How To Avoid the Side Effects of Phenibut Withdrawal
Sounds simple enough, right?
Not quite.
Taking phenibut on a totally empty stomach (unless before bed) or with alcohol are the number 2 and 3 causes of phenibut hangover, after overdosing.
Here are a few simple tips for avoiding a painful next-day phenibut hangover.
1.Take Less Phenibut!
Many users report that Phenibut’s effects can be fully achieved at dosages as little as 200 mg (in men weighing 200lbs — roughly 5% of the recommended dose!).
Doses between 200 and 500 milligrams moderately inhibit anxiety and will help you open up around others in social situations. Talking and interacting with people becomes easier and more enjoyable.
2. Do Not Combine Phenibut With Certain Drugs
Always be aware of potential drug interactions when taking substances of any kind, especially when the drug’s effects aren’t well documented. In many cases, additional drugs will decrease the threshold phenibut dose and potentiate random, unwanted side effects of the drug.
| Nootropics | Price | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha Brain | $$$$ | 4.5 / 5 |
| Phenibut | $$$ | 4 / 5 |
| Vinpocetine | $$$$ | 4 / 5 |
| Pramiracetam | $$ | 4 / 5 |
| Piracetam | $$$ | 4 / 5 |
Phenibut can amplify any of the following drugs
Phenibut amplifies some of the effects of anesthetics:
- ethers
- chloral hydrate
- barbiturates
- diazepam
- alcohol
- morphine
What’s more, it interacts with related drugs, such as opiates and GHB.
Members of the Strength.com community unanimously report that taking phenibut with mild or heavy opiates leads to significantly enhanced enhanced effects.
Avoid these combinations
In contrast, taking phenibut with some stimulants like amphetamines and caffeine will often blunt the anxiolytic effect (in the short term), leaving users agitated and anxious later on: a lose-lose scenario.
Such interactions can lead to panic attacks and exacerbate the painful phenibut withdrawal. Phenylethylamine (PEA) and many of its derivatives are potent stimulants and should also be avoided.
Many reports indicate that phenibut reacts negatively with epilepsy medications. If a patient is diagnosed with any type of chronic illness or if s/he is taking any kind of special medication, then s/he should not take phenibut whatsoever.
If drug combinations are not your concern, turn to a simple trick for warding off the hangover…
3. Take Phenibut With Food And Ample Liquids
Consume phenibut with a large meal, or mix the powder in water or juice to stave off hangover symptoms.
During your kick it is important to eat right, stay hydrated and really take care of your body. Don’t be afraid to pamper yourself!
4. Take a few days off between doses…
You might have heard that replacing the standard breakfast-lunch-dinner combination with five small meals at shorter time intervals is an effective way to lose weight.
While the research on this dieting technique is inconclusive, it’s an effective way to mitigate phenibut’s undesirable morning-after side effects.
Higher does (1 – 1.5 grams) tend to be more sedating, especially when taken all at once. In my experience spreading a 1.5 gram dose out over a few hours can lead to the most positive effects especially in terms of social interaction and anxiety reduction.
Avoid doses larger than 3 grams (again, especially if taken all at once) because they can cause a hangover of sorts the next day. These dosages are from user experiences only and many people respond differently, so keep that in mind when planning your dosing regiment.
5. Use Other Beta-Blockers to Taper Phenibut Withdrawal
A slow but effective taper should be done in order to successfully come down phenibut, both in the short- and long-term; however, this can be hard to do for some people, especially if they’re doing it on their own.
Luckily there are other beta-blocker options like these, which can make the withdrawal symptoms much less severe.
First and foremost is a drug called baclofen, which can be taken until phenibut’s withdrawal period has passed. This is a successful method favored by many individuals who take phenibut to reduce social anxiety.
Baclofen is often prescribed to people to help them recover from GHB withdrawals. Ask your doctor about using Baclofen as a short-term replacement to help you get over phenibut withdrawal (only long enough so that you don’t develop an addiction to the baclofen!).
If you’re not comfortable discussing phenibut use with your doctor, then consider telling him or her the white lie that you need help getting off of GHB and that you would like to use baclofen to do so (rather than mentioning phenibut and possibly not even getting prescribed any baclofen).
Baclofen acts in a similar manner to phenibut in that it occupies the same receptor (GABA), which is why it works so well at relieving phenibut’s withdrawals.
The risk of developing an addiction to baclofen is nearly high as the potential for addiction to phenibut, suggesting a similar affinity for the GABA receptor.
6. Use Other Anxiolytics to Taper Phenibut Withdrawal
One in particular, Kava, is very effective at mitigating the phenibut hangover. Kava is a safe, non-addictive, anxiolytic herb that can be used at any time during your phenibut withdrawals.
Kava will most certainly not completely eliminate the withdrawal and will not work nearly as well as the medications listed above, but it can at least help to take the edge off and can even be used when/if tapering off of the Phenibut to make things easier.
Kava is commercially available in many forms; “Kava Paste” and “Instant Flavored Kava Root Powder” are simple to consume and mask the bitter taste of raw Kava Kava root powder.
7. Avoid Alcohol At All Costs!
You may also want to avoid drinking alcohol during this phase, for the following reasons:
First of all, a hangover from alcohol is only going to make you feel a lot worse.
On that note: avoid any substances that may give you a hangover or leave you with significantly worse after-effects during your kick.
Secondly, alcohol lowers your inhibitions. Because of this you may find yourself not caring about your kick or your sobriety anymore (especially with the more you drink), and without a second thought you could easily relapse on Phenibut while you are drunk which will only prolong your phenibut withdrawal in the end, make things worse and ruin all of your hard work.
Lastly, alcohol occupies the same receptor as phenibut (GABA B), and drinking alcohol prolongs the next-day phenibut withdrawal and hangover and ultimately, drags out the process.
[catlist excludeposts=this template="div" conditional_title_tag="h6" conditional_title="More on Phenibut" id="41" tags="using"] [catlist excludeposts=this template="div" conditional_title_tag="h6" conditional_title="Where to buy" id="41" tags="buying"] [catlist excludeposts=this template="div" conditional_title_tag="h6" conditional_title="Phenibut vs other products" tags="phenibut-vs"]