Ketamine vs Tianeptine for mood
Short answer: For mood, users rate them about the same: 97% report improvement with Ketamine (62 reports) and 95% with Tianeptine (148 reports).
Ketamine has 854 meta-analyses and 1,957 randomized trials on PubMed; Tianeptine has 18 and 42.
Based on 141 reports about Ketamine and 322 about Tianeptine. Not medical advice.
| Ketamine Medication | Tianeptine Medication | |
|---|---|---|
| Users say it helped | 65%helped65 reports · medium confidence | 63%helped155 reports · high confidence |
| Verdict | Mostly positive | Mostly positive |
| Research | AResearch: Strong | AResearch: Strong |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 854 / 1,957 | 18 / 42 |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Mood % reporting improvement | 97% (62) | 95% (148) |
| Anxiety % reporting improvement | 90% (10) | 95% (62) |
| Focus % reporting improvement | 100% (3) | 93% (14) |
| Energy % reporting improvement | 100% (3) | 86% (14) |
| Common side effects | dissociation, headache, fatigue, insomnia | addiction, withdrawal, tolerance, headache |
| Typical dose reported | Not listed | Not listed |
Compared with etomidate, ketamine probably results in more hemodynamic instability during the peri-intubation period and appears to have no effect on successful intubation on the first attempt or mortality. However, ketamine results in decreased need for the initiation of vasopressor use and decreases adrenal suppression compared with etomidate.
Crit Care Med, 2025 ↗“One thing that has really helped me tremendously, without the nasty side effects of SSRIs, is Ketamine infusions.”
Compared to placebo, venlafaxine was associated with a lower incidence of dizziness, while desvenlafaxine, sertraline, and vortioxetine were associated with a higher incidence of nausea/vomiting. In conclusion, desvenlafaxine, paroxetine, venlafaxine, and vortioxetine had reasonable efficacy, acceptability, and tolerability in the treatment of adults with stable MDD.
Mol Psychiatry, 2023 ↗“It has really improved the quality of my life, more than anything else I have taken.”
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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate