Phenibut/pregabalin

[pharmacybandit]

I can't seem to find exactly what I'm looking for in the other threads, but I apologize if I've missed it. I use lyrica 3-4x week for slight elevation of mood and motivation. I do not desire to use it in high doses to get "messed up" or feel out of it in any way. I strictly use it as a life tool right now. I have abused it in the past but that is not my goal right now. I use doses typically 300-500mg and that seems to give me just the right "edge" to have a more productive day. I am considering trying Phenibut on my off days but am concerned for cross tolerance. Does anyone have any experience with this? I have read many threads and know the danger of tolerance and addiction, but not sure how this correlates with lyrica. I intend to use low doses as I'm not looking to get high, just have a sense of well being. To complicate things, I'm dealing with some post partum anxiety that is being treated with Lexapro 10mg daily. I've only been on it a couple of weeks so I'm not able to see if it's helping or not, but the goal is to not be on it for long. My gp and I are hoping once my milk completely dries up (I'm no longer nursing) and my hormones regulate that I won't need it but for the time being, I have 4 month old twins and need to have energy and motivation to keep up with them. Any input? Thanks guys!!

 

[Stuart303]

I use gabapentin in a similar way, not to get high but to help me function a bit better and it gives me a good mood uplift. I have used Phenibut in the past but for some reason it gives me pains in my legs if I take any more than a gram. I wouldn't advise taking either of these drugs every day as there is probably a cross tolerance as they are very similar drugs. Phenibut also can give you the runs if you take too much. I found that although it does have some good effects it feels a wee bit 'dirty' if you know what I mean. Cheap n nasty. It's also very addictive so be careful with it.

 

[Solipsis]

300-500 mg is a high dose if you don't take it for seizures.

Not sure if you always took that much but there may already be quite some tolerance involved. Phenibut is also a calcium channel blocker so yes cross-tolerance should be considered probable.
The reason why you take either of them doesn't chance anything about what the withdrawals are like.

I've taken lyrica prescribed for ASD related anxiety (well a cramping of my ability to 'shift gears') for nearly 2 years in the past (I went up to about 225 mg daily - maybe sometimes 300 max) and then tapered and quit which was my own wish. I tapered more slowly than some docs might tell their patient to but still got pretty terrible effects - mostly serious depression with some anxiety. After a break I recently got on lyrica again as it helps me a great deal and the withdrawals are not as long and hard to manage at home as with benzos so I should survive and take that as part of the bargain.

Weird thing is during withdrawals I didn't feel like I wanted to use Lyrica (the opposite, I was interested in quitting) and the bad feelings didn't seem as clearly connected to a withdrawal syndrome - felt more coincidental although it cleared up relatively quickly not that long after. Quickly enough to say it was definitely the withdrawals in retrospect. Also, I never felt acute withdrawals coming on when just skipping one or more days.. so that doesn't necessarily mean you're in the clear.

Taking more, more often or adding phenibut on off-days may just get you deeper into some form of dependency.

I too find phenibut less clean in some weird way. It doesn't sound like a solution to me to fill up your days with the two. Keep your off days.

 

[pharmacybandit]

300mg is my prescribed dose, except I take it st once instead of TID. I definitely have some
Tolerance issue, even when I go months without taking it (like when I was pregnant and a few months before that as well) when I restart, I have to start around the 300mg mark to even get any pain relief. I also have some lasting opiod tolerance- I hadn't done opiates in many years and when I had surgery, it took a lot more than it should have to achieve any relief at all.

Thanks for everyone's replies, much appreciated. I will not be taking something everyday- I've decided to use Phenibut to replace some of my pregabalin days and with that, I hope to reduce dependency and tolerance to it. I think it's the best course of action for me at this point.

 

[Spideronthewall]

I wouldnt say 300-500mg is a high dose. I am prescribed 300mg daily for anxiety but end up taking 400-500mg a day and I have no ill effects, I get scripted weekly and only have 2 days a week without. point is, with a tolerance there are little to no side effects from that dosage range.

 

[Keif' Richards]

Hey PharmacyBandit, I thought I might comment on your thread, as I have a fair bit of experience with the Gabapentinoids, a class of drugs which includes Gabapentin (Neurontin), Pregabalin (Lyrica) and Phenibut among other experimental/not in use examples. These 3 drugs are remarkably similar in their effects. Their is a pretty clear distinction in potency, in my opinion between these. Gabapentin and Pregabalin for instance are almost interchangeable. I have a hard time discerning between the two at equipotent dosages.

Phenibut on the other hand, I've found to be significantly weaker. After experiencing Pregabalin and Gabapentin and having regualr access to the two, Phenibut never worked for me. It's just not strong enough, no matter how much I take the effect isn't equivalent to the aforementioned drugs.

Just for your own reference ~500mg would not be considered a low dose of Pregabalin. The maximum daily dosage is only slightly higher at 600mg in multiple dosages. No judgment here, I just want you to be aware. As you've mentioned, tolerance is a major issue and the higher the dosage, the more quickly tolerance will set in for you. I've found that the absolute most that you can use Pregabalin or Gabapentin in this manner is 3 times per week, but more like 2. Using at a higher rate will reduce the effectiveness of the medication.

If you read some of my threads, you'll see that I've taken dozens of grams of Gabapentin at a time in an attempt to manage my withdrawal, as my tolerance to them was so damn high. It can go through the roof and being that these drugs have a pretty solid safety profile, there's not much stopping you.

Too long, didn't read? Well, Phenibut is very cross-tolerant with the other Gabapentinoids. They can be substituted for one another and after taking Gabapentin and Lyrica on a regualr basis, you might not even be able to feel Phenibut. You'd do better to spend the time reducing your tolerance to the other drugs. I've been around the block with these drugs and you simply must allow tolerance breaks, otherwise they become useless. I'm talking about higher-dose usage here.

 

[pharmacybandit]

Thanks Keif Richards-- that's what I was looking for!