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  • Trip Reports Moderator: Cheshire_Kat

Phenibut - 10 Years Experience - A Comprehensive Long-Term Synopsis and Usage Guide

This was an awesome post! On the overdosing part of post, I don't experience any of that personally. For me, after around 3 grams, the effects pretty much remain the same (I've gone up to almost 5 grams). Interesting how subjective the effects of phenibut are.
 
Thanks for this very thorough write-up!

Lately I've been on a kick for experimenting with mild, functional psychoactives that I can use for work, socializing, and general enhancement of happy busy-bee buzzing. ;) Phenibut sounds like it could perfectly fit the bill -- I have ordered some, and am really looking forward to trying it, especially since I thoroughly enjoyed the other GABAergic drugs I've tried.
 
Have you ever tried any gabapentinoids? Those would include gabapentin and pregabalin, I think baclofen also. They're quite different from other GABA drugs, in my experience. I like them better, but they work in a different, kind of more subtle way. I hope you enjoy. :)
 
Anybody have any idea on the withdrawal symptoms facing me after ~7 days of consecutive use at about 2 grams a day? I know, not smart but I have no impulse control with GABA-ergic drugs, I'm gonna go cold-turkey, can't believe I've been this stupid. Also would Gabapentin help at all? It's already turned on me, causing me to want to redose halfway through the day and feeling terrible after the redose. Kudos to you Xorkoth for your self control, I've had a xanax addiction before and this was just too good.
 
Xorkoth said:
Have you ever tried any gabapentinoids? Those would include gabapentin and pregabalin, I think baclofen also. They're quite different from other GABA drugs, in my experience. I like them better, but they work in a different, kind of more subtle way. I hope you enjoy. :)
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Yes, I loved pregabalin. Far from being a simple CNS depressant, it had enough complexity to stray into the territory of dissociative, or empathogen. I've always been partial to chemicals that have a bit of a swirly side.
 
^ I find phenibut to be a lot like pregabalin, except not as intense. It feels less like a drug, more natural. But the same sort of state.

Anybody have any idea on the withdrawal symptoms facing me after ~7 days of consecutive use at about 2 grams a day? I know, not smart but I have no impulse control with GABA-ergic drugs, I'm gonna go cold-turkey, can't believe I've been this stupid. Also would Gabapentin help at all? It's already turned on me, causing me to want to redose halfway through the day and feeling terrible after the redose. Kudos to you Xorkoth for your self control, I've had a xanax addiction before and this was just too good.
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Was it just 7 days, and no habit before then? If so, and you react to it like me, you'll probably be fine, I used to take it for more than a week in a row when withdrawing from opiates, seems like, for me anyway, this takes a good bit of time to develop physical tolerance.
 
Thanks for the answer Xorkoth, and yep no habit before then. It's been a good 24 hours or so and still nothing, i was just scared, read so many horror stories of "I used Phenibut for only 2 days in a row and STILL had w/d symptoms!"
 
Yeah some people seem to respond to it like that. A guy I know hates it because he says he gets incredibly severe withdrawals from it really quickly. For me the withdrawals only have ever consisted of anxiety and they take a while to form.
 
Well went back to it, but sticking to dosing till about 1 or 2 in the afternoon. The "afterglow" seems to last that long into the next day, and there is no need to redose when taken that late in the day.
 
Being originally from Russia Ive taken it prescribed in the past - the quality of Russian or Latvian made pills felt better than the generic powder you buy online although I was younger and less drug spoiled back then too! ;)
Russia has always had LOTS of GABAergic drugs and huge problems with their abuse (alcohol, butyrates, various prescribed meds), so I suppose Phenibut was developed mostly to help with such addictions.

Phenibut metabolizes almost entirely by liver and leaving the body through kidneys, and I'd say a word of caution to those with liver/kidneys problems, especially when mixing it with alcohol. I have been infected with hepatitis A and B through tap water when was a little kid and nowadays I feel compounds that are taxing to liver. Phenibut feels less taxing than alcohol but only if I dont go over a gram.

I take it occasionally, 2-3 times a week, sometimes less. Goes very well with psychedelics in a lower dosages, like 300-600mg, goes extremely well with dopaminergic stims, Ive tried it with amphetamine sulphate, modafinil, methiopropamine, 3-FPM with up to a gram of Phenibut resulting in a very euphoric synergy and a greater stimulation.
Stacks very well with most nootropics and herbal extracts I've tried, in particular Noopept (even though first high dosages of Noopept may feel euphoric I recommend it to be daily 20-30mg and cycled weekly or monthly), Phenylpiracetam, Agmatine, N-Acetyl L-carnitine (NAC), Kava, Valerian root and Ashwagandha extracts, Kratom, 5-HTP and L-Theanine (don't recommend going over 200mg of L-Theanine - causes muscle tightness for me) and it is good in combination with Picamilon (50-100mg) imo, yeilding better energy and focus. Goes as an enhancer to alcoholic drinks and opioid drugs - even 500-600mg on top of couple of beers or your typical oxycodone/hydrocodone dose would be quite noticeable, especially with low GABA receptors tolerance. Also increases stoning effects of cannabis, especially strong in about 2-3 hours after taking Phenibut.
About 300mg was a nice smoothing addition to Amanita Muscaria mushrooms as well, knowing that muscimol (main psychoactive component) acts through GABA receptors but I'd be careful with increasing Phenibut dosage with this mushroom - really hard to measure the right dosage by taking caps or even the tea, so better stay safe!

My girlfriend who is very much drawn to GABAergic drugs told me that after awhile of taking Phenibut, it causes some violent and/or weird dreams, but I haven't been taking so much of it to notice it.

