I know this is an old thread but I happened across it and the misinformation, or should I say, incomplete information bothered me. So this is my understanding, FTR (for the record).
From what I understand about Butalbital (contained in fioricet, fiorinal, etc.) and my experiences with it ... I find it pretty enjoyable. This is coming from a guy who was taking multiple OxyContin 20s and oxycodone 10/325s a day before I got clean using Suboxone (suboxone/naloxone).
The two highs are nothing alike, because butalbital is sort of like an older-generation benzodiazepine (think alprazolam, lorazepam, clonazepam). Butalbital (from hereon called butal) is part of a class of drugs known as barbiturates, which were popular in the 60s and early 70s but are rarely prescribed anymore except by older docs and for special purposes (mainly tension headaches in the case of Fioricet) because they've been replaced by the newer-class benzos and z-class (zaleplon, zolpidem, and zopiclone) drugs (z-class drugs are actually in different class than bezos). OxyContin (time-released oxycodone without the APAP (search APAP if you don't know what I'm talking about)) is an opiate analgesic.
For a new-b, about 3 butalbitals is the place to start for recreation. Be aware, though, that butal is often paired with either acetaminophen or aspirin (and sometimes even codeine) so the common cautions with APAP (paracetamol) apply and an extraction method is needed if your getting above the 1.3 gram (at once) range (unless you're doing these daily and then 1.3 grams (at once) daily isn't even really safe when it comes to APAP (again search APAP for more info)). One Fioricet, for example, contains 50 mg butalbital, 325 mgs of APAP in the form of acetaminophen and 40 mgs of caffiene.
If you do take opiates, be aware a synergistic effect exists between drugs in the opiate class and barbiturates. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but be aware because the combination can cause respiratory depression.
Anywho. For me (in my subjective opinion) butal can cause intense body highs and benzo-type feeling. I often hear people say it's like being drunk but that is not entirely correct. The term "wallbangers" were applied to barbiturates by older barb-users "back in the day" for this reason.
Unlike benzos, however, my memory isn't affected as badly by butal and I always remember my entire care-free experiences. I experience an intense body-buzz. Because of the caffeine I am often energized throughout the experience and can complete a number of tasks like cleaning, etc. IMO butal is certainly worth trying at least once or twice and should not be written off entirely just because a few people don't get anything out of it (who knows if they even took enough or if they didn't have high tolerances to stronger barbs).
As an interesting aside I would note that while butalbital is listed as a Schedule III drug under the United States Controlled Substances Act, when it is compounded with APAP and caffeine that status is eliminated. Fioricet, for example, is not considered a controlled substance. Fiorinal (which traditionally in the U.S. contains aspirin in place of acetaminophen) is, however, scheduled. Some formulations in the U.S. contain codeine as an additional ingredient in the butalbital, acetaminophen and caffeine mix or butalbital, aspirin and caffeine mix.
For those worried about caffeine making them jittery I will say that I had the same worry applied to me (for some reason I'm extremely sensitive to caffeine but could handle a barrage of narcotics). The butalbital canceled it out of me. To ease your worry, if you start with three Fioricets as I noted then you shouldn't really have to worry, as the caffeine is equivalent to the amount in a cup of coffee.
Anywho, that is my spiel on the subject of butalbital-containing products. As always, practice safety and become informed about any substance you're planning to put into your body.
p.s. My apologies to the mods, again, for digging up this old post.