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Physical Addiction
GHB
by Mao
Citation:   Mao. "Physical Addiction: An Experience with GHB (exp3367)". Erowid.org. Dec 25, 2001. erowid.org/exp/3367

 
DOSE:
25 g oral GHB (liquid)
BODY WEIGHT: 175 lb
I know that there are many people out there who believe that it is not possible to get physically addicted to GHB; that people are only psychologically addicted... In my personal experience this is NOT the case...

I had begun using GHB on a regular basis back in february of 1999... At first it was great, it opened me up socially, lifted my mood in a way that felt very natural, and anytime I wasn't feeling 100%, a gram and a half of G would change that... I started using it about 5-6 times a day, constantly keeping my G nearby in some Orange Juice... I soon found that it was also an excellent remedy for any insomnia I might have, and that 3.5-4 grams at night before bed would ensure a good night's rest...

After a month or so I began feeling very anxious and depressed yet I didn't even consider that the GHB which helped lift my spirits could also cause just the opposite... This effect snowballed after a while, but I was always able to keep it in check by topping even more doses of GHB... Eventually 6 months passed and I was becoming severely depressed which was accompanied by overwhelming anxiety... I had escalated my usage to about 10-15 grams of GHB during the day, plus another 10-15 grams just to put me to sleep... This number doesnt take into account weekend usage, this is what I was using to make it to school and back and just survive the day...

I eventually put two and two together and decided that I would have to stop taking GHB.. this was about nine months since I had first begun using it regularly... I had no idea what I was in for by deciding to quit, put I couldnt take it any longer... I was learning what the term rock-bottom really meant... The GHB was no longer having any good effects but kept me at a constantly moderately depressed state.... I stopped taking the GHB cold turkey... I poured the gallons I had down the drain and took it from there...

The withdrawal first manifested itself in the form of overwhelming anxiety and depression(nothing too new at this point) which kept me locked in my room for about a week except for eating and using the bathroom, and the occasional exam which I couldnt miss... I couldnt think clearly and forming a full sentence was damn near impossible, not that it really mattered in that state... next came bouts of nausea accompanied by a malaise similar to the flu... On top of everything else I then started getting tremors and reallyy bad shakes... Since I had no nightcap I remained wide awake for 3 solid days... I felt like I was going insane literally, I was hearing voices at night and at that point was wishing that I was dead...

Fortunately, after about 3 days I managed to sleep for about 2 hours which increased by half an hour or so every subsequent night... After about 7-10 days I was able to start going to class again as the tremors and shakes had subsided to a manageable level and I was pretty much able to think clearly again... The depression, which i never had at any point in my life up until the GHB would come in terrible waves for the next 3 months until I started taking paxil which has helped dramatically... 7 months later I am still taking paxil and my life feels pretty much normal again, although I still have very bad insomnia, something which I never had to any real degree up until the GHB....

I have written this to warn anybody who doesnt believe there are any negative side-effects to habitual GHB use... The symptoms were very intense and very real, nothing I had any control over... I don't hate GHB, and I still think that for other people recreational use on a periodic basis is fine... Some of this may seem dramatized or sensational, but I am not exaggerating any of this. The symptoms I have described are very real and nothing other than my own experiences...

Exp Year: 1999ExpID: 3367
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Dec 25, 2001Views: 22,996
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GHB (25) : Alone (16), Post Trip Problems (8), Depression (15), Addiction & Habituation (10), Health Problems (27), Retrospective / Summary (11)

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