Posted by pfinstegg on October 4, 2002, at 11:34:27
In reply to To phil bob pfinstegg and denise, posted by glenn on October 4, 2002, at 5:57:30
Thanks Glenn...tianeptine is an unusual AD in that you don't know you're taking it- it seems just like taking a vitamin. I chose it because I was really worried about my high cortisol levels, and what they might bring in the future in terms of physical ill-health. I was surprised that it actually worked as an AD, after all I had read about it here.
It is now the subject of intense research interest at Rockefeller University and the Max Planck Institute in Germany because of its ability, in tree shrews and rats, to protect the hippocampus from the stress effects of cortisol, allowing it to regain its normal size and begin growing dendrites again. They are studying whether this will also result in a resetting of the normal HPA axis.
I still have really high circulating cortisol, which my endocrinologist is working on, but I am no longer worried about depression, or a sense that my brain is being damaged. I feel that my memory, ability to respond to interpersonal situations effectively, and quickness to recover equilibrium after an emotional stress are all improving.
I hope you'll keep in touch with any new information which you find. I have found Psychobabble to be invaluable, and keep checking in to see what people are finding out. It's already helped me enormously in making the best possible medical decisions for myself, and I really do want people to know how much I appreciate their input.
Pfinstegg
poster:pfinstegg
thread:122256
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020930/msgs/122303.html