Neptune’s Fix isn’t fixing anything, according to a recent warning issued by the FDA.
Its packaging claims to help improve brain function, lessen anxiety, depression, pain, treat opioid addiction and other conditions. Instead, it’s causing life-threatening conditions including seizures, loss of consciousness and death, according to the FDA.
Neptune Resources, LLC has agreed to voluntarily recall its products, called Neptune’s Fix Elixer, Neptune’s Fix Extra Strength and Neptune’s Fix Tablets and the FDA sent a letter on Jan. 11, 2024 to convenience stores, gas stations and other smoke shops urging them to stop selling the products or anything else with tianeptine in it.
That’s the ingredient that is not FDA approved for any medical use and is illegally being sold.
But the company has not issued any public notifications to inform consumers about the recall, according to the FDA.
Neptune’s Fix labels state the product contains tianeptine, but the product may contain other harmful ingredients not listed on the label, according to the FDA.
A study published this year in the National Library of Medicine notes tianeptine has not been approved in the U.S., but continues to be sold by unregulated online stores and small retailers under street names such as Zaza, Tia, Tianna, ‘gas-station dope’, in addition to Neptune’s Fix Elixir.
From 2020 to 2022, more than 600 calls were made to poison control centers after exposure, and five deaths occurred as a result, according to the study.
“This drug is known by the nickname ‘gas station heroin’,” according to a study published in the National Library of Medicine in February.
The DEA issued a statement on the issue in February.
It read, in part: “Tianeptine has been encountered in the United States by law enforcement in various forms including bulk powder, counterfeit pills mimicking hydrocodone and oxycodone pharmaceutical products, and individual stamp bags commonly used to distribute heroin. Severe withdrawal symptoms in humans resulting in hospitalization following the use of tianeptine have been reported. Published case reports have provided evidence of adverse respiratory, neurological, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and withdrawal effects associated with the use of tianeptine.”
Super Chill Products also distributes these products, with packaging that could be different than the products distributed by Neptune Resources, LLC. Those products include cherry, lemon, and chocolate vanilla flavors, according to the FDA.
These products may also interact, in life-threatening ways, with other medications a person may be taking, and the FDA is now working with local and state health departments to track adverse event reports.
The nation’s top regulatory agency is also telling consumers, distributors and retailers to dispose of these or return them to place of purchase immediately.
If you suspect you have been harmed by these products, first call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 to connect to your local poison center and, for a free consultation, call The Simon Law Firm at 314-241-2929.
The FDA is asking health care professionals and consumers should report adverse events or side effects related to the use of this product to FDA’s MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program:
Complete and submit the report online at MedWatch Online Voluntary Reporting Form, or download and complete the form, then submit it via fax at 1-800-FDA-0178.
The Simon Law Firm is now pursuing and investigating cases from those harmed by this dangerous product.
Media Contact:
Christine Byers
Director of Marketing & Communications Simon Law Firm
cbyers@simonlawpc.com
