Kava vs Phenibut for anxiety
Short answer: For anxiety, users rate them about the same: 93% report improvement with Kava (196 reports) and 89% with Phenibut (419 reports).
Kava has 41 meta-analyses and 37 randomized trials on PubMed; Phenibut has 3 and 1.
Based on 431 reports about Kava and 1,030 about Phenibut. Not medical advice.
| Kava Supplement | Phenibut Substance | |
|---|---|---|
| Users say it helped | 63%helped224 reports · high confidence | 43%helped628 reports · high confidence |
| Verdict | Mostly positive | Mixed |
| Research | AResearch: Strong | BResearch: Moderate |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 41 / 37 | 3 / 1 |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Anxiety % reporting improvement | 93% (196) | 89% (419) |
| Mood % reporting improvement | 80% (35) | 90% (181) |
| Sleep % reporting improvement | 86% (37) | 86% (90) |
| Focus % reporting improvement | 67% (6) | 72% (47) |
| Energy % reporting improvement | 50% (2) | 79% (38) |
| Common side effects | drowsiness, liver damage, stomach issues, irritability | withdrawal, tolerance, addiction, dependence |
| Typical dose reported | 60 mg kavalactone equivalent / daily | 500 mg |
Numerous interactions between herbal medicines and conventional drugs have been documented. While the significance of many interactions is uncertain, several interactions, particularly those with St John's wort, may have serious clinical consequences.
Drugs, 2009 ↗“I felt insanely relaxed, any anxiety was dropped to 0, and I could think more clearly.”
Phenibut withdrawal appears to have a range of severity. It is important to recognize that patients undergoing phenibut abstinence may have progressive symptom worsening during early withdrawal. All published cases of abrupt phenibut abstinence were admitted inpatients for symptom management. Benzodiazepines or barbiturates with adjunctive baclofen appear to be the most commonly used drugs for moderate to severe withdrawal. Outpatient management via slow phenibut tapers with or without adjunctive gamma-aminobutyric acid agonist therapy may be successful. However, there is no standard treatment
Clin Toxicol (Phila), 2023 ↗“Phenibut every 3 days. Hands down most effective I've tried. Plus you wake up feeling amazing.”
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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate