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Social phobia/anxiety and drugs/meds [long]

bouncer

Bluelighter
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Oct 8, 2003
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504
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Europe
I dont know if this is the right forum but I thought it would be better to put it here than in BD or OD. I suffer from rather "powerful" social phobia. Ok so i've been fighting with social phobia for over 5 years with little luck. Here is my story: I've tried various medications,ADs,supplements and of course drugs. Here is the list of things Ive tried:

- SSRIs were a joke. Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil - only fucking side effects.

- Most people are helped in social phobia wiht Klonopin - I don't, it doesn't work at all. I've used up to 8mg/day to test if it could work.

-> Xanax - effective but tolerance went WAY UP VERY FAST. I've used it for 2 months - at first 1mg was enough, at the end of the 2nd month I needed 3mg and it didn't even work as good as 1mg at the beginning!

- other benzos - Valium, Medazepam, Bromazepam - practically no effect on social anxiety/phobia. (Do you think Rohypnol would be effective?)

->> Amisulpride (Solian) - 50mg/day . Worked great for 2 months, then pooped out. I've tried using it for another few months on/pff but it never worked again.

- Sulpiride 50-200mg- no effect

- Depakote - no effect

- Zyprexa up to 20 mg - no effect. gained fucking 10 kgs of fat.

- St.John's Wort - no effect

-Reboxetine 8 mg - no effect

- Coffee - makes me pro-social for over up to an hour and then makes me extremely socially anxious.

- Pramipexole (Mirapex) - 1.5mg/day . Made me more confident, anti-depressed but didn't remove social phobia (maybe a little) plus it wasn't pro-social at all.

Ok here is the treatment which worked THE BEST for me (unfortunately I had to stop it because my GHB/Xyrem source has dried up :(

->>> Adderall + GHB - this was not only the best treatment for social phobia but it also made me SO PRO-SOCIAL as I have never been before in my life (even MDMA or alcohol doesn't work as good as this combo). I literally could walk to every girl and make small-talks and inteliggent conversations, which normally is impossible for me because of the anxiety. And dont think that i consider social anxiety as a problem with hanging out with girls - it is much much more complicated: fear of public speaking, fear of one-on-one conversation (even though Im not anxious when 3 ppl are involved), every thing I say I consider being, how to put it..hmm.. NOT RIGHT. tHIS combo totally removed all those symptoms. I wish GHB was more available, as it is wonderful anti-anxiety treatment (plus other benefits); too bad it was labeled 'date-rape drug' and scheduled.

Since GHB has not been available, I've been looking for some other treatment.

Lyrica (pregabalin) is not yet available in my country, but I dont think I could afford it - 600mg is effective in social phobia which probably will cost $100000. Lower doses are placebo and dont work (at least 150mg).

Nardil,Parnate - both are not available in my country, because they are irreversible MAOis - but there is possibility of importing those drugs. So here is my question - how much Parnate does one need in order to achieve social anxiety relief ? Importing Nardil is way too expensive (at least at 75-90mg dose). Oh so I've heard (read).

Moclobemide - what do you think of this reversible MAOi ?

Concerta (Ritalin XR) - is it as pro-social as amphetamines? There is no adderall in my country unfortunately and the illegal usage and "hard-to-dose thing" are 2 biggies.

What else can I try?? Dopamine agonists like Requip, Pronoran, Permax etc? Are dopamine agonists helpful in social phobia?

Tianeptine (Coaxil) 12.5mg/3x day - no effect

L-Theanine - no effect

Kava-Kava - I've used even very high doses (something up to 1g kavalactones - not kavakava)- no effect at all, even no anti-anxiety

Selegiline 5mg - no effect or even worsening of SP

Wellbutrin - didnt try but I've heard it increases anxiety


MST Continus 100mg, Heroin, Codeine - too drowsy to say that it could be helpful. I need something pro-social.

