Stablon/Tianeptine for IBD

Stablon (brand name) i.e. the drug Tianeptine is a prescription drug in Asia and Europe, is a neuroprotective antidepressant, antianxiety medication. You can read about it yourself on the web. I try to avoid all prescription drugs, but I have had anxiety issues all my life and finally decided to give it a try after years of looking, because it had minimal side effects especially compared to SSRI's and it has shown to be effective for IBS.

I started taking Tianeptine in powder form first a couple weeks ago, but switched to pills because it is just easier to deal with. Dosage is 12 mg, 3 times a day. I have been in a solid remission for quite a while (1 BM/day) though my diet is very restricted and I take a lot of supplements. Upon taking Tianeptine I almost immediately felt a bit more tranquil and focused and experienced no side effects except a little minor constipation. Many other supplements have given me a bit of a slowing down/constipation feeling before which I welcome because I tend to go the other way when I start to get sick/flare. Tianeptine has continued to be slightly constipating but in a really good way. I don't feel bloated, my heartburn tendencies at night have significantly reduced and it has given me confidence to start reducing my supplements and expand my diet a little. I intend to periodically report back in this thread good or bad, but I am really impressed so far how much it is helping. I will say maybe not being on any medications for a long time might make me more sensitive to the effects. Anyway Tianeptine apparently is sold legally here without a script, but if you have good insurance and really prefer a prescribed medication I think Wellbutrin is another drug in the same realm that may help with IBD.

I have heard that the non-time released version of Wellbutrin helps with IBS-D. The non-time release version of Tianeptine worked well for me to halt diarrhea for a few months similar to Viberzi. However, when I had a colonoscopy and stopped using Tianeptine for a couple days I got Opiad like withdrawal symptoms, which I was none too pleased about. So I weaned myself off of it. There's an IBS-D forum thread I followed that was describing how Kratom seems to work like Tianeptine for IBS-D. They both seem to stimulate Opiad receptors in the gut and slow peristalsis perhaps? Rotated carefully both can help with diarrhea, and give one a chance to work at healing the gut, but they are not cure-alls and have their risks.

XY, you've touched on the autonomic nervous system. It has two branches - sympathetic and parasympathetic.

It is beneficial for us to stay as long as possible in the parasympathetic (non stress response) state.

Deep breathing, relaxation, and even reading are ways to engage the parasympathetic nervous system.
Being in that state slows peristalsis, encourages digestion, and lowers adrenaline.
Funnily, lots of people read a book before bed which enhances the parasympathetic response.