Qualudes, How do they produce euphoria?

[itgiawa]

So apparently qualudes or methaqualone can produce euphoria, but this doesnt make sense to me since they appear only to bind to GABA receptors.
Can GABA receptors alone produce euphoria? I thought only opioid, anandamide, and maybe serritonin receptors could produce euphoria?

 

[chippermonk]

So apparently qualudes or methaqualone can produce euphoria, but this doesnt make sense to me since they appear only to bind to GABA receptors.
Can GABA receptors alone produce euphoria? I thought only opioid, anandamide, and maybe serritonin receptors could produce euphoria?

I personally don't think euphoria applies. I took qualuudes back in the day, no euphoria for me. Didn't really like them. In fact I have 4 714s that have been sitting around in my emergency suicide stash for 40 years and it never even crosses my mind to take them for fun. Ugh. Same for barbiturates. But then again, I'm one of those people who is indifferent to benzos for fun, too.
However, I used to take a downer called placidyl (ethchorvynol) which actually seemed like a good time.
It seems possible that if a drug relaxes people enough to have a good time socially or to have good sex, or if it covers up their anxiety, then this might lead to a sense of indirect happiness and euphoria? Alcohol does that, though it works by other pathways, too.

 

[MedicinalUser247]

There are receptors in the Brain we still don't know about.

 

[ageingpartyfiend]

There are receptors in the Brain we still don't know about.

if we don't know about them - then how come you do?

 

[JackARoe]

I would trade every benzo I every had over the years just to have some secobarbital and methaqualone.

Honestly since methaqualone feels like alcohol in a pill I can't see how would think they are as boring as benzos?? C'mon, they are fun. Have not had one in over 40 years though.

 

[chippermonk]

I would trade every benzo I every had over the years just to have some secobarbital and methaqualone.

Honestly since methaqualone feels like alcohol in a pill I can't see how would think they are as boring as benzos?? C'mon, they are fun. Have not had one in over 40 years though.

My mind was made up when I my GF and I took quaaludes and went to the hot tubs for sexy good time. I puked for a couple days after.
But more generally, I hated the way I would feel intensely sleepy all day the next day after taking luudes or reds. And the fun part usually consisted of me stumbling around spilling drinks on people and making an ass of myself. I could do that perfectly fine with booze alone, but without feeling sleepy for 24 hours.
Honestly, I think I have a bit of a weird metabolism when it comes to drugs

 

[jasperkent]

I think people are looking back at Quaaludes with euphoria-colored glasses. They weren't all that.

We used to call them Stumble Biscuits and they were routinely taken with alcohol. That combo made the person especially stupid. You might have a good time, but you won't remember it-- which is exactly why they were employed as date-rape facilitators, although nobody called it "rape" back then.

Methaqualone was like a benzodiazepine with more loss of inhibitions, muscle control, and memory. For me, the only euphoria was in the first time I took one-- just like with nearly every other drug I've ever used.

 

[JackARoe]

I think people are looking back at Quaaludes with euphoria-colored glasses. They weren't all that.

Compared to benzos they were more fun. Rose colored glasses or not I would LOVE some methaqualone. And I am not a downer guy but if I needed one it would be the old school barbs or methaqualone. Benzos are delusions of sobriety and amnesia for me. No real buzz. But 20 minutes after a quaalude was fun. The old Rorer's or Lemon's.

Should I stumble over any I will give it a good go and see if they were as fun as stumbling around in high school. Maybe I outgrew that quick stumbling buzz. Only mixed with alcohol once.

The topic of the thread however is how they work and what is different from other tranquilizers. I would be interested in hearing our knowledgeable people talk of the differences in the brain. If anyone knows.

 

[paltatomate]

The topic of the thread however is how they work and what is different from other tranquilizers. I would be interested in hearing our knowledgeable people talk of the differences in the brain. If anyone knows.

yes. this is what i looked into this thread in the first place.