All in all, I always keep stock of at least a pound of Phenibut (I encapsulate it using a capsule machine in caps of 500 and 300mg for further easier usage) for myself and those around me in need of it! Thanks for the great thread! :)
 
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Honestly had zero withdrawal symptoms after about a month of daily use at about 2 grams a day. At least no symptoms during a 4 day break, at which point I dosed again. Haven't gone back to using it daily though.
 
I never really enjoyed this stuff all that much. Mostly it just made me feel somewhat groggy and off feeling.

Recently I tried dosing higher in order to see what everyone was talking about. I tried about 1.6 grams (i posted about it a ways up in this thread). I did enjoy it but not really enough where I desired to use again.

I have been tapering from long term high dosage Tianeptine. My doses are getting low so I feel constantly on the edge of opiate withdrawal most of the day. Sleeping is difficult.

I tried taking 750mg of phenibut yesterday and again today. I didn't get high but I noticed I am much more comfortable despite tapering Tianeptine. I'm not achey, depressed, anxious etc. I slept much better.

I think I am in trouble. Im gonna have to try really hard not to trade one addiction for another.
 
You should just not do it every day, but every other day or less often. Then you get some days of relief, but you don't develop a physical addiction to phenibut. You're not experiencing full-blown withdrawals right, just discomfort, slight withdrawals?
 
Yea only slight withdrawals as I'm doing a long drawn out taper and am finally getting down to really low doses.

I realise I shouldnt use everyday but I also realise I'm an addict... Hopefully I can resist but the relief I felt yesterday and today was really nice... Atleast I am able to recognize it as a problem before it becomes one. Now it's just a matter of making sure it doesn't become (another) one.
 
Yep, that's the key. IMO, phenibut is a lot easier to control than opiates (I was an opiate addict for 10 years). Phenibut is much less compulsive, I think partly due to the length of time it takes to come on, and partly because it's more of a background effects type of drug. However, it is really easy to want to do daily because it is so nice. My advice is to make a schedule and stick to it, just don't let yourself veer from the schedule. In my experience, every other day is manageable, you can have some slight rebound anxiety for a couple of days if you stop that pattern after you've been doing it for a while but it's absolutely nothing even remotely close to opiate withdrawals.
 
Enjoyed reading this thread. Got 50 grams or so but didnt have effects to excite me enough to buy more. I was probably taking too much. Ill have to revisit it perhaps.

On the subject, neurontin is a great relaxant,enhances opiates, or ease the body when in opiate wd.
 
morninggloryseed said:
Enjoyed reading this thread. Got 50 grams or so but didnt have effects to excite me enough to buy more. I was probably taking too much. Ill have to revisit it perhaps.

On the subject, neurontin is a great relaxant,enhances opiates, or ease the body when in opiate wd.
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If you don't mind me asking, how much were you taking? I ask since you say you were probably taking too much. Usually people complain of feeling sick or dizzy when they dose past a certain amount.
 
Agree 100% ^^^ I do feel one must have some self control if planning on using phenibut. Because it builds tolerance (I mean most substances do - especially ones that mess with GABAb or GABAa) I personally haven't experienced withdrawal on phenibut. When I take it, it's usually for motivation to get things done - since it gives me energy. The crazy things it seems like it last 24 hours or more. For example if I take about 1.5–2 grams on a Monday at 11am. I get tons done at my house, for work - I'm like super productive. Yet I can take a Xanax before bed and the Xanax knocks me out. But I wake up in the morning with the same motivation. But it's start wearing off about noonish. But I am still pretty productive. By Tuesday evening my body has slight pains especially in my legs, probably due to all the moving i did the prior day. Then by Wednesday morning I feel fine again. I usually only try to take phenibut when I need that extra push to get me going. Especially this time of year when it's colder.

Gabapentin doesn't really do much for me.
 
Yeah phenibut lasts a good 24 hours I'd say, though the peak is around hours 6 to 12 for me. I get the leg pains only when I take a bit too much. I can hit this perfect point where I get the full euphoria and no leg pains, but sometimes that dose doesn't quite fully get me there so I usually go for a bit over and then I tend to get very slight leg pains in the later part of the effects. If I take solidly too much the leg pains are pretty intense and there is no euphoria, just fatigue and a strange listless feeling. The difference between slightly too much (where the effects are still great) and "solidly" too much can be as little as 250mg, 500mg can make a big difference. Which is why I recommend the slow working up of dose to find your optimal dose that I describe in my report.

I've been taking it quite a bit recently due to lots of social stuff for Christmas and recovery from variou stimulants (due to some situations around Christmas). Gotta taper it down a bit. It takes a while to produce withdrawal but it certainly can. I'm at the stage now where for a couple of days, if I don't take it, I feel pretty flat and low, and nervous socially. Not a big deal but also not where I want to be. I've been doing 2 days in a row and one day off, or every other day, kinda alternating, for a couple weeks. Took it today since I didn't yesterday, and might tomorrow because I am going to meet a bunch of my girlfriend's childhood family friends and stuff and I don't want to feel antisocial. And I'd really like to on NYE but I'm going to spend that with my friends and 3 days in a row is just a bad idea when I'm already skirting the edge, so I'm not going to. Gonna see how I feel tomorrow, I maybe I just won't take it, might be fine since I skipped a day yesterday.

Overall it's a pretty forgiving drug but it's easy to slip into a bit too frequent use, since the effects are so positive, helpful and benign. Also pretty easy to get back out though, compared to many other things.
 
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