->>> Tramadol - works at 400mg-600mg, but loses its effects - I can use it every 3-4 days :/. But its WONDERFUL treatment, not like morphine,codeine,heroin - Tramadol is actually VERY pro-social and anti-anxiety. Works for over 6-8 hours. Too bad I cant use it every day but oh well :)

And last but not least - ALCOHOL. Apart from amphetamine/G , another tremendous thing, although toxic. I use it very often in social situations, but also pray that G will come back soon :]
2 beers make me relaxed,talkative,pro-social,anti-anxiety. More (up to 5 beers or actually I prefer vodka) and I am extremely pro-social.
I don't think i need to write more about alcohol social effects, everyone knows how it works ;)

MDMA - I won't comment it because everyone knows it is social lubricant like alcohol or G. And DEFINITELY not something being used long term/daily ;)

Question popped into my mind: how effective are barbiturates in social anxiety? Or 5-HTP, Enada NADH, Ativan, Topamax, Luvox, Modafinil ?


As a final note I need to mention that I've been drinking to control my social phobia, since no other available treatment comes close to relieving my symptoms unfortunately (since GHB is nowhere near) ;(( That's why Im looking for some medicine to help me out with my condition and so I could stop poisoning my body with alcohol.


Ok I'm done rambling ;) Thanks in advance to anyone who can give advice, recommendation or has similar problem and tried various substances and they worked.
 
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tramadol works wonderfully for my social anxiety as well

i only use 150mg for it. your doses seem to be dangerous because of seizures. i don't use it daily though--every couple weeks. it's nice when i do use, but tolerance would be a problem and it's not very available
 
Actually whenever I use Tramadol I take some Klonopin to avoid potential seizures. Plus I've read that doses up to 700 mg are RATHER safe somewhere. Or maybe Im wrong :) Oh well, Id rather take that chance and take high dose and have relief once in a while.
 
Regular Intensive Cardiovascular exercise of at least 30 mins duration, 4X/week, pure diet with supplements where neccessary, counselling/therapy, yoga, nature treks.
This will sort you out.
 
Oceanboy said:
Regular Intensive Cardiovascular exercise of at least 30 mins duration, 4X/week, pure diet with supplements where neccessary, counselling/therapy, yoga, nature treks.
This will sort you out.

First of all I've tried the "natural" approach long time ago with NO SUCCESS.
Second of all, from what you just wrote (no offence) you have absolutely no idea what social phobia is. Your advice was like saying someone with major depression "get a grip","don't sleep in bed all day and start doing something productive". It just doesn't work.
 
/\ Good reply. Some people just don't get it what real depression or phobia is.

Maybe you want to try the herb Sceletium tortuosum: http://www.sceletium.com/

The main alkaloid of it is mesembrine. A derivative of it, mesembrane, would probably be the perfect drug for you (and for me and many others), but it can only be made synthetically, and the synthesis is rather difficult. Sceletium might have some of its beneficial effect, but I haven't tried it.
 

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What about phenibut? Since you like the pro-social and anxiolytic aspects of GHB, this might be up your street. It's legal, and relatively cheap.

I have no personal experience, but many people have reported an anti-anxiety and increased sociability effect. Just dont expect the same euphoric high of GHB.
 
Phenibut is a big dissapointment. Don't waste your money on it. I've taken doses ranging from 0,5g - 2 g with no effect. Took close to 3g once and only had bad side effects (dizziness, confusion) but no anxiety relief at all. Tolerance (that is, if it does work for you) also develops pretty quick.
 
BilZ0r said:
Baclofen? If GHB worked so well... I'd avoid the MAOIs

Baclofen? Besides being GABA-B agonist just like GHB, it has NONE of G properties, at least those positive ones. Why would you recommend it?
 
Because it shares most of GHBs actions, pharmacologically. It's used to treat anxiety... so you've tried it allready?
 
Parnate

I also have tried numerous treatments for social anxiety and while xanax/clonazapam worked the tolerance builds way too quickly. Parnate in the 40-60mg dose is the only thing I have found that works long term but you have to be careful not so much with the diet which is easy to follow but with your other drug consumption.
 
