The Healing Power of Psychedelics

[Gneh Onebar]

Here is a quote from an article, that talks about the healing power of LSD: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pkeqd8/what-happens-lsd-overdose?utm_source=vicefbus&fbclid=IwAR0-rU0FOm47I1kpQPZk_nJ_FDoYWvnoFAgOOXqc0rrhvh7-N6IYBV7_CmQ. LSD and other psychedelics can be extremely useful to treat mental illnesses, chronic pain, withdrawal symptoms etc.:

"But what happens when people take extreme amounts of LSD? This is the subject of a new report co-authored by Mark Haden, the executive director of MAPS Canada and an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia, which looked at extreme cases of LSD consumption, revealing some bizarre health outcomes.

One of the cases covered in Haden’s study was that of a 15-year-old girl with bipolar disorder. She was one of the 20 people who accidentally OD’d on acid at the summer solstice party in Canada. She took a whopping 1,100 micrograms. For the next six hours, her behavior became erratic. She lay on the floor in the fetal position tightly clenching her arms. Her friends thought she was having a seizure and called an ambulance, although no one was sure if she was actually seizing, lost consciousness or was just lost in the overwhelming experience.

The next morning, her father visited her in the hospital. She told her dad, “It’s over.” He thought she meant the acid trip. She clarified that no, her bipolar illness, which had caused daily manic episodes, seemed to be cured. A week later, her symptoms had still not returned. Doctors followed her progress for over a year, and nearly two decades later, she still hasn’t experienced episodes of depression or mania outside of postpartum depression. Looking back on the overdose, she said it felt like her brain chemistry had somehow been “reset.”

Haden says he was not only amazed that her symptoms resolved, but that such a high dose could ultimately be a positive experience. In his report, published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Haden also includes the story of another individual at that infamous solstice party, a 26-year-old woman who only took half a glass (approximately 500 micrograms) of LSD. Unbeknownst to her, she was two weeks pregnant. Yet she experienced no pregnancy complications and her son, now 18 years old, is a perfectly healthy bright young student.

The most remarkable case study included in the report is the 2015 story of a 46-year-old woman, who Haden calls CB, who had chronic pain caused by Lyme disease. CB snorted a line of white powder she thought was cocaine. Fifteen minutes later, she realized something was wrong and called her roommate, who told her what had happened: She had inhaled part of his stash of LSD.

[…]

The first 12 hours were hellish. She mostly blacked out and vomited frequently, while being looked after by her roommate. For the next 12 hours after that, CB said she felt “pleasantly high,” mostly sat in a chair, “frothing at the mouth, occasionally vocalizing random words and vomiting frequently,” according to Haden’s account.

When the drug finally wore off another 10 hours later, CB felt normal, and her chronic pain had completely disappeared. For seven years she had been taking morphine every day to treat symptoms of Lyme disease. After her LSD overdose, not only had her pain evaporated, she felt no withdrawal symptoms from the opioids she had been taking.

CB stopped taking morphine for five days, and then her pain did return. She then reduced her dose of opioids and started microdosing LSD (taking about a quarter of a typical dose or 25 micrograms) every three days for a few years before completely stopping the morphine in January 2018, again without withdrawal symptoms.

There is some evidence that psychedelics like LSD can treat pain because they are anti-inflammatory drugs, but Haden was surprised it could help with opioid withdrawal symptoms as well. “I heard somebody say that he thought LSD would be good for withdrawals, but I've never seen any evidence of it,” he said. There is almost no evidence LSD may help with bipolar disorder, let alone “cure” it. Ayelet Waldman, author of A Really Good Day, claims microdosing LSD helped manage her mood disorders. A clinical trial in Switzerland is currently recruiting people to look at LSD to treat manic depression. Otherwise, there’s not much there."

 

Edited February 22, 2020 by Gneh Onebar

[Eph75]

Also posted here 

 

[wavydude]

Very cool, thanks for sharing.

[Ananta]

I think your thread title is irresponsible to say "LSD "cures" Bipolar illness". There would need to be studies done, like drug companies have to do. To show that LSD actually benefits ppl with Bipolar in any way, let alone "curing" them. To even start saying LSD is beneficial. 

1 hour ago, Gneh Onebar said:

There is almost no evidence LSD may help with bipolar disorder, let alone “cure” it. Ayelet Waldman, author of A Really Good Day, claims microdosing LSD helped manage her mood disorders. A clinical trial in Switzerland is currently recruiting people to look at LSD to treat manic depression. Otherwise, there’s not much there.

But, at least you added this...at the bottom.

[Forestluv]

Clinical studies have shown psychedelics to significantly help some people with mental illnesses. Yet to state “LSD cures bipolar illness” based one one case seems misleading to me. With that logic we could state “LSD causes irreparable HPPD”.

