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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Withdrawing from GHB
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD) , bipolar disorder , dementia , electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) , panic , personality disorders, phobias , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , schizophrenia , stress , transitions, and work problems.
Withdrawing from GHB
by ghb, May 05, 2003 12:00AM
After 14 years of drug and alcohol abuse and two years of recovery intermittant with relapes, I went to phyc. for help and he proscribed prozac. I have abstained now from alcohol for nine years now I think due to a 12 step program and prozac. During those nine years I have tried to get off of prozac but inevitably I would get back on due to depression (months at a time) that seemed too long to be called the blues. Over a year ago, I friend recommended GHB to help inhance hormone production. This is actually safer than HGH for long term use of HGH causes hormone production to shutdown while GHB is a setagouge (sic). I have been taking GHB every night now for more than a year. Occasionally, it will be taken during the day. Interestingly, since I have been taking GHB, I have been able to stop taking prozac. But I should have known due to my addictive behaviour once I started to take GHB that this was going to be trouble. So this is where I am now. I take about 20 grams of ghb a night. I will wake up two or three times a night and take more ghb to sleep. If I don't I will be remain awake. I want to get off of GHB and this is my plan for doing so: I will decrease the amount of GHB each night, go to bed later and wake up earlier so that sleeping will be easier. I also want to start taking prozac again to help with any other side effects of withdrawal. But the prozac will be taken while I am weening myself off of GHB. I live in a foreign country where I have no access to an English speaking MD but have access to prozac, xanax, etc through the phamacies here. I understand that for a better evaluation I need to see a health professional but with the information you have been given, what is your best advice on how to get off of GHB?
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., May 06, 2003 12:00AM
, May 06, 2003 12:00AM
GHB is not a medication I prescribe so I do not have any first hand knowledge about this. What I do know is that you have to do this very slowly, and carefully, so if you are going to wean yourself, do it over a period of 3-4 weeks. Starting Prozac simultaneously is a good idea.
