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From: sp628 on 16 Sep 2006 11:33
Someone had mentioned Tianeptine in a reply to someone. I have read upon
this and it sounds too good to be true. Does anyone have any expreience
with it? What about the 5HTP?

Paxil quit working for me and it too me FOREVER to get off it, then I was on
Wellbutrin SR which caused anxiety like I have never had before. Now I am
not on anything, the anxiety is subsiding after 2 weeks without the
Wellbutrin, but still present. My doctor would gladly give me ativan but I
had a real problem getting off of that years ago, so I would like to avoid
it.

At the moment, my main problems are mild depression, modertate to very
severe social anxiety, and general anxiousness.

I am shopping around for a new doctor because I feel that mine prescribes
whatever the drug rep that just left his office left and also OVER
prescribes and that will take a while. So I want to educate myself as much
as possible from "real" people experiences.

Also, does anyone have any suggestions for the social anxiety? My
neighborhood is close knit and everyone hangs out at one neighbors house or
another. Since I have been off the Paxil, I find myself feaking out at the
thought of walking across the street to chat with neighbors I have known for
10 years. A few weeks ago, I went to a friends cook out and became so
freaked out that I was pulling out of the driveway, ready to leave. Someone
saw me and asked me what I was doing, so I said I was just parking the car a
bit straighter and stayed for an hour on pins and needles. I am SO uptight,
everyone, including my friends that know I don't drink, tell me I should
have a few drinks to relax. Drinking makes me more self conscious than
ever.

Thanks for any and all input.

Ksp



From: Nom dePlume on 16 Sep 2006 19:46
"sp628" <ksp628(a)gmail.com> wrote in message
news:3NUOg.22816$SZ3.18023(a)dukeread04...
> Someone had mentioned Tianeptine in a reply to someone. I have
> read upon this and it sounds too good to be true. Does anyone have
> any expreience with it? What about the 5HTP?

Tianeptine is a very interesting medication, but it isn't available in
the United States, so I haven't had the opportunity to try it.

> Paxil quit working for me and it too me FOREVER to get off it, then
> I was on Wellbutrin SR which caused anxiety like I have never had
> before. Now I am not on anything, the anxiety is subsiding after 2
> weeks without the Wellbutrin, but still present. My doctor would
> gladly give me ativan but I had a real problem getting off of that
> years ago, so I would like to avoid it.
>
> At the moment, my main problems are mild depression, modertate to
> very severe social anxiety, and general anxiousness.
>
> I am shopping around for a new doctor because I feel that mine
> prescribes whatever the drug rep that just left his office left and
> also OVER prescribes and that will take a while. So I want to
> educate myself as much as possible from "real" people experiences.

Always a good idea.

> Also, does anyone have any suggestions for the social anxiety? My
> neighborhood is close knit and everyone hangs out at one neighbors
> house or another. Since I have been off the Paxil, I find myself
> feaking out at the thought of walking across the street to chat with
> neighbors I have known for 10 years. A few weeks ago, I went to a
> friends cook out and became so freaked out that I was pulling out of
> the driveway, ready to leave. Someone saw me and asked me what I
> was doing, so I said I was just parking the car a bit straighter and
> stayed for an hour on pins and needles. I am SO uptight, everyone,
> including my friends that know I don't drink, tell me I should have
> a few drinks to relax. Drinking makes me more self conscious than
> ever.

I'm not sure. SSRIs and Effexor are often used for this purpose, but
you said Paxil didn't work for you. Have you tried a different SSRI?
That would be an obvious choice.

I would not expect Wellbutrin to help with anxiety, and I'm not
surprised that it worsened yours.

The other medications usually prescribed are benzodiazepines (Ativan,
Xanax, Klonopin) and BuSpar, which is in a class by itself. Since the
benzodiazepines are addictive, BuSpar is an attractive altnerative.
You might want to investigate these areas next.

--
Nom dePlume, Ph.D.
Why, yes, in fact, I am a rocket scientist.

Guide to Medications for Mental Illness:
http://www.geocities.com/nomdeplume1000/

=====


From: orangesmatt on 18 Sep 2006 00:05
Hi ksp

I tried Tianeptine (aka Stablon) for a while, to treat moderate
depression and GAD. I don;t live in the US, and know it's not available
there, however I'll write an in-depth report because I've noticed that
there's not much anecdotal info on this drug available on Usenet.

