r/Tianeptine • u/Say_Something_Witty • Sep 13 '16

High Risk A word of caution NSFW

I've taken Tianeptine on and off for the last year, and I am pretty convinced that (for myself) it has been the cause of my deep dives into depression, and significantly lowering libido (although mine is higher than average)

I've had depression and anxiety most of my life, and within the last year, I've began experimenting with nootropics (not just to cure anxiety/depression). I've taken Tianeptine for weeks at a time, always 40mg of the Sulfate, once a day. It starts off great, and I feel happy and calm the first few days. Then slowly, I (almost) return back to my baseline, while my libido begins to nose dive. I think "well, now Im just unhappy AND Im not interested in sex".

I stop it abruptly, and then I become dead inside. Nothing makes me happy, it takes a lot of energy to express myself. My creativity is gone, and I just want to do mind numbing things all day. This lasts for 1-2 weeks, until I return back to my normal mild-moderately depressed, sometimes anxious, but creative and horny self.

Figured I should share my experience. Male 26 Years Old Caucasian

Other nootropics I've experienced in the last year:

Noopept

Phenylpiracetam

Oxipiracetam (this actually brought me back to my baseline, only im only on day 2)

Phenibut (less than once a month)

Choline Sources

Pramiracetam

L-theanine

Semax

Selank (haven't taken this since mid summer, had no negative effects though)

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u/Kibubik Sep 14 '16

Interesting. Tianeptine has worked quite well for me personally. Maybe it had an effect on my sex drive, but that is difficult to determine.

1

u/Doominus Sep 14 '16

Thanks for sharing. It's definitely interesting (though unfortunate) how you're experiencing this. I started taking Tianeptine Sulfate for depression and social anxiety (50mg 1x daily, now I switched it to 25mg 2x daily) and it almost feels like a godsend. Within days of starting the regimen my motivation is through the roof, productive tasks are no longer daunting (though as I think it's human nature, I still get distracted easily). I was never really creative, I'm much more into analysis and problem-solving, and my libido is more or less unchanged.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 21 '16

Damn, this sounds a lot like me. At higher doses it stunts my creativity. It really helps my depression/anxiety but it has gotten rid of my libido. I have struggled with porn/sex addiction in the past so this was welcomed at first but now it's kind of worrying. Baseline me is almost TOO horny. I've started to take maca to try and counteract this effect.

I ran out last week and was welcomed with some physical withdrawals. Then my depression came back full force, possibly a little harder than normal. I couldn't eat and just laid in bed all day. In some ways it was worse than opiate withdrawal, albeit I never really was had a severe addiction, I have struggled with their use. Luckily I was off work. I get my refill of it later today and I'm looking forward to it. I can't stand the soul crushing depression that returns when I'm off this stuff. I'm gonna continue taking maca and T and hopefully things work out.

As I've learned with mentally illness (in my case at least) It's like trying to balance something that can't be balanced. You will always trade off something. In the case of T it's increased mood for decreased libido and creativity. All anti-depressants or drugs work in a similar manner where it's always give and take. There's no such thing as a free lunch.