Gabapentinoids Bloody phenibut

[Shortec Stublue!!]

There are very conflicting research papers and anecdotal reports on half life of good old Pheni!!

We in the west tend to have it around 5-6 hours, however in a Moscow clinic paper I once had translated, said 14-15. The metabolisation also can be a head scratcher. Some site 1-2hrs onset and peaking not long after. Whereas others claim (me included) find it takes 3-4 hours onset, then peaks at 7-8.

Finally a long glowing climb down way over 24hrs. My advice would be about 72hrs for withdrawal in full flow. Hope this helps!!

 

[opiatekrzy]

I have never experienced these "horrid" and unbearable withdrawals from drugs like tramadol, gabapentin, and Lyrica that everyone is relating to, and I have been on all three of them at some point of my life and coming off then was actually pretty easy, my definition of a horrid withdrawal is coming off of 4mg of Xanax daily and 120mg methadone daily and sitting in an 80 degree room filled with other inmates, that had a horrible medical, which they provided depakote for seizures and clonidine for blood pressure when coming off of benzos or alcohol regardless of my pharmacy recordings showing my legit Xanax script and methadone, which I will understand they're opinion, opiate withdrawals are not life threatening (please whoever you are, spare me speech how they actually are)thus not a priority to treat in jail. But ridiclous how massive inmates legally prescribed benzos get thrown the depakote and clonidine cocktail. Absolute should be illegal

 

[Shortec Stublue!!]

Yes @opiatekrzy it sure is a uniquely horrendous withdrawal I feel your pain and confusion.

To have the really satisfying reasons and reports as to why, we need to know where to access Russian medical journals and anecdotal forums like this one. This has always been an issue with Soviet compounds such as this among others.

When was your last dose buddy?

 

[opiatekrzy]

Yes @opiatekrzy it sure is a uniquely horrendous withdrawal I feel your pain and confusion.

To have the really satisfying reasons and reports as to why, we need to know where to access Russian medical journals and anecdotal forums like this one. This has always been an issue with Soviet compounds such as this among others.

When was your last dose buddy?

Haha. My bad, my ADHD gets the best of me sometimes and I have a tendency to just read the last post and reply based on that with little patience or drive to read farther up posts. I am actually clean off of methadone now that you mention it. Haven't had a Xanax in atleast 3 years. Am prescribed Klonopin 3mg a day, but only really take like 2mg at bedtime, to ease off night terrors that stimulant use had caused. Tiehr then that my apologies and please proceed about Prussia.

 

[Shortec Stublue!!]

Ha ha not a problem pal. Have a quick scan about on google for what I will send to your inbox, may settle your curiosity a bit more ?

 

[Wilson Wilson]

The half-life of phenibut is a weird one indeed, I've read it's as low as a few hours, but the duration of action is absolutely 24 hours at least in my experience. And that's not even dose dependent, as long as you take enough to feel it, that's how long the stuff lasts.

As for withdrawals though, I found Lyrica much harder to withdraw from than Xanax. Lyrica was fucking nasty even with a taper. Xanax was no fun to come off either, but it was mostly rebound anxiety and mild insomnia. I had the same from Lyrica except the insomnia was so bad I could not sleep at all without benzos and also had flu-like symptoms on top, basically it felt like a combo of opiate and benzo withdrawal at once and sleeping properly was impossible for weeks. Awful shit.

 

[murx12]

The half-life of phenibut is a weird one indeed, I've read it's as low as a few hours, but the duration of action is absolutely 24 hours at least in my experience. And that's not even dose dependent, as long as you take enough to feel it, that's how long the stuff lasts.

As for withdrawals though, I found Lyrica much harder to withdraw from than Xanax. Lyrica was fucking nasty even with a taper. Xanax was no fun to come off either, but it was mostly rebound anxiety and mild insomnia. I had the same from Lyrica except the insomnia was so bad I could not sleep at all without benzos and also had flu-like symptoms on top, basically it felt like a combo of opiate and benzo withdrawal at once and sleeping properly was impossible for weeks. Awful shit.