 

[chippermonk]

Yeah, I'm interested in knowing about the neural action and all that

 

[brokedownpalace10]

Well, obviously all downers can cause euphoria due to release of anxiety, etc.. Everyone has anxiety at some time or another. There's a reason that a few drinks at a party (where you might know few people) is a thing. They even call alcohol a "social lubricant". The question of other mechanisms is interesting.

If a barb was "whisky in a pill", as we used to say, maybe a 'lude was beer in a pill.

 

[Quasimoto]

The "euphoria" from GABAergic drugs, at least in the way I think you mean, tends to come from downsteam dopamine effects.

When you raise the level of free GABA, other neurotransmitters also get raised. I'm no neuroscientist, though.

 

[paltatomate]

There's a reason that a few drinks at a party (where you might know few people) is a thing. They even call alcohol a "social lubricant".

this might be true, but i don't think most people would say they are euphoric when they drink alcohol at a party to get rid of their social inhibitions. they might get euphoric once they meet someone which whom they have a connection, but then the euphoria comes from that interaction. or from the fun the person has from just doing fun things.

The "euphoria" from GABAergic drugs, at least in the way I think you mean, tends to come from downsteam dopamine effects.

When you raise the level of free GABA, other neurotransmitters also get raised. I'm no neuroscientist, though.

this is something i would like to look into if i had/when i have a little more time.

 

[brokedownpalace10]

this might be true, but i don't think most people would say they are euphoric when they drink alcohol at a party to get rid of their social inhibitions. they might get euphoric once they meet someone which whom they have a connection, but then the euphoria comes from that interaction. or from the fun the person has from just doing fun things.

Lol

 

[Keif' Richards]

I agree with the sentiments of "rose colored glasses" in reference to substances which we no longer have access to.

I always heard about Phenmetrazine (Preludin) and how awesome it was. It was like Amphetamine with none of the downsides. It was Amphetamine... but so much better. I always wanted to try it. As more older people get on the internet, you get some answers. I've talked to older hippies who had used Phenmetrazine. Actually, every person I've asked who actually has taken it said that Amphetamine was better. It gave more of a bang, was stronger and gave them more euphoria.

Phenmetrazine seems to be a slightly weaker drug than Amphetamine. It was used for weight loss for this reason. It didn't need to have crazy CNS stimulation, it just needed to curb the appetite. Then I search for an answer to the question: If Phenmetrazine is superior to Amphetamine, both drugs are relatively similar in terms of their cost and production. If it was so much better, than why did it disappear completely while Amphetamine stayed strong? The answer, I believe is that Amphetamine was simply more desired... better.

I've take Barbiturates. I live in Asia for a little while. You could buy Pentobarbital solution from Veterinarians and naturally, I did. It is essentially all of the effects of alcohol. Perhaps, there was more mental clarity ounce for ounce between them. If you can imagine what Alcohol feels like, you can understand the general character of Barbiturates.

Methaqualone (Quaalude) is one of those drugs people love to talk about with nostalgia. It is classified as a Non-Barbiturate, a confusing term that implies the medication is nearly identical in effects to Barbiturates despite being chemically distinct in terms of their composition. With that being said, you can imagine Methaqualone is in some way similar to Alcohol.

Just like how I really love Oxymorphone (Opana). It's just the best. Still, being the best, in reality, means it's ~10% "better" than Heroin. It's not a completely different thing, alien territory. It's just like Heroin with a little extra oomph. I'm sure Methaqualone is a lot like other Barbiturates, though some discovere the same kind of oomph described above.

 

[brokedownpalace10]

I always heard about Phenmetrazine (Preludin) and how awesome it was. It was like Amphetamine with none of the downsides. It was Amphetamine... but so much better. I always wanted to try it. As more older people get on the internet, you get some answers. I've talked to older hippies who had used Phenmetrazine. Actually, every person I've asked who actually has taken it said that Amphetamine was better. It gave more of a bang, was stronger and gave them more euphoria.

