"Side efects" of DMT. Irresponsible amounts.

[Enigmatic Fart]

I need to word this question carefully, so no one tries anything dangerous, hoping it's not so.

Has anyone ever binged on DMT, or used excessively high amounts? Please don't brag, it encourages others to be irresponsible. I am interested in distinguishing between accute, short term, and long term effects.

I ask because I'm getting to the point in my THC career (dabs only now), where I notice distinct negative outcomes from binge sessions (few days, not hours). I'm slowing my intake (cold turkey yields hot/cold flashes, diminished appetite, sleeplessness, and anxiety/restlessness), but this tells me that the accute effects eventually will translate into short term effects (pretty sure I'll be right in a few weeks). Looking at my mother, who smokes far less than I do, but has been at it for longer, it definitely translates to long term effects in similar areas as well.

While I do hope DMT is minimally invasive, it does cross the blood brain barrier and interacts with the neuro-chemistry within. Does anyone notice differences in themselves depending on frequency of use and quantity used? Again, we do not need anyone to test this out, that is not how science is done.

The way I'm approaching this is, if I were to use DMT once a week for a lifetime, how would that affect my life, as opposed to if I had not...


First post! Advice appreciated
I searched for "effects DMT" and found no discussions (good or bad)
Hello everyone!

 

[Metanoia]

Cannabis has become the same way for me, after abusing it very badly for many years. I can only quit cold turkey, however. If I have Cannabis, I will smoke it or eat it. Daily. I quit smoking for about two years once and all those negative side effects diminished with time; although it took almost a year before I was "normal". Just to be clear I was smoking upwards of 3 grams a day, so I'm sure it wouldn't take a full year for someone who doesn't abuse it as badly.

From my regular use of DMT I have noticed no negative side effects. I smoked changa every night for over a week and the only things I noticed were positive; increased vividness in my dreams at night, generally more positive and productive mood throughout the day, greater interest in philosophy and the mystical, greater empathy...

I'm sure there could be negative side effects if you really abused DMT. You can't get away with abusing any drug without consequences. Can DMT be abused? Yes. Is it common? No. So I think any side effects would be relatively mild and short-lived.

Welcome to the forum! :thumb_up:

 

[NotTwo]

I know from my own experience and from watching others that abusing something - whether it be a legal or illegal drug or some kind of activity - that usually it's in order to hide or escape from some aspect of oneself. There's a kind of temporary gratification and during that gratification the underlying dissatisfaction is covered up. This ranges from very minor abuse, such as a coffee or a cigarette in your lunch break, right up to getting your next heroine fix.

People often come back from dmt experiences with really positive reports and it would be pretty easy to confuse those with the stories of gratification you get from abuse of some substance or activity. But, if they're anything like my experiences, I don't think many would deny that what they went through was a challenge; you might even call them a rite of passage to some other greater realm. There's been no escape from a negative aspect of oneself; it been full on exposure to it and, in the process, an insight into what's really going on, hence the euphoria on returning with a deeper understanding.

In those circumstances I can't see how something like dmt could be abused. I also can't see how anyone would really want to take it too regularly - it's just simply too intense and confrontational. Like Terrence McKenna said, "you've got to have balls to take this substance". As regards amount, there isn't really a maximum dose. It's going to stop you before you can take much more than a breakthrough dose.

 

[NotTwo]

I probably should add that I am taking a relatively small amount of dmt (15 mg) once a week. The reasons for that are, as they say, "a bit complicated".

However, as regards effects, I notice that I generally have more creativity especially on the visual imagination side of things (which is a side I generally lack). I also feel I can see deeper into issues especially when it comes to understanding how I'm reacting to things. It's not so automatic and something can step in and show me it's just a process.

It's nothing major but after a fortnight of not smoking I start to lose the depth of vision that comes with that regular contact.

Oh and I seem to be able to go in and out of dreams especially round 5 or 6 am. I wake, remember the dream, then slot myself back in there as if the dream world and waking world were much more intertwined

 

[hortwizard]

I've come to a point in my life where I feel I have abusing cannabis as well. While I have not gotten into the dabs, I do find my self smoking way too often and at inopportune times. This ultimately makes me lazy and sometimes I find it hard to communicate difficult concepts in a work setting. The only way for me to quit would be to completely remove all it from my house. However, since I am a grower this is easier said than done. I have quit cold turkey before but I find myself becoming quite moody for the first month or so and I am not fun to be around.

Dmt on the other hand is self regulating. Yes their is potential for abuse, but the hyperspace gods will be swift in giving you a smackdown if you take this molecule lightly.

Regarding your question, using DMT once a week for the rest of your life sounds a little excessive. I wouldn't use it as a band-aid for another underlying addiction problem or you might find your self opening an even bigger can of worms. My advice is if you do decide to go down this path, take it slow, don't be quick to tell the uninitiated about your adventures as you will come off as bat #%$% crazy, and finally smile! You are about to join an exclusive club that 99.9999% of the population will never hear about in their lifetime.

Welcome to the Nexus!

 

[Enigmatic Fart]

Thank you all for your amazing perspectives/experiences. I appreciate you guys talking about the "abuse of any drug" perspective as well. It's all the sober perspectives AA/NA provides, without the irrational extremes.

