Gabapentinoids It's official, I like Gabapentin WAY more than benzos

[BourbonMac]

At first I thought I was really enjoying Diazepam. It makes me feel pretty nice and it pairs well with things like kratom (though potentially dangerous, I don't take high kratom doses). I do have limited experience with benzos and the only other one I've taken is Temazepam which I found very weak even at higher doses. Apparently some people love this one the most.

It has it's benefits and chills me out and helps my stomach in times of distress (biggest reason I've been taking it). But I've actually noticed my sleep quality is suffering from it. I go in and out of delirium and very strange dreams.

It's such a downer of a drug. Gabapentin on the other hand has a similar anti-anxiety effect but it comes with this feeling of like, alcohol without the crappy alcohol side effects. If you take a high enough amount, it can be very sedating. I guess that's why it's called the chameleon drug. I was really chilling off a nice dose of gabapentin the other week and as soon as I added valium, that high was diminished severely and I actually felt a rush of anxiety and fatigue come over me, a total crash.

The last couple nights have shown me some scary side effects of Diazepam. And genuinely at moments feeling like I can't move, sleep paralysis type sensations, and the dreams... God, the dreams. They're not exactly nightmares but they are so confusing and vivid. I'd fight to become conscious again and then just say to myself, what the literal fuck just happened? It's gotten stranger over time, but I'm sure that's because the half life is so long and I keep putting more in my body. I was thrown off guard last night because I took less, wasn't all nodding off like the previous night where I'd taken tagamet/more valium in general. When I first started taking it, I didn't have these odd side effects at all really. It would put me out like a light without waking up for hours, I cannot do that now.

I guess we're all wired toward specific substances. Naturally I would probably enjoy lyrica more but I'm sure the addictive potential is much greater since bioavailability is way higher, that would make it harder to come off as well. I can stop gabapentin any time without issue but likely only because I've been on a low dose for awhile. So I guess the new regimen will be like, 900mg or so, few days off, rinse and repeat.

Funny thing is I'm on a very low dose of ritalin and caffeine, like laughably low (3mg and 60mg caffeine) and I feel practically identical to a gabapentin high. I haven't taken ritalin in weeks and barely consume caffeine anymore though. I'm quite sensitive to stimulants in particular though I do gain tolerance quickly.

So long story short, valium has been a miracle for some of the stomach issues I've been suffering from the past few weeks. But as far as the effects for anxiety, I don't find it very enjoyable. I guess it's better suited for a panic attack where you are losing control and it would sedate the hell out of you. Then again, so would a high dose of benedryl. THC is the king for me and I think my sinuses are finally improving to a point where I can consume it again without agitating them. Tonight will be my first real try and I look forward to that familiar feeling again.

 

[nznity]

Wait till you start wding from gabapentin...it loses it's magic very quickly and the wds are nasty.

 

[mrgibbs]

Wait till you start wding from gabapentin...it loses it's magic very quickly and the wds are nasty.

I've actually never experienced withdrawal from gabapentin and I used it for months from low to high doses. Which is odd as I have kindling from alcohol and benzos.

That said, gabapentin to me is a dirty feeling high and makes me dissociate too much.

 

[BourbonMac]

Yeah I'm sure gabapentin withdrawl is no joke, I've just been able to go long-ish periods of time without having any given the lower dosage I've been on (600mg daily since October 2020ish)
Will keep that in mind regardless, though. Once I can go back to smoking weed regularly again, that's the main drug.

I do want to cut out the gabapentin either way. I'm sure withdrawal would likely be a bit delayed, though apparently it's fully cleared from your system after 48-72 hours since half-life is not dose-dependent


On another note: would I experience withdrawl after I finish off these valium 5mgs?

I took 2-4mg daily for 15 days.
I've taken 5-10mg for what will soon be 10 days (though I don't plan to take 10mg the rest of the script due to my scary experiences)

I wouldn't think so, but I want to be sure. I don't want to mess around with these anymore.

 

[Illyria99]

I currently take 600mg in the morning and afternoon, then 800mg in the evening. It DEFINITELY helps to stabilize my mood, calms my anxiety, and (combined with Benedryl) helps me sleep through the night. The fact that it has anticonvulsant properties is a definite plus, since I usually take mega doses of Tramadol.

 

[BourbonMac]

Wait till you start wding from gabapentin...it loses it's magic very quickly and the wds are nasty.

