Danger: Covid-19 and use of psychedelics

[universecannon]

...the Finnish sauna method of cycling back and forth from a hot sauna to a cool down period appears to boost the innate immune system,...(

Too bad my local saunas are closed due corona, wish I was is Finland lol. The cycling is my go to, this can easily take up to 2 hours for me. After few cycles you one starts to feel kind of softly drugged, a natural high and pink skinned as a little piggy. If one can do it daily like having one at the house, I suppose 1 cycle a day would do wonders.

At the moment my showering ends with a firm cold water rinse, has a miniature effect of the above, the best obtainable in these circumstances. Highly recommended. If you do it daily the cold shock becomes less and less dramatic. Just do it

Been doing that for a week or so now and it does feel great. I try to in the summer months here and there but winter is so cold here it's hard to muster the courage

 

[Jees]

...Been doing that for a week or so now and it does feel great. I try to in the summer months here and there but winter is so cold here it's hard to muster the courage

Cool (what's in a word).
I've not done it right out of bed, but usually after work. Then again I am prudent with the back of the neck and upper thorax of the back, this can sometimes cramp up a bit or induce a short slight headache for a sec, so I cool less there. With the showerhead in the hand one can cool regions differently. First legs from feet then rising up, then hands and then arms, after that the front of body, then head hanging down a bit, then lower back, then only swift the back thorax and back of neck.

This was once advised somewhere to start cooling with the extremities first, then slowly extending direction the hearth centre as last. Don't know the real value but sounds about right and feels okay. We're not all Wim Hoffers yet

 

[Spiralout]

Minxx ; how are you doing now?


When I read your post about the small dose of thc seeming to catalyze an accentuation of the illness I was not surprised. THC , or cannabis in general, seems to be paradoxical in that sometimes it can help alleviate feelings of sickness but others times seems to just ramp them up unbearably. I know there have been times when I felt more or less ok, or only a little unwell physically, and then after using even a small dose of cannabis I became aware of just how out of whack my body is; thus sending me into what seems like a negative feedback loop.


Endlessness and everyone who mentioned it: it is my understanding that there may be benefit in the cytokines doing there job at the beginning of infection but then the later, more severe reactions people are getting, being due to a huge amount of cytokines being released. So , as you said, there seem to be more than one stage and if this is true different treatment methodologies may be considered given which stage ( or not giving any treatment at all).

I am not anywhere near well versed in medical literature so none of this is medical advice; I am just speculating and bouncing ideas around and trying to clarify my own ideas on what this thing is and how to approach.

I have chronic lung problems, due to childhood asthma which never fully went away, and then general disregard of my health ( chronic drug use, smoking, poor living conditions etc.) so I am a bit concerned about contracting this thing. I recently stopped smoking (tobacco) and can say with certainty I will never go back. I also haven't been smoking at all, other than maybe a puff a week at most ( cannabis) for the last 6 weeks or so.

I recently was tested for the virus and am negative.

I have been more conscious about what I am taking and have a daily regimen of vitamins and supplements; I will leave this in a new thread. If anyone can chime in on it and criticize me; please do.

hope everyone is healthy

 

[Jagube]

I believe I have Covid-19.

The symptoms appeared in late July and I've had them on and off, but mostly on.

I first thought it was a problem with my ear, but following extensive examinations that's now unlikely. I haven't been able to get tested for Covid-19 as the capacity is limited where I am and testing is restricted to those showing the 'official' symptoms, which I'm not showing.

During that time, I've tried ayahuasca at a small dose, and it was horrible: I was already doing better and suddenly got worse, with worse headaches, vertigo etc. which remained for days that followed. Also the effects of the brew were stronger than they would normally have been.

During a period of feeling better (and believing I was fully recovered), I took a little bit of my first iboga extract and was fine during the experience and for a few days afterwards. Then I started feeling worse again.

Not long ago I took a really small amount of San Pedro and the same miserable thing as with aya happened. It was pretty bad for 3-4 hours, then it got better. Also, potentiation by at least 2x.

