Posted by pinksharkmark (12.128.190.253) on March 16, 2001 at 02:05:11:
In Reply to: A question for Flash and Pinky and BobP... posted by Paco on March 15, 2001 at 18:53:04:
First of all, strictly speaking, they are not a cure, just as insulin is not a cure for diabetes. They are a treatment.
I believe they are BY FAR the most effective treatment in existence. Let me repeat that... BY FAR!!!
Let's list a few points in favor of shrooms, shall we?
They are organic.
They are far less toxic than ANY medication out there, and that includes verapamil and tylenol.
There are no side effects. (other than a slight buzz lasting at most six hours)
They are inexpensive. Free, if you know where to look.
They abort a cycle with a SINGLE dose.
They keep the cycle from returning for at least six months with a SINGLE dose, even in the case of long-term chronics (see Graham's recent update)
You don't need to persuade some doofus doctor to prescribe them.
They are perfectly legal in most countries in the world.
They work at sub-hallucinogenic doses.
The anecdotal evidence on this board alone is overwhelming. Also, when I posted to one of the mushroom hobbyist discussion forums, I got further confirmations from several "shroomers" that their headaches are kept at bay by mushrooms. Most, but not all, are migraineurs. One of them, 3mshrooms (probable clusterhead), has been keeping the beast at bay since 1982... nineteen years now... with mushrooms. As a matter of fact, that is why he started growing mushrooms in the first place. I don't have his post link handy, but it was not all that long ago... maybe a week or so ago? The headaches he describes seem like a cross between migraines and clusters. I suspect they were clusters because of the headbanging... he left a dent in his wall from his headbanging.
There is plenty of clinical evidence available regarding the efficacy of LSD in stopping migraines and clusters. Nearly all of this research was done in the fifties and sixties. Our own Kenn has posted several times about the program he took part in back in the late sixties. This is not by any means a new discovery. This is why every researcher Flash has contacted at the various pharmaceutical companies and research institutes has been unsurprised at his history... it is already in the literature.
Native American cultures are quite matter-of-fact about using mushrooms to treat vascular headaches. To them it is no big deal... it has been around as a treatment for as long as anyone can remember.
So, to me it is indisputable that they work. The big question is, will they work for every clusterhead in the world? Not enough data to say for sure, yet. I suspect that once more is known about which other drugs interfere with their action, the success rate measured as a percentage will certainly be in the high nineties.
There have been a few reported failures. In every case, the reporter has been on other medication at the time. A fairly heavy opioid intake in one case, strong chemotherapy in another, triptans in another. It also must be noted that the virtually all of our reports come from people who are nervous of getting high, so end up doing some pretty tiny doses.
I'll make a further prediction... if everyone were to take a full-on recreational-size dose (about three grams dry) the success rate would definitely be in the high nineties, percentage wise. Fortunately, for those who prefer not to get stoned, this level of dosage seems not to be required.
My personal opinion is that EVERY clusterhead should give this a try. For that matter, so should every migraineur. I understand that those who can keep it more or less under control with relatively innocuous measures such as verapamil may have less incentive to try it than someone like myself, who can eat verapamil like candy (or until I am so constipated that I dread going to the bathroom more than going to sleep) to no effect. On the other hand, for 30 bucks you can grow enough shrooms to last the rest of your life, so from a financial viewpoint it makes sense even for those for whom verapamil works.
I am baffled when I see people who obviously read the board every day (and therefore cannot MISS the posts reporting success after success after success) continue to try every dubious treatment that just MIGHT work: feverfew, St. John's Wort, Indian Noni juice, antihistamines, allergy shots, months-long regimens of candida detox, Reiki, accupuncture, chiropracty, vibrating glasses, magnetic headbands, Botox injections... Heck, even SURGERY!
You can be damn sure that anyone who has read the posts about shrooms who still goes ahead and has SURGERY without giving the shrooms a try first is... is...
Well, I leave it as an exercise to the reader to finish that thought.
pinky