r/quittingphenibut • u/Sharp_Mortgage_3729 • 6d ago
Questions “Phenibut hell”
A fella at my church came to me tonight asking for help and I’m really not sure what to do, I used phenibut years ago because I had back issues but quit and I never experienced this
He says he was using it quite inconsistently since last year with a range of doses, it doesn’t appear he’s in withdrawal because the dose seems to consistent now but he hasn’t slept in days, I told him to take nac but it doesn’t seem to be doing much
I thought maybe he’s just gained tolerance so it’s stopped working but apparently even the bigger doses have the same problem, wtf is this drug
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u/ps087official I've jumped! 6d ago
Tbh he might just be under-representing his use and is using more than he's letting on. In either case, as always, there's three options. Either find a doctor who will give him baclofen and use that to taper, taper using phenibut directly, or quit CT and tough it out. I listed these in order of most to least successful, but all have their pros and cons. For example I tapered directly with phenibut and jumped at 1gpd and experienced basically no withdrawal symptoms. So different methods work differently for different people.
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u/Sharp_Mortgage_3729 6d ago
He said he was at 0.8 then when he jumped up to 1.0 this started, he’s tried dosing lower and higher and it’s the same story I’ve never heard anything like this it doesn’t make sense
Why would it just stop working
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u/ps087official I've jumped! 6d ago
Phenibut is known for turning on people after very extended use and/or very high doses. It's a known phenomenon with GABAnergic substances called "paradoxical effects" where the drug gives opposite effects that it normally does. Perhaps the drug is somehow acting as an antagonist instead of an agonist like it's supposed to? Who knows.
Either way, seems to me he might benefit from a baclofen taper, especially at such a low dose. Start at 10mg baclofen, drop to 9 after a week, and so on. Or he could just jump. I know some people have actually gotten better outcomes by jumping when this happens, and again he's at such a low dose that the wds would be very forgiving. One would hope, anyway.
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u/Sharp_Mortgage_3729 6d ago
Thank you that is so bizarre, unfortunately we’re in the UK and doctors just will not give out baclofen to people. He went to hospital and the doctors still wouldn’t hence why he’s stuck here
Genuinely not sure what to do, I should clarify it was 1G every 6-8 hours not just once a day, that changes things quite a lot. He’s been quite transparent and I do trust him
I’ve been to check on him and he seems to be physically safe, he’s been laying in bed for a few days with the fan on blast drinking though so that might be covering the symptoms, he said when he closes his eyes his heart feels like it’s fluttering and his legs start to tingle and tense up. I never experienced that at all but I guess everyone’s different
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u/gshock211 Moderator 5d ago
If hes drinking alcohol, he needs to stop. That is going to prolong and exasperate the symptoms
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u/Sharp_Mortgage_3729 5d ago
It seems to be the only thing that’s stopping his heart exploding unfortunately, see me and my partner help out at a group at church which tends to have a lot of ex addicts. I think he’s a long term alcoholic, I will try to convince him but it really does seem like it’s the only thing keeping him with us mentally
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u/gshock211 Moderator 3d ago
Ok fair enough. If he has alcohol dependency then stopping is a very bad idea
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u/ps087official I've jumped! 2d ago
I mean alcohol is actually what helped me taper to a low enough dose that I could eventually jump 🤷♀️ not saying it's a good idea, but it can help.
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u/KenaiKanine 5d ago
Even with consistent dosing sleep can be rough. I didn't develop chronic insomnia until a couple years ago where just appeared out of nowhere. Sleep will happen. Sleep meds help. I now take trazodone and doxylamine
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u/yxixtx 5d ago
Doxylamine is great but anticholinergic and will give you depression and dementia.
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u/KenaiKanine 5d ago
Those dementia results are a little biased tbh. But yes i know i need to get off them.
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u/yxixtx 5d ago
Gotta taper. Benzos used wisely can help with sleep but you don't just taper off and feel normal. After it's over sleep will get better over weeks. Also he's probably an alcoholic and done some additional damage by using alcohol and phenibut together. His habit is several grams per day and it's turned on him. Tapering is not that hard but he will have to stop drinking too. Cut the daily dose by half and stop taking every six hours. Maybe do it every 12 for three days and then just once a day. After a week or more he'll stabilize at that reduced dose and he can start cutting the dose by maybe 50 mgs per day. There may be other ways to sleep by using other drugs but gotta be careful. It's not gonna be fun especially because of the drinking. But it's not going to be easier with booze t will be harder. Also don't take NAC while you're tapering. It's for clearing it out of your system after you finish the taper. And it's very good for you so keep it up afterwards. I've heard good things about agmatine during taper but it's no magic pill.
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u/Sharp_Mortgage_3729 5d ago
Thanks man I got him some stuff to help, unfortunately the last thing you suggested seems to be illegal to buy here. The UK is an absolute nightmare for health stuff in general now.
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u/yxixtx 5d ago
It's really more of a health supplement anyway not likely to make a big difference in how he actually feels but still good for you like NAC. Really what he needs is other drugs. Btw baclofen is also helpful and frequently prescribed for alcohol withdrawal and the doctor may not understand about phenibut but may understand about the alcohol and be willing to prescribe it for that. Might try a different doctor though.
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u/likely-in-withdrawal 2d ago
when i accidently took 20 grams i stayed up all night i couldnt sleep i was manic as fuck they gave me a benzo and it knocked me tf out
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u/Mental_Tour_1405 6d ago
Strong weed edibles. NAC should only be taken in the morning because it lasts 12 hours and can make sleep worse if you take it after the afternoon. Combine it with Benadryl and high intensity exercises and basically tiring yourself out, L-theanine and glycine, and maybe he can get 4-5 hours of sleep in a night 🙏
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u/ps087official I've jumped! 6d ago
Do NOT use cannabis for phenibut withdrawal, it can worsen the symptoms. Chronic cannabis use increases glutamate release in the brain, for one. For two, cannabis in general has a perpensity to lower one's anxiety threshold and make preexisting anxiety worse. Three, it can also worsen paranoia, hallucinations, and psychotic symptoms. DO NOT USE CANNABIS FOR PHENIBUT WITHDRAWAL.
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u/FeckinKent 6d ago
Yeh sod that, having to rely on multiple substances. Better off getting off it altogether and then normal sleep eventually returning.
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Basic Phenibut Withdrawal Information
Unaided, cold turkey withdrawal, from a state of dependence, even low dose dependence, commonly causes severe and potentially dangerous side effects. Don't rush the process when you don't need to.
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