 

[Sabnock1990]

What about taking just the Harmalas/Caapi/Rue without the Psychedelic in the mix? Harmalas do have some anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-parasitic properties, among some other properties, i feel like it could help.

 

[King Tryptamine]

What about taking just the Harmalas/Caapi/Rue without the Psychedelic in the mix? Harmalas do have some anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-parasitic properties, among some other properties, i feel like it could help.

I caught covid-19 on March 31st and at the time I was using harmalas daily for about a week and had an ayahuasca experience two days prior. Now for whatever reason this virus affected me more than the rest of my family which is odd considering i'm the youngest and most physically fit out of all them. It was so violent that around 6hrs after my last harmala dose I began gasping for air like I had just finished a marathon with a pillow over my face. Meanwhile my older brother who chain smokes and drinks every day was able to carry out his routine barley phased. I had to call the paramedics twice thinking I was gonna croak. Now are harmalas to blame? Don't know, this is just one case at the end of the day but just wanna provide you guys with some personal intel on this topic.

P.S. Shout out to Endlessness, muladharma, Homo Trypens and the rest of you in the chat talking to me at the time, you guys may not know it but it helped keep my head on straight through out all that hell with the help of codeine.

 

[Sabnock1990]

Interesting. I wonder if the Ayahuasca experience (with the addition of the DMT) made you more sensitive to the impact of it? I know i've read things about Psychedelics and the possibility of it lessening the immune system. I had something around December, pretty sure it was covid, ain't never been that sick before, and like a couple or so weeks prior i had taken a lowish dose of Mimosa with Moclobemide, can't say there was any correlation there or not as idk, but i got sick as a dog let me tell you, and my mom, brother and some of our friends all got it too, they were hit just as hard. Then in like mid January or so i started taking Rue daily until like last month, hadn't been sick, stopped taking the Rue a few weeks ago, and my gf's son just started kindergarten this week, and is already sick but i think it's just a cold and not covid, but i can tell me and my gf are sick with whatever it is too, so far though i don't think it's covid but still a little early to tell, gonna take me some Rue tonight though, may start back regularly taking it again, idk yet, i do tend to feel healthier though when i dose the Rue regularly. I know Harmalas have some anti-viral properties, like against influenza and herpes for example, but since there haven't been any studies done on what it's like with Harmalas and covid, i can't say if it'd help or not, but i feel a bit optimistic about the Harmalas, but i could be bullshitting myself lol. But i do think i'm gonna take some here in a minute, and may take it for a week or two, see how i feel, just in case, and if i get sicker, i get sicker, i'm willing to experiment lol.

 

[Jagube]

Something on harmine:

High-Throughput Screening and Identification of Potent Broad-Spectrum Inhibitors of Coronaviruses

Currently, there is no approved therapy to treat coronavirus infection; therefore, broad-spectrum inhibitors of emerging and endemic CoVs are needed. Based on our high-throughput screening assay using a compound library, we identified seven compounds ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

We identified 17 compounds that inhibited the replication of HCoV-NL63 (EC50 < 5 μM), which is an alpha-CoV that usually causes the common cold, whereas 13 and 12 compounds inhibited MERS-CoV and MHV-A59 replication (EC50 < 5 μM), respectively (Table 1). Moreover, we newly identified nine compounds (phenazopyridine, lycorine, pyrvinium pamoate, monensin sodium, cetylpyridinium chloride, oligomycin, loperamide, harmine, and conessine) as exhibiting antiviral activity against severe CoV (MERS-CoV)

I've taken harmine during the course of my purported Covid, and can't remember negative effects, nothing that I would have remembered as much as my aya and cactus endeavors anyway. Will give it another try.

Edit: Yesterday I started taking harmalas. Dosage to date:
* 80 mg harmine sublingually
* 50 mg harmine sublingually and 30 mg harmaline orally.

No ill effects so far. The plan is to work up to a full oral dose (~200 mg harmalas).