Honestly, I'm glad you brought this up to me.
I don't think withdrawl is too likely in my specific case, but I couldn't really guarantee that just because I can go a couple days. I haven't gone beyond 72 hours or so, and because I had been taking doses closer to 1g recently, I'm sure withdrawal would be delayed some.

I love drugs and am really fascinated by them. I love to experiment and try whatever it is I can. But if you've seen my thread history just since joining, you would notice the addict behavior immediately. It's like, it was almost slipping by me, somehow. I went and broke up my valiums and will not request a refill again. I've dumped my tagamets down the drain to avoid any temptation to potentiate or extend the half life.

I felt so high off that ritalin/caffeine combo earlier and it felt just like the good dose of gabapentin I did last week. God, I felt amazing. But it's just filling a hole for things that aren't there or that can be filled with something better than drugs.

I will always love Mary Jane and the odd psychedelic experience and it's important I stick by those and away from the pills. I'm lucky I have a guilty conscience, I really am. Because when I read about people shooting up dope, I can't help but want to, and I never will. And when I read about some horror stories about benzos or gabapentin, I need to approach it the same way.

I think I could responsibly use gabapentin, but I absolutely need to go without it for awhile just to see if my body isn't actually relying on it. My biggest issue would be kratom, probably, but I use that responsibly albeit daily and at the very least, it's not deadly or hellish to come off. Well, the withdrawls DO suck, but they won't kill you. I've CT'd it twice and it was hell both times, but I also happened to be going through hell at the same time. Just being on a course of prednisone lately almost mimic'd the feeling with how creepy crawly my whole body felt.

But really, thank you.

 

[twelvefingers]

I was took it for4x300mg for a year wd lasted for mouths, wd on benzo or opioids are worse but still wasn’t fun..
had to stars taking gabapentin again and this time i got the good effects but also alot off side effects… stomach all fucked up and intense headaches.
It helps me for my social anxiety and keeps the days goes but you gets kind of stupid on them and impulsive af. Also i could take same dose every day for weeks and some days i got really high and some days didn’t feel anything.

Daily use Seems also to make one very sensitive to ppls wibe and outer drugs or alcohol. A few light beers 2,8% made me drunk for example.. I think I have had them for 3yr almost i quit with them a few times.. last couple off times i didn’t even like the high from them, its pure shit gabapentin..
Lyrica are more sable but you will get even more stupid and wd for them is hell for real..

Have fun

 

[nznity]

I was took it for4x300mg for a year wd lasted for mouths, wd on benzo or opioids are worse but still wasn’t fun..
had to stars taking gabapentin again and this time i got the good effects but also alot off side effects… stomach all fucked up and intense headaches.
It helps me for my social anxiety and keeps the days goes but you gets kind if stupid on them and impulsive af
Daily use Seems also to make one very sensitive to ppls wibe and outer drugs or alcohol. A few light beers 2,8% made me drunk for example.. I think I have had them for 3yr almost i quit with them a few times.. last couple off times i didn’t even like the high from them, its pure shit gabapentin..
Lyrica are more sable but you will get even more stupid and wd for them is hell for real..

Have fun

The headaches and the insomnia man....fk, glad I'm over it.

 

[BourbonMac]

I was took it for4x300mg for a year wd lasted for mouths, wd on benzo or opioids are worse but still wasn’t fun..
had to stars taking gabapentin again and this time i got the good effects but also alot off side effects… stomach all fucked up and intense headaches.
It helps me for my social anxiety and keeps the days goes but you gets kind of stupid on them and impulsive af. Also i could take same dose every day for weeks and some days i got really high and some days didn’t feel anything.

Daily use Seems also to make one very sensitive to ppls wibe and outer drugs or alcohol. A few light beers 2,8% made me drunk for example.. I think I have had them for 3yr almost i quit with them a few times.. last couple off times i didn’t even like the high from them, its pure shit gabapentin..
Lyrica are more sable but you will get even more stupid and wd for them is hell for real..

Have fun

Interesting that it gave you stomach/headaches, it tends to relieve those for me (when I have them). But from what I understand it dries you out a ton and can lead to constipation especially without proper hydration. You were on twice the dose I'm on which I kinda used inconsistently (100mg morning, 200mg afternoon, 400mg at bed). But for a bit I'd do 200mg morning, 100mg afternoon, and for awhile I was just skipping doses by accident. So I don't think I would have it too bad.

