When an obscurity becomes trend: social-media descriptions of tianeptine use and associated atypical drug use

ABSTRACT

Background: Originally believed to be an atypical antidepressant acting at serotonin transporters, tianeptine is now known to also be an atypical agonist at mu-opioid receptors. Its nonmedical use may be increasing amidst the broader context of novel drug and supplement use.

Objectives: To analyze social-media text from current, former, and prospective tianeptine users for better understanding of their conceptualizations of tianeptine, motives for and patterns of use, and reported benefits and harms.

Methods: Reddit posts were obtained and thematically coded; additional quantitative analyses were conducted.

Results: A total of 210 posts mentioning tianeptine were made between 2012 and 2020. Eighteen thematic categories were identified, 10 of which were consistent with expected themes. Two independent raters coded all text, generating 1,382 unique codes, of which 1,090 were concordant (78.9% interrater agreement). Tianeptine use was frequently associated with use of other drugs, particularly kratom, phenibut, and racetams. People conceptualized and variously used tianeptine as an opioid, antidepressant, and “nootropic” (cognitive enhancer). Between 2014 and 2020, mentions of positive effects decreased, while mentions of adverse effects and withdrawal increased. Motivations for use included substitution or withdrawal mitigation for other drugs (especially opioids) and for kratom itself; self-treatment for psychiatric symptoms; and improvement of quality of life, mood, or performance. Descriptions of tolerance, withdrawal, and addiction were evident. Intravenous use was rare and strongly discouraged, with detrimental effects described.

Conclusion: Tianeptine is recognized as an opioid (though not only an opioid) in online communities. Posts describe benefits, acute risks, and patterns of co-use that warrant greater clinical attention.

KEYWORDS:

• Tianeptine
• kratom
• phenibut
• opioids
• antidepressant
• polydrug use
• self-treatment
• online drug-using communities

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Notes

1. For transparency, all social media data collected and coded for this study are available upon request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [T32 DA07209].