 

[Sabnock1990]

So i just wanna update. I came back home from my girlfriends house Friday night, was definitely sick, took 4.5 grams of Rue, next day i felt slightly better but could tell i was in the process of sickness, may even had a bit of a fever, and i took another 4.5 grams that night, next day (yesterday) i felt better, still a little under the weather so i took another 4.5 grams last night, and today i'm almost back to normal. Gonna take 4.5 grams tonight and probably the next few days just in case.

This is a post i made on facebook about it.

"So, last week i started coming down with some sort of sickness, idk if it was a cold, flu, the rona, or whatever, but was definitely getting sick, lots of sinus congestion (nose and ears), sore irritated throat, coughing, phlegm in lungs and throat, body aches, maybe even a slight fever starting, started feeling a little altered/different mentally along with some lightheadedness. So i decided i'd try out the Rue, 4.5 grams, been taking it nightly for the last 3 nights, and it definitely works, i'm feeling a lot better, the sickness has for the most part passed, another day or two or three and i should be back to usual again. I can't help but wonder if i still would've gotten sick had i continued taking the Rue like i was, but i'm glad i took it when i did, i was curious, and it seems to have worked.

Though i will say, 4.5 grams of Rue is strong lol, the first night i took some gulps of water and pretty quickly after ended up projectile vomiting a bit, but no vomiting the last two times. Also the tracers/trailing is pretty noticeable with that dosage. 4.5 grams is definite Aya territory, i like 3 to 3.5 grams too but 4 to 4.5 grams is probably the fuller dosage, it's where the magic is, imo. Idk if 3 to 3.5 grams would work just as well for sickness as 4.5 grams, but i just went with 4.5 grams to see if i could blast away the sickness. 4.5 grams may be strong, but it's effective for quite a few things, i used to think Rue was quite rough, and i mean while it can be rough at times, it's a pretty forgiving plant and it's not nearly as bad as i used to think it was lol, for sure. Also, i haven't had really any nausea from it these last 3 nights, i credit that to the probiotics i'm taking.

But yeah, i definitely prefer the raw seed over the roasted seed, roasted seed can be good too, not sure how effective it is against sickness compared to raw seed, but the raw seed packs a hell of a punch compared to roasted seed lol. I just grind up the seeds in a coffee grinder and pack the powder into capsules. The way i pack powder into capsules it ends up being 4 capsules for 4.5 grams, or 3 capsules for 3.5 grams, i use a drill bit end (the end that goes into a drill) to pack the powder into capsules, works like a charm."

So, i can't say for sure what i was sick from, it was definitely a virus though that's for sure, now what kind of virus, that's up for debate, but the Rue seems to work for whatever i had. As of today, i still have a little bit of phlegm and snot, still coughing a little bit, but feeling pretty much back to normal again. So Rue definitely seems to have some effective anti-viral properties, ime, against what kinds of viruses remains to be determined, but i think it's worth checking out, and perhaps if someone in a clinical or academic position happens to see this and can put it to the test, they should, imo.

 

[dithyramb]

İ believe I have a covid infection. Since 4 days I have been experiencing relatively mild flu like symptoms. Lethargy, muscle ache, slight fever, and sore throat at night. That I completely lost my sense of smell is why I believe it is covid.

The first two days I ate a lot of raw rue seeds and it seemed to clear the lethargy and mind fogginess during peak effects. I also smudged the house and inhaled the smoke of rue. I cannot measure the long term healing.

Day 2 and 3 I drank a lot of mistletoe tea and this plant just makes me feel healthy and normal and I am able to function even better than normal during it's effects. I mistook that state for complete recovery a few times, but now I know some symptoms return after a while. Viscum album has been shown to have immune stimulating, antiviral and anti-inflammatory effect. Also, similar to rue it has anti-platelet aggregation properties, which is also important for covid.

Today I am testing out a species of artemisia...

I feel the symptoms are getting milder and milder everyday, but especially the lethargy and mind fog is taking more time to clear out.