I'm hoping quitting it wouldn't be as much of an issue. How long until you started feeling the withdrawals? I just went a couple days without it fine and basically I just want to have them to fall back on when anxiety gets bad, rather than use benzos. I don't like how benzos make me feel, yet they are still addicting at the same time in this weird way. Very sketchy drugs, it like gets inside your brain and wants more. I'm sure Lyrica would be very similar in that regard. It's no wonder gabapentin is more often prescribed for anxiety conditions, it's hard to abuse because it has some of the worst bioavailability ever

 

[Dextro .45]

Gabapentin is Amazing

Much better than Pregabalin to me (most would prefer Lyrica I believe)

I like it better than Phenibut also….which has lost its magic. 750mg would have me feeling nice, years later and 2g Phenibut isn’t that exciting, except for the day after glow I get

Gabapentin 300mg capsules, take about 4-5 about half hour apart and goes great with my daily 80mg Methadone.

I read a medical journal that stated people on Methadone are the greatest users of Gabapentin…and Benzo’s…and methylphenidate (Ritalin) which I found VERY interesting because that’s me to a T lol. Methylphenidate is such a great dopaminergic stimulant with gentle side effect profile (compared to the amphetamines)

Gabapentin is such a great item to have. My fav Gabapentinoid easily surpassing pregabalin & phenibut

 

[Just a little pinprick]

Interesting that it gave you stomach/headaches, it tends to relieve those for me (when I have them). But from what I understand it dries you out a ton and can lead to constipation especially without proper hydration. You were on twice the dose I'm on which I kinda used inconsistently (100mg morning, 200mg afternoon, 400mg at bed). But for a bit I'd do 200mg morning, 100mg afternoon, and for awhile I was just skipping doses by accident. So I don't think I would have it too bad.

I'm hoping quitting it wouldn't be as much of an issue. How long until you started feeling the withdrawals? I just went a couple days without it fine and basically I just want to have them to fall back on when anxiety gets bad, rather than use benzos. I don't like how benzos make me feel, yet they are still addicting at the same time in this weird way. Very sketchy drugs, it like gets inside your brain and wants more. I'm sure Lyrica would be very similar in that regard. It's no wonder gabapentin is more often prescribed for anxiety conditions, it's hard to abuse because it has some of the worst bioavailability ever

Withdrawals didn’t kick in for me till day 2-3,don’t let you missing a dose or two let you believe it’s harmless it’s far from it .I was on 1200mg a day for two years before tapering down and jumping off,i tried taking a dose a few months after quitting and was thrown right back into feeling sick from it.I think once your addicted once you can’t take it any longer at a future time,unless it was just me.

 

[BourbonMac]

Yeah I guess it depends on the individual/their gravitation towards specific drugs. I took a week off without any withdrawal recently, but that's at 600mg a day. Now I just kind of take 1200mg once in awhile but it can be hit or miss. I've had stomach problems lately so I'm avoiding soda which definitely helps potentiate it. In general I find it more stimulating these days than sedating. At the end of the day it's up to the individual to decide if they want to keep increasing the dose to chase that dragon. With gabapentin it is probably the most difficult drug to do so. But man when it works, it's like, the best feeling ever, and it doesn't have me feeling "fake" euphoria like a ritalin can where I almost feel like I'm cheating by being more social than I normally am.

It IS possible however that my sudden quitting resulted in some seriously sour stomach and acid reflux symptoms lately, but this was starting awhile back. I think it just made it worse when I went off of it because gabapentin is actually known to be nice to the stomach (there's a study on it's use with prilosec and it was significantly more effective).

I wondered the same about cannabis which I recently quit after like, 5 years daily smoking. I'll tell you one thing: this was a lot more difficult for me, and I'm still having the craziest dreams ever. Last night Chief Kief and Michael Jackson were combined into one person, performing at a supermarket with no roof...

 

[JackARoe]

Having read every post on gabapentin here at BL I have to say any type of withdrawal is not as clear cut as some of the other drugs. It seems at least half of some very credible people, some posting today, got off gabapentin with no withdrawal. Then they were the other very credible people that seem to get a bad withdrawal even from a low-dose if taken daily. It is mind-boggling.

I am also prescribed gabapentin but take it once a week. I have taken it twice in a week and it always works. But I’m nowhere near any form of physical addiction. I still think there’s other factors involved like other drug intake and possibly metabolism. Not sure. But I’ve never seen any drug that was split down the middle with people getting withdrawal. At least we have BL to reference. There was even one girl that documented her 1800 mg a day for eight months. She was scared to death reading the posts but ended up feeling absolutely no withdrawal. I like when people come back and document exactly what they go through whether good or bad

 

[BourbonMac]

Yeah it's interesting, I've read of people who took it for a year, came off fine, went back on it, and struggled the 2nd time around. I'm weary to let my use become that regular again because it was only subtly helping my anxiety. Originally I just liked that I was able to get higher off less weed after 300-400mg of it. Which is a really stupid reason to take it now that I think about it lol..