The good thing with Xanax is that you can just switch to diazepam and then do a slow taper. there is no gabapentinoid with a long half life so thats the real problem. the weird discrepancy between half life and duration of action is caused by the fact the the pregabalin molecules bind much longer to alpha2delta receptors (about 12 hours) and the same is true for phenibut (my guess would be 24-36 hours) so in fact phenibut should in theory be better to taper down but im not sure about that one.
By the way Trimipramine can be really helpful für Gabapentinoid WDs as long as it doesnt cause RLS and there is protection against seizures. (Benzo, Carbamazepine or samething like that depending on the doese)

 

[Wilson Wilson]

The good thing with Xanax is that you can just switch to diazepam and then do a slow taper. there is no gabapentinoid with a long half life so thats the real problem. the weird discrepancy between half life and duration of action is caused by the fact the the pregabalin molecules bind much longer to alpha2delta receptors (about 12 hours) and the same is true for phenibut (my guess would be 24-36 hours) so in fact phenibut should in theory be better to taper down but im not sure about that one.
By the way Trimipramine can be really helpful für Gabapentinoid WDs as long as it doesnt cause RLS and there is protection against seizures. (Benzo, Carbamazepine or samething like that depending on the doese)

This is very true and I've thought of this. I guess one could switch to gabapentin but I doubt it'd make a huge difference since the half-life is still only 5-7 hours. And tapering with pregabalin is like doing a benzo taper with alprazolam. You are right that is a big part of the problem. If there was a proper diazepam equivalent for gabapentinoids it'd be much easier to taper.

I've seen taper plans for people who've been on pregabs long-term and they had to be put on multiple benzos, anti-seizure meds, sleeping pills, even sometimes antipsychotics. Fucking horrible!

And yet prescriptions for pregabalin continue to rise in the UK because doctors think it's somehow safer, less abusable, and less addictive than benzos. Which is completely backwards to me.

Public Health England did a review of prescriptions recently and found pregabalin scripts have increased by 661% in the past decade. Fucking madness.

Antidepressant scripts went up by 97% in the same period too. I am happy they're finally recognising that antidepressant overuse is a real problem. Withdrawals from SSRI's are on the same level as benzo withdrawals yet this often gets ignored just because you can't get high on 'em. And yeah they're not recreational but that won't stop the withdrawals when people who get scripts have to finally come off the crap.

 

[somnilicious]

@Xorkoth plus, I feel there's a pretty big difference between being told by doctors (even though I know it's not common practice) that they are willing to prescribe you benzos daily, even for years, so long as you take them as prescribed and see them monthly VS deciding you are going to just buy Phenibut and take it regularly, even after hearing about all the horror stories on this forum and others, and knowing that Phenibut is not well understood in the western world and that you won't have a clear path out if you end up dependent.

I had doctors who knew the amount of Klonopin I took daily and who I could call if I had issues but Phenibut is just another story. I like it a lot, but I have never heard of stories of hearing voices for days on end and psychotic breaks from benzos like I have from Phenibut, and I'd know where to turn if I had issues with my Klonopin.

I guess I feel like there is a "war on benzos", both on this forum and others, where everyone is told that taking benzos daily is the worse thing that can ever happen to someone, even though I have done it for years and never had WD.

I mean, I'm drunk so I might be a bit feisty, but I have had people tell me that being dependent on 1.5mgs of Klonopin daily (yes, EVEN FOR YEARS) is worse than just buying heroin off the street and taking it on your own just because benzo WD can IN THE WORST CIRCUMSTANCES lead to death, whereas opioid withdrawal doesn't.

Well, the flip side of that is that I bet anything if you did a study on how many people die from over doses of ONLY benzos per year (meaning no alcohol, no opioids, NOTHING but the benzo) vs just heroin per year (though it might have Fentanyl in it) that there will be an overwhelming amount more of overdose deaths per year from heroin.

I really don't feel that low to moderate dose benzo dependence is a horrible thing. I think it has it's dangers but that they are more subtle in nature like grogginess and irritability that builds up slowly over years which yes, I have noticed some of, which are some reasons I want to cut down.

