MDPVagrant
Bluelighter
I must say, pregabalin (Lyrica in the US) has got to be the most useful drug of all time, at least as relates to stimulant users. Anyone who hasn't added it to their toolbox is literally missing out on a miracle drug of sorts, IMO.
Let's start with the pharmacology, which is extremely unique, to say the least. From RXList (I snipped a few sentences):
As far as the real benefit goes however, it hasn't really been documented yet AFAIK. And it's this: At least for me, pregabalin (even a low-moderate dose) will bring me down off a stimulant high within 15-20 minutes. I mean all the way to baseline, and even below if too much of the stuff is taken! It's literally like tossing water onto a fire.
This has *sort of* been documented (i.e. everyone knows it 'damps' neuronal overactivity) but I'm not sure how many people realize that it isn't damping in the normal sense of "pushing against" anxiety or overstimulation. Given the right dose, there's no overactivity there at all anymore. It's *gone*.
It's really too bad stimulant users in general don't have free/easy access to this stuff. I got some left over from a prior prescription, about 120 50-mg tabs (should last me awhile, and when I run out I'll just ask my doc if I can go back on it again
). It is so useful, it's difficult to find the right words. Say you've been rolling awhile and want to get some sleep? Take 100mg and lie down... chances are that will do the trick, and you don't have to wait for the stimulant to wear off.
The main prob with the stuff is too much of it makes a person seriously damn clumsy... I mean literally "walking straight into walls" clumsy. It's hardly ever necessary to take so much it causes much of an issue tho. The stuff is just a godsend, it's essentially nonaddictive (although I understand tolerance builds rapidly if used regularly, which we don't want to do), low on side effects, and nearly free of drug interactions. I have never found anything that works even REMOTELY as well... benzos work against the stimulation, but this stuff literally DELETES it.
Let's start with the pharmacology, which is extremely unique, to say the least. From RXList (I snipped a few sentences):
Now this is weird. It almost seems to be pharmacologically inert. This results in one of its main benefits, which is that it can be taken with most other substances without fear of drug interactions and resulting nasty side effects. You can get too much CNS depression if you mix it with lots of other downers, but hopefully nobody would want to do that anyway.Rxlist.com said:While pregabalin is a structural derivative of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), it does not bind directly to GABAA, GABAB, or benzodiazepine receptors, does not augment GABAA responses in cultured neurons, does not alter rat brain GABA concentration or have acute effects on GABA uptake or degradation.
Pregabalin does not block sodium channels, is not active at opiate receptors, and does not alter cyclooxygenase enzyme activity. It is inactive at serotonin and dopamine receptors and does not inhibit dopamine, serotonin, or noradrenaline reuptake. Pregabalin does not bind to plasma proteins.
Pregabalin undergoes negligible metabolism in humans. Following a dose of radiolabeled pregabalin, approximately 90% of the administered dose was recovered in the urine as unchanged pregabalin. The N-methylated derivative of pregabalin, the major metabolite of pregabalin found in urine, accounted for 0.9% of the dose.
As far as the real benefit goes however, it hasn't really been documented yet AFAIK. And it's this: At least for me, pregabalin (even a low-moderate dose) will bring me down off a stimulant high within 15-20 minutes. I mean all the way to baseline, and even below if too much of the stuff is taken! It's literally like tossing water onto a fire.
This has *sort of* been documented (i.e. everyone knows it 'damps' neuronal overactivity) but I'm not sure how many people realize that it isn't damping in the normal sense of "pushing against" anxiety or overstimulation. Given the right dose, there's no overactivity there at all anymore. It's *gone*.
It's really too bad stimulant users in general don't have free/easy access to this stuff. I got some left over from a prior prescription, about 120 50-mg tabs (should last me awhile, and when I run out I'll just ask my doc if I can go back on it again

The main prob with the stuff is too much of it makes a person seriously damn clumsy... I mean literally "walking straight into walls" clumsy. It's hardly ever necessary to take so much it causes much of an issue tho. The stuff is just a godsend, it's essentially nonaddictive (although I understand tolerance builds rapidly if used regularly, which we don't want to do), low on side effects, and nearly free of drug interactions. I have never found anything that works even REMOTELY as well... benzos work against the stimulation, but this stuff literally DELETES it.