Addiction - A genetic component to GHB addiction.

[malsat]

Hopefully this will resolve the debate regarding whether G addiction is due to an attempt by an individual to mask psychological problems or whether it is, in some cases at least, due to an uncontrolled compulsion to repeatedly administer the substance. It has been found that in alcoholism there can be a lower baseline level of endorphins that rise, upon administration of alcohol, to a higher level than that of non-alcoholic individuals who consume alcohol. Endorphins are an endogenous class of compounds that act on opiate receptors that are involved in reward pathways in the brain. I believe G acts in a similar way to alcohol in this manner.

I haven't found any research to confirm my hypothesis but GHB has been found to affect levels of endorphins, as does alcohol. This is supported by anecdotal evidence that individuals with alcohol dependance issues have a higher tendency to develop G addiction.

Hopefully this will convince those of you who believe that G addiction always develops as a result of intentional repeated administration of the substance.

I can provide references to support my statements if anyone is interested.

[rktman]

I dont understand all this g addiction on the board. swim was dosing several times per evening and mixing with alcohol. Average dose was 2-3 teaspoons/caps. swim was using g for 6-7 years. swim was getting g from swiy chemistry professor at university, was very high quality g WOW swim misses his daily dates with Gina, as swim has no access to g at this time. Anyway, swim stopped using g as the connect dried up and g was very hard to come by after all the bad press about date rape. swim had 0 withdrawl symptoms, swim was a dedicated g head, and stopped, didnt taper off just stopped. swim was also an alchoholic and quit drinking several years after the stopage of g, and swim did have withdrawl symptoms after he quit drinking. Confused!

[malsat]

As I said, the genetic component is not present in all alcoholics. The very fact that you did not experience an immediate compulsion to dose G constantly disconnects you from the people the post is referring to.

Hopefully you will contribute more to this forum than a single post, too.

[rktman]

swim did have compulsion to re-dose, swim knew from past experience there is a line not to be crossed with ghb. swim had in the past taken 6+ dosses in the course of an evening or afternoon and knew the ensuing hangover would be a very difficult one for the next day or two! I would like to help (post) others in this forum when I think I have something to enhance a discussion. Now I have more than 1 post, so there!

[MrG]

What ensuing hangover might SWIY be talking about?

Without stating how much each dose was and over what time period, we have no idea exactly what information you are contributing to this thread.

Please be more detailed when discussing personal experiences and please resist the urge to make unfounded statements about there being a "line" one would cross following 6+ doses of unknown amount and of unknown duration. This is simply not true.

The nature of G withdrawals are purely related to the consumption of regular doses over an extended period, well beyond one afternoon or night time of use.

As always, do not mix G with alcohol!

[runitsthepolice]

First of all swim was one time physically addicted to GBL. He dosed repeatedly because he thought it was fun and had no idea that it would result in withdrawals. When he finally stopped for a few hours after a week and a half 24/7 he felt the first withdrawals and successfully quit cold turkey because he realized what happened. He didn't use any benzos or anything, he just stopped and after a few days feeling horrible/not sleeping he got back to normal.

Swim does get some hangover effects after a night on the G. He considers taking more doses in the morning, but never does because he has self control. It's pretty tough to get significant withdrawal effects if the gbl doesn't make it into one's mouth every few hours all day for an extended period of time. Swim can't understand how people get addicted to drugs in general though, after all how hard is it to just not do something? It's about as hard as being lazy.

Swim did watch a documentary on addiction and how certain people are more susceptible to it because their frontal lobe doesn't function properly to say NO to the fiendish parts of the brain. Swim thinks addiction is caused by a "lack of self control" genetic trait, and probably has less to do with endorphins or how it hits pleasure receptors in the brain.

[kimotag]

I think the subject of addiction is complex, factors to be considered are individual genetics, the substance being used, whether or not a person is self medicating to deal with current /past traumas ect. The bottom line is whether or not a persons drug use is problematic in some way. Do they feel compelled to use?, do they make excuses to use even when they have said they will give it a break?, does it affect work and relationships?