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Phenibut
- Thread starter Treacle
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rolls_
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Just letting people I know I stopped using phenibut due to trying out sleep restriction and it interfering with my sleep. I tapered down over over 2 weeks from 1-1.5g a day to 500mg a day, then from 500mg to to nothing over about 6 days with zero withdrawal.
I've used it twice since and I quit about 7 months ago with no cravings or withdrawal. My sleep is much better now (I sleep less and better quality) and I don't find my anxiety is any different so it seems the long term use meant it was no longer effective for me.
Because I was practising sleep restriction (less than 6 hours sleep a day) I was so tired I didn't even notice any withdrawal. So it seems you can cut a medium long term dose to zero with almost no issues.
rickolasnice
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For anyone interested, wether going through addiction / withdrawals.
I've been using phenibut daily for.. I don't know. At least 5 years. I started off with a tub of 250mg capsules.. taking 3 - 4 of them 4 or 5 days out of 7. I then moved onto the powder form. It was cheaper. I was now taking 1 x 1ml scoop of phenibut. I was told and stupidly never bothered finding out otherwise that this roughly equated to 1g. I've since weighed it and it's actually around 600 - 700mg.
Months went by using this dose, occasionally taking 2 scoops with 3 or 4 periods of about a week each of cold turkey withdrawals. The withdrawals were horrible. Depression, lack of desire, boredom, anxiety, anorexia and perhaps the worst of them all - insomnia. For 5 or 6 nights I'd get very shit sleep, if any, until 6am; when my local shop opened, i'd buy the booze i could afford - down it and get another 1 - 2 hours of worse sleep.
By the end of the week I felt considerably better.. but can't be sure that the knowledge that more was coming made the withdrawals feel almost non existent.
Throughout the next few years my dosage increased. I don't remember why or how.. or even how long it took to get there.. but i was now hooked on 22 scoops / 14.5 grams a day. I remember first discovering that a scoop or two of phenibut before sleep caused the most vivid, lucid dreams.. something I've always enjoyed. After that, i don't know. Then i started a new job.. I was always a socially anxious person (main reason i loved phenibut in the first place) and so used more phenibut to achieve, or attempt to achieve, a more comfortable if not confident state. I'm not sure how long this went on but i estimate it was around 8 - 12 months.
Within the last year I've made a real, conscious effort to lower my dose. I ended up binging on some 3-FPM for around 4 days, with a an 1 or 2mg of etizolam every now and then - and almost without noticing I'd taken significantly less phenibut. After waking up from the long recovery sleep i decided to cut my dose to 10 scoops a day. The next week or so was quite rough. Trouble sleep, extreme boredom, increased anxiety and a general apathetic bordering on depressed outlook.
After that i didn't waste much time in cutting the dose again.. I can't remember how much by but it was around 2 scoops. Went through the withdrawal period and ended up feeling fine with my new dose. I repeated this as often and by as much as i thought I could at the time.
It's been a while since I last cut down and stayed down. But I'm comfortably taking 1 and a half scoops / roughly a gram per day. My social anxiety is almost non existent and my confidence is higher than it has been for about 10 years.. although i attribute this to being in a better place financially, emotionally and mentally, rather than taking less phenibut.
This time 2 years ago I couldn't even imagine taking half as much, let alone well under 10% of my dose during that time. I'm fairly confident I can keep going though I am fully aware that each mg i cut down now will be a higher percentage of my dosage.. and eventually, the last drop will be 100%. The thought scares me a bit.. and I have been (and am) putting it off. I got enough phenibut before the umbrella ban to give me a long enough period to slowly slowly come off - but managed to do it a low quicker than anticipated.
Thought I'd share my story, so far. I've not found any experiences online relating to anywhere near my dose.. which, during times, made me feel more anxious and less hopeful about my addiction.
I've been using phenibut daily for.. I don't know. At least 5 years. I started off with a tub of 250mg capsules.. taking 3 - 4 of them 4 or 5 days out of 7. I then moved onto the powder form. It was cheaper. I was now taking 1 x 1ml scoop of phenibut. I was told and stupidly never bothered finding out otherwise that this roughly equated to 1g. I've since weighed it and it's actually around 600 - 700mg.