When I was young, growing up in the Pacific NW, it was easy to find myself taking in the irrational culture of marijuana's miraculous nature. I was not gaining a clear perspective. I'm relieved that I'm not encountering outcries from a similar culture here! My recent relationship with THC is a distancing one and I certainly am clearer on the nature of substances in general and my relationships with them.

Anyway, I'm still very interested in everyone's views on how DMT has impacted (or has not impacted) their life with more and more use. These things are still valuable to discuss for burgeoning nexians to make informed decisions.

I know when my views were more naive, and I was using DMT on a nightly basis, I started having some fairly irrational and superstitious thought processes, myself, but I was using LSD in excess as well. I have definitely grown since then and an working everyday to keep up the pace!

 

[Tryptallmine]

I've gone through a touch over a gram over 24-36 hours at one point. I wouldn't recommend it, it was way too much. I felt pretty horrible as a result - Nauseated, headaches, felt like my teeth were going to fall out. Typical tryptamine hangover.

A few heavy trips on the second day made me anxious for days and generally detached or ungrounded.

It dissipated over the coming week.

I couldn't imagine ever doing that again. I don't find I have the desire to even smoke it much anymore, it doesn't have anything to offer me right now.

 

[○]

Great posts above.

Yeah, anything can be abused, with the consequences of that particular substance being relative to it's nature as a substance and it's specific interaction with a human ; all substances varying in their side effects and withdrawal effects.

For me, i've worked with DMT since January of 09', probably close to a couple hundred journeys, probably half of those being breakthrough/full dissolution types of experiences. I smoked DMT/changa alot during the first year or so, half of that first year being 4-6 times a week, eventually dwindling down to 2-3 times a week for that first year. Many call this phase a 'honeymoon' phase. For me, I 'really' wanted to see what this experience could do, so I partook often. Eventually, over the years, with the experiences i've had, I rarely touch it now; maybe 3-4 times a year, maybe. The sheer power of this experience is beyond what we can grasp; it's humbled me to the ends of the earth; and with that - I keep a healthy respect knowing it's potential to rip my life apart, to immediately put into question everything I thought I had an understanding of. These are my views though, so I realize that they don't apply with everyone.


With this route though (dosing consistently), sooner or later, a hyperslap (difficult experience) is typically in store. Those can do a wide range of things as far as after effects though - you could swear off the experience for a huge amount of time, it could intrigue you more, it could humble you to the n'th degree, you might quit DMT altogether; it's really hard to say specifically. For me, there were a few experiences that were so overwhelmingly deep and powerful early on, that i took 5-6 months off; swearing off DMT for a long while. The DMT experience is pretty self-regulating if you're working with committed dosages and are fairly frequent in dosing - it's typically just a matter of time in that case that the self-regulation takes effect. :twisted:

Could the experience be abused? Sure, if you're staying in threshold levels and using these threshold levels in a range of recreational activities (or even just sitting around on your couch). I could see how you could get addicted to the various effects at those lower dosages.

There's a hump you get over with the bigger dosages though, especially when they're efficiently delivered. More times than not - at that degree of dissolution and breakthrough; that's typically not something that most are so keen to repeat quickly; typically those types of experiences satisfy for a decent amount of time.

For me personally, there hasn't been any negative effects i can think of. As Metanoia said, it's all been mostly positive. Life/reality is visually more beautiful; the smallest things tend to move me many degrees moreso than before. Mentally speaking, my mind is more impartial to most things; I rarely get worked up over much, thoughts I can usually just observe and let go of; not holding onto things like I used to. (im not perfect though) Psychedelics, especially DMT, have opened me up to this pervading calmness; something I can't really put my finger on - something that seems to pervade all of reality, something that I feel intensely a part of, inseparable. Most of times, I can get out of my thoughts and just abide in that calmness; a sort of detachment I guess; yet highly aware of everything. Life's became wordless; always feels like a Mystery; that childlike wonder pervades my life; alot of the time I get lost in it. It's like my imagination is running on high octane fuel.

**That all being said - we're all human, geographically we are all spread out; different cultures, different ways of life, different upbringings, different hopes/fears/loves/memories so on n' so forth. All these various life factors have shaped us, more or less, as to how we perceive and take in and react to Life and all it's various experiences. Psychedelics imo do what they do; they're there as a tool for the Self; and how we choose to react and assimilate these experiences falls on us. That being said - these experience can change our life for the better, or they can change our life for the worse; all resting on the individual and how they choose to react, assimilate , and mold the realizations into their Life. I think a healthy respect is important. These experiences, especially the ones that completely obliterate your life and everything knowable, 'can' drive you mad if you allow it; often it's a very fine line to walk. With that - as many here have attested including myself - having daily activities in which you can funnel these internal energies/thoughts into - whether it be yoga, some form of meditation, art, exercise, writing; or even just walking in the woods - these all can greatly enhance your relationship with these experiences, your thoughts and Life.

 

[Nathanial.Dread]

Specific effects I'd watch out for: feelings of dissociation, paranoia, anxiety, delusions.

If you're responsible and take the time to fully integrate each experience, I wouldn't worry about it, but too much too fast could definitely mess around with your perceptions of what is real or not.

Blessings
~ND