Posted by Emily (24.252.164.24) on October 08, 2001 at 19:17:36:
In Reply to: Dextromethoriphan vrs. Shrooms posted by DanQuim on October 08, 2001 at 13:07:58:
I used DXM heavily in the past for spiritual exploration. I always extracted it into a citrate form to avoid the nasty additives in syrup.
Psilocybin and DMT work on the 5ht2 serotonin receptors, while DXM binds to at least 4 sites in the brain, making it an extremely complicated drug. It is classified as a dissociative anesthetic, and its main effects are experienced through its NMDA blocking action rather than activation at serotonin receptors. It does bind to the 5ht1 serotonin receptors, but this is a different site than that affected by the tryptamines. I would be concerned about the binding at the other three sites (NMDA, pcp, and sigma) and how that could affect cluster headaches negatively. Also, DXM has potential for addiction and is a mechanism for all kinds of psychosis :)
As a wannabe shamanka, my advice is to stick with the natural stuff, psilocybin and DMT. DXM might take you where you never wanted to go. For more info, go to the link below and read RFG's beginner guide to DXM.
Emily