It's to be avoided surely, but there are worse situations to be in, and from what I have read of some of the threads on this forum where people took like 10 grams of Phenibut a day for 6 months the situation was WAY WAY worse than my situation from taking 1.5mgs of Klonopin daily for 15 years.

Some of those people went through prolonged periods of psychosis and insomnia for weeks with hallucinations, whereas I've had none of that from just taking my 1.5mgs of Klonopin daily and forgetting about it.

I've used too much of many substances, but after reading certain posters threads about their nightmare experiences with phenibut it does kind of make me wonder how anyone can allow themselves to get that deep with it....aside from if they are going through really bad times which then, yes, I kind of understand how anyone could go too far in the wrong state of mind.

For me benzodiazapine wd is much worse than phenibut. Though phenibut wd has a very unique form of anxiety that is really almost more paranoia, I found it easier to control and had less bodily symptoms of over whelming anxiety.

I had a friend have a complete psychotic break during benzo withdrawal. She had been a reality TV star at one point and during withdrawal she thought she was back on set filming a movie. I literally watched her build forts out of blankets and furniture, like a 4yr old because she thought they were movie sets. She then proceeded to act out scenes for days while talking to her imaginary co-actors. One of our Darkside moderators also had a complete psychotic break that lasted for a month during benzo withdrawal. Both pheni and benzo wd are no joke. I wish you the best my friend.

 

[murx12]

This is very true and I've thought of this. I guess one could switch to gabapentin but I doubt it'd make a huge difference since the half-life is still only 5-7 hours. And tapering with pregabalin is like doing a benzo taper with alprazolam. You are right that is a big part of the problem. If there was a proper diazepam equivalent for gabapentinoids it'd be much easier to taper.

I've seen taper plans for people who've been on pregabs long-term and they had to be put on multiple benzos, anti-seizure meds, sleeping pills, even sometimes antipsychotics. Fucking horrible!

And yet prescriptions for pregabalin continue to rise in the UK because doctors think it's somehow safer, less abusable, and less addictive than benzos. Which is completely backwards to me.

Public Health England did a review of prescriptions recently and found pregabalin scripts have increased by 661% in the past decade. Fucking madness.

Antidepressant scripts went up by 97% in the same period too. I am happy they're finally recognising that antidepressant overuse is a real problem. Withdrawals from SSRI's are on the same level as benzo withdrawals yet this often gets ignored just because you can't get high on 'em. And yeah they're not recreational but that won't stop the withdrawals when people who get scripts have to finally come off the crap.

yeah that bs that pregabalin is not addictive is still in a lot of docs mind pfizer did some real work there to fill their wallet. once you get some "proven short stime study" with the results that you want docs just accept it like fucking sheep even if those studies where made in universities that are financial dependent on financial contributions from pharma companies like pfizer. the problem with pregabalin is that its gabaergic but also antiglutamergic, the gabergic WDs can be treated with diazepam but the antiglutamergic ones are much harder to treat especially because its not nonly NMDA but also AMPA receptors that are effected by pregabalin. a long acting antiglutamergic drug would bne ideal for this and thats where memantine comes to mind. problem is memantine can cause anxiety in itself so its really fucking complcited. by the way gapentines slightly longer half life is not really relevant bacause it binds to the alpa2delta receptors for a shorter duration than pregabalin, one of the arguments why pregabalin is the superior drug.

 

[murx12]

For me benzodiazapine wd is much worse than phenibut. Though phenibut wd has a very unique form of anxiety that is really almost more paranoia, I found it easier to control and had less bodily symptoms of over whelming anxiety.

