I have been Rx'd soo many of the GABA drugsits not even funny, so I'll give you some firsthand experience and knowledge about them, including the amount Rx'd and why.
Alcohol- One of the most widely known GABA related drugs, not much needs to be said about this one.
(60/month) Alprazolam 2mg- I was prescribed Xanax starting at 0.5mg as needed for panic attacks, then over a course of 4 months I moved up to two 2mg bars per day for anxiety and panic. Xanax is one of the more euphoric benzos as it as a shorter half-life than most making it quick and effective for quelling anxiety attacks. Too much alprazolam though and you will have just woken up from what feels like a drunken stupor, only to find out you did a bunch of things you can't remember doing.
(90/month) Carisoprodol 350mg- Soma is a strong muscle relaxant, and a cousin to the strong and popular drug Meprobromate. Soma is an unpredictable drug known to many as depressant crack because of its addicting qualities such as short duration of action, intense high, and a need to always do more. Tolerance builds rapidly, as this is one of the most euphoric GABA drugs out there. Too high of a dose and you will have lost control of your muscle functions and will resemble that of a DXM overdose in many ways.
(60/month) Chlordiazepoxide 25mg - Librium was the first benzodiazpeine to be discovered and is almost like a weaker versoin of Diazepam. It is typically used in the treatment of alcohol and drug withdrawl. It is not used as often anymore due to new and more effective drugs coming out.
(30/month) Clonazepam 2mg- Klonopin is a hit or miss recreational benzo for most people. Some people swear by it and get a good high out of it, while others feel it is weaker than Lorazepam. However it is a great medicine to control seizure disorders as well as an anxiolytic and muscle relaxant. The "high" is a mellow, relaxed sense of well-being.
(90/month) Diazepam 10mg- Valium is a great drug for taking that edge off of everyday life, and provides you with a long acting sense of calm and happiness. In the beginning Valium can be quite euphoric to most. Valium is also one of the best drugs to use for alcohol,barbituate, and benzodiazapine withdrawls, as it can be used for tapers ranging from upwards of 100-200mg all the way down to 1.25-0.5mg.
(30/month) Eszopiclone 3mg- Lunesta is a decent nonbenzodiazepine that is helpful in treating insomnia and does not have much potential for abuse, unlike other hypnotics such as Restoril, Ambien, or Halcion
(60/month) Gabapentin 300mg- Neurontin is a GABA drug similar to lyrica that is used for the treatment of nerve pain, and is pretty effective at helping in fybromyalgia pain. At doses around 1.2g it has potential for abuse, and also potential to help aid in stopping dependency on street drugs in this dosage range.
GHB- although I was not prescribed this one, it is an important GABA drug, and is sometimes rarely Rx'd under the brand name "Xyrem" in the united states. GHB is effective at treating narcolepsy, alcoholism, depression, and other mental illnesses. It has been demonized in the media however as a date rape drug and a club drug, because it shares the amnesiac effects that most GABA type drugs have. GHB is a euphoric drug thought of as comparable to "liquid ecstasy".
(90/month) Lorazepam 2mg- Ativan is a mellow benzodiazepine much like Xanax, but without as much associated euphoria. Ativan is great for Generalized Anxiety Disorder as well as for panic attacks. It is one of the few Benzos that you recieve via IV in a hospital setting, along with Diazepam and Midazolam. Is also a good drug in the use of treating hallucinogenic panic attacks, like the ones that can come from unsettling trips on LSD or mushrooms.
(IV'd/rarely) Midazolam (5mg)- My only exeperiences with Versed are in hospital settings where it was administered via IV in combination with Fentanyl, as part of my sedation for certain procedures. It is the most euphoric benzo I have come across and pairs very well with Fentanyl IV. It is very short acting (about 1 hour) so redosing is needed, and is typically only good for procedures, not day to day activities.
(60/month) Oxazepam 30mg- Serax is great for both coming off of Alcohol and drug use, as well as for a anxiolytic without much potential for abuse. It is a boring benzodiazepine in the recreational sense.
(30/month) Temazepam 30mg- Restoril is up in my top 3 for favorite benzos, along with Xanax and Versed. It is very euphoric, and great for sleeping. In high doses it is one of the few benzos that actually has a "high" to it, not just a calm sense of wellbeing. In the higher doses it will resemble Xanax abuse, with slurred speech and failing motor skills.
(10/month) Triazolam 0.5mg- Halcion is a very potent hypnotic that I use for jetlag and bad flights. It is short acting, and has a lot of amnesiac properties which is also nice for dental procedures. It is abusable, and is very potent.
(30/month) Zolpidem 12.5mg- Ambien is a well known and bizzare hypnotic. It can allow people to get great sleep at night, but it becomes abusable and almost a hallucinogenic when one stays awake for the duration of action. If you fight going to sleep, as little as one Ambien CR will have you in a full-on trip, and not usually a fun one. Be careful with this drug as it is known to make people do wild and reckless things in their sleep including driving, having sex, and eating.
OK well I know that was a really long post but I hope that helped in describing some of the different GABA drugs out there, there are many more those are just the ones I have been Rx'd in the last 3 years. If I had to pick a favorite it would definitely be the shorter acting benzodiazepines.
