I have been having a lot of stress, so I bought a supplement called Pharmagaba, which is supposed to be a form of GABA which can cross the blood brain barrier.
I took a chewable pill and I feel pretty good. Relaxed, fairly happy, etc. It could be placebo, but it is pretty nice.
So if drugs like benzos or barbituates work through the GABA receptor by opening the channels and they are highly addictive, what about GABA supplements themselves? Any proven risk of addiction or withdrawal?
I was just googling and I’m unclear what exactly this stuff is, if it is GABA it isn’t going to cross the blood brain barrier.
I don’t know if Pharmagaba does something different. No idea, it just seems like it worked.
Yea I know about GABA analogues like phenibut and baclofen that definitely do cross the BBB, and all seem to have some kind of withdrawal if you do searches online. But I wasn’t clear on what is in Pharmagaba, but if it is crossing the BBB yes it is probably addictive in some sense.
I’m guessing that it’s phenibut. In which case, yes—it can be pretty addictive. If you get hooked on the stuff and try to go cold turkey, you’ll be barely able to sleep at all for about two weeks. The anxiety can be intense. In my opinion and personal biochemical experience, it’s as addictive (if not more) than Xanax.
Break open a cap and taste it. Is it sour? Then see if it dissolves instantly in water. If it meets both criteria, my money’s on phenibut. You can use it once in a while for sleep when needed, but don’t go overboard.
I hope one of the board’s pharmacists come in for a more educated answer, but my initial answer is to be very, very careful. A sudden drop in GABA can cause seizures and some of the yuckier symptoms alcoholics sometimes experience when they quit cold turkey. I’m concerned that if a person takes an exogenous source of something that triggers GABA receptors, the body may produce less GABA on its own. Which could be troublesome should they then stop taking the supplement and the body needs some time to adjust.
Damn. I was hoping this was something I could take everyday. Looks like i’ll have to take it once a week, at most.
I’ll save it for when my anxiety, stress and destructive thoughts are truly out of control, and even then only take half a chewable tablet.
Thanks for the info.
It’s not that great anyway after you take it a few times. The first time you ever take phenibut, it’s like the Second Coming. You feel a wonderful, relaxed euphoria, followed by ten hours of the best and most restorative sleep you’ve ever had in your life. After two or three subsequent uses, it never happens again. It’s still a fantastic sleep aid, but only if used very, very infrequently. But that first-time nirvana never happens again.
Damn. It wasn’t as great as all that, but it was pretty good. It was better than being mildly drunk or high on pot. I felt comfortable and relaxed in my own skin which is something I haven’t felt in a while.
I should start taking my adaptogens again, maybe that’ll help me through this bad patch.
Which adaptogens do you prefer?
Might not have been phenibut then. You mentioned a chewable tablet. Phenibut is incredibly sour—it’s unlikely that it would be marketed that way.
Ashwagandha and bacopa. Rhodiola seems to make me feel tired during the day.
Washoe this is the product I bought, it is a flavored chewable tablet. Tasted fairly decent.
I can’t find info on it, so I don’t know what makes it able to cross the BBB.
For relaxation, try 500-1000mg of chelated magnesium, but becareful because for some people, more than 500mg can cause diarrhea. You will tolerate to it but initially you’ll just want to melt into your sofa. However as you tolerate to it, you may find that you feel less stressed. Magnesium is one of those nutrients that is very difficult to get the full daily value of just from a healthy diet. It has to be the chelated type though to insure maximum absorption.
For something more along the line of a nutraceutical, try phosphatidyl serine matrix. I take 2 500 mg capsules and it mellows me out pretty effectively.
Valerian is also effective but this induces production of the liver enzymes CYP1A2, CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 and may act to inhibit others so be careful if taking any meds. Also it’s known to have some toxicity with long term usage. However it’s very effective if you get a tincture with skull cap, passiflora and hops. Sometimes magnesium or a couple other things will be added.