Lost Phenibut. Lyrica and Gabapentin abuse are sending me into hell

[OpiateKiller]

A lot of people on here know my story I’ve been in and out of rehab for 8 years, on and off of fentanyl, heroin Suboxone etc.

Currently I’m off all opiates benzos and stimulants for the past 6 months but..

I’m lost. I’m scared. I feel like I’m losing my mind I can’t hang on much longer the anxiety the fear being so lost in my own mind is draining and terrifying..

I’ve been abusing phenibut and Gabapentin, Gabapentin doses 2-3 grams then went to phenibut 3 grams a day and throw some Lyrica 600-900 mg in the mix and I fear psychosis or dementia, Alzheimer’s .. I’m completely going insane..

These Gabapentinoids are no fucking joke.. you think cause they don’t pop on a drug test they are ok..

PHENIBUT Is going to take me out. I’m full blown addicted and if I try to stop I will go into a psychosis and if I keep using it my kidneys, liver and brain will turn to mush and I will lose my mind..

I’m hanging on by a thread honestly I need another reset button but I can’t go back to rehab I got a good job my life on the outside is great but I feel I’m going to die if I keep this up.

Drugs have truly taken everything from me and I can’t function with or without them…

Please help me.

 

[Lil'LinaptkSix]

Cut the phenibut dose in half to start with, bro. Observe.

 

[n3ophy7e]

A lot of people on here know my story I’ve been in and out of rehab for 8 years, on and off of fentanyl, heroin Suboxone etc.

Currently I’m off all opiates benzos and stimulants for the past 6 months but..

I’m lost. I’m scared. I feel like I’m losing my mind I can’t hang on much longer the anxiety the fear being so lost in my own mind is draining and terrifying..

I’ve been abusing phenibut and Gabapentin, Gabapentin doses 2-3 grams then went to phenibut 3 grams a day and throw some Lyrica 600-900 mg in the mix and I fear psychosis or dementia, Alzheimer’s .. I’m completely going insane..

These Gabapentinoids are no fucking joke.. you think cause they don’t pop on a drug test they are ok..

PHENIBUT Is going to take me out. I’m full blown addicted and if I try to stop I will go into a psychosis and if I keep using it my kidneys, liver and brain will turn to mush and I will lose my mind..

I’m hanging on by a thread honestly I need another reset button but I can’t go back to rehab I got a good job my life on the outside is great but I feel I’m going to die if I keep this up.

Drugs have truly taken everything from me and I can’t function with or without them…

Please help me.

Hey man I have no real advice as I don't have much experience with any of them BUT I would heed 6am's advice, he knows what he's talking about.

I abused gabapentin for a short while, but because I was aware of its problem potential (tolerance, addiction, withdrawals) I got myself off it after a few months of taking 2+ grams a day. I found it unpleasant to come off but I tapered down over a week or so. Anxiety was by far the worst withdrawal symptom.

What exactly are you taking now each day, and how much?

 

[BK38]

I have some experience with Phenibut and it can be gnarly in terms of WDs. With that said, it's not impossible to get off of it, even at high doses. A lot of what determines how bad your WD is going to be depends on your duration of use and quantity of use (as with most drugs). As you're using multiple gapapentinoids, I would err on the side of caution.

I would try to eliminate Gabapentin first (shortest half-life), followed by Pregabalin (Lyrica) then Phenibut (longest half-life). I would not try and quit all these things at the same time, I feel like it would be too much for your beat up Gaba receptors. Also, avoid alcohol entirely if possible, it also works on Gaba receptors and all these substances are cross-tolerant.

In terms of Phenibut, a slow taper is your best bet. A reduction of perhaps 100mg every few days/week sounds reasonable in my book. If you're using high amounts (say 5g+ per day), you should be able to jump bigger amounts; perhaps down a gram a week until the 2g/1.5g mark (then do the 100mg drop every week or every few days).