Each pill contains 12,5 mg, and my dosage was 37,5 mg/day (the
published standard dose). Tianeptine's half life is very short, so it
must be taken at short intervals (ideally every 8 hours). My pdoc had
me start at 37,5 mg straight away, with no need to start low and ramp
up the dose, along with my usual daily 0,5 mg Klonopin.

Stablon pills look exactly like peppermint Tic-tacs; the box and the
strips read, in *huge* letters and in 5 different languages, "please
respect the prescribed doses" Apparently tianeptine's predecessor,
amineptine, had a great track record for treating depression but there
were reports of people taking it recreationally, so it was eventually
withdrawn from the market.

Anyway, I had no side-effects whatsoever when I first started taking
it. As in nothing. So after two weeks I was scratching my head,
wondering if the pharmacist had accidentally handed me flavourless tic
tacs in a fancy packaging. My pdoc prodded me to keep taking it, saying
that Stablon's efficacy depends on long-term treatment: it seems as
though it doesn't work in the traditional way (affecting
neurotransmitters directly), but rather it seems to improve
neuroplasticity and cell proliferation in certain parts of the brain. I
was supposed to take the drug for at least 12-18 months, hoping to
achieve long-term symptom remission.

So I kept taking it. To my surprise, at around the sixth week of
treatment, I suddenly noticed a huge improvement that had slowly crept
upon me, without me even noticing: I was more active in my daily
activities, sleeping less, and feeling much better in general. More
importantly, my emotions seemed much richer and "real" in a way - BOTH
the ups and downs, very much unlike my experience with SSRIs, which
seemed to numb me completely. My anxiety diminished significantly and
was easily maneageable. Up until that point, I had been constantly
toying with the idea of coming off it and trying something else. With
each day, I noticed a small improvement, until I felt like I was back
to my version of "normal". This was at around the third month of
treatment.

Unfortunately, a few weeks later I started suffering from insomnia.
Back in my darkest ages, I was sleeping 10-12 hours a day. With
tianeptine, the hours gradually pulled back, first down to 8 hours,
then 6, then 4, then none at all. I was literally going through the
night without even batting an eye. I'd stay wide awake for 2-3 days in
a row, then drop dead for a few hours, only to restart the cycle. My
pdoc had me double my Klonopin dose and, when that didn't work, she
doubled it again. So I was taking 2 mg Klonopin at "bedtime" and still
no sleep, although I had to drag myself through the next day because I
*was* sleepy and benzo-fogged but simply was unable to sleep. At that
point I dropped my Stablon dose to 25 mg, and that didn't work either.
Next I quit coffee, exercised more, to no avail. My doc added Ambien,
and then I was able to sleep for a couple of hours, on and off, every
night. Eventually I called it quits, dropped Stablon, and my sleep
returned to normal soon thereafter. However, my anxiety and depression
returned in turn.

In my experience, tianeptine treatment and results are not as dramatic
as, say, the literally mindblowing Remeron high. Instead, Stablon seems
to work quietly in the background. When I think of Tianeptine, two
ironies come to mind:

1. Doubting efficacy of treatment because you don't feel like cr_p
those first few weeks and
2. Going through *so* much trouble to actually stick to an
antidepressant. That's coming from someone who practically threw a
party after flushing the remaining Lexapro pills down the toilet after
3 weeks of hellish side effects.

I've seen reports of people saying that Stablon just didn't work for
them. Maybe it didn't, maybe they didn't give it enough time. It sure
worked for me, and I'd definitely recommend it, although it probably
does imply patience and comitment. It's baby-safe when it comes to
side-effects, but ime it's a powerful med. It helped me quite a bit
with my depression, and a whole lot regarding my anxiety.

As a side note, I suffered no withdrawal effects whatsoever after
abruptly ending my 4-month regular dose practically cold turkey
(following my pdocs instructions, I dropped 12,5 mg a day, for a grand
total of 3 days of discontinuation).

