Does Tianeptine Help Treat Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)?

Tianeptine Use To Treat IBS

Tianeptine is an opioid drug. It’s used to treat major depression, and sometimes it’s prescribed for asthma or IBS. Tianeptine doesn’t cause drowsiness or many other adverse effects that other anti-depressants cause so it’s often prescribed to the elderly. Currently, it’s available in France and other European countries, Singapore and other Asian countries, but it is not available in the United States, Canada, Australia, or the United Kingdom. The drug was originally created in France in the 1960s.

Benefits

Tianeptine is beneficial for people (in approved countries) for treating serious bouts of depression and anxiety, with few side effects. It is also successful in treating panic disorder. The drug has also helped those suffering from PTSD and Parkinson’s Disease. In a clinical trial, the drug was shown to be effective in treating IBS as well. Tianeptine has been found to be extremely helpful in easing asthma symptoms and treating asthma itself. The biggest benefit to the drug is the absence of side effects. Other anti-depressants are known to cause common side effects like sedation, appetite suppression, constipation, severely dry mouth, and body shakes. The drug, however, may cause liver damage when used long term, as well as cardiac arrhythmia when taken for long term use.

Recommended Dosage

Tianeptine is given in doses that suit the individual’s needs. An average daily dose is 12.5 mg. This drug is an opiate, and it has a very short half-life, although the half-life is longer in elderly consumers. It can cause dependency so it is never a good idea to stop taking the drug at once. It’s also not a good idea to take it just for ‘spotty’ depression. The drug is meant to work with small daily doses- and a large dose ‘once in a while’ will do nothing but cause a ‘high’ or an overdose.

Side Effects

Abuse of Tianeptine is rare, although it does and has happened. People would mostly abuse it for the ‘high’ effect. Since it takes a large dose to produce this effect, abuse is uncommon. Nonetheless, in 2012, France started labeling this drug as a controlled substance like a narcotic. Dependency issues are common, and the higher the dose, the harder it is to quit taking it, and of course, it’s easier to quit taking a lower dose. There have been problems with dependency over the course of the years the drug has been circulated, and the manufacturer has continued to update the label warnings and continued to increase the status of the drug as controlled. Tianeptine IBS use is relatively common and can be miraculously effective in those with the illness.

Other side effects that occur in less than one percent of all users include headache, dizziness, insomnia, nightmares, drowsiness, dry mouth, nausea, constipation, abdominal pain, agitation, weight gain, anxiety, blurred vision, flatulence, hot flashes, tremor and muscle aches. These negative side effects occur much less frequently than they do in other opioids.

Research

There have been several clinical trials performed with Tianeptine. The drug is marketed under the brand names Coaxil, Tatinol, and Stablon. The clinical trials showed several things. One trial conducted over a year with asthmatic children showed that those taking the drug showed a very large increase in lung function compared to those who took a placebo. A study in Egypt showed that the drug not only helps with depression but also with erectile dysfunction. Several studies have been done to show the effectiveness of panic-blocking effects of the drug.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, Tianeptine has been proven to be helpful for several disorders, including depression, anxiety, and asthma. However, the drug is not legal in North America, the UK, Australia, and other countries. There is a conspiracy theory of course, that the FDA won’t approve Tianeptine because big pharmacies cannot make enough money off the drug to warrant the all-giving FDA stamp of approval. The FDA says that the drug cannot be prescribed here because of its drug-seeking addictive behaviors.

The FDA also has concerns with dependency issues with Tianeptine. One has to wonder though, why other medications like Xanax, Valium, various antidepressants and other like drugs are prescribed at an alarming rate, and prescriptions keep increasing. Experts say that as many as 8-10% of all Americans take an antidepressant. Many of these prescriptions and drugs are highly addictive, yet Tianeptine is not allowed to be prescribed because of dependency issues. It makes one consider the possibility that perhaps the conspiracy theorists aren’t wrong, and the Tianeptine simply isn’t profitable enough to obtain the precious FDA stamp of approval for circulation. Tianeptine IBS uses are numbered and effective, and if you’re in pain (I’m not supposed to say this but.. it’s my blog..screw it), it can really help you!

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