TIFU by Accidentally Taking a Coma-Inducing Phenibut Dose—Doctor Didn’t Believe Me, But I Survived

r/

I’ve decided to share because I honestly think this story could save someone’s life.

I had heard about phenibut online as a “relaxing supplement,” good for anxiety, social confidence, and even enhancing your mood. With zero prior experience and no real understanding of how powerful and slow-acting it is, I made a life-threatening mistake.

I started cautiously enough, taking about 750mg (¼ teaspoon). Two hours later, feeling nothing, I naively thought, “Hey, maybe it’s weak.” So I took another full teaspoon. Another hour passed—still no effects. So I took another teaspoon. By the end of the evening, I’d taken roughly 15 grams.

To give some context: 6 grams of phenibut is considered potentially lethal. Taking 15 grams was unimaginably reckless.

The Nightmare Begins:

I don’t even remember falling asleep. The next morning, I woke up confused, disoriented, with stuff scattered around my room. I realized with horror I had been in a complete dissociative blackout—moving around and interacting with things, yet completely unconscious mentally.

Then came the true horror:
• Extreme panic attacks lasting continuously for days, feeling like permanent brain damage had occurred.
• Severe depression that was crushing and felt completely hopeless.
• Parosmia: Every smell became a repulsive chemical stench, making eating impossible.
• Constant skin tingling, feeling like electric currents running through me.
• Visual distortions, subtle but disturbing, like shadows and patterns shifting slightly around me.

I barely slept more than four hours each night, and falling asleep was incredibly difficult. Yet, when I did sleep, I had hyperrealistic, vivid dreams—movie-like scenarios with full plots, dialogues, and incredibly detailed visuals. It felt as if I was living through elaborate, unsettling films every night.

The Hospital Visit and Doctor’s Reaction:

On day three, terrified that I’d permanently destroyed my mind, I went to the hospital for help. When I told the doctor I had taken 15 grams of phenibut, he straight-up didn’t believe me:

“That’s impossible,” he said. “You would be in a coma or dead.”

No treatment, no tests—just disbelief. I left feeling more alone and scared than ever.

Later that day, I started feeling intensely cold internally, an odd chill that I couldn’t shake. After some research, I found out this could actually be a sign my GABA receptors were finally healing—a weird moment of relief amidst absolute horror.

Miraculous Recovery:

Amazingly, by day four, I began returning to normal. My symptoms vanished. Physically and mentally, I was somehow okay. To this day, I don’t understand how I survived without permanent damage or death.

Why I’m Sharing This:

I was incredibly lucky. Most people don’t recover from such extreme doses without serious consequences. Phenibut is dangerously potent and easily misunderstood due to its slow onset and high overdose potential.

If you’re ever tempted to try phenibut or something similar:
• Start extremely low (250mg or less).
• Wait several hours before redosing (it can take 3–5 hours to fully hit).
• Always use precise measurements—never eyeball doses.

I truly hope this story might prevent even one person from experiencing the horror I endured.

Please, stay safe.

TL;DR: Took an insane 15-gram phenibut overdose by accident. Experienced blackouts, psychosis-like panic, sensory hell, and disbelief from doctors who said I should’ve died. Miraculously survived with no lasting harm, but learned a brutal lesson about drug safety.

Comments

  1. pastelnoivern Avatar

    that sounds terrifying, im glad you ended up ok

  2. juniusl Avatar

    That’s terrifying! Glad you’re okay now.

  3. I_make_switch_a_roos Avatar

    wake up! you’re still in a coma!

  4. MistressLyda Avatar

    Almost 3 times what can be a lethal dose? Not saying that it was not idiocy, and that you was extremely lucky, but I would be curious to see an lab report of the purity.

    Cause… damn. That is hefty.

  5. Dragon_Frog_Pond Avatar

    Do you think there was a specific factor that led to your survival? I’m glad you recovered

  6. Spara-Extreme Avatar

    Now this is a true, terrifying fuck up.