It’s much more nuanced than that. There are many different forms of mental illnesses, genetic background, childhood conditioning and karmic loads that influence the effects of psychedelics. Suggesting that curing mental illnesses such as bipolar is as simple as taking 1,100 ug of LSD  is misleading. People need to be cautious with claims they read online. Yet people with psychedelic experience also need to be responsible. People with mental illness desperate for relief may read cure all claims like this and be tempted to take high doses of psychedelics to cure themself. This could make matters worse for a newbie with no psychedelic experience. 

The clinical trials that have shown positive results of psychedelics involved patient screening, therapy prior to psychedelic exposure, a safe controlled environment for the trip, moderate doses and post-trip therapy sessions to help the patient acclimate and integrate. They did not involve having random people with mental illnesses take high doses on their own and then see what happens. 

[Gneh Onebar]

@Anna1 @Serotoninluv  Agreed. The title is too much of an eye-catcher - I changed it. However the cases reported in the article show the potential of psychedelics to help people with different diseases.

[Forestluv]

8 minutes ago, Gneh Onebar said:

the cases reported in the article show the potential of psychedelics to help people with different diseases.

I would say we are now past the stage that psychedelics can *potentially* help people with mental illnesses. The efficacy of psychedelic therapy has been clearly shown in clinical studies and we are now moving into the stage of increasing psychedelic effectiveness. 

Psychedelic therapy is still new to the general public. Due to decades of stigmatization of psychedelics, the general population is still mostly ignorant and sees psychedelics as a scary drug like heroine. 

To me, stories like how a woman overdosed on LSD and had her bi-polar cured is dramatic and attention-getting. Yet if the goal is to help educate the public about psychedelic therapy, I don’t think its the best poster child. It comes across as a crazy, miraculous cure and doesn’t include any concerns, precautions and side effects. 

In terms of advancing the movement of psychedelic therapy forward, I think grounded mainstream stories are more effective. For example, psychologists in the US state of Oregon have come together and created a ballot initiative for voters to allow psychologists to use  psychedelics to help treat their patients with mental illnesses. The psychologists have made a convincing case using clinical studies and their own professional experience. This type of thing is very influential in changing public perception because it comes across as mature and responsible. 

[Raptorsin7]

@Gneh Onebar Psychedelics are the best practice ever invented. Completely transformed my life.

@Serotoninluv I agree about the marketing aspect. The framing is everything moving forward with these drugs.

 

 

[Ananta]

One issue/problem for ppl with mental illness is that many are on drugs (ie, antidepressants, antipsychotics, etc) that already bind to the serotonin receptors, therefore negating the possibility of trying psychedelics at low, safe doses. They either have to reduce their psych medications, which is risky or take higher, possibly not safe doses right off the bat to get any effect, again risky.

[Rinne]

@Gneh Onebar Thanks for this thread ?

[Lynnel]

3 hours ago, Anna1 said:

They either have to reduce their psych medications, which is risky or take higher, possibly not safe doses right off the bat to get any effect, again risky.

You're slightly incorrect. Some combinations between psychedelics and some SSRI for instance can simply lead to death regqrdless of the dose. A very solid guideline is not to mix psychedelics with anything at all.

I know it may sound like a petty remark but I can't stress enough the importance of safety whilst using psychedelics for anyone reading this

[Ananta]

57 minutes ago, Lynnel said:

You're slightly incorrect. Some combinations between psychedelics and some SSRI for instance can simply lead to death regqrdless of the dose. A very solid guideline is not to mix psychedelics with anything at all.

I know it may sound like a petty remark but I can't stress enough the importance of safety whilst using psychedelics for anyone reading this

Well, I was being optimistic, for no reason really, because I've never even done them and probably won't.

[Raptorsin7]

@Anna1 Why will you never try them?

[Arcangelo]

yeah Anna why would you waste your life like that?

[Ananta]

35 minutes ago, Raptorsin7 said:

@Anna1 Why will you never try them?

It's personal.

[Raptorsin7]

@Anna1 I understand. LSD changed the entire trajectory of my life. I will go to my death discussing the benefits of these drugs.

[Ananta]

1 minute ago, Raptorsin7 said:

@Anna1 I understand. LSD changed the entire trajectory of my life. I will go to my death discussing the benefits of these drugs.

There are medical reasons. Not everyone should be trying them.

[Raptorsin7]

Just now, Anna1 said:

Not everyone should be trying them.

Not yet. But everyone can reach a point in their life where they can benefit from the drugs. There is no one on earth who cannot reach a point where they will benefit from using psychedelics 

[Ananta]

2 minutes ago, Raptorsin7 said:

Not yet. But everyone can reach a point in their life where they can benefit from the drugs. There is no one on earth who cannot reach a point where they will benefit from using psychedelics 

So, you think everyone regardless of medical conditions should take psychedelics?

[Ananta]

38 minutes ago, Arcangelo said:

yeah Anna why would you waste your life like that?

Waste my life? So, the 49 yrs I've spent already have been a waste, because I haven't used psychedelics?