Have you recovered Jagube?

 

[Jagube]

Thanks for checking in, Dithyramb. Hope you get well soon!

The worse of it was in mid August, then it got better for a while before it got worse again. It reached another peak last week, but this week I've been much better.
I've been eating raw rue seeds and a few other things, mostly vitamins and the like. Also NAC, and I'm waiting on l-lysine.

Two days ago I even tried a small amount of my new, experimental ACRB preparation (cold vinegar soaks) and had a good experience, which reassured me I was getting better. The following morning I felt worse again, but got better the same afternoon.

I'm also experiencing brain zaps upon waking up and before falling asleep, in the transition between sleep and wakefulness. Many people with confirmed Covid experience those. They only started ~2 weeks ago. But they're not that bad.

Since I've had the symptoms for 2 months now and they've been intermittent, I don't want to create false hope, the possibility of relapse is still there, but looking at the 7 day average it does seem to be getting better.

 

[Sabnock1990]

Just to provide a quick update, i'm fine, no longer sick, been fine pretty much all week, so whatever i had the Rue worked apparently. I went to see my gf on Wednesday and she was still sick, in fact sicker and she usually seems to have a much better immune system than i so i'm glad i took the Rue when i did otherwise i imagine i would've been sick as all hell. I'm still trying to get phlegm out of my lungs, which is hard to do because it's not wanting to come out but i'm getting some out here and there, but that's the only thing that's still ongoing, otherwise i feel 100% back to normal.

 

[dithyramb]

Thank you, Jagube. I am glad you feel better. İt seems to be true that this disease comes in waves / can make you go through a relapse... Today my fever and fatigue increased. I went full on with eating fresh rue seeds and it really worked a miracle. İ feel very well right now, but I will continue to be on the watch. Also considering Jagube's and shamenstamen's anecdotes, rue seems to be very effective against this disease. İ hope you guys stay well, shamenstamen and jagube!

 

[dithyramb]

Apparently it is not uncommon for covid-19 infection to continue for months (and who knows how much longer still). (known as long covid). A recovery from symptoms does not warrant relaxing into unprotected ways. İ am continuing to eat small amounts of rue seeds every morning, and I am also eating nettle seeds and drinking fresh pine cone tea... I think I will continue supplementing myself in a similar way for quite some time.

 

[Jagube]

Yes, apparently many younger people (in their 20's, 30's and 40's) get asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic covid, followed by long covid, which may go on for months (I've read accounts from people in their 9th month). This long covid may be a chronic inflammatory disease, after the infection has been cleared out, although the active infection may persist too. A negative PCR test doesn't mean the infection has been cleared, it may have moved to the brain for example where a throat swab wouldn't detect it. And there are concerns it may stay in the brain forever, as is the case with the Herpes virus.

I was much better last week, and towards the end of it I got worse again.

I don't want to say my rue regimen is an anecdotal report speaking for its effectiveness against covid, it hasn't been long enough and I've been taking many things. The greatest improvement started before I started taking rue or harmalas.

I've joined several support groups now, including the Slack one on Body Politic, and the Reddit ones.

My current symptoms include vertigo, mucus in the throat, mildly sore throat, GERD, abdominal pain, a mild headache, tinnitus and weird sensations in the head. Also in the mornings and at night I continue to experience brain zaps.

 

[dithyramb]

I'm sorry Jagube, I hope you find your way out of this in short time.

For me it has been a 6 day journey. My symptoms have been slight fever, fatigue, brain fog, muscle ache, and loss of smell. Today is the 7th day and I feel healthy except I still don't have a sense of smell. I only had proper rest yesterday and the other days I had been working hard harvesting and processing plants. I can tell how important proper rest is for recovery...

My healing regimen has been heavy doses of rue (eating fresh raw seeds over 5g at a time) and mistletoe (I never weighed the plant matter but it really was a lot!), two cups of a tea from a local species of artemisia per day, lots of lemon juice, and eating lots of fresh nettle seeds. Just yesterday I added fresh pine cone tea to the list. I was already feeling ok by that time but I will continue with this whole package for a while. Pine cones are also supposedly potent antivirals and immune stimulators (along with being good cleaners of the respiratory system).

