Ever since the discovery of significant physiologic effects of GHB by Dr. Henri Laborit over thirty years ago, researchers have been confounded by government regulators and seemingly anomalous results. Faced with these two problems many researchers have abandoned GHB in spite of its obvious promise. Centurion Aging Research Lab (CARL) has managed to solve the first problem, (temporarily at least), and now believe we have an explanation for the latter. After years of research on GHB, the Staff at CARL began to perceive that what at first was considered an anomaly is in fact, a significant indicator of the potent beneficial effects of Gamma- Hydroxy Butyrate.
We first became interested in GHB as an adjunct to our personal life extension program due to its recognized ability to stimulate growth hormone production and initiate restorative stage 4 sleep. Our personal experience and a review of the literature led to the realization that GHB may be one of the most significant life extension agents known, and we determined to make its benefits available to the life extention community at large. (See our page www.ghbinfo.com/getit) It was the universal experience of all our associates that two to three grams of GHB was sufficient to induce a deep restorative sleep, and lesser amounts had a pleasant relaxing effect.
Shortly after the introduction of our G-WiZzZzZ! kit for the safe, at home, production of GHB, we became alarmed when several of our customers complained that the kit products did not have the intended effects. Instead of aiding in sleep the product kept them up all night! While it did not seem possible, we had to assume that there was a problem with our quality control, however when samples of the product were returned for analysis they proved to be fine.
The conundrum deepened when a repeat customer called after the purchase of his third kit to inquire what we had changed. He insisted that something had been changed because the product was no longer working. When we inquired further he replied that GHB was starting to put him to sleep and that it was beginning to interfere with his functioning during the day. When informed that this was the expected effect he responded that he had been taking as much as four grams three times a day and that it used to make him feel "energized and almost euphoric", but now even small amounts were putting him to sleep!
Clearly something very interesting was going on here. We were very much aware of the significant biochemical individuality of response to GHB, and of its steep dose/response curve. however we did not believe the phenomena we were observing could be accounted for in this way. When we went back to the literature we found that as many as 17% of the individuals in some controlled studies could not achieve sleep with GHB, but this was mentioned as an aside because the studies were investigating growth hormone production and not sleep.
A break came when we received an inquiry from the Netherlands stating that a doctor had suggested using GHB as an "AD". We had no idea what was meant by AD and were informed that it meant anti-depressant. Shortly there-after we received a copy of Dr. Rifat's report and "the light began to dawn". Subsequent investigation revealed that every single case of GHB's failure to induce sleep that we could account for was associated with a person who had either been diagnosed as clinically depressed, or who had strong reason to think they might be! It is interesting to note that Dr. Rifat admits to his own condition as being clinically depressed.
Dr. Rifat's report contained a number of references to negative side-effects of GHB and how to avoid them, which puzzled us. He seemed to consider the sleep inducing effects of GHB to be negative, while we considered them positive. He recommends cycling the use of GHB in order to avoid the induction of sleep. He was also very concerned about the possibility of GHB inducing epileptic type seizures, and recommended the prophylactic administration of benzodiazepenes to protect against them. This was not only unnecessary, it actually reduced the effectiveness of GHB therapy, by producing competition for binding sites. The fear of epileptic type seizures is based on animal studies and has since been shown to not apply to humans.
It is now clear that there is a bimodal psychotropic response to GHB. Most people experience relaxation and deep sleep within 45 minutes in response to 3.5g or less of GHB, we refer to this as the Somnolent GHB Response (SGR). A smaller population composed of clinically depressed individuals experience euphoria and complete alleviation of depression at the same dose and in the same period of time. We call this the Euphoric GHB Response (EGR). This bimodal response to GHB means that for the first time there may be a definitive, objective test for clinical depression.
Observations indicate that most depressed individuals undergo a change in their response to GHB that corresponds with a long-term and possibly permanent lifting of their depression. This shift in response usually occurs in 30 to 90 days with a few individuals reporting the change within a week and one who has still not experienced it after five months. There is some evidence that caffeine may slow or inhibit the transition. It is tempting to think of such long term change in terms of a "cure!" Unfortunately, Rifat and others have apparently misinterpreted the change in response to GHB in a negative light and have instituted protocols to prevent it from occurring, rather than encouraging it.
For those health professionals who are working with GHB or would like to, we suggest the following protocol. If an individual is experiencing symptoms of depression administer two grams of GHB on an empty stomach. It is strongly advised that this be done at a time when either potential response (SGR or EGR) will not present a problem. If no subjective effects are experienced within an hour, administer another 1.5 grams. If the subject feels anything other than very tired or "drunk" they are not experiencing the expected Somnolent GHB Response (SGR), and have EGR, or are experiencing Transitional GHB Response (TGR). We suggest that individuals in EGR work with their health care professional to determine optimal dosing which will vary with the severity of the symptoms and which will decline over time. One psychiatrist reported doses as high as 12 grams a day being required to eliminate all undesirable symptoms, and that this dose declined to 6/g/day within two weeks.
Once the transition from EGR to SGR begins to occur it is important individuals stop taking GHB at times when drowsiness or sleep are unwanted. A person experiencing EGR will exhibit heightened alertness and powers of concentration which are advantages in many situations, and it is not surprising that a person would view the loss of these effects as negative. It is important that they realize that increased or repeated dosing will not effect the return of such subjective effects and will in fact produce the opposite result. As the EGR declines individuals should decrease and eventually eliminate their daytime dosing and switch to a "maintenance regime" of two to three grams at bed time.
These observations, interpretations, hypothesis, and recommendations are presented as a public service by Centurion Aging Research Laboratory, in the hope that they will spur further research, alleviate human suffering and enrich the experience of life. They are based on our personal experience and the experience of those who have been kind enough to report to us. This report should not be construed as containing medical advice and has most certainly NOT been approved by the FDA. We strongly discourage anyone from beginning ANY program of personal experimentation without the consent and advice of their health care professional. We would like to encourage anyone who has had positive or negative experiences with GHB to share them with us.