How I'm beating my mephedrone addiction

[Raymonde]

PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM NOT MEDICALLY TRAINED, I HAVE ONLY A CURSORY UNDERSTANDING OF BIOSCIENCE AND NOTHING IN THIS POST SHOULD BE TAKEN AS ADVICE. IF YOU DECIDE TO TRY ANYTHING I MENTION, DO AS MUCH RESEARCH AS POSSIBLE AND MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND. REMEMBER, I'M JUST SOME BLOKE ON THE INTERNET AND I COULD BE TALKING UTTER BOLLOCKS.

ANY REFERENCE TO "MEPH", "MCAT" OR "MEPHEDRONE" REFERS SOLELY TO 4-METHYLMETHCATHINONE (4-MMC)

So, the background. I've been doing mephedrone for six months or so regularly, getting to the point where I was taking a gram a day or more if it was party time. Whenever I tried to stop, I would get full-body palpitations, paranoia, anxiety, anger, exhaustion, and whenever I've tried to ride it out I've not previously got past four days.

However, it's now a week since I took mephedrone, and I have no withdrawal symptoms. There are several factors involved in this, the non-chemical ones of note are getting a much better job, getting out of dodgy activities with dodgier people and getting a proper sleep/wake routine (largely due to change of job).

I was lucky enough to be given some gabapentin by a friend. Having looked up this drug extensively enough to satisfy myself it wouldn't do me serious harm, and spotting that it's used in treatment for methamphetamine, benzodiapepine, opiate, alcohol and specifically cocaine addiction, I decided it was worth a go. Whilst I'm aware that chemically coke and meph are completely unrelated, in terms of effects and addiction profile they're effectively identical.

This gambit has paid off very well indeed. A 300mg gabapentin capsule killed the meph withdrawal effects for six hours or more, and taking another one when they started to come back knocked them right on the head again.

Today I have had one gabapentin capsule (around midday, it's now 7pm), and not only did I manage the first part of the day in my new job completely admirably, I feel no need to take gaba or meph whatsoever.

It's worth pointing out that gabapentin can be addictive in itself, and the effects are likened by some sources to benzo or heroin withdrawal, and you really, really don't want to risk any of them. Luckily this substance does not act like a replacement for meph - I don't need to take it very often (I suspect tomorrow I may stop taking it entirely), and it doesn't have any meph-like effects.

I am fascinated by gabapentin, it really sounds like a wonder drug of enormous potential and for me at least has offered an easy get-out from what felt like an inescapable downward spiral.

Just to reinterate though, I now have a job with a future and sensible hours and pay, and I no longer regularly get into situations where people could pull knives or guns on me, so my overall stress and paranoia levels will naturally have gone down.

 

[Pomplemous]

Do you know , forme, I dont believe in taking drugs to combat drugs, - your body nver really heals then - but I was using alot before my supply ended and from there - yes I took easil;y 10 days of misery - emotional misery - but it went away evntually and you dont take drugs and expect to get away scott free - you accept your punishment, head down, get on with it and get through it.

unless it was a really bad addiction - i never really got that far, but we did have a kilo and it was gone pretty quick. ha. those were the days

the supply's shite now so not worth the bother,

 

[Raymonde]

Gabapentin is not really a drug, it's synthesised GABA which is not metabolised and is treated by the body as the real thing.

Based on what I've read and what I've experienced on it, I'll give you my mental picture of how it works, which will include metaphors and that which help me picture it, but which is fundamentally correct.

GABA is a fundamental part of the human nervous system, it's like the big daddy of neurotransmitters and helps regulate all manner of responses. There's no argument that after stimulant abuse your entire body feels damaged and weakened, and it's not a big leap to conclude that the nervous system will also have taken some flak, as well as the various bits of the brain that produce and recognise GABA.

Gabapentin feels like you've just dropped a special turbocharger computer program into your nervous system. The gabapentin repairs the nerves and associated receptors, transmitters and so on. It then boosts the signals back to the brain to tell it what needs fixing and where. This seems to happen extraordinarily fast.

It's like the synthetic GABA (presumably just like actual GABA) accesses a blueprint that gives all the values for normal baseline, and reverts everything very quickly indeed.

I appreciate that the above doesn't sound very scientific, but I learn visually so that was the picture I created based on the information I have read. Feel free to research it yourself.



As for the comedown from meph, I did it almost every day for six months, and whenever I stopped I was too emotional to function properly, the palpitations were distracting, disturbing and weakening and I simply didn't see where I would find the time to ride it out without being required to have responsibility for anything important (e.g. job). The longest I lasted was four days, and the symptoms gave no indication of wanting to fuck off any time soon.

You say ten days of misery, I've read of other people lasting eleven or so and not being able to bear it any more.

Anybody who would rather go through that than take a handful of harmless pills over a week is more than welcome to.

I was in a downward spiral that I was scared I'd never come back up from. I had a shit call centre job that paid terribly, so I got into a three-way cycle that seemed it'd be impossible to leave. Taking meph made the job fun and easy, to afford meph I needed to sell a bit, a little extra money also meant just about able to survive. I'm very lucky to have got out of it, the market is getting very violent. I was hearing tales of guns being pulled, robberies at meetings, all sorts of unpleasant shit. Personally there have been three times there's been violence towards me with varyingly bad outcomes.

It's become the closest thing Britain has to the US crack/methamphetamine epidemics and that is a scary thought.

Last cheeky point of pedantry. Why would you tell somebody who evidently had regular access to good quality product that the supply's shite?

 

[Pomplemous]

I would say to them - good luck to ya mate, - at least i had the reason to stop that the supply was shite and if you dont have that reason, then you'll have to find yourself another reason.

As well as I would say, you lucky bastage. wish i was there - it's a cheeky little numbe isnt it? grabs you as soon as you start it.