The big thing about Preludin was it's rush when injected IV. It may have have more serotonergic effects in general as well, but that might be rose colored glasses.

Just like how I really love Oxymorphone (Opana). It's just the best. Still, being the best, in reality, means it's ~10% "better" than Heroin. It's not a completely different thing, alien territory. It's just like Heroin with a little extra oomph. I'm sure Methaqualone is a lot like other Barbiturates, though some discovere the same kind of oomph described above.

Well put. The difference between various downers was (maybe) about the difference between various prescription opiates. Definitely a difference between hydro and oxymorphone, but way more similarities.

 

[chippermonk]

Rose colored glasses also comes from your mindset and physical condition at different stages of your life, and the circumstances you were in at various times you used. And you can get a real placebo effect from whatever you think or want to get out of a drug experience.
When I was a teenager, I really thought drugs were righteous, a door to creativity and adventure. I perceived drugs to be inherently a great thing no matter how they may have affected me in reality. Truly great musicians I admired had been addicted to heroin, it must be good! ( luckily for me, I could never find heroin in my little town) My beliefs around all that are way different now. And I was young, so if I stayed up all night or got a fucked up night's sleep, or whatever, I was able to recover. Now fuck that, I want to get some sleep!
I still have that lifelong knee jerk desire to mess around with my internal chemistry, a curiosity to try things, but I'm also much more cautious and watchful over just what the hell it is doing to me. This affects how I perceived drugs as being pleasurable or not.
All the same, some drugs just feel a shitload better than others, and I personally don't think barbs and luudes objectively feel good at all.

 

[shreddedlettuce]

I have to agree with a few of the above posts about "rose colored glasses" but thought I would share this with you guys.

I had the chance to try quiet a few of these "lost wonders" and to be honest the biggest surprise was how Average the Quaaludes/Revonals (see bottom pictures) were.

I must add that I was comparing them to many of the barbiturates that I was "privileged" to try.

Below are the top 3 "euphoric" barbs ( I wouldn't normally use that word but it applies to this thread ) - I would phrase it more like the Top three that "blew me away", in a good way, were

1. Vesparax



2. Would be Tuinal ( Can't locate that picture at the moment, will update this if/when I do, it is on some old flash drive somewhere ).

and the last, but not least was

3. Secobarbital (100/150mg)



Now when comparing these guys below ( only ten in the tube ), to the barbiturates, they were kinda disappointing for me.

Front


Back ( old packaging style was pretty cool ).



They weren't bad, but comparing "recommended dose" to "recommended dose" they were meh and I think I needed to take triple the dose to get anything close a "feeling" that I got at the regular, or as close to regular dose of the barbs.


Obviously this is purely subjective and the knowledge of these being the last of those meds I would ever try, the set and setting could have played a part in the recollection of how I felt at that time .......... it was looooong ago. ( as you can tell ).

Vesparax was the unanimous "winner', and to this day, one of the most potent pharmaceuticals that I have experienced and thankful I had the chance to try them and live to tell the tale.



SL

 

[JackARoe]

When are rose colored glasses really just sour grapes?? Makes me wonder if people taking fentanyl/xylazine concoctions will call old school heroin overrated.

If anyone knows the most euphoric available "downer" in 2024 we are all ears. (Please don't say xanax) Most of the older downers were more recreational and we now are stuck with benzos and z- drugs if lucky, AD's and APs if we are unlucky for sleep.

Still though maybe a question for the N&PD forum, but obviously since the effects are different between the substances it has to be more significant than just calling all just gaba drugs. Although alcohol acts like a lot of them but is considered dirty.

 

[shreddedlettuce]

If anyone knows the most euphoric available "downer" in 2024 we are all ears.

IME Flunitrazepam came pretty close, and is still on the market in 2024 - but I have been there and done that.

Am content to stick to using my zopiclone and temazepam therapeutically, which in some cases turns recreational.