  7. Nekrosiz Avatar

    Id imagine this isn’t some otc stuff, sochow did you even get it

  8. rayvik123 Avatar

    https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692%2820%2932934-2/fulltext?utm_source=chatgpt.com

    This dude took 200g (200,000mg) and lived as well so…
    I don’t think 15g is necessarily lethal in the sense that you’d definitely die – but it’s probably where it becomes dangerous for sure.

  9. Popular_Prescription Avatar

    Wow. This is literally insane if true. You’re extremely lucky. How did you even come across phenibut or learn of its existence?

    It’s pretty niche.

  10. Freddie2049 Avatar

    Idiotic. you took 15 grams of a Russian grey area drug, prescription in many other countries.

  11. She_Plays Avatar

    Where did you purchase this? I can’t seem to find it.

  12. f1newhatever Avatar

    Is there a reason you used ChatGPT to write this? Are all subreddits just AI now?

  13. stefaniki Avatar

    I question why you decided on phenibut rather than talking to your doctor about your anxiety or problems sleeping first.

    A quick Google search shows it has a very high potential for addiction and abuse.

    While I appreciate you sharing your overdose experience, you’ve left out 90% of the story of what led up to deciding that’s what you needed.

    I feel like you were trying to get high and that’s how you ended up taking so much. A rational person would have followed the instructions and done a bit more research before taking more because you didn’t think it was working. It sounds like this happened on your first use and that’s VERY concerning and points to you looking to get high.

    Please, seek help.

  14. angry_manatee Avatar

    15 grams of phenibut is insane dude. I used to do a shitload of it and 3-4 grams had me fucked up with a huge tolerance. The feeling cold thing is a side effect I got also. I experienced it with pregabalin and mdma as well, I think swings in gaba messes with your body’s ability to regulate temperature, hot and cold.

    Don’t do phenibut again… trust me, this experience is not nearly as bad as it can get

  15. call_me_cookie Avatar

    Remember kids, NEVER double drop a new substance!

  16. Birdbraned Avatar

    You probably have a combination of good kidneys and the fact that you spaced out your dosing helped. It’s half life is technically about 5-6 hours, so by the end of the night your first few doses would have already started to get eliminated by your body.

  17. LeoLaDawg Avatar

    Fuck that doctor and all those like them.

    5 minutes of face to face time to just be dismissed and no treatment. That’ll be 25 thousand dollars, please.

  18. iwillbeg00d Avatar

    Good job going to the doctor that must have been a really hard decision and process… how did you even get there. And to just be shut down like that…. must have been horrible. And it sounds like you just went home without incident. Someone in your state could have made a huge scene or who knows what.
    Phenibut is addictive dudes – be careful.

  19. Independent-Film-251 Avatar

    Downvote the slop pls

  20. gringo_escobar Avatar

    Where did you hear that 6 grams of phenibut is potentially lethal? All I can find is that the LD50 in rats is 700 mg/kg which would be like 48 grams if you weigh 150 lbs

    I’ve regularly taken over 2 grams without issue

  21. landoawd Avatar

    Hey, you, you’re finally awake…

  22. psychedeloquent Avatar

    This is exactly why we cant have nice things and substances like this become ilegal. Just a full on braindead usage of this drug. Please everyone do some research before you just willy nilly keep taking a drug you have no experience with.

  23. AffinityForLepers Avatar

    I tried it years ago and loved the super relaxed confident state it put me in but omg the horrible anxiety that came for days after was the worst thing ever. I quit using it entirely, just wasn’t worth it.

  24. NoNoTheOtherOne Avatar

    Built my way up to 25 grams in a week. The withdrawals, depressions, restlessness were all unbearable. Relapsed on opiates and alcohol to reduce the effects.

    Beware of Phenibut – created to reduce anxiety for Russian Cosmonauts.

  25. stoofy Avatar

    >Accidentally Taking a Coma-Inducing Phenibut Dose

    Make no mistake – you INTENTIONALLY took that much. There was no accident about this.

  26. bbreddit0011 Avatar

    OP I’m guessing you’ve never had THC edibles? Many people learn this lesson with a much less lethal drug!