolism and your weight. IMO 3x12.5 is the absolute minimum and could be sufficient for people who are sensitive. I personally take 100mg/day now as i feel this is giving me the best results. I`ve spoken to someone who has to take 200mg/day to get consistent results, but he did it for over a year now and still get the same benefit he got in the second month.

* And of course, there is no psychotropic drug that works for everyone. One thing is for sure; you can be allmost certain that tianeptine will be mild side-effects wise. It completely lacks sexual side effects it`s actually the oposite for me (but that could be because the depression is lifting). I never heard of cognitive problems on tianeptine either, unlike SSRI`s.

Good luck, hope things will change for you.

[exdbdude]

Glad it's working for you Dane. I took it like 3 years ago.. 12.5mg and noticed a small effect. apparently its not just a serotonin blocker but an works on opiod receptors hence it may be that, what is having the effect - indeed i could easily scoop up 3pills at once feel like ive taken a tramadol. but the social anxiety was still although i felt slightly numb. keep us updated.

[realxsalo]

Someone know if this antidepressant can help with the depression caused by opioid withdrawal syndrom? I ve heard that can have a effect on the opioid receptors but im not sure.

[DaneV]

Unfortunately i`ve seem to developed tolerance to the effects of tianeptine. Which sucks, because as you can read from my previous posts, my initial reaction was good and I felt like i was slowly climbing out of the depression and anxiety circle i`ve been in for so long.

Tried upping the dose, but the higher the dose the quicker i developed further tolerance. I`ve quit taking the tianeptine, furtunately there are no withdrawal problems.

Wish i knew what`s causing this tolerance. Its not very common with tianeptine, but it happens in a significant amount of people who take it. Maybe it has something to do with the upregulation of 5HT2A/5HT2C receptors in response to the Serotonin reuptake enhancement. If so, maybe agomelatine or even low dose fluoxetine could reverse and/or prevent tolerance, allthough i`m not sure if the 5HT2C antagonism of these drugs are enough to counter the possible upregulation due to the use of tianeptine.

[UCB]

My understanding is that tianeptine has two separate effects: an antidepressant effect, and a mild stimulant effect that only some people get (its cousin is amineptine, which was a much more stimulant drug, and that's probably why it has that effect to an extent). Is it possible that, for the first days or week you were feeling a stimulant effect that helped your mood, and it's that which you started feeling tolerance to? That would be my guess about what happened, as opposed to reregulation of 5HT receptors.