PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Samokhvalov, Andriy V
AU  - Paton-Gay, C Lindsay
AU  - Balchand, Kam
AU  - Rehm, Jürgen
TI  - Phenibut dependence
AID  - 10.1136/bcr-2012-008381
DP  - 2013 Feb 07
TA  - BMJ Case Reports
PG  - bcr2012008381
VI  - 2013
4099  - http://casereports.bmj.com/content/2013/bcr-2012-008381.short
4100  - http://casereports.bmj.com/content/2013/bcr-2012-008381.full
AB  - Phenibut is a γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) agonist designed and used as an anxiolytic in Russia. In Western countries, phenibut is not a registered medication but is available through online stores as a supplement. We present a case of a patient who used phenibut to self-medicate anxiety, insomnia and cravings for alcohol. While phenibut was helpful initially, the patient developed dependence including tolerance, significant withdrawal symptoms within 3–4 h of last use and failure to fulfil his roles at work and at home. He finally sought medical assistance in our addictions clinic. We have gradually, over the course of 9 weeks, substituted phenibut with baclofen, which has similar pharmacological properties, and then successfully tapered the patient off baclofen. This required approximately 10 mg of baclofen for each gram of phenibut.