I have been taking ~1g/day for the past 2 days, and it has been amazing. Much better than 500mg which didn't do much.
I was extremely at ease and positive but not benzed up like I am on 2g+. Keep in mind I am taking this with d-amp and racetams, so that may counter some of the GABA-A effects, and it is too early to tell if these effects are primarily due to GABA-A or B
I would say this is some kind of a compensatory mechanism - the body tries to compensate the excessive glutamate caused by downregulated GABA-B receptors by upregulating GABA-A and BDZ receptors. For benzodiazepines the body tries to compensate the excessive glutamate caused by downregulated GABA-A and BDZ receptors by upregulating GABA-B.
But that doesn't make as much sense in the context of changes after discontenuation of the drug. If Benzos downregulate GABA-A receptors to form tolerance, you would expect discontinuation of benzos to cause the receptors to upregulate, or at least not downregulate even more.
The wording is tricky.
From personal experience with GHB/GBL/Benzos, I'm pretty sure that phenibut primarily binds to GABA-B receptors and only high doses result in some GABA-A activity. So yes - phenibut exhibits its nootropic effects through GABA-B agonism. The thing is - GABA-B agonism causes downstream dopamine release, which can also be 'nootropical'. But long-term use of phenibut has no nootropic benefits. It works great at first, but soon downregulation happens and you need to increase the dosage to feel the same effects. Fast forward few weeks and you need massive dosages just to avoid withdrawals - downregulated GABA-B and dopamine receptors cause massive anhedonia and anxiety.
All in all, for me phenibut is still my #1 supplement. Be careful with it though - GABA-B does not forgive nor forget.
Thanks. What dosage do you use and how often?
Also, the goal would be to remain at a level where the effects aren't strongly feelable, but there, similar to stimulants after the initial semi-euphoric stage where they no longer provide the feeling that they initially did, but they retain concentration benefits. So, I will not ever be increasing dosage in pursuit of its "good" feeling effects.
The effects are the same as they were in the beginning: very subtle mind relaxation, but I found it to 'synergize' nicely with some of the racetams I were taking: aniracetam at first, and lately coluracetam.
It's difficult to describe/express the anecdotal 'nootropic' effects from it, so I'll just go with "very subtle mind relaxation". :-)
This may be the same result as I have been getting for the past few days. I would describe it as a "cool" mood. A general decrease in neuroticism, maybe,
I've read about people swallowing GRAMS of this stuff for various reasons, and that's a no-go IME; I do get the "phenibut buzz" (kinda like being drunk), but basically cognitively nonfunctional if I exceed 1.5-2 grams, so I don't do that.
Yeah, high doses help me sleep for an eternity, but that is about it. I don't understand the attachment to the phenibut "high". To me, it makes me feel dizzy and like I am in a dream-state. Over 3 grams, and I feel like I have brain damage.
I decided to take a small break and combine it with 400 mg of oxiracetam and 200 mg of caffeine before class today. I'll report back after class.
I'm interested to know results.
I took Phenibut 4-5 times in the last few weeks at doses ranging from 750mg to around 2g. The effect was great and incredibly helpful in social situations but after the last two times taking it during which I dosed around 2g each time my cognition was shot. Horrible short term memory und extremely fuzzy thinking.
I should add that I do not possess a healthy brain to begin with so this might not happen to a "normal" user.
Loved the way it made being a "people-person" easy though...
I've had good results from this dosage (1g) in the past, during my HS graduation. It doesn't make me a "people-person", but does act as a very nice social lubricant and make me be able to work in groups better, like Dreamy's experience. Less overload from being around more than one person. Also reduced inhibitions. During graduation, I wasn't specifically more social, but I didn't get the normal "holy fuck so many people moving everywhere and doing infinite things" feeling that I get at events with a lot of people, and I didn't spaz out when people talked to me, although I was still quiet and reserved. It also synergized with alcohol nicely afterwards
High doses affect my cognition in the same way as you, though. Fuzzy thinking is a good description for it.