I had a friend have a complete psychotic break during benzo withdrawal. She had been a reality TV star at one point and during withdrawal she thought she was back on set filming a movie. I literally watched her build forts out of blankets and furniture, like a 4yr old because she thought they were movie sets. She then proceeded to act out scenes for days while talking to her imaginary co-actors. One of our Darkside moderators also had a complete psychotic break that lasted for a month during benzo withdrawal. Both pheni and benzo wd are no joke. I wish you the best my friend.

that sounds like benzo taper made horribly wrong without any medical supervision. but generally people react very different to different drug WDs. i was even able to kill all my clonazepam withdrawals with (world class) kratom even though my doctor put me from 4mg of clonazepam to 40mg of oxazepam which is alsmost the worst way to taper someone down from benzos the first two days where the most horrible days of my life until i finally took some kratom and suddenly i felt even fucking good. he also gave me carbamazepine though. using opioids in benzo WDs is a big no no though because of decreased seizure threshold but my doc didnt seem to give a fuck.

 

[Xorkoth]

phenibut wd has a very unique form of anxiety that is really almost more paranoia, I found it easier to control and had less bodily symptoms of over whelming anxiety.

That's been my experience, too. It's not too physical, like I don't feel bad in my body, there is just this anxiety that will slam you and you'll get in a loop and have to find your way out. Some little thing will set it off. And there is a constantly underlying anxiety feeling, and sleeping is nearly impossible (but the dreams, wow, they almost make the whole thing worth it). Phenibut withdrawal is not too bad, for me anyway. It sucks but it's doable, I've cold turkeyed it a couple of times when I was dependent.

It's also good for tapering as it lasts for so god damn long, like 36 hours before you really feel withdrawals. These days I use it once a week., last weekend I used it 2 days in a row (2 big shows I played, it's the best music playing aid of all time for me), and I had a few days of light withdrawal, just because I've been dependent on it before.

Weirdly, when I use gabapentin, even once, I get worse rebound anxiety than I do from a single dose of phenibut. Sometimes if I have 2 shows in 2 or 3 days, I'll take gabapentin for one and phenibut for the other. I tend to have some down days on Monday through Wednesday, but it's mild and I find the benefit to be worth the cost.

 

[Wilson Wilson]

That's been my experience, too. It's not too physical, like I don't feel bad in my body, there is just this anxiety that will slam you and you'll get in a loop and have to find your way out. Some little thing will set it off. And there is a constantly underlying anxiety feeling

Legit this sounds exactly like how it feels to have GAD.

 

[Xorkoth]

Yeah The only times I've experienced that kind of thing was from drug withdrawal or occasionally from the acute effects of psychedelics if I'm in a bad setting or something.

 

[somnilicious]

That's been my experience, too. It's not too physical, like I don't feel bad in my body, there is just this anxiety that will slam you and you'll get in a loop and have to find your way out. Some little thing will set it off. And there is a constantly underlying anxiety feeling, and sleeping is nearly impossible (but the dreams, wow, they almost make the whole thing worth it). Phenibut withdrawal is not too bad, for me anyway. It sucks but it's doable, I've cold turkeyed it a couple of times when I was dependent.

It's also good for tapering as it lasts for so god damn long, like 36 hours before you really feel withdrawals. These days I use it once a week., last weekend I used it 2 days in a row (2 big shows I played, it's the best music playing aid of all time for me), and I had a few days of light withdrawal, just because I've been dependent on it before.

Weirdly, when I use gabapentin, even once, I get worse rebound anxiety than I do from a single dose of phenibut. Sometimes if I have 2 shows in 2 or 3 days, I'll take gabapentin for one and phenibut for the other. I tend to have some down days on Monday through Wednesday, but it's mild and I find the benefit to be worth the cost.

Have you been dependent on gabapentin before? I used phenibut and gabapentin by binging for a few days every couple of weeks for years and never suffered any withdrawal or noticed rebound anxiety but then I used Phenibut at high doses for 3 weeks straight to kick heroin and still be able to work and do what I needed to do and that was the first time I felt withdrawal but now every time I use it I get bad rebound anxiety for a few days and I can't justify the cost. I also had rebound from gabapentin this last 2 day binge.