I don't want to hijack this thread in any way, but I was about to post something like this myself until I found this post.

I too have social anxiety. Though that's less of an issue for then being purely unmotivated and depressed. I constantly pop mood elevators. I take 3-4 no-doz a day just to feel sane. If I need to do chores or somthing I can't bring myself to do it unless I have 3-4 drinks on an empty stomach. Then its like I'm a new person. I don't even want the social benefits so much as I just want to be a decent normal person. And the only way I seem to be able to function is when I'm at least slightly buzzed on something. I took Amphetamine in the form of Adderall for about 1/2 of a year without a script. I've popped Vicodin, and the list goes on. But the point is I've had the same experiences with very little working that wasn't a hard drug.

I have not been on an SSRI before and am thinking about trying one, I go to see my doctor tomorrow so if anyone could give me some advice on what to ask about and/or what drugs work best that would be great. Again, its mainly my motivation and mood that need a bit of elevation rather then my socialbility.

Thanks for listening.

Oh also why I'm trying to get on an SSRI is because I'm going to college in about 4 months and I don't want college to be a waste for me. If left to my own devices I don't go anywhere, do anything, or see anybody and I'd like this to change.
 
I also have a bit of so-called "social phobia." However, I usually find that my predominant social impediment is depression--a depressive episode amplifies my despondent, nihilistic and caustic personality traits to "intolerable" levels. Insofar as I have been told, when I am depressed, I act as an emotional damper, squelching the excitement of all in sight, such that I am simply not a fun person to be around.

Antidepressants have helped a bit, most notably bupropion, which I take at the maximum recommended dose (450mg). For quite a long time, I had taken methylphenidate for ADD, but it often made me moody and fatigued. I recently switched to (d)-amphetamine SR and the difference was night and day. I am much more pleasant to be around when on dexamphetamine, hence, I suffer much less "social anxiety," as being in a group seems less of a chore and more something to enjoy. Thus, if I were you, I would at least try a psychostimulant (I bet methylphenidate XR (Concerta) is much more pleasant than IR, as it wouldn't have the 'peaks and valleys' of TID dosing) or an "atypical" psychostimulant like modafinil or bupropion.
 
Just know that the pleasent postive effects you feel from amphetamine will be know where to be found very soon. I loved d-amphetamine when I was taking it but tolerance builds and then you're left with only the side-effects. Amphetamines are just not a drug that should be taken everyday.
 
MDMA, opiates, amphetamines

Tramadol is an obvious choice because it combines properties from all three of the above group of compounds.
 
One other drug not listed is Picamilon, also known as N-nicotinoyl-GABA (if you google: N-nicotenoyl-GABA you'll see 2 of the 3 sites are typos of mine! haha)

Phenibut is uniquely valuable because its pro-social, but those who are seeking to "feel something" from it are only going to get nauseous by taking way more than needed. 600mg is definitely enough to trigger socialization. Note: it will NOT get you high, period.

I also recommend trying taking a B-100 vitamin suppliment each day, high doses of B vitamins can reduce phobias. MDMA is a uniquely valuable tool against phobia as it facilitates "exposure therapy", which is the most successful cure for most phobias other than social phobia. The idea behind exposure therapy is to feed the patient an agent which prevents the fear associated with the phobia, then introducing them to the situation they fear (for example xanax for a patient afraid of flying). I can definately say that MDMA took a part in overcoming my own social phobia, nearly 5 years ago now.
 
who mE? said:
Phenibut is uniquely valuable because its pro-social, but those who are seeking to "feel something" from it are only going to get nauseous by taking way more than needed. 600mg is definitely enough to trigger socialization. Note: it will NOT get you high, period.

I've ingested 500mg for the first time I took it and I did not notice any effects. So it doesn't work for everybody.
 
BilZ0r said:
Because it shares most of GHBs actions, pharmacologically. It's used to treat anxiety... so you've tried it allready?

Nope. Actually I havent tried it, just heard about. Is it very difficult to acquire?
 
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