Months went by using this dose, occasionally taking 2 scoops with 3 or 4 periods of about a week each of cold turkey withdrawals. The withdrawals were horrible. Depression, lack of desire, boredom, anxiety, anorexia and perhaps the worst of them all - insomnia. For 5 or 6 nights I'd get very shit sleep, if any, until 6am; when my local shop opened, i'd buy the booze i could afford - down it and get another 1 - 2 hours of worse sleep.
By the end of the week I felt considerably better.. but can't be sure that the knowledge that more was coming made the withdrawals feel almost non existent.
Throughout the next few years my dosage increased. I don't remember why or how.. or even how long it took to get there.. but i was now hooked on 22 scoops / 14.5 grams a day. I remember first discovering that a scoop or two of phenibut before sleep caused the most vivid, lucid dreams.. something I've always enjoyed. After that, i don't know. Then i started a new job.. I was always a socially anxious person (main reason i loved phenibut in the first place) and so used more phenibut to achieve, or attempt to achieve, a more comfortable if not confident state. I'm not sure how long this went on but i estimate it was around 8 - 12 months.
Within the last year I've made a real, conscious effort to lower my dose. I ended up binging on some 3-FPM for around 4 days, with a an 1 or 2mg of etizolam every now and then - and almost without noticing I'd taken significantly less phenibut. After waking up from the long recovery sleep i decided to cut my dose to 10 scoops a day. The next week or so was quite rough. Trouble sleep, extreme boredom, increased anxiety and a general apathetic bordering on depressed outlook.
After that i didn't waste much time in cutting the dose again.. I can't remember how much by but it was around 2 scoops. Went through the withdrawal period and ended up feeling fine with my new dose. I repeated this as often and by as much as i thought I could at the time.
It's been a while since I last cut down and stayed down. But I'm comfortably taking 1 and a half scoops / roughly a gram per day. My social anxiety is almost non existent and my confidence is higher than it has been for about 10 years.. although i attribute this to being in a better place financially, emotionally and mentally, rather than taking less phenibut.
This time 2 years ago I couldn't even imagine taking half as much, let alone well under 10% of my dose during that time. I'm fairly confident I can keep going though I am fully aware that each mg i cut down now will be a higher percentage of my dosage.. and eventually, the last drop will be 100%. The thought scares me a bit.. and I have been (and am) putting it off. I got enough phenibut before the umbrella ban to give me a long enough period to slowly slowly come off - but managed to do it a low quicker than anticipated.
Thought I'd share my story, so far. I've not found any experiences online relating to anywhere near my dose.. which, during times, made me feel more anxious and less hopeful about my addiction.
headfuck123
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Wow you must have a stomach made of iron! Fair play on getting to where you are now though and hopefully you can eventually get to 0. If its anything like benzo withdrawal its not easy but really is worth all the shit to get over the addiction.
Tranced
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I love low, nootropic doses of phenibut for socialising.
The first time I took it though, I took about 2 grams. Wow, what a shit high that was. Kind of a bit like GBL I found (which I never really liked).
Does anybody actually like the recreational body high you get at higher doses and use it for that purpose? Just interested.
The first time I took it though, I took about 2 grams. Wow, what a shit high that was. Kind of a bit like GBL I found (which I never really liked).
Does anybody actually like the recreational body high you get at higher doses and use it for that purpose? Just interested.
F.U.B.A.R.
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Is phenibut similar to pregabalin by any chance? If so, I imagine it's a messy, dirty kind of buzz. These gaba drugs are weird. I've never tried GBL, but I didn't like GHB at all. However, I do like alcohol now - though I even hated that for the first 40 years of my life.
rickolasnice
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- Apr 19, 2007
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Thanks
I'll definitely get to 0 eventually.. I'm planning on dropping the dose again next week.I've never experienced any stomach issues.. but I would wake up every morning to a less than solid shit.
