DOSE: T+ 0:00	600 mg	oral	Smarts - Phenibut	(capsule)
T+ 0:20	200 mg	oral	Smarts - Phenibut	(capsule)
T+ 8:30		oral	Alcohol
T+ 8:30	2 oz	oral	Alcohol - Hard
T+ 9:00	1 shot	oral	Alcohol - Hard
T+ 0:00		smoked	Tobacco - Cigarettes
T+ 11:00	repeated	oral	Alcohol
T+ 13:00		smoked	Sceletium tortuosum
T+ 13:30		smoked	Cannabis

BODY WEIGHT:

230 lb

Firstly, some background: I have extensive experience with most many psychoactive substances including cannabis, MDMA, mushrooms, LSD, cocaine, opiates, kratom, DXM, peyote, amphetamines and benzodiazepines. Secondly, I have an alcohol dependance. While I probably wouldn't be considered a hardcore alcoholic (about 8 drinks a night during the week, often more on weekends), years of slow build up have left my brain highly attuned and adapted to alcohol. Cutting back even as little as one drink for a couple of nights in a row will leave me with noticeable withdrawal effects.

This is where phenibut comes in; I discovered it searching for something milder than benzos that could help with withdrawal symptoms, and perhaps help facilitate a taper at some point. However, from my initial experience, I would not suggest it for this purpose. It does however, seem to have some potential as a recreational mood enhancer.

My bottle of ninety 200mg capsules of phenibut arrived the day before. I had drank a little more (about 2 drinks) than my usual amount the night before, so felt a mild hangover on the day in question.

T+ 0:00 - Knowing I would be drinking that evening, and given the long lasting nature of phenibut, I immediately take 600mg of phenibut on an empty stomach upon waking.

T+ 0:20 – I take one more 200mg capsule at this point, having initially decided to take 800mg total (then having changed my mind back and forth).

T+ 0:30 – Now I definitely start to feel something, sort of a very vague non-specific feeling of something affecting my brain.

T+ 0:40 – A mild-moderate wave of anxiety washes over me, not unlike I might feel coming up on something like MDMA (when not on alcohol). I get a few more of these over the next 20 minutes or so.

T+ 1:20 – Now I'm feeling generally stimulated, perhaps akin to something like a very low does of cocaine; music sounds a little better and I get the urge to groove to it. This seems to come in waves, alternated with some mild anxiety (it should be noted that I almost always use alcohol in combination with most recreational substances; using almost any stimulating substance sober would almost certainly give me some anxiety).

T+ 2:15 – The effect now seems to have leveled off a bit but I still feel stimulated and a little restless. At this point I decide to go on a walk. The lethargy from the mild hangover seems to be completely gone; I really feel like walking (faster and longer than I might otherwise).

T+ 2:45 – I'm now down on the boardwalk by the ocean looking out at the ocean and city, and everything looks a little brighter and a little different, like one might expect on a low does of LSD/mushrooms (or perhaps MDMA). However, I'm still feeling a bit of edginess; social anxiety seems to be heightened slightly (which is interestingly contrary to most reports I've read about this drug).

T+ 3:15 – Even though the effect isn't very different I perhaps start to feel a slight bit more relaxation at this point. I sit on a bench for about 10 minutes just enjoying staring at the clouds, not akin to mushrooms (but without the visuals).

T+ 4:00 – Going into a store, social anxiety seems again a little higher than normal. However, lethargy and irritability are still being held nicely at bay.

T+ 5:30 – I have now returned home. Having something to eat, I notice that my appetite is slightly suppressed; I have no problem eating the food, but enjoy it less than I normally would.

T+ 6:30 – While relaxing and watching some TV I feel a little restless. I also don't feel like taking a nap, which I normally would at this point.

T+ 8:30 – I have now gotten ready to go out for the evening. The phenibut effect still feels roughly the same, with perhaps a slight bit more of a “drugy” feeling (perhaps a very mild headache as well). Being cautious of mixing it with alcohol, I slowly drink one drink over the course of 20 minutes, which doesn't feel much different than normal (ie not much effect). After this point I take a 2oz shot of whiskey before heading out.

T+ 9:00 – I seem to be feeling the alcohol slightly more than normal, but it's hard to say if this is more the excitement of going out/meeting friends etc. Having to wait around outside for a table to open for about half an hour I notice I feel less of a need for a drink, however I take a small shot from my mini-flask anyways.

T+ 11:00 – Throughout the evening I drink a little less than I normally would and feel quite good. The urge to always want another drink right away is lessened a bit. I'm still feeling a slight stimulation as well; everything seems to have a bit of a glow, and I experience less irritability than I otherwise might. The urge to smoke a cigarette (which I only do occasionally, while drinking) seems lessened as well, but smoking feels even nicer than usual.

T+ 13:00 – At home now, I take a couple puffs of sceletium, with effects being about as normal.

T+ 13:30 – I inhale a couple hits of cannibis, with effects also feeling about normal. This helps bring appetite back to a normal level and I have a small meal.

T+ 15:00 – At this point I go to bed. There was no real waning in phenibut's effect throughout the night. I slept very well, a bit better than normal. I did feel moderately hungover the next day but nothing more than I normally would from the amount of alcohol consumed.

All in all, for me phenibut provided a nice mild stimulating buzz that went exceedingly well with alcohol (*it should be noted that I have a high tolerance to alcohol, so I'd recommend non-regular drinkers to be much more cautious when mixing the two). However, for me it had almost no anxiolytic effects, the opposite if anything. I would be interested to try it at a higher dose to see if the sedating effects become more apparent, but still I doubt it would work well as an alcohol withdrawal aid for me due to the co-stimulating effects (especially during onset).

As my experience was somewhat different to what is commonly reported, it is possible that what I received wasn't phenibut but something else. However, the far more likely explanation is that years of alcohol use have dulled my brain to GABA-ergic drugs, rendering the sedating effects less noticeable and thereby also making the stimulating effects more apparent.

Exp Year: 2016	ExpID: 108012
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 33
Published: Mar 31, 2018	Views: 12,391
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Smarts - Phenibut (379), Alcohol (61) : Combinations (3), Addiction & Habituation (10), First Times (2), Various (28)