# Phenibut and SSRI



## barry1685 (May 25, 2011)

Can Phenibut and an SSRI cause Serotonin syndrome?


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## swim (Apr 4, 2011)

Never. It's safe to take them together.


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## barry1685 (May 25, 2011)

swim said:


> Never. It's safe to take them together.


Thanks swim, is there any drug interactions with it that I should worry about?


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## broflovski (Feb 1, 2011)

I take phenibut from time to time along with my regular fluoxetine - no problem. Phenibut is slightly dopaminergic, but doesn't affect serotonin.


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## barry1685 (May 25, 2011)

broflovski said:


> I take phenibut from time to time along with my regular fluoxetine - no problem. Phenibut is slightly dopaminergic, but doesn't affect serotonin.


Thanks broflovski! Do you know anything that is like Phenibut that can be taken on the "off-days" that is okay with use of ssri's?


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## broflovski (Feb 1, 2011)

Baclofen is very much alike phenibut. But I prefer kratom. Both are compatible with SSRIs.


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## barry1685 (May 25, 2011)

broflovski said:


> Baclofen is very much alike phenibut. But I prefer kratom. Both are compatible with SSRIs.


Oh thank you! What kind of kratom do you use? I see there are Thai and other kinds.


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## broflovski (Feb 1, 2011)

You know, kratom must be used only occasionally not to develop tolerance. I use Indo (Indonesian?) reduced leaves, that are reported to be balanced in stimulating/calming effects, while Thai is more energizing and is traditionally used for physical labor. 
I would take something like diazepam occasionally in rotation with kratom and phenibut (this one more regularly)... but I have no prescription.


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## swim (Apr 4, 2011)

barry1685 said:


> Thanks swim, is there any drug interactions with it that I should worry about?


do not take 5-htp and/or hypericum with ssri


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## ugh1979 (Aug 27, 2010)

broflovski said:


> Baclofen is very much alike phenibut. But I prefer kratom. Both are compatible with SSRIs.


I'd say Baclofen is too much like Phenibut to use on 'off days'. Baclofen is p-Cl-phenibut after all. They are both GABA-b agonists and taking them for more than a couple of days a week will lead to tolerance (more so of Phenibut) and awful withdrawn when stopped.

I've been using Baclofen as an alternative to Phenibut but strictly still only 2 days a week.


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## ugh1979 (Aug 27, 2010)

barry1685 said:


> Thanks broflovski! Do you know anything that is like Phenibut that can be taken on the "off-days" that is okay with use of ssri's?


Pregabalin is somewhat like Phenibut in effect (as it raises GABA levels) and can be taken with SSRI's. It's really just sedating meds/drugs that could have negative interactions with Pregabalin.

However, always make sure you do your research with regards to interactions with the particular SSRI you are on with anything else you decide to start taking.


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## broflovski (Feb 1, 2011)

Pregabaline is nice, but I took it only once. It shouldn't interact with SSRI pharmacologically, but kinetics interactions must be considered for all substances taken. 
Pregabaline may be addictive too.


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## swim (Apr 4, 2011)

ugh1979 said:


> Pregabalin is somewhat like Phenibut in effect (as it raises GABA levels)


I thought pregabalin was stronger than phebibut, although I once took a pill of 100mg gabapentin and felt almost nothing.


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## barry1685 (May 25, 2011)

What does kratom effect? I read that it was a psychedelia type of drug. Do you know what it chemically does?


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## ugh1979 (Aug 27, 2010)

swim said:


> I thought pregabalin was stronger than phebibut, although I once took a pill of 100mg gabapentin and felt almost nothing.


I guess it depends on what dosage you take. I take 150mg Pregabalin and feel quite nice, calm and pretty relaxed all day. It's weaker than the 2g Phenibut dose I take, but that's fine as I take Pregabalin and go to work.


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## ugh1979 (Aug 27, 2010)

broflovski said:


> Pregabaline may be addictive too.


Yeah again like Phenibut it's best kept PRN or cycled. That's pretty much the rule for most GABAergic meds/drugs.


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## RockBottomRiser (Jun 5, 2011)

Any suggestions for a starting dose on phenibut?


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## barry1685 (May 25, 2011)

RockBottomRiser said:


> Any suggestions for a starting dose on phenibut?


try 500mg first, wait 2 hrs if nothing try another 250mg. I started to notice a little bit at 750mg, now I'm up to 1G and its quite nice.


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## ugh1979 (Aug 27, 2010)

RockBottomRiser said:


> Any suggestions for a starting dose on phenibut?


Take 500mg-1g at first to see how you get on with it, and if you don't have any adverse reaction to it, then try 2g next time. 2g is the dose the most people feel Phenibuts full effects at.