Never experienced benzo withdrawals.. I got a shit ton of diazepam once.. After the first day my memory resumes about 3 weeks later in hazy patches of feeling depressed as shit. I behaved like a nob and now had to deal with the guilt. Luckily i didn't go into withdrawals. Or, at least i don't remember doing so.
2 grams is definitely too much without tolerance and will probably just result in nausea. It is VERY similar to GBL in a lot of ways.. the affects of phenibut it like a mild, very drawn out GBL buzz. The withdrawals work in the same way.. less intense but longer lasting. Both work as GABAb agonists although GBL is also a GHB agonist.
Tranced
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Yes, a messy dirty kind of buzz is exactly it. I'm unsure if it's similar to pregabalin though.
It was however very similar to 100mg or so of tianeptine. Kind of boring rushy uncomfortable-ness.
Treacle
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It's been a long time since I poked my head into this thread. Firstly, Rick, well done for tapering off. That last gramme should be absolutely nothing, compared to the doses you were taking. I personally couldn't feel much unless I had over two grammes. I hit the ten gramme a day mark, a few times, and tapering was almost useless to me. The withdrawals are comparable to GBL, but longer and not quite as intense, but still fucking ugly.
Yes, the high is a bit like GBL/GHB, but without a large dopamine kick. As previously mentioned, they are both GABA-b agonists, but G also acts on GHB receptors, which I believe causes the release of dopamine and serotonin (and possibly other neurotransmitters), making G much more euphoric. I'm not even sure neuropsychopharmacology experts fully understand how the the GHB receptor works, so don't quote me on that, but phenibut definitely doesn't hit all the right buttons that G does. I would also say it's quite a dirty/messy high, if a large enough dose is taken, which has made me feel dizzy and sick. Larger doses tended to make me feel quite emotional, and I'd twitch and pass out, just like G. However, suitable doses can be very enjoyable, while lowering inhibitions and anxiety levels. The sleep it induces is both deep and lengthy, at first, as well. It's a shame tolerance rises so fast and these effects lessen so quickly. Anyone using it should stick to a couple of non-consecutive days a week, if using doses which cause very noticeable effects. The duration of action can last well into the next day, depending on dose, leading to quite a mongy feeling, and smaller additional doses leaving your head spinning.
There's a lot more I could say about phenibut, as I've had extensive experience with it. It can be useful as a tool, for sleep and anxiety, and it can also be fun for recreational use (especially with a bit of speed), but it's an absolute CUNT to recover from, if you hit it too hard. I've not had the stuff for about a year, and I'm quite glad, because I always ended up hammering it.
Having been prescribed pregabalin, until last year, I can say that that's the least enjoyable of the three. It's fairly enjoyable with a few drinks, if you like not being able to walk in a straight line, and feeling more pissed than usual, but I personally don't think it's very recreational, at all. It works wonders for anxiety and preventing hangovers, though. Other than the weight gain, I found it massively beneficial in helping me get over a decade of debilitating anxiety and panic attacks.
Yes, the high is a bit like GBL/GHB, but without a large dopamine kick. As previously mentioned, they are both GABA-b agonists, but G also acts on GHB receptors, which I believe causes the release of dopamine and serotonin (and possibly other neurotransmitters), making G much more euphoric. I'm not even sure neuropsychopharmacology experts fully understand how the the GHB receptor works, so don't quote me on that, but phenibut definitely doesn't hit all the right buttons that G does. I would also say it's quite a dirty/messy high, if a large enough dose is taken, which has made me feel dizzy and sick. Larger doses tended to make me feel quite emotional, and I'd twitch and pass out, just like G. However, suitable doses can be very enjoyable, while lowering inhibitions and anxiety levels. The sleep it induces is both deep and lengthy, at first, as well. It's a shame tolerance rises so fast and these effects lessen so quickly. Anyone using it should stick to a couple of non-consecutive days a week, if using doses which cause very noticeable effects. The duration of action can last well into the next day, depending on dose, leading to quite a mongy feeling, and smaller additional doses leaving your head spinning.
