Posted by Pfinstegg on October 20, 2002, at 11:57:24
In reply to Is it coming to the US?, posted by linkadge on October 20, 2002, at 7:09:01
Yes, I have been taking it for eight weeks, and it has been the best AD by far that I've ever taken. No side effects at all. It doesn't give you an emotional "boost", so you think at first that it isn't doing anything, but it has slowly gotten me from suicidal and taking 5 hours to get out of bed to- pretty normal!
I looked up all the past posts here on Psychobabble about tianeptine, and all 12 people who posted about it thought it was useless- one person was offering to get rid of her supply at a cut rate! So, I may be unusual in my positive reaction.
It has been used throughout Europe since about 1995, I think, and in France, where it was developed, it's considered to be equally effective with Paxil and Prozac- about a 68% favorable response rate.
As to why it hasn't been marketed in the US, I have read that drug companies aren't interested because they doubt if it is as effective as the SSRIs (it actually works as a serotonin uptake ENHANCER- just the opposite!) I imagine there must also be the basic economic problem that there is not much money to be made from it, as the patent is held in the EU. I have not seen anything suggesting any plans to market it here: as to Canada, I don't know, but the situation is probably the same.
I think what will provide the motivation for marketing it here is if the interest at Rockefeller University, and Stanford as well, results in really positive research results. But those studies are in the rat-tree-shrew stage- pretty far removed from us human beings !
best of luck to you..Pfinstegg
poster:Pfinstegg
thread:124300
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021019/msgs/124358.html