 

[Memeito]

Huh? You can get withdrawals from using mephedrone? Never heard of this one before...

 

[supermarket]

Mephedrone is really getting way more attention where I live now, and hardly ANYONE , IF anyone is aware of the physical and emotional abuse it can take on your body.

I have a friend that is extremely addicted, and has put everything aside , except for this drug which he has put on a pedestal.

Keep in mind he had a methamphetamine addiction before this. I'm not blaming either drugs - I dont do that, blame inanimate objects - I dont even like the word blame - but I worry.

Guys, even though we already know this, all of us, lets just remind ourselves of this - make it a mantra if we have to - The body is a temple, we are not invisible, and none of us, no matter how smart we pretend to be, know the extent of damage we can do to our bodies via ANY medium, but in this instance, RCs, specifically mephedrone.

 

[bighooter]

do you think mephedrone is more powerful than meth amphetamine then?

I was addicted to mephedrone for approx 6 months aswell and I have never felt the same since, my head honestly feels like it has been shredded like lettuce and cabbage.

I believe mephedrone has gave me olneys lesions but I might just be a hypochondriac, ive never done meth (im from the uk) but I can imagine mephedrone is more neuro toxic.

 

[Legerity]

Good job man! Make sure to give yourself credit where it is due, you managed a change your life situation around and get out of your daily habit whether or not any other drug helped you along the way. Was still your own choice to put the meph down

 

[Smyth]

Well done on finding gabapentin. It's one of those drugs that looks fascinating although ive never tried it.

Mephedrone has got to be one of the most hyped up drugs ive seen in the media as of the last 12 months. Given that the stuff was sold legally, im guessing that millions of dosage units must have been distributed for this drug.

I can understand mephedrone in the context of some party kids wanting to take the drug to go out clubbing. However, in the context of somebody having to take the drug several times a day (you state that at the height of your addiction you were consuming upwards of 1g daily), it would make sense just to stick to the corresponding drug lacking the beta-keto group.

I mean is the high better? It's certainly shorter lived. What exactly is the motivation for wanting there to be a beta-keto group?

 

[ColtDan]

ive had a mild meph problem before, got into a habit of doing decent pre-ban 500mg/1g every weekend ontop of alot of booze, i did this for years. if i didnt do meph ontop of booze i would crave it like a drunk person craves a cigeratte. after awhile the side effects started... bad heart palps, anxiety, depression, severe come downs, lack of motivation, purple fingers, numb hands and feet, and paranoia. i couldnt work out if i was actually paranoid or thinking the truth. it fucked my judgment. these effects would last into the middle of the next week, then id start to feel normal again and be like "ah fuckit, the weekend is here, time to party"

when i was on it the effects were so euphoric and chatty, never felt so good in my life. MDMA has never made me feel that good. it was a godlike high. pretty much all the meph now is shit. giving myself a big break after getting brain zaps from a meph and mdma binge

 

[Vader]

I believe mephedrone has gave me olneys lesions but I might just be a hypochondriac, ive never done meth (im from the uk) but I can imagine mephedrone is more neuro toxic.

Olney's lesions have never been observed in humans, and have only been cause in animals by NMDA antagonists (dissociatives like ketamine). Mephedrone is surely neurotoxic, but I will eat my hat of you have Olney's lesions.

What exactly is the motivation for wanting there to be a beta-keto group?

It meant that it wasn't illegal anywhere in the world.

it would make sense just to stick to the corresponding drug lacking the beta-keto group.

You can't buy a,4,N-trimethylphenethylamine over the internet (or anywhere else for that matter).

 

[Lady Codone]

Glad you found something that helps, OP. As long as you don't get hooked on the gabapentin and avoid meph relapse I'd call it a success.

@memeito: The withdrawals are truly horrible, and that's coming from someone who uses only a gram or two per week. The fatigue is mind-numbing; you eat everything in sight, cry at the drop of a hat, soak your clothes in cold sweat and feel cranky as all hell. I'd venture to say it crosses over into physical withdrawals, which is pretty uncharacteristic for a stimulant. For me, the cold sweats, nightmares and exhaustion rival those of opiate withdrawal.

 

[sexygirl0760]

i hope this goes to the right place. mephedrone addictions?

i am trying to beat my own mephedrone addiction. it is horrible!!! i read that someone is using gabentin to treat their addiction and its working! so i called my dr to get some i used to be on it for depression, so it shouldnt be a problem. hey, its worth a try!! my story is a long one so i wont get into details, but i am a very heavy meph user. my friend just got out of icu at the hospital because of overdose from it. she used so much it burnt out her vocal chords and now she talks with one of those microphone things you hold by your throat to talk. know what i mean? its real sad. the drs also said she will never be able to live alone again. what a shame. i want to be a sucess story, not a statistic. if anyone else has any ideas of how to battle this addiction, please let me know.

 

[TheGlimmaMan]

What exactly is this shit you guys are coming off of? it sounds like ur coming off a 5 year bender of crack, heroin and xtc, with the good old DT's from benzos and booze all rolled into one. Was the rush really that good to endure this? Ive honestly never seen so many people in despair over one thing like this

 

[theartofwar]

^ Mephedrone is one of my favorite drugs but one that needs to be used very sparingly , even a night binge leaves me feeling like i've been hitting a crack pipe for a year - I personally thnk only mdma is better in terms of the drug that it is , i didn't find addictive but certainly kicks your ass after you use it.

 

[Raymonde]

As an update, the gabapentin got me off the meph entirely within about two weeks. I then didn't take it at all for about three months. I now take meph about once a week, but this is completely manageable and overall my general drug use has gone down, certainly the negative effects on my life have. I'll always be a wreckhead, it's just managing it well enough that the rest of life works smoothly enough.