 

[deficiT]

Yeah, gabapentin is certainly way more benign and able to be managed, imo.

But yeah, as others have said, tolerance is definitely a factor and the withdrawals do become real, and pretty uncomfortable at times.

I'm dependent on it at this point, so if I don't take it it's very hard to get to sleep. Some similarities to opioid withdrawal and benzo w/d, while not being quite as severe as either.

Definitely as far as harm reduction goes though, I would always suggest someone take gabapentin over benzos to manage their anxiety.

 

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

Wait till you start wding from gabapentin...it loses it's magic very quickly and the wds are nasty.

You don't have to become physically addicted. I've been on it two and a half years and have managed to avoid it by taking ~10 days off once every 4 weeks.

 

[nznity]

You don't have to become physically addicted. I've been on it two and a half years and have managed to avoid it by taking ~10 days off once every 4 weeks.

OK even with cocaine booze and heroin u can do thst.. I've done it too. But EVERYDAY eventually takes it's toll.

 

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

OK even with cocaine booze and heroin u can do thst.. I've done it too. But EVERYDAY eventually takes it's toll.

I could never do that with alcohol, but that's why I don't drink anymore, I was so very badly addicted to alcohol.
TBH the fact that I don't buy/source Gabapentin other than my script may be the only reason I have the willpower to do that....and it's more of a case of taking a lot and running out way early lol.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

I recently 'stumbled' upon a few hundred 300mg gabapentin. I must admit its pretty good at alleviating alcohol withdrawals and/or hangovers.

However, I'm very conscious of its addictive potential so I've been limiting my use to 300mg a day or every other day.

Unfortunately I relapsed on the booze and am now drinking on top of the gabapentin.


Slippery slope?

 

[fromuponpoppyhill]

Honestly, I'm glad you brought this up to me.
I don't think withdrawl is too likely in my specific case, but I couldn't really guarantee that just because I can go a couple days. I haven't gone beyond 72 hours or so, and because I had been taking doses closer to 1g recently, I'm sure withdrawal would be delayed some.

I love drugs and am really fascinated by them. I love to experiment and try whatever it is I can. But if you've seen my thread history just since joining, you would notice the addict behavior immediately. It's like, it was almost slipping by me, somehow. I went and broke up my valiums and will not request a refill again. I've dumped my tagamets down the drain to avoid any temptation to potentiate or extend the half life.

I felt so high off that ritalin/caffeine combo earlier and it felt just like the good dose of gabapentin I did last week. God, I felt amazing. But it's just filling a hole for things that aren't there or that can be filled with something better than drugs.

I will always love Mary Jane and the odd psychedelic experience and it's important I stick by those and away from the pills. I'm lucky I have a guilty conscience, I really am. Because when I read about people shooting up dope, I can't help but want to, and I never will. And when I read about some horror stories about benzos or gabapentin, I need to approach it the same way.

I think I could responsibly use gabapentin, but I absolutely need to go without it for awhile just to see if my body isn't actually relying on it. My biggest issue would be kratom, probably, but I use that responsibly albeit daily and at the very least, it's not deadly or hellish to come off. Well, the withdrawls DO suck, but they won't kill you. I've CT'd it twice and it was hell both times, but I also happened to be going through hell at the same time. Just being on a course of prednisone lately almost mimic'd the feeling with how creepy crawly my whole body felt.

But really, thank you.

There's a couple of red flags in here to be totally honest with you. I say this because it reads in a manner that is way too familiar. Particularly that fascination with drugs, and being ever so curious about shooting dope. I'm very similar in that way and that fascination has led me down some dark paths throughout my life.

I became an addict at 17 (dissos, benzos, opioids), cut out all but weed when I was ~25. Throughout those 8 years or so I wasn't physically dependent on anything (until the very end, around when I had to stop) yet still managed to completely destroy my life and it's taken a long time to build something new. Manageable becomes unmanageable very quickly and it's easy to trick ourselves into thinking we have it under control.

(Make no mistake, I'm very pro-drugs, these days I do take shrooms and I have a kratom thing going on right now. I hope this doesn't come across like I'm lecturing you, it's more that I want to encourage you to be careful.)

Stay safe, Fellow traveler.