Posted by pinksharkmark (64.32.123.4) on August 25, 2001 at 00:14:15:
In Reply to: Over two dozen? Out of how many trials? posted by Donna on August 24, 2001 at 22:59:26:
I can think of only two or three for whom it didn't work. In at least one case it was pretty apparent that the person had picked up the wrong kind of mushrooms. Flash has more details on that one, as I recall.
The others who had no luck were saturated with other medications at the time of their experiment. As more and more people are reporting their experiences, it is becoming obvious that there are some standard CH medications that block the effects of LSD and psilocybin.
All of the ergot-based compounds: ergotamine, cafergot, di-hydro ergotamine (DHE), and methysergide (Sansert) will render LSD and psilocybin completely useless. Opioids (narcotics), both natural and synthetic, will greatly decrease the effects of LSD and psilocybin, and perhaps block them completely. Anti-psychotic meds such as Thorazine will block the effects completely. Thorazine was (and probably still is) routinely used to "bring down" people high on hallucinogens. Lithium is classed as an anti-psychotic, but whether or not it will have the same effect as Thorazine is still unproven.
Other meds that target serotonin activity, such as SSRIs, anti-seizure and anti-convulsant medications, and Tri-cyclic anti-depressants will probably also have some interaction with the hallucinogens. Some may block the effects, some may enhance them. The problem is, since virtually all research into LSD and psilocybin was halted in the early 1970s, there is almost nothing known about their interaction with other medications, particularly medications released in the last three decades.
It is also likely that the triptans (Imitrex/sumatriptan, Amerge/naratriptan, Zomig/zolmitriptan and Maxalt/rizatriptan) exhibit a blocking effect, as well.
I am not aware of ANY med-free episodic clusterhead who has tried the hallucinogens without complete success.
All of the med-free chronics who tried it had success, too. Let me think... Henk (5 years chronic), Sjoerd (5 or 6 years chronic), Graham (3 years chronic), Q (3 years at least chronic), Pixie (3 years chronic), Stavi (just over a year chronic), CarlD (3 years chronic) and others whose names escape me at the moment.
Pixie had the shortest remission time... a bit less than two weeks, as I recall. Stavi and Graham got 6 month remissions before needing to redose.
As for why more people don't try it...
I suspect the biggest hurdle is not simply the legal aspects, but the fact that for United States residents without reliable black-market acquaintances, it can be pretty difficult to obtain these things discreetly. For those living in Europe, particularly Holland, it is a much easier process. This is one of the reasons why most of the experimenters are using psilocybin mushrooms -- "magic mushrooms" -- rather than LSD. Psilocybin mushrooms can be gathered from the wild at the right time of year in the right locations, or can be grown indoors with a minimum of effort and cash outlay.
This is a treatment that has potentially a 100% success rate, once we get the dosage levels, dosage frequency and medication interactions nailed down. It already has a success rate higher than anything else out there. Even the "gold standards" of CH meds: Verapamil, Lithium, Oxygen and Imitrex, have an estimated success rate of about 70% or less.
Unfortunately, we have to do our own research, at least for the moment. Although at least one researcher (Dr. Ethan Russo) is trying to get funding and government permits for a longterm research project into the effects of hallucinogens on vascular headaches, it is not a done deal yet. Even once his project is underway, it will take years before a paper is published.
Fortunately, by the time the results of any study are published, there will be hundreds of ex-clusterheads living painfree lives because they were too impatient to wait.
I've said it before and I will say it again: A million heartfelt thanks to Flash for his persistence in bringing this treatment into the open. If there were such a thing as an O.U.C.H. version of the Nobel Prize, Flash would get my vote.
pinky