Poly drug use and cycling to minimize dependency & tolerance risk - In other words this idiot's addicted to being high

[placebonaut]

so 33 days since I last had soma and still getting withdrawal effects but they're much less and seem more focused on joint aches and headaches. not had anxiety thankfully for ~a week. Had a few days where I felt back to myself.

I've decided to quite benzo's as well, it's been 6 days since I last had any, never had too high a tolerance but do have slight worries that this weeks withdrawal might not be soma and might instead be benzo related, they share lots of the same symptoms....not doing a taper, went cold on them for a month at the end of last year without issue and suspect it's just soma withdrawal given how long I was taking them for.

Stupidly I plan to take soma again in the future (next 2-4 weeks once I'm well clear of withdrawals), but it will be a once a month thing and I'll be taking it with alcohol to keep dosage of both low.

I've just done a month of weekly pregab and now on a planned mini break though tolerance was starting to grow with it and keep getting pins and needles taking it so might quit it totally in the future at anything but low doses , frequency of everything else has dropped, I'm once per week in the past month for ket, mephedrone, coke, 2-CB, and GBL, all these at much lower doses. Have been drinking more on the downside. However I've pretty much stopped taking combos with the exception of GBL with mephedrone (it's just too nice).

been 100 days since I last had MDMA and i didn't roll then (250mg wasn't enough), got a day with it planned this week though.

I've really upped my weed consumption as well as lots more exercise though had a very lazy week this last week.

NET result, my gaba intake has reduced a lot, I kinda wanna lay off everything gaba for a month or 2 soon to see how well my system resets, and I think that's a doable goal to aim for.

next step in the plan is to reduce hard drugs to twice a week, and at the same time I've bought a few different strains of RSO weed to see if I can use something energizing v sedating depending on my mood, the big issue is finding specific strains of RSO/distillate as my preferred ROA is oral rather than smoking, it's a pain in the ass int he UK to be honest, but I have something workable to test out my idea at least.

 

[Mushoku_Sensei]

so 33 days since I last had soma and still getting withdrawal effects but they're much less and seem more focused on joint aches and headaches. not had anxiety thankfully for ~a week. Had a few days where I felt back to myself.

I've decided to quite benzo's as well, it's been 6 days since I last had any, never had too high a tolerance but do have slight worries that this weeks withdrawal might not be soma and might instead be benzo related, they share lots of the same symptoms....not doing a taper, went cold on them for a month at the end of last year without issue and suspect it's just soma withdrawal given how long I was taking them for.

Stupidly I plan to take soma again in the future (next 2-4 weeks once I'm well clear of withdrawals), but it will be a once a month thing and I'll be taking it with alcohol to keep dosage of both low.

I've just done a month of weekly pregab and now on a planned mini break though tolerance was starting to grow with it and keep getting pins and needles taking it so might quit it totally in the future at anything but low doses , frequency of everything else has dropped, I'm once per week in the past month for ket, mephedrone, coke, 2-CB, and GBL, all these at much lower doses. Have been drinking more on the downside. However I've pretty much stopped taking combos with the exception of GBL with mephedrone (it's just too nice).

been 100 days since I last had MDMA and i didn't roll then (250mg wasn't enough), got a day with it planned this week though.

I've really upped my weed consumption as well as lots more exercise though had a very lazy week this last week.

NET result, my gaba intake has reduced a lot, I kinda wanna lay off everything gaba for a month or 2 soon to see how well my system resets, and I think that's a doable goal to aim for.

next step in the plan is to reduce hard drugs to twice a week, and at the same time I've bought a few different strains of RSO weed to see if I can use something energizing v sedating depending on my mood, the big issue is finding specific strains of RSO/distillate as my preferred ROA is oral rather than smoking, it's a pain in the ass int he UK to be honest, but I have something workable to test out my idea at least.

Good luck with the reductions! Dropping combos is a wise thing to do, took me quite a bit of pain to get there...

 

[Deleted member 597184]

Poly drug use is annoying because I never know what I'm wding from.

Very true.

And equally as frustrating showing up to the emergency room. They make a textbook out of you.

 

[placebonaut]

and I've had a bit of a wobble in the past 2 weeks - tough personal times but that's not enough of an excuse.

taking soma again though at least I have learnt a lesson and it's not as frequent, but dosage is up to 2g again.

I'm drinking again too, no doubt that's feeding other drug use.

weed is daily and growing in dose week on week.

