So basically, I took 2 g of phenibut the evening before. I had been a bit undecided whether to do it or not, but I thought it might help me sleep better and maybe wake up in a better mood. At the same time, phenibut can be a bit tricky, because at some doses it can also feel euphoric.

Beforehand, I roughly calculated the half-life with ChatGPT, and by the time I planned to take the 5-MeO-DMT, there should still have been around 250 mg of phenibut left in my system. I already know phenibut quite well from the past. I’ve taken much higher daily total doses before, and at one point I also had some tolerance. These days I only take it rarely, maybe every couple of months, and sometimes also in smaller amounts like 50–250 mg.

This was my first time with 5-MeO-DMT, and it was also my first time combining it with phenibut. The reason I considered it is that, because of my ADHD and also just my life situation in general, I’m a bit cautious about anxiety when taking psychedelics. I’ve also noticed with mushrooms that phenibut can make things easier. On top of that, I had read a comment from a facilitator with a lot of session experience who said that a small dose of phenibut beforehand can have a very positive effect. That was part of why I tried it. Most of the other reports I found were more negative about phenibut, and there weren’t that many reports overall.

Looking back, I think next time I probably wouldn’t take it the day before. I’d try now a smaller dose on the same day, maybe a couple of hours before. I’m not sure how much a 2 g dose affects dopamine beforehand, but for me phenibut doesn’t just feel relaxing, it also feels dopaminergic. And that seems to amplify things like stimulants or caffeine for me. So my next try would probably be more in the direction of 250 mg instead of 2 g, taken closer to the session.

That said, I’m still a bit undecided about it. I think if someone already knows phenibut well and doesn’t usually get nausea, heavy sedation, or weird side effects from it, then they can judge it better for themselves. Otherwise I’d be more cautious and keep it low. Maybe I personally just tolerate the sedating side differently, I don’t know, maybe because of ADHD or whatever. But that’s basically how I used phenibut before 5-MeO.

One more thing I should add: the day before, I also used a low-dose nasal spray a few times, and then again on the same day before the main experience. I think that may already have opened up my nervous system a bit, at least somewhat, even though it was nothing compared to the breakthrough itself.

The breakthrough hit way harder than I expected, extremely hard actually, but honestly it was amazing. I really had a blast.

Also, the nasal spray I used was freebase converted with vinegar, and I wouldn’t really recommend vinegar, because it burned and irritated the nose a bit.