I'm in recovery and my list of substances I allow myself to use now is very narrow. Those substances are pot(only occasional), kava and my new found love, psychedelics. I had a lot of past experience with LSD and a few shroom trips 20yrs ago but addiction to oxycontin, poppy tea, methadone, heroin and benzos consumed me for years. I started trying to get clean four yrs ago but let the world get to me Everytime and would relapse but this time it feels different. I just kicked a couple of month kratom habit at the tail end of a heroin relapse. I just know I'm done and 4 experiences with LSD and shrooms over the last year and a half have catalysed so much change.

The LSD gave me that special feeling of peace and of being connected to a higher truth that I had been missing for so long. I feel a lot more confident in myself because I realized that I no longer have to walk with fear. I'm part of the whole and all the separation and detachment that holds me back in life and drove the fear is all the walls I put up because of ego. I have put on all these fake layers because of deep insecurity but now Instead of working hard to project confidence I feel it from within. I'm free to be my authentic self. I had this same experience in 10th grade when LSD allowed me to open up and say fuck what everybody else thinks about you because life is so much bigger than the boxes we put ourselves inside of but I lost it because of my addiction.

I've spent the whole evening watching psychedelic videos on YouTube and realized how badly I want to try Ayahuasca. I forgot to mention that I recently tried DMT for the first time. I always wanted too but never got the chance. I didn't break through but I'm just extremely glad I found these tools.

I know you used ibogaine to kick kratom and I truly believe in the healing power of psyches. For therapy and spiritual growth I'm now a devotee of the occasional psychedelic experience. It's exactly what I had needed.

 

[Wilson Wilson]

Have you been dependent on gabapentin before? I used phenibut and gabapentin by binging for a few days every couple of weeks for years and never suffered any withdrawal or noticed rebound anxiety but then I used Phenibut at high doses for 3 weeks straight to kick heroin and still be able to work and do what I needed to do and that was the first time I felt withdrawal but now every time I use it I get bad rebound anxiety for a few days and I can't justify the cost. I also had rebound from gabapentin this last 2 day binge.

I'm in recovery and my list of substances I allow myself to use now is very narrow. Those substances are pot(only occasional), kava and my new found love, psychedelics. I had a lot of past experience with LSD and a few shroom trips 20yrs ago but addiction to oxycontin, poppy tea, methadone, heroin and benzos consumed me for years. I started trying to get clean four yrs ago but let the world get to me Everytime and would relapse but this time it feels different. I just kicked a couple of month kratom habit at the tail end of a heroin relapse. I just know I'm done and 4 experiences with LSD and shrooms over the last year and a half have catalysed so much change.

The LSD gave me that special feeling of peace and of being connected to a higher truth that I had been missing for so long. I feel a lot more confident in myself because I realized that I no longer have to walk with fear. I'm part of the whole and all the separation and detachment that holds me back in life and drove the fear is all the walls I put up because of ego. I have put on all these fake layers because of deep insecurity but now Instead of working hard to project confidence I feel it from within. I'm free to be my authentic self. I had this same experience in 10th grade when LSD allowed me to open up and say fuck what everybody else thinks about you because life is so much bigger than the boxes we put ourselves inside of but I lost it because of my addiction.

I've spent the whole evening watching psychedelic videos on YouTube and realized how badly I want to try Ayahuasca. I forgot to mention that I recently tried DMT for the first time. I always wanted too but never got the chance. I didn't break through but I'm just extremely glad I found these tools.

I know you used ibogaine to kick kratom and I truly believe in the healing power of psyches. For therapy and spiritual growth I'm now a devotee of the occasional psychedelic experience. It's exactly what I had needed.

I can relate a lot to what you're saying here mate.

I'm curious, why do you keep the weed to only occasionally? Does it just not agree with you if you use it too often? Personally I find weed helps fill the hole left when I kicked oxy, benzos, and other such drugs. Like those it calms me down and lifts my mood, it's just about getting the right strain and good quality. But some quality weed can remove any cravings for oxy and benzos in me and it serves the same function they do - reduce anxiety and lift my mood. Obviously not to the same degree, but enough that I'm not fiending for oxy you know?

At the moment I am on Rivotril (clonazepam) but at a therapeutic prescribed dose (my script is 2-4mg but I actually tend to use only 1-2mg) however I've stopped taking other benzos on top and I'm in the process of kicking oxy hopefully for good this time around and weed is a big help in that process.

