What you need to know
- Government officials at the local and federal levels echo health experts' concerns about tianeptine-containing pills and their potential for abuse.
- The pills, often sold online at gas stations and convenience stores under the label “Neptune's Fix,” are contributing to an alarming rise in the number of addicts, according to the FDA.
- Dangerous effects of tianeptine include excitement, drowsiness, confusion, sweating, increased heart rate, high blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, slowed or stopped breathing, coma, and death.
If you've ever been to a gas station, you know that some of them have a bad reputation. And a product known as “gas station heroin” sold at rest stops has given it a bad reputation.
Government officials at the local and federal levels echo health experts' concerns about tianeptine-containing pills and their potential for abuse. The pills, often sold online at gas stations and convenience stores under the label “Neptune's Fix,” are contributing to an alarming rise in the number of addicts, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The drug has not been approved by the FDA, and New Jersey lawmakers are trying to block stores from selling products containing tianeptine. Here's what we know about so-called “gas station heroin.”
What is tianeptine?
Tianeptine was developed as an antidepressant in the 1980s. According to a review published in 2023, it may have potential benefits for anxiety and irritable bowel disease. It has been approved for use in some European, Asian and Latin American countries, but not in the United States, NBC News reported.
Neptune's Fix touts its product as “better” than kratom, an herbal supplement with opioid-like effects. It is also not approved by the FDA. These products were recalled earlier this year, and the FDA announced it had sent letters to distributors to stop selling the potentially dangerous pills.
What are the harmful effects of tianeptine?
According to the FDA, the dangerous effects of tianeptine include agitation, drowsiness, confusion, sweating, increased heart rate, high blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, slowed or stopped breathing, coma, and death.
Cases related to tianeptine exposure increased dramatically from a total of 11 between 2000 and 2013 to 151 in 2020 alone, according to reports from poison centers.
The drug has not been well studied or approved in the United States, so it is not clear at what dose harmful effects begin to appear. Reports to the FDA appear to indicate that these doses are higher than what is legally prescribed in other countries.
A Reddit forum focused on discussion of tianeptine (r/tianeptine) suggested that no one should take more than 50 mg of tianeptine sulfate or tianeptine sodium per day.
One product photo posted by the FDA states that each serving of Neptune's Fix contains 150 mg of a “dietary supplement.” It is unclear whether the entire pill is made of tianeptine.
Posters of this subreddit warn against abusing tianeptine and warn people who are “addicted” to tianeptine as an antidepressant by using third-party testing, meaning that the product has been tested by another company. We encourage you to explore our products.