There's a lot more I could say about phenibut, as I've had extensive experience with it. It can be useful as a tool, for sleep and anxiety, and it can also be fun for recreational use (especially with a bit of speed), but it's an absolute CUNT to recover from, if you hit it too hard. I've not had the stuff for about a year, and I'm quite glad, because I always ended up hammering it.
Having been prescribed pregabalin, until last year, I can say that that's the least enjoyable of the three. It's fairly enjoyable with a few drinks, if you like not being able to walk in a straight line, and feeling more pissed than usual, but I personally don't think it's very recreational, at all. It works wonders for anxiety and preventing hangovers, though. Other than the weight gain, I found it massively beneficial in helping me get over a decade of debilitating anxiety and panic attacks.
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rickolasnice
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Warning for anyone thinking of mixing GBL and phenibut..
I stupidly decided to get some GBL again, after so long without it. At first I stopped taking pheninut while doing it and all was fine. Withdrawals from pheninut didn't happen while I was taking GBL. But once I stopped taking GBL my phenibut dose had to go up some.
After a while I stupidly decided to take GBL too late to be able to sleep properly without more during the night. I tried to counter this by taking a higher dose of phenibut with my last dose of GBL before bed. Didn't work. I then needed to take more GBL than normal to sleep. This led to a scary amount of breathing difficulties and a very weak pulse. Every time I managed to drift off I'd immediately wake up gasping for air. I had to consciously take deep breaths and focus on my breathing, often having to get up and walk about for a bit. This matched the symptoms of congenital heart disease in which my heart was not beating strong enough to pump blood around my body, especially to my lungs.
Don't be me. Don't be stupid.
By the way it doesn't even feel enjoyable. It makes the negative aspects of both much worse while completely blocking the enjoyable. Just made me anxious, fidgety and feEl extremely nauseous.
I stupidly decided to get some GBL again, after so long without it. At first I stopped taking pheninut while doing it and all was fine. Withdrawals from pheninut didn't happen while I was taking GBL. But once I stopped taking GBL my phenibut dose had to go up some.
After a while I stupidly decided to take GBL too late to be able to sleep properly without more during the night. I tried to counter this by taking a higher dose of phenibut with my last dose of GBL before bed. Didn't work. I then needed to take more GBL than normal to sleep. This led to a scary amount of breathing difficulties and a very weak pulse. Every time I managed to drift off I'd immediately wake up gasping for air. I had to consciously take deep breaths and focus on my breathing, often having to get up and walk about for a bit. This matched the symptoms of congenital heart disease in which my heart was not beating strong enough to pump blood around my body, especially to my lungs.
Don't be me. Don't be stupid.
By the way it doesn't even feel enjoyable. It makes the negative aspects of both much worse while completely blocking the enjoyable. Just made me anxious, fidgety and feEl extremely nauseous.
steewith2ees
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Glad ur ok bud.
keeping
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i was under the impression that phenibut was more of a benzo-style drug,
but what you've described sounds more like lyrica to me?
or is it a combination of the two - along similar lines to GBL/GHB?
Shambles
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The latter. It's kinda like GBL's scuzzy cousin that grinds on you for far longer than is entirely comfortable whilst providing borderline pleasure at best and then leaves you with the distinct impression that you should probably see a doctor soon and never cross paths with the fukker again.
Tryptamite
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I want phenibut. Haven't had any in years. Used to buy off auction site. I'm in Ireland. I have found a few vendors which appear to ship from the UK. I'm not walking myself into a scam am I? Shipping from Spain takes 2 weeks once it gets into their postal system. Piss take!!
rickolasnice
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Thanks guys
I'm pretty sure phenibut falls under the umbrella ban in the UK? I'd find it a bit dodge if a "legit" business was selling it.
I'm pretty sure phenibut falls under the umbrella ban in the UK? I'd find it a bit dodge if a "legit" business was selling it.
Tryptamite
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Nope uk still seems legalish. Thanks monsta, I took the plunge worked out well.