I also find stims useful for lifting the depression that comes with opiate withdrawals. I've gone back to actually using my Dexedrine script, it's definitely good at making me happy and confident, then the weed takes the edge off for a more chill vibe like benzos and opiates do. A nice combination that is - amphetamine and weed. But of course amphetamine can be addictive in some people. Not for me thankfully, I can stop it for a week or more and not feel any withdrawal or cravings at all, but it's an individual thing. Mostly it would be psychological cravings if you got too into stims. But I have never had a problem using them within my prescribed dose. That said anyone who is an ex-addict should probably avoid stims without a script.

Finally I agree entirely with what you say about LSD and psychedelics in general. I consider tripping to be like a therapy session exactly like you said. I try to do acid at least a few times a year because it's good for me mentally to be in that space now and then, it makes me very introspective and helps me get my life plans in order. 4-AcO-DMT is lovely too, harder to control your mindset on it compared to LSD but the trips are much shorter and it's a distinct experience, I think usually more lighthearted and fun trips rather than the deeper experiences LSD gives you.

Personally my favourite psychedelic is definitely good old acid for that reason - easy to control where the trip goes and is amazing for introspection. I also don't mind a bit of MDMA now and then, but I use low doses like 100-150mg and maybe redose 50mg at a time but that's it. Most people in the UK bosh like 500mg throughout a night which imo is straight up retarded. Using it the way I do, I barely even get a comedown, or if I do it's very minor and easily covered by a bit of weed.

Anyway man best of luck staying off the H and other opiates!

 

[Xorkoth]

LSD is probably my favorite go-to as well, for the same reasons... it's very friendly and easygoing unless you take a high dose. It feels natural in the brain and body and I can socialize and do pretty much anything just fine.

Have you been dependent on gabapentin before?

No, but phenibut and gabapentin share a mechanism of action (ligand of voltage-dependent calcium channels), although phenibut is also a GABA-B agonist. I used gabapentin to help me get off of phenibut the last time I got dependent on it (I had a run with GHB that got out of control and used phenibut to get off of it).

I know you used ibogaine to kick kratom and I truly believe in the healing power of psyches. For therapy and spiritual growth I'm now a devotee of the occasional psychedelic experience. It's exactly what I had needed.

Psychedelics are the only class of drugs that I truly feel do me good and don't do me harm. I will always use them at least occasionally. They help me to keep in touch with my inner child and be honest with myself, and my early experiences (and occasionally my more recent experiences) have shaped my view of existence in a profoundly positive way.

 

[Wilson Wilson]

I'm considering doing some acid tonight after this discussion. Not done it in a while and it's a Saturday night so can spend tomorrow recovering and processing whatever amazing revelations I end up having. Going through transitions in my life right now too so perfect time for a trip. And not had one in a while either, like about a year.

Unless something big comes up I reckon I'll go ahead with it, still got some quality 100ug tabs in tinfoil hidden somewhere dark, so although I got 'em years ago they shouldn't have lost much potency.

 

[CottonAndGuns]

Greetings all just wanted to tell you where I'm up to.

I've discovered the drugs help group thing I'm in is no good for me. So this bupe thing... I've been taking the same amount for months now and there's no change going on. I keep having fortnightly meetings there are nothing new happens. After having a really bad time some weeks ago I thought to hell with all of it and have put my fate back in my own hands. I'm self-reducing my bupe dose for one. I've successfully halved my dose for weeks now, happening instantly overnight just decided this drugs group seems to be happy at taking their time with me. I've halved my gabapentin dose too.

And you know I've had no negative effects. Having poos is easier, I'm feeling more human, this is much better. I wouldn't want to cold turkey this but halving everything has shown a big improvement. I'm even thinking tomorrow I might halve it again.

