Review Erowid at GreatNonprofits.org
Help us be a "Top Rated Nonprofit" again this year and spread
honest info (good or bad) about psychedelics & other psychoactive drugs.
("Share Your Story" link. Needs quick login creation but no verification of contact info)
Used as an Antidepressant
1,4 Butanediol
by JG
Citation:   JG. "Used as an Antidepressant: An Experience with 1,4 Butanediol (exp13326)". Erowid.org. Dec 6, 2004. erowid.org/exp/13326

 
DOSE:
2.25 ml oral 1,4-Butanediol (liquid)
BODY WEIGHT: 181 lb
I have been using 1,4 Butanediol for the past year as a thereaputic agent. I never intended for it to be used as this, I just was looking for something new to try that was similar to alcohol which I had given up for numerous reasons. However, at the time I received it I had severe depression (w/ suicidal ideation), was socially reclusive and had some situational anxiety. The 1st dose of 1,4 Butanediol completely stopped all the preceding symptoms. I took 2.25ml, forgot I had even done so, started doing some other activity, and it occured to me, 'hey I feel pretty damned good'. For the next month or so I took 2-3 2.25ml doses a day and the positive effects continued. I then had to stop for a month while I was trying to locate a new supplier. My symptoms went back to normal but I never experienced any withdrawal symptoms. After I located a new supplier I started right back in.

Since then, I have been using 'starter' doses ranging between 1.2ml to 3.5ml. I say starter doses because regardless of the dosage used, I always redose in an hour or two with the starter dose divided by 5-6. 1.2ml's is very mild, a good antianxiety amount. 1.8ml (current) is very pleasant, kinda a detached happy with the world feeling. I can be around otherwise irritating people indefinitely without them really getting on my nerves. Music is more fun as well, as is pretty much everything. Sex drive doesn't go up, however, sexual ability and relationship drive/love for someone I'm in a relationship with goes up a lot. I can't imagine a couple ever getting into detrimental arguments if they were both on this. Indeeed, it increases the desire for intimate communication (note that this can make people not on the substance feel uncomfortable if you're ready to become their soulmate and yet you just met them).

At this dosage, academic abilities are very mildly impaired, enough so that taking the ACT test probably wouldn't be a good idea, but going to class and taking/remembering notes, etc. is still just fine. At this dosage it is also an enjoyable socializer, feel like talking to people a lot more and am more extroverted. This dosage also allows me to go to sleep if I'm still too wired to or have too many thoughts going on in my mind when I go to bed. 2.25ml's is slightly more enjoyable, but it causes more foggy thinking than 1.8ml. There is no hangover effect the next day from these doses.

3ml I was taking for a while after some bad things happened in my life. It caused me to sleep excessively and feel dulled down most of the time (which is what I needed), memory and verbal abilities are definitely affected at this dosage. This is also the only time I ever became identifiably addicted to the substance, redosing it every few hours, because if I didn't I'd start getting very jittery, wired, and anxious. It only took about 4 hours completely off the substance (10 hours total since previous dose) for this to go away. I still usually felt dulled down the day after taking this dose before bed.

All these doses are taken on an empty stomach or very close to empty (at least 2 hrs since a large meal, I usually only eat 1-2 meals a day so its not too bad for me). If my stomach is not empty the effects are greatly attenuated and it seems to take longer to get out of my system. Tolerance to this substance has never occured except when I was addicted (see above).

Respect is needed for this substance. I've had two friends who 'eyed' a dose of this substance and took about 4ml's+ I believe and both wound up in the hospital because someone else saw them and thought that they were in a coma because they couldn't wake them up. Please, if you're going to 'eye' a dose, take it, go to somewhere secluded for 15-20 minutes, and if you aren't passed out or very close by that time then go back to where you were. If that's not an option, try to inform at least one person you're going to be around that you've taken some of this substance or just tell them that you have narcolepsy and sometimes pass out for a few hrs at a time, and not to worry if it happens. This will save a lot of problems down the road.

The amount you can take without passing out varies by your environment and many other factors. I knew one guy who took 6ml frequently and it took 12ml for him to pass out, and he'd never done it before. The amount isn't generally very dependant upon weight. In any case, I've found the most fun doses are not the just barely below passing out doses, the best doses are about half what a pass out dose would be. Syringes only cost about 10 cents so do yourself a big favor if you're going to use this and buy one so you know exactly how much you're taking.

People wishing to combine this drug should avoid alcohol (especially) and other depressants. 1,4 Butanediol is a GABA-B agonist and as such can cause absence seizures on its own in high (for most ppl, very high, but some people can get seizures with normal doses) doses. Combine that with something else that acts on the GABA system like benzodiazapines, tranquilizers, etc. and you have a recipe for seizures. On the other hand, this substance does work well with stimulants, takes the edge off them and makes them more enjoyable. I've seen people using LSD that were having a bad trip, and a relatively high amount of this substance was able to make it a good trip for them (in general, what would normally have been a passout dose). On LSD, oe's passout dose could increase twofold due to LSD's powerful stimulant properties.

It's a shame that this substance has been banned in some states despite its safety if one uses a little common sense. The media has a way of taking the smallest occurances of problems about a drug and amplifying them to sound like the plague. So try to use this substance (I should say carbohydrate) with care and common sense lest more states make it illegal. Thanks.

Peace.

Exp Year: 2001ExpID: 13326
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Dec 6, 2004Views: 28,393
[ View PDF (to print) ] [ View LaTeX (for geeks) ] [ Swap Dark/Light ]
1,4-Butanediol (51) : Health Benefits (32), Depression (15), Retrospective / Summary (11), Various (28)

COPYRIGHTS: All reports copyright Erowid.
No AI Training use allowed without written permission.
TERMS OF USE: By accessing this page, you agree not to download, analyze, distill, reuse, digest, or feed into any AI-type system the report data without first contacting Erowid Center and receiving written permission.

Experience Reports are the writings and opinions of the authors who submit them. Some of the activities described are dangerous and/or illegal and none are recommended by Erowid Center.


Experience Vaults Index Full List of Substances Search Submit Report User Settings About Main Psychoactive Vaults