5 ms·

Ketamine is still far too drastic and probably only really necessary when the depression is acute and prolonged. I would rather advise a non-SSRI like tianeptin

Ketamine is still far too drastic and probably only really necessary when the depression is acute and prolonged. I would rather advise a non-SSRI like tianeptine. At least that is currently O.C. without an Rx required. Edit: looks like HN has been down this very same road before[0] when Ketamine was brought up; and I'm smiling to see that I'm not the only one to think of Tianeptine in contrast to the drastic use of Ketamine. Psychopharmacology is the tried and true drug pusher of our times. [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4615750 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4615750

pizza 10y ago
Well, afaik antidepressant doses of ketamine seem to be lower than 100 mg - which is quite a bit less than the most drastic of recreational doses - I don't know (but would love to see research conducted on) whether that's actually that risky. Tianeptine is a mu-opioid receptor agonist, so it has abuse & addiction potential above therapeutic doses. It's also rx-only in many countries, according to Wikipedia. Additionally, ketamine works for a week whereas it's not uncommon for people who use tianeptine to split their daily regimen into something like 3 separate doses throughout the course of the day. At least neither require several weeks to reach efficacy while initially potentially increasing the severity of depression...
- slfnflctd 10y ago
  > It's also rx-only in many countries, according to Wikipedia Those countries include parts of Europe, Asia and Latin America. On the same Wikipedia page, "not available [as in, at all, even with a prescription] in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.K. or the U.S." Kind of a bummer, I was starting to think I might have something new to look into. Not surprised, though.
  - adrusi 10y ago
    Usually when a drug is not available in the us it means that no regulations address it at all, do its legal to import as long as you don't sell it domestically. Do your researvh, but this is what I hear from nootropics enthusiasts.
  - pizza 10y ago
    You can order it online no problem in the U.S. I'm not gonna source anything for you b/c I don't want to seem like a shill or anything, but this type of info is easily acquired on r/nootropics - just use your common sense and ignore all the BS medical advice on that subreddit, lol.

pizza 10y ago

Well, afaik antidepressant doses of ketamine seem to be lower than 100 mg - which is quite a bit less than the most drastic of recreational doses - I don't know (but would love to see research conducted on) whether that's actually that risky. Tianeptine is a mu-opioid receptor agonist, so it has abuse & addiction potential above therapeutic doses. It's also rx-only in many countries, according to Wikipedia. Additionally, ketamine works for a week whereas it's not uncommon for people who use tianeptine to split their daily regimen into something like 3 separate doses throughout the course of the day. At least neither require several weeks to reach efficacy while initially potentially increasing the severity of depression...

slfnflctd 10y ago
> It's also rx-only in many countries, according to Wikipedia Those countries include parts of Europe, Asia and Latin America. On the same Wikipedia page, "not available [as in, at all, even with a prescription] in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.K. or the U.S." Kind of a bummer, I was starting to think I might have something new to look into. Not surprised, though.
- adrusi 10y ago
  Usually when a drug is not available in the us it means that no regulations address it at all, do its legal to import as long as you don't sell it domestically. Do your researvh, but this is what I hear from nootropics enthusiasts.
- pizza 10y ago
  You can order it online no problem in the U.S. I'm not gonna source anything for you b/c I don't want to seem like a shill or anything, but this type of info is easily acquired on r/nootropics - just use your common sense and ignore all the BS medical advice on that subreddit, lol.