Okay, hope this helps. Take care,

Matt

sp628:

> Someone had mentioned Tianeptine in a reply to someone. I have read upon
> this and it sounds too good to be true. Does anyone have any expreience
> with it? What about the 5HTP?

From: John Jones on 18 Sep 2006 04:45

sp628 wrote:
> Someone had mentioned Tianeptine in a reply to someone. I have read upon
> this and it sounds too good to be true. Does anyone have any expreience
> with it? What about the 5HTP?
>
> Paxil quit working for me and it too me FOREVER to get off it, then I was on
> Wellbutrin SR which caused anxiety like I have never had before. Now I am
> not on anything, the anxiety is subsiding after 2 weeks without the
> Wellbutrin, but still present. My doctor would gladly give me ativan but I
> had a real problem getting off of that years ago, so I would like to avoid
> it.
>
> At the moment, my main problems are mild depression, modertate to very
> severe social anxiety, and general anxiousness.
>
> I am shopping around for a new doctor because I feel that mine prescribes
> whatever the drug rep that just left his office left and also OVER
> prescribes and that will take a while. So I want to educate myself as much
> as possible from "real" people experiences.
>
> Also, does anyone have any suggestions for the social anxiety? My
> neighborhood is close knit and everyone hangs out at one neighbors house or
> another. Since I have been off the Paxil, I find myself feaking out at the
> thought of walking across the street to chat with neighbors I have known for
> 10 years. A few weeks ago, I went to a friends cook out and became so
> freaked out that I was pulling out of the driveway, ready to leave. Someone
> saw me and asked me what I was doing, so I said I was just parking the car a
> bit straighter and stayed for an hour on pins and needles. I am SO uptight,
> everyone, including my friends that know I don't drink, tell me I should
> have a few drinks to relax. Drinking makes me more self conscious than
> ever.
>
> Thanks for any and all input.
>
> Ksp

Hi. Just take anything, it doesn't matter, because I don't want to meet
you on a sunshine day you party pooper.

Look if you dose yourself up you can stay out of our way as well
because we don't take kindly to chemically controlled automatons round
these parts.

From: marcia on 18 Sep 2006 08:18
John Jones wrote:
> sp628 wrote:
>> Someone had mentioned Tianeptine in a reply to someone. I have read upon
>> this and it sounds too good to be true. Does anyone have any expreience
>> with it? What about the 5HTP?
>>
>> Paxil quit working for me and it too me FOREVER to get off it, then I was on
>> Wellbutrin SR which caused anxiety like I have never had before. Now I am
>> not on anything, the anxiety is subsiding after 2 weeks without the
>> Wellbutrin, but still present. My doctor would gladly give me ativan but I
>> had a real problem getting off of that years ago, so I would like to avoid
>> it.
>>
>> At the moment, my main problems are mild depression, modertate to very
>> severe social anxiety, and general anxiousness.
>>
>> I am shopping around for a new doctor because I feel that mine prescribes
>> whatever the drug rep that just left his office left and also OVER
>> prescribes and that will take a while. So I want to educate myself as much
>> as possible from "real" people experiences.
>>
>> Also, does anyone have any suggestions for the social anxiety? My
>> neighborhood is close knit and everyone hangs out at one neighbors house or
>> another. Since I have been off the Paxil, I find myself feaking out at the
>> thought of walking across the street to chat with neighbors I have known for
>> 10 years. A few weeks ago, I went to a friends cook out and became so
>> freaked out that I was pulling out of the driveway, ready to leave. Someone
>> saw me and asked me what I was doing, so I said I was just parking the car a
>> bit straighter and stayed for an hour on pins and needles. I am SO uptight,
>> everyone, including my friends that know I don't drink, tell me I should
>> have a few drinks to relax. Drinking makes me more self conscious than
>> ever.
>>
>> Thanks for any and all input.
>>
>> Ksp
>
> Hi. Just take anything, it doesn't matter, because I don't want to meet
> you on a sunshine day you party pooper.
>
> Look if you dose yourself up you can stay out of our way as well
> because we don't take kindly to chemically controlled automatons round
> these parts.
>

No, it's your trolling we don't take kindly to, John. Trolling support
groups is vile and reprehensible behavior. Most of your fellow k0oks
have the decency not to do it.

This NG exists for the purpose of discussing meds.
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