Combining Syrian Rue with stimulant herbs and adaptogens

[RhythmSpring]

I've heard (and had?) conflicting experiences on this combination. I know if we were following a strict "Dieta," abstaining from various stimulating substances before and during drinking ayahuasca or ayahuasca-like brews, we'd avoid caffeine.

But many of us question these strict practices and find health and healing by keeping things like red meat and chocolate in our lives, even as we work with RIMA-containing plants.

But what about coffee? Green tea? Rhodiola rosea? Ashwagandha? Is it safe? Dangerous? What are your experiences?

I looked up the Rue + Caffeine combination on erowid and found these two trip reports, which seemed to affirm its safety:

https://erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=29093

Syrian Rue, Calamus, & Caffeine - Erowid Exp - 'Calamuasca'

An Experience with Syrian Rue, Calamus, & Caffeine. 'Calamuasca' by the joy luck club

erowid.org

And on the well-known drug combinations chart that's out there, MAOI + Caffeine = "Low risk / no synergy."

I also take Rhodiola rosea and sometimes Eleuthero (American Ginseng), and I notice when I take it in the morning after and/or before Syrian Rue, I feel no ill effects. In fact, I might feel more balanced overall.

I would be excited to work with both at the same time, or at least within the same day, more. In the past I've kept them very separated (by time) out of caution, but now I'm starting to think that I've been overly cautious.

What if Syrian Rue would even "mellow out" the jitteriness of coffee? I'm not about to drink them together, but... that guy on erowid did! Just sayin.

 

[Transform]

I've had rue with coffee several times. It does make the caffeine significantly stronger in a way that I wouldn't call long-term sustainable. With my regular background-level rue dosing (800mg seeds), I get along fine with ongoing intake of coffee, cacao, adaptogens, and even calamus and St. John's wort, albeit these latter two in minimal doses as part of a tea blend.

Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus) has synergised well with this combination, but particularly with lion's mane mushroom powder. Ashwaganda fits in just fine too. I feel a little less enamoured with Korean (Panax) ginseng, but I don't generally need that anyhow.

Something I've found with calamus is that the psychoactive effect seems stronger when it's brewed for a second or even a third time. It does feel like having had a weak joint of cannabis, so being able to achieve this with relatively tiny amounts blended into a herb tea of nominally non-psychoactive plants is somewhere between satisfying and amusing. My tea drawer: