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Social Should I avoid drinking and/or weed after a glutamate surge?

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Mycophile

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So, no one seems to want to answer this question in my "did I have a seizure thread" in other drugs, so I thought I'd try here:

The other night I took Phenibut and got drunk (Kratom during the day) and smoked weed and had, what someone said was a "glutamate surge with akithisia." I found it to be pretty scary to say the least and I never want it to happen again. I guess that's what I get for drinking on Phenibut...

I know the smart advice is to avoid Phenibut, but I want to find out if I now have a lower thresh hold for that kind of thing happening again even if I drink or smoke weed/eat edibles and if it's true that weed raises glutamate.

I found this on alcohol and glutamate. Does this mean (if true) that drinking doesn't necessarily make glutamate storms more likely to happen?


"Does alcohol increase or decrease glutamate activity?

Some studies have shown that short-term alcohol exposure inhibits glutamate receptor function (Lovinger et al. 1990) and stimulates GABAA receptor function in the hippocampus (Weiner et al. 1994). Therefore, it appears that alcohol might inhibit LTP."

And I someone said this about weed on reddit:

Someone on Reddit said this about weed with glutamate surges/storms, which I was on at the time:

"No no no no no no NO!!! Weed is NOT the answer for glutamate storms! God no! I know from experience weed ABSOLUTELY increases glutamate by a very noticeable margin! If you’re having a storm it’ll make it worse.

I know because I’ve been at war with g storms for like 6 months :/ I have to completely stop smoking weed while it’s recovering or else I’ll fuck myself up. Really sucks but I’d say to abstain from weed completely."


So, I can abstain from either for quite a while if necessary, but I'd rather be able to smoke sometimes if I can. I can give a description of my glutamate surge if anyone wants. I honestly don't really understand all that much what a glutamate storm or akithisia are, and I have an anxiety disorder and would rather not worry. The mod who answered said I'd be ok and that I did not do permanent damage to myself, so I hope he's right...
 
I don't know if this is the right place for this thread, so mods can move it if they want to. I don't know if this sub-forum is only for totally sober people, cause I'm not.
 
Mycophile said:
"Does alcohol increase or decrease glutamate activity?
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From what I know, alcohol decreases glutamate activity. The problem is that there is a rebound effect after the alcohol's primary effects wear off which is what can cause brain zaps, anxiety, etc during alcohol withdrawal. Glutamate having an excitory function in the nervous system.

So, from what it seems, drinking during a time when you're dealing with glutamate surges would be a bad idea.
 
SunriseChampion said:
From what I know, alcohol decreases glutamate activity. The problem is that there is a rebound effect after the alcohol's primary effects wear off which is what can cause brain zaps, anxiety, etc during alcohol withdrawal. Glutamate having an excitory function in the nervous system.

So, from what it seems, drinking during a time when you're dealing with glutamate surges would be a bad idea.
Click to expand...
Right, but I had a glutamate surge 6 days ago from drinking on Phenibut, but would that really mean there's any reason I can't drink tonight or that that would be more likely than usual to lead to me having another? I mean, it wouldn't seem like it to me...
 
I think you need to stay off all the drugs, phenibut, alcohol, kratom, whatever. If you think you had a seizure, that's serious.
 
Eryximachus said:
I think you need to stay off all the drugs, phenibut, alcohol, kratom, whatever. If you think you had a seizure, that's serious.
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Thank you for your concern. It wasn't a seizure though, according to other people. It was a side effect mainly from Phenibut. And I've already done Kratom today. I probably will have some beer and weed tonight, but I think I'll be ok. I won't have any Phenibut that's for sure. I'm probably never going to take that shit again.

Also, you used the term stay off. I'm not quitting all drugs forever, nor do I think that's necessary. I do think it would be smart to not touch Phenibut again.

I'd like to ask you, when you say that, is it based off of your knowledge of what a glutamate surge and akitsthisia actually are and what they do to the brain, or is it just how it sounds?
 
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I would view GABAergics with the biggest suspicion due to their ability to decrease GABA activity upon rebound (and therefore disinhibit glutamate release).

The worry about weed is more complex imo. CB1 receptors decrease both glutamate and GABA release, but as they are GPCRs I think of their effects more like a volume knob than an on/off switch (how I view ion channel coupled receptors).

A more clinical example is that alcohol is contradicted for epilepsy, and thc isnt. I would definately start slow and monitor how you feel, but if you have to pick one or the other I would pick weed over alcohol.
 
Mycophile said:
Right, but I had a glutamate surge 6 days ago from drinking on Phenibut, but would that really mean there's any reason I can't drink tonight or that that would be more likely than usual to lead to me having another? I mean, it wouldn't seem like it to me...
Click to expand...

I don't know if it would cause more glutamate surge. I just know I'd be wary of fucking around and finding out, personally.
 
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