I should have had a pregab tolerance break but ignored it....

benzo consumption is increasing in dosage, but not frequency thankfully, but I'm now using pharma shit rather than cheap generics - worryingly for the 1st time I'm enjoying benzos just because I like benzos.

all in all a pretty bad couple of weeks

I'm using less ket overall, less GBL, have had some great mdma which meant less gaba/alcohol (good), less mephedrone, no coke. I've been pushing 2-cb harder (which I think is less harmful for me)

I'm generally not doing combos, except for my favorites.

need to back off a bit.

putting this down to a wobble, but if I don't get back on track it will become an issue....

so maybe NETing out in my mind as 2 steps backwards 1 step forward.

hey ho

 

[chippermonk]

and I've had a bit of a wobble in the past 2 weeks - tough personal times but that's not enough of an excuse.

taking soma again though at least I have learnt a lesson and it's not as frequent, but dosage is up to 2g again.

I'm drinking again too, no doubt that's feeding other drug use.

weed is daily and growing in dose week on week.

I should have had a pregab tolerance break but ignored it....

benzo consumption is increasing in dosage, but not frequency thankfully, but I'm now using pharma shit rather than cheap generics - worryingly for the 1st time I'm enjoying benzos just because I like benzos.

all in all a pretty bad couple of weeks

I'm using less ket overall, less GBL, have had some great mdma which meant less gaba/alcohol (good), less mephedrone, no coke. I've been pushing 2-cb harder (which I think is less harmful for me)

I'm generally not doing combos, except for my favorites.

need to back off a bit.

putting this down to a wobble, but if I don't get back on track it will become an issue....

so maybe NETing out in my mind as 2 steps backwards 1 step forward.

hey ho

It's excellent that you are keeping track of things and trying to evaluate it. That's always a good start to scaling back and getting/keeping on track
Good luck!

 

[placebonaut]

It's excellent that you are keeping track of things and trying to evaluate it. That's always a good start to scaling back and getting/keeping on track
Good luck!

thanks.

yes keeping a log is very useful, helps me spot tolerance building and gives warning signs when I'm using things too much. I'll keep an eye on it and manage things a bit tighter.

 

[Ki3ly]

Yes, that's why I like the Power of Note taking so much.

 

[placebonaut]

Yes, that's why I like the Power of Note taking so much.

I can't agree strongly enough with this, best bit of advice for a drug user is to take notes, ignoring all the great HR benefits of it, it also simply allows you to better understand how you interact with drugs at a personal level and then tailor your drug usage accordingly.

I log whatever is notable from the session, not always the same things each time but whatever stands out - effects, mood, scene setting, if I felt it was too much or not enough etc.

I'm pretty good at keep a track of dosage as well

 

[placebonaut]

been a while since I posted in this thread.

life event time and I need to reduce my drug use significantly. Things haven't gotten quite as bad as they were before but my drinking has been escalating and along with it my GABA use, cannabis daily which has really driven up my tolerance.

feels like I've undone too much of my progress to be honest, however my stim and ket use is pretty low, I've traded off some use again a slight increase in MDMA and 2C-B which quite frankly is much better for me.

I've just gone cold turkey on almost everything....getting soma withdrawal again and handling the rebound anxiety with 5mg of diazepam (just 1 dose in the last week), no alcohol but planning on having a little GBL once a week as a treat as well, that's it for the next few weeks.

Plan is to take a tolerance break from cannabis, then will only use it at the weekend, life event means I need to be able to function better.

it's time to kick phase 2 of my plan into action, that is to change to being a weekend warrior where I cycle each week between different drugs and stop the alcohol for good, I'm also planning on giving shroom macro dosing a try in the near future - it feels the right time to try this phase 2 plan, I'm up for it and determined!

 

[Mushoku_Sensei]

Good luck with that!!

 

[ageingpartyfiend]

I can't agree strongly enough with this, best bit of advice for a drug user is to take notes, ignoring all the great HR benefits of it, it also simply allows you to better understand how you interact with drugs at a personal level and then tailor your drug usage accordingly.

I log whatever is notable from the session, not always the same things each time but whatever stands out - effects, mood, scene setting, if I felt it was too much or not enough etc.

I'm pretty good at keep a track of dosage as well

The bolded are both definitely major HR benefits in and of themselves too

 

[placebonaut]

Right had a bit of a rethink after some more research and I'm going to stop GBL, seems this is likely to be the worst thing to continue using, instead I will use low dose Diazepam (5mg) as required to help with anxiety and sleep, coupled with ibuprofen/advil for the headaches and joint aches.

I've also been through my AI helper which is flagging my wide GABA usage and cold turkey might actually mean my withdrawal symptoms are PAWs related rather than Soma withdrawal given how long since my last dose and what I have been taking - honestly I'm a bit skeptical because this feels just like it did when I took a break from Soma but carried on taking everything else (just milder), however I should be over the worst of Soma withdrawal already given dosage and frequency.

