DOSE:	600 - 2400 mg	oral	Pharms - Gabapentin
	150 - 1200 mg	oral	Pharms - Pregabalin

BODY WEIGHT:

220 lb

A Retrospective Glance of the GABA Drugs

First, some background. I’ve dabbled in a vast expanse of pharmaceuticals, ranging from stimulants, to benzos, and everything in between. I’ve found myself ingesting LSD with Tramadol and Codeine, so I can definitely lay claim to experience.

A few years ago, my father was disabled due to a spinal injury sustained on the job. He worked his way through all of the major analgesics, starting with codeine and ending with fentanyl patches. Nothing seemed to help him, so he was entirely fine with helping me out with minor aches and pains with his surplus medication. Around 2016, the DEA began seriously cracking down on opioids, which scared my father’s pain management clinic into discontinuing most prescriptions. This didn’t really affect my father, as the medications weren’t working to begin with.

After a week or two, he found another clinic that specialized in spinal injuries, and began to attend a monthly checkup, followed by a visit to a nurse practitioner for a prescription. With the opioid crisis still raging, this particular clinic began writing scripts for Gabapentin and Pregabalin for pain management. Starting with 150mgs four times daily, they worked him up to 2400mgs daily via 800mg pressed tablets. These plastic-feeling horse pills quickly became a mainstay in my stash, and proved to be invaluable.

GABA-ergic drugs are DRASTICALLY different from the typical mu-opioid analgesics. Rather than a strong, euphoric “nod”, Gabapentin was more relatable to MDMA. An hour after dosing, I felt a steady wave of energy radiate from my chest, and noticed music and lights felt clearer. This state would continue for up to 6 hours, constantly surging in and out like a synthetic tide of joy. The benefits for actual physical pain were minor, but I felt so damn ecstatic it didn’t even matter. I worked up to sporadic doses of nearly 3 grams at a time, at which point the feeling plateaued into a quasi-psychedelic experience. Gabapentin was a genuinely euphoric intoxicant, in a unique way.

However, my father’s pain continued. After a while, the doctor swapped his Gabapentin for Pregabalin, also known as Lyrica. As he switched over, so did I. I began experimenting with Pregabalin on the same level as Gabapentin, and found it to be a much different experience. At 150mgs, it’s a slight boost of energy, followed by a solid sense of well-being for around 4-6 hours. Around 450mgs, the intoxicating effects went into overdrive, and cleared my head for around 8 hours. Thoughts became fluid, waves of euphoria washed over me at random intervals, and I felt like god himself had touched me with divine serenity. From the outsiders perspective, things were different. My wife stated numerous times that I began slurring my words, and that I would randomly lose all sense of balance. Pregabalin seemed to have a concentrated effect on motor skills and general cognizance, and offered a rose tinted view of the world.

I began to take more and more, working my way up to 1200mgs sporadically. After the first dose over a gram, I never again felt the same euphoric contentedness. The tolerance buildup was fast, and harsh. I began chasing the white capsules with BuPap (butalbital, acetaminophen, and caffeine) and alcohol, in a feeble attempt to reconnect with the once lauded effects I had experienced prior. Taking opiates and smoking weed with the pills almost seemed to dampen its euphoric “waves” that seemed typical for these GABA drugs. Smoking cigarettes while peaking tended to push the experience to the absolute closest facsimile of its prior strength, but failed to truly aid in my chasing the dragon.

All in all, I have plenty of fun with these substances. They help curb the edge off a rough day in retail, and keep me happy enough to be the man my wife requires when the kids throw fits. Tolerance is a barrier I built quickly, and it takes astounding patience to whittle it back down to size. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to experience the true bliss these drugs provided me in the beginning again, but I keep faith. With enough time, maybe the dragon will return, and dance with me once more.

Exp Year: 2020	ExpID: 114016
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 23
Published: Mar 25, 2020	Views: 2,371
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Pharms - Pregabalin (418), Pharms - Gabapentin (183) : Not Applicable (38), Addiction & Habituation (10), Retrospective / Summary (11)