I takes about 1-2hrs for any effects to become apparent in my experience, but it then lasts a very long time. 12hrs is common. Some times I'll take it at 8am in the morning and feel it strongest at 7pm that evening. Due to it's effects longevity, beware of taking more within that time frame, as it may just make you fall asleep. (It's very like GHB in that respect)

Bear in mind though that some people feel nothing, even with high doses. Or it just gives them a headache, makes them nauseous, or sleepy. It is often used as a sleep aid after all so you can take it, go to sleep, then wake up feeling great!

2g is also a sensible dose to stick to, as taking more will increase the chance of tolerance if done too often. Also don't take it for more than a couple of days in a row, as you'll risk a nasty withdrawal if you take it for too many consecutive days, and also risk Phenibut tolerance, which some people never recover from. I feel a 5 day wash out between taking it works well, and i've been taking it for a year now and it's still effective. It poops out on a lot of people, but that may well simply be down to it being used too much by them.


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## crayzyMed (Nov 2, 2006)

ugh1979 said:


> Yeah again like Phenibut it's best kept PRN or cycled. That's pretty much the rule for most GABAergic meds/drugs.


Yeah but phenibut is far worse then all the rest, with benzo's having a horrid withdrawal and GHB the hardest to get addicted too.


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## ugh1979 (Aug 27, 2010)

crayzyMed said:


> Yeah but phenibut is far worse then all the rest, with benzo's having a horrid withdrawal and GHB the hardest to get addicted too.


True.


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## barry1685 (May 25, 2011)

Is it best to take Phenibut two days consecutively or randomly?


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## ugh1979 (Aug 27, 2010)

barry1685 said:


> Is it best to take Phenibut two days consecutively or randomly?


I wouldn't say it really mattered. The point is just to keep it to say, 2 days in 7. I take it Saturday and Sunday as that's the weekend and when I do most my socialising, so it helps with my SA.


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## barry1685 (May 25, 2011)

ugh1979 said:


> I wouldn't say it really mattered. The point is just to keep it to say, 2 days in 7. I take it Saturday and Sunday as that's the weekend and when I do most my socialising, so it helps with my SA.


Gotcha. I tried 1g today and it makes me less worried when talking to people. I wouldn't say it has made me pro social on this low of a dose.


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## ugh1979 (Aug 27, 2010)

barry1685 said:


> Gotcha. I tried 1g today and it makes me less worried when talking to people. I wouldn't say it has made me pro social on this low of a dose.


Yeah 1g is on the low side. You should feel more pro-social on 2g. However, don't expect miracles. It's still a fairly subtle drug.

I often use it in conjunction with alcohol when out to further it's pro-social effect. Phenibut gives me the GABA boost that I don't get (but most other people do) from alcohol.


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## crayzyMed (Nov 2, 2006)

Phenibut was a bit too mild for me, took up to 10 gram over a day, i prefer GBL, its also mild but it really works for anhedonia and to boost my mood, altough just like phenibut lacks any anxiolytic activity in my case.


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## ugh1979 (Aug 27, 2010)

crayzyMed said:


> Phenibut was a bit too mild for me, took up to 10 gram over a day, i prefer GBL, its also mild but it really works for anhedonia and to boost my mood, altough just like phenibut lacks any anxiolytic activity in my case.


I loved GBL for a long time, and it was very very anxiolytic for me. It was perfect when just kept to a couple of ml in an evening or something, but the trouble was it was far too easy to take too much and keep taking more due to the fairly short effect duration and amazing effects. Taking too much got me in to lots of trouble with regards to how it made me behave, so I had to stop. Dunting out on it was very dangerous as well.

Phenibut is definitely no where near as good as GBL, I fully agree, but it is a good replacement in terms of how long it lasts and how much more controllable it is.


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## crayzyMed (Nov 2, 2006)

ugh1979 said:


> I loved GBL for a long time, and it was very very anxiolytic for me. It was perfect when just kept to a couple of ml in an evening or something, but the trouble was it was far too easy to take too much and keep taking more due to the fairly short effect duration and amazing effects. Taking too much got me in to lots of trouble with regards to how it made me behave, so I had to stop. Dunting out on it was very dangerous as well.
> 
> Phenibut is definitely no where near as good as GBL, I fully agree, but it is a good replacement in terms of how long it lasts and how much more controllable it is.


Taking 6 hours off a day or night does the trick with GBL, thats easy for me as i never really sleep on it lol.


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## ugh1979 (Aug 27, 2010)

crayzyMed said:


> Taking 6 hours off a day or night does the trick with GBL, thats easy for me as i never really sleep on it lol.


There's no way that would work for me.


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