1 other interesting thing, I went through my nootropics stack, I've already stopped taking Uridine,Choline, L-Tyrosine and ALCAR as didn't see the benefit frankly, but I'm still taking NAC and Magonlia bark so will drop them right away, and likely reduce/stop lemon balm usage as well.

I'm quite fond of blue lotus now too, so likely I'm going to take this occasionally as well as the odd bit of cannabis - shit I need a little bit of fun dammit, maybe treat myself to a bit of coke if prices and quality is right, not had any in ~50 days..

I'm also going to increase my Taurine use to twice a day.

Summary of nootropics GABA/PAWS withdrawal below

1. Omega-3 (EPA/DHA) – Safe. Anti-inflammatory, supports neuronal membrane repair. No GABA interaction. Continue.
2. Citicoline (CDP-Choline) – Caution. Increases acetylcholine and dopamine. Can exacerbate anxiety, agitation, and insomnia in withdrawal-sensitive individuals. Reduce to 250mg/day or skip until stable.
3. Uridine (UMP) – Caution. Modulates dopamine D2 receptors and sleep architecture. May worsen dream intensity or morning anxiety. Not dangerous but monitor.
4. Lion’s Mane – Safe. BDNF support, no direct GABA interaction. May help neurogenesis during recovery. Keep it.
5. Magnesium Glycinate – Safe. Essential for GABA withdrawal—glycine component is a mild inhibitory co-agonist. Use 200–400mg at night.
6. NAC (N-Acetylcysteine) – Remove immediately. NAC modulates glutamate, and during GABA withdrawal your glutamate/GABA balance is already fragile. NAC can trigger derealization, anxiety spikes, and even panic attacks in some. Wait until 2–3 weeks post-withdrawal.
7. ALCAR (Acetyl-L-Carnitine) – Caution. Increases mitochondrial energy but also acetylcholine. Same caution as citicoline—may ramp up anxiety. Low dose (500mg morning only) if you keep it.
8. L-Tyrosine – Caution. Dopamine precursor. During withdrawal, excess dopamine can worsen restlessness, irritability, and insomnia. Use only on days you don’t take diazepam, and at 500mg max.
9. Creatine Monohydrate – Safe. No CNS interaction. Good for muscle recovery, joint support. Keep 3–5g daily.
10. Zinc Picolinate – Safe. Supports GABA synthesis via glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD). Actually beneficial. 15–30mg/day with food.
11. L-Theanine – Safe. Increases alpha waves, reduces anxiety without GABA agonism. Excellent for diazepam days or off days. 200–400mg.
12. Thiamine (B1) – Safe. Essential for neuronal metabolism. High-dose (100–300mg) can be helpful for alcohol history. Keep.
13. Taurine – Safe. As discussed, calcium channel modulation, muscle relaxation. Good for joint aches. 500mg–1g twice daily.
14. Magnolia bark – Caution. Avoid it during acute withdrawal. Honokiol/magnolol can positively modulate GABA-A receptors. That's directly relevant to someone withdrawing from benzodiazepines/other GABAergic drugs, and interaction/sedation effects are not well characterized in humans.
15. Lemon balm - Caution. Probably lower risk than the above, but not something I'd use to treat withdrawal, it has demonstrated effects on GABA-related pathways and can have calming/sedating effects. Human evidence is mostly for anxiety/stress rather than withdrawal.
16. Chamomile - Safe. Probably the least concerning of the four in ordinary tea amounts, but still not a withdrawal treatment
17. Valerian - Safe. Ordinary insomnia/anxiety, potentially reasonable, although evidence is mixed, mild symptoms during recovery/PAWS, possibly useful for sleep, but evidence is limited

Conflicts & Synergies:

• NAC + withdrawal = risk. Drop it.
• Citicoline + ALCAR + Tyrosine = excessive cholinergic/dopaminergic load. Remove at least two, or reduce doses by half.
• L-Theanine + Magnesium + Taurine = excellent synergistic stack for anxiety and aches.
• Zinc + Thiamine + Creatine = no issues.
• Diazepam interaction: With your sporadic 5mg PRN, the only concern is the NAC (remove) and the stimulatory stack (citicoline/ALCAR/tyrosine) which could blunt the calming effect of diazepam. Space stimulants 6+ hours away from your benzo dose.

 

[RUC4]

@placebonaut .. , he rickrolled us. that clears up the “drug sourcing tips” link—no sourcing violation there

 

[placebonaut]

@placebonaut .. , he rickrolled us. that clears up the “drug sourcing tips” link—no sourcing violation there

shh don't tell anyone you'll spoil my fun