Baclofen can be used to gradually substitute for the Phenibut and should help to eliminate a lot of the Phenibut WDs. You won't feel good, but Baclofen is easier to taper than Phenibut and is not as abusable (It has a weaker, but similar action at Gaba B receptors).

In terms of more help, I think @Xorkoth and @negrogesic have more extensive experience than me with Phenibut and might be able to provide more specific insight on what to do in your predicament. Also, there might be some useful information on the Quitting Phenibut Subreddit.

Best of luck!

 

[n3ophy7e]

I have some experience with Phenibut and it can be gnarly in terms of WDs. With that said, it's not impossible to get off of it, even at high doses. A lot of what determines how bad your WD is going to be depends on your duration of use and quantity of use (as with most drugs). As you're using multiple gapapentinoids, I would err on the side of caution. I would try to eliminate Gabapentin first (shortest half-life), followed by Pregabalin (Lyrica) then Phenibut (longest half-life). I would not try and quit all these things at the same time, I feel like it would be too much for your beat up Gaba receptors. Also, avoid alcohol entirely if possible, it also works on Gaba receptors and all these substances are cross-tolerant.

In terms of Phenibut, a slow taper is your best bet. A reduction of perhaps 100mg every few days/week sounds reasonable in my book. If you're using high amounts (say 5g+ per day), you should be able to jump bigger amounts, perhaps down a gram a week until the 2g/1.5g mark (then do the 100mg drop every week or every few days).

Baclofen can be used to gradually substitute for the Phenibut and should help to eliminate a lot of the Phenibut WDs. You won't feel good, but Baclofen is easier to taper than Phenibut and is not as abusable (It has a weaker, but similar action at Gaba B receptors).

In terms of more help, I think @Xorkoth and @negrogesic have more extensive experience than me with Phenibut and might be able to provide more specific insight on what to do in your predicament. Also, there might be some useful information on the Quitting Phenibut Subreddit.

Best of luck!

Excellent post, thanks mate

 

[negrogesic]

As i mentioned in that other post, up until a few months ago I was taking a minimum of 4g of phenibut every night for 6 years (with the first few years being substantially more than 4g/day). Interestingly, it didn't seem to destroy my liver or kidneys, yet my left kidney does get sore after drinking alot of alcohol and I'm suspiciously thirsty quite often (regardless of how much water I drink). Yet blood tests and urinalysis show that my liver and kidney function is fine.

A few months ago I got some baclofen and was able to rapidly cut my dose in half from 4g/day to 2g/day, with pretty minimal withdrawal symptoms. I plan to go to 1.5 or 1g a day soon. Baclofen makes it pretty painless. And keep in mind, I've been on this stuff for years.

I kind of suspect there is more going on in this case, in that everything you are feeling isn't attributable to just phenibut.

But if you are feeling stuck I'd recommend trying to get a script for some baclofen, or if you are resourceful you can probably find a way to order it online. Compared to benzos, phenibut withdrawal is relatively easy. Then again, everything is relatively easy compared to benzo withdrawal. I find phenibut withdrawal to have comparatively heavier physical anxiety than mental anxiety, which manifests as inner tension, skin burning/parathesia, restlessness, tightness in the chest, labored breathing etc. Oddly this can all occur while have relatively little mental anxiety. It feels as if the body is in the midst of a panic attack.

Once I dropped my scale and didn't realize that it was way off. For over a week I unknowingly dropped from around 5g/day to a little over 2g, and somehow didn't stop to see the difference in physical volume. Within a few days I had descended into pretty severe phenibut withdrawal, so severe that I so confused that I didn't stop question why I was all of sudden feeling so terrible. GABAergic withdrawal can be very confusing, so much so that you don't realize what is happening, you just succumb to it. I started researching and ordering all sorts of anti anxiety supplements like ashwagandha, l-theanine, taurine etc to treat the new found anxiety without ever questioning why I was suddenly so anxious and uncomfortable. Then one night I realized the amount I was pouring looked far less that what the scale said. I dropped a 10g weight on the scale and it registered as ~7g. I then realized what had been happening.

Long story short, get some baclofen.