Mistletoe has the ability to temporarily remove fatigue and the feeling of being ill (I believe it offers long term healing ad well). Today I feel ok without having drunk mistletoe yet... I appreciate having a clear head!

I will continue to report my process.

 

[ms_manic_minxx]

Jagube, I'm sorry you're dealing with this. Glad you found the slack group!

I haven't felt ready to talk about this at all until now, but I got WRECKED by covid in March. Absolutely wrecked. The first night my symptoms came on, my lungs felt like they filled up with hot and sour soup and I started tripping BALLS. Like entity contact level, something made itself known to my nervous system. I saw bodies exploding with rotten pustules, turning into black dust and blowing away. And a bunch of other similarly morbid things. for hours and hours. If I hadn't tripped before, I would have checked myself into the psych ward.

That turned into what people thought was meningitis. I was eventually able to be seen at a neuro covid clinic and was diagnosed with inflammation of the blood vessels of the brain. The reason THC probably felt terrible at the time I tried it was because I had cerebral vasculitis. I did over 100 days on steroids to get it under control.

I felt like I was on mushrooms for the first two months. Constant tactile and visual disturbances like carpets swirling, colors pulsing.

I'm sharing this because, here's something that might interest Nexians: one doctor who has been so on point about calling various other parts of the pandemic (like covid isn't just ards, etc.) proposed the serotonin hypothesis.

50% of the body's serotonin uses the lungs for reuptake. If covid blows out the lungs, some people may end up with insanely high serotonin in plasma levels. This would cause serotonin syndrome-like symptoms that could last for ??? the entire acute viral phase (2 weeks), or who even knows how long it takes the lungs to repair?

This is the doctor's twitter. He's constantly updating, so it's really interesting to read the stickies and dig through his entire twitter:

https://twitter.com/farid__jalali?lang=en

I think it triggered epilepsy and I'm waiting to get some scans done. I was in peak physical shape before this happened. I think it also screwed up my mast cells because I also got relief from doing the H1 + H2 blocker combo. Mast cells, platelets, serotonin, it's probably all connected somehow.

I have found some relief from my inflammatory symptoms with cat's claw + jergon sacha. And THC... after I finished the steroids and my heart rate stabilized. (When I tried it months before, my resting heart rate would spike to 160 for no reason and I could barely walk across the house, so adding THC to that was an awful idea). Melatonin and vitamin D made me feel good. I just started turmeric, after the long covid center at Mt. Sinai started making it part of their protocol.

 

[Jagube]

Thanks ms_manic_minxx for the update.

My (and many other people's) brain zaps are similar to what psychedelics cause and also what people experience when getting on or off SSRI's, so the serotonin theory would make sense. Sometimes I also feel like I'm tripping.
I haven't noticed any symptoms indicative of lung damage, but I haven't done any intensive exercise.

I feel like there is something in my head, crawling inside my skull and causing electric discharges / resets when I lie down and close my eyes.

I wish there was a neuro covid clinic here. Nothing like that unfortunately. No point in seeing a doctor as I've already seen 5 and they didn't find anything and just sent me off with "It's probably anxiety."

I've been considering Cat's Claw too, but some studies have shown bark extracts increase IL-6 and leaf extracts decrease it. Mine is bark, which is not ideal.

 

[dithyramb]

The impact of covid-19 on the brain might be greater than on the lungs.

How Covid-19 can damage the brain

Some scientists suspect that Covid-19 causes respiratory failure and death not through damage to the lungs, but the brain – and other symptoms include headaches, strokes and seizures.

www.bbc.com

 

[dithyramb]

It's my second day of seeming full recovery minus sense of smell. Yesterday I drank a full dose rue + dmt containing plant. I have not noticed any adverse effect on my immunity or recovery process.