Oh I should also add I bought some more phenibut capsules. Saw a sample pack going for cheap and wondered that since I hadn't taken any for months if I'd have that fucking ultra euphoric fortnight I had when I first took it. Well... no it turns out! Barely noticed a thing. Which is good because I used up the sample pack hoping for the best and, well there was a slight buzz It did make me sleep like my first phenibut usage did. And I had no withdrawals from it. I was still taking my gabapentin throughout that so maybe that nuked the high and removed the expected withdrawals? Aaaand yet I've gone days with no gabapentin with zero ill effects also.

Anyways I'm here and still ticking. I'm probably going to reduce my meds more tomorrow. Each time feels like a mini victory even though it's not providing any challenge... my bet is that jumping off from 2mg is where the difficulty lies.

[Should say actually. I've been pretty reclusive tending to just play games on my Switch around my folks house, where I'm living at the moment. I'm helping out with landscaping and DIY but notably staying in almost all the time except for my meds. I'm self employed and work from a computer so I stay home most of the time anyways but for years I've been chilling in the city with my work and play devices, plus sometimes meeting buddies after they finish work there. I stopped doing that when I went onto bupe. Last week I did as I used to and went out for the whole day. Bloody loved it. Just playing SNES games in various city parks and coffee shops, doing vague work related things on my ipad under a tree. That+med reduction made me so happy I was humming and singing along to stuff in public. Just felt incredible. It's not supposed to feel good, reduction, is it? But there we go. It's hard to do it but exercise really is good for depression, it's not just a lie]

 

[Wilson Wilson]

Greetings all just wanted to tell you where I'm up to.

I've discovered the drugs help group thing I'm in is no good for me. So this bupe thing... I've been taking the same amount for months now and there's no change going on. I keep having fortnightly meetings there are nothing new happens. After having a really bad time some weeks ago I thought to hell with all of it and have put my fate back in my own hands. I'm self-reducing my bupe dose for one. I've successfully halved my dose for weeks now, happening instantly overnight just decided this drugs group seems to be happy at taking their time with me. I've halved my gabapentin dose too.

And you know I've had no negative effects. Having poos is easier, I'm feeling more human, this is much better. I wouldn't want to cold turkey this but halving everything has shown a big improvement. I'm even thinking tomorrow I might halve it again.

Oh I should also add I bought some more phenibut capsules. Saw a sample pack going for cheap and wondered that since I hadn't taken any for months if I'd have that fucking ultra euphoric fortnight I had when I first took it. Well... no it turns out! Barely noticed a thing. Which is good because I used up the sample pack hoping for the best and, well there was a slight buzz It did make me sleep like my first phenibut usage did. And I had no withdrawals from it. I was still taking my gabapentin throughout that so maybe that nuked the high and removed the expected withdrawals? Aaaand yet I've gone days with no gabapentin with zero ill effects also.

Anyways I'm here and still ticking. I'm probably going to reduce my meds more tomorrow. Each time feels like a mini victory even though it's not providing any challenge... my bet is that jumping off from 2mg is where the difficulty lies.

[Should say actually. I've been pretty reclusive tending to just play games on my Switch around my folks house, where I'm living at the moment. I'm helping out with landscaping and DIY but notably staying in almost all the time except for my meds. I'm self employed and work from a computer so I stay home most of the time anyways but for years I've been chilling in the city with my work and play devices, plus sometimes meeting buddies after they finish work there. I stopped doing that when I went onto bupe. Last week I did as I used to and went out for the whole day. Bloody loved it. Just playing SNES games in various city parks and coffee shops, doing vague work related things on my ipad under a tree. That+med reduction made me so happy I was humming and singing along to stuff in public. Just felt incredible. It's not supposed to feel good, reduction, is it? But there we go. It's hard to do it but exercise really is good for depression, it's not just a lie]

Good on ya mate and well done for deciding on your own to taper down, especially when it comes to bupe you don't wanna be on it longer than you need to.

I will say this, at high doses tapering is often easiest. It's the last step where you stop taking the drug altogether that's the hardest, and I recommend stocking up on comfort meds like lope, kratom, and weed in advance, but you can get through it with those on hand.

Best of luck with it sounds like you got the willpower and know what you're doing.