Misc Pregabalin for GBL withdrawal

[juninho999]

I have been a 24/7 user/addict of gbl for over 4 years now

I have recently managed to stop for 5 days by using pregabalin and baclofen

Currently I am using 150mg pregab plus 30 mg baclofen 3 times a day

However during the first few days I literally through down loads of pregab (worsts was 825 mg in one day)

I haven't suffered any withdrawal from the g thanks to the meds no doubt

If I miss my pregab dose I get horrible depression but no other signs of withdrawal

I am now concerned about becoming addicted to lyrica/pregab as I've read a few horror stories about that, don't
want to be jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire so to speak.

One negative I have noticed is that I'm constantly falling asleep, is this the pregab ?

Hope someone replies as g addiction seems to be rarer and rarer these days and I feel like I'm on my own here.

Sadly I wonder if I'll ever be the same happy person I was before I discovered g

 

[The Hypnotist]

I fall asleep sometimes on pregabalin, especially when a dose high. Another option is that even if you managed to avoid proper withdrawal you might be experiencing a slight one, and that is making you tired.

If you really want to avoid trading one addiction for another I would recommend starting cutting on dosage. Every 2 weeks cut a quarter of what you are taking. 450 to 300 to 225 to 150 to 75 and quit. It is an idea, you should see how you feel when tapering. That would be around 2 or 3 months, that's what my psychiatrist recommend.
I would personally cut it faster as I find weak withdrawals easier than long tapering, having impulsive issues and poor self-control.

Also, note that some people don't suffer withdrawal at all from pregabalin and others get bad ones. I have seen reports of the withdrawal not being really physically hard but like a kind of bad depression.

 

[Jabberwocky]

If you use the pregabalin and baclofen long enough you'll become dependent, but using them for a week or two to manage acute withdrawal won't cause you significant problems.

Baclofen can be a very strong medication. I'd suspect your feeling tired is due to taking 90mg of baclofen, which I imagine synergies with the pregabalin. Perhaps try lowering your dose to 70mg or 80mg per day.

Since you're on day five you should be over the really dangerous part of G withdrawal. This would be a great time to slowly start reducing these medications. Hypnotist suggests a very effective way to lower your pregabalin dosage. Although it might seem like it takes a long time, this approach to tapering is highly effective if you work to stick with it. Especially when used to cement foundations of healthy habits.

It can be tricky reducing two medications like this at once. You can either reduce them slowly together, both at the same time, or you can focus on one at a time. In your situation you really could do either approach, although the latter approach will require more time (though this can be a good thing, because it gives you time to focus on cultivating a healthy lifestyle while continuing to have the support of one of these meds).

Other than meds, is there anything else you are thinking of doing regarding dealing with the whole G use and its consequences? I'm not necessarily thinking formal treatment or anything (if you want that, great, but it's the kind of thing that is best left up for you to decide for yourself). Rather I'm more thinking about stuff you might have geared towards your passions IRL, whether hobbies or something more formal. This would be stuff you find meaningful or particularly identify with for whatever reason. Do you have any communities you are involved with IRL?

What do you feel like would enhance your life and help you feel less depressed? Like a new job, your education, taking more vacations, spending more time doing X activity, etc. What kind of stuff would a happier, more fulfilled and contented you would be doing? What would that kind of life look like for you, do you imagine?

 

[ziggo]

Using Phenibut and then weening down the dose of phenibut is a lot easier to use for stopping GHB addiction. Since it lasts longer than those two. Although I've never used those two I have been addicted to GHB before.

 

[juninho999]

Sadly i used to have many hobbies, I play sax in a band for one, but yhe saddest thing is wheh I stop the g I just feel so depressed like I have no motivation, feel like Ive frazzled my gaba receptors which is sad cos I was always so naturaly happy before I discovered that chemical

 

[The Hypnotist]

You will be alright. It is kind of difficult to believe someone went into a 4 years addiction being naturally happy. Surely addiction made things worst. As toothpastedog has pointed out try to focus in those hobbies long lost or new ones or something productive.

To go from a bad place to a good place you have to pass through a worse place, which is where you are now.

 

[juninho999]

thankyou all for your replys it's nice to know that people care

Hypnotist I know it's difficult to believe but I was always naturally happy before i discovered g, I just loved the effect so much and thought i could handle any drug 'boy was i wrong'
This is one of the reasons I have such self loathing as other people have pre-existing anxiety issues, but I did it to myself, that's something I find so hard to live with.

The trouble is after reading up on the net about lyrica withdrawals I'm terrified of developing a dependence to that now, I have immediately cut my dose down and the dreaded g urges have come back, Today I have been dosing small amounts of g again 0.3ml every 3 or 4 hours just to stave off horrible depression. After reading about lyrica withdrawals they seem worse than g or at least more prolonged

I have also noticed that there are widely varying quality of g, I know this because a few months ago I ordered some g of a normally reliable supplier and it had a horrible effect even at doses as low as 1ml, like brain damage in a jar, I then ordered from another company and whilst this was much better even low doses made me incredibly sleepy, this was before I attempted to stop with the meds.

My main worry is that throwing all these other meds into the mix I might be making things worse

The longest I ever quit g was for 3 months, that was a couple of years ago but i just felt depressed everyday, as soon as I relapsed and returned to good quality g I felt happy again

I so want to go back to the person I once was, but despite trawling the net i'm yet to find a single case where someone with my abuse level has fully recovered but read many stories of years
of depression, 'is this what I have to look forward to'

i've lost so much to this drug including a 20 year relationship and my work is suffering badly

I'm sorry to sound so down, but I've kept this all to myself for years and guess I just need someone to give me some hope

 

[keeping]

^ that is exactly why i've never tried G - i know i'd fall in love with it so hard.
it sounds like the perfect drug for me, tailor made. and that's why i can't ever have it.

 

[The Hypnotist]

juninho999, anything else that dosing again GBL should be preferable. So putting the possibility of a bad pregabalin withdrawal as an excuse to go back to GBL, well, not sounding convincing. I already explain to you how to avoid the worst of a withdrawal, and yes, you are going to go through some bad days, there is no path completely free of suffering. Going on with GBL is not going to be an exception.

If you are so scared of pregabalin, just try to get a benzodiacepine instead. I would prefer to confront a pregabalin withdrawal than a benzo one myself. But anything will be ok just to get through the worst of the GBL withdrawal. If you don't want any of those you'll have to go cold-turkey. I am no expert on GBL withdrawal and don't know the risks of that but I suppose it is doable.

Maybe you just need to wait a bit to find some strenght. I know how hard it can be sometimes. I as well know sometimes it gets easier. Try not to fustigate yourself for past decisions and focus in the present ones.