My girlfriend has a TBI and wants to experience psychidelics with me.

[mortalcoil]

My girlfriend has a traumatic brain injury from 13 years ago. She takes 3 MG Rivastigmine twice daily. I am an experienced psychonaut who is comfortable taking psychidelics, but I am worried about her.

1. Could there be any contraindications between psychedelics and her mushrooms.
2. She has never had a seizure in her life, but the traumatic brain injury makes her more prone to the possibility of seizures. I am worried a psychedelic could trigger a seizure.

I would love to be able to share this experience with her, but I am afraid of possible contraindications. Thank you for your help.

 

[Solipsis]

A seizure would be a possibility, really hard to say what those odds are. Also I guess all traumatic brain injuries are different.
What is her cognition like? Any dysfunction from the injury?

If you both decide to go through with this, start low - extra low perhaps because the medication *might* perhaps potentiate the trip as if it were a typical nootropic.

I don't see a direct contraindication with the medication, most psychedelics aren't cholinergic I believe. Also it's not supposed to be a very much contraindicated medication, but I am not her physician.

A question would be how strong the coherence is in her brain now and whether it is easily destabilized or hard to restabilize.

 

[Volsam]

I'm with Solipsis on this one.

As for combination of acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (Rivastigmine in your case): I've combined Huperzine A (also ACE inhibitor) with some psychedelics and IME it increases effects, including much stronger thought loops, increased visuals, e.t.c, so yes, dose low to begin with.
As for seizures, it's a definitely good sign she never had them, and naturally I'd think psilocybe mushrooms would be a safer choice than many others.

Be safe!

 

[Solipsis]

Which are an unsafer / worse psychedelics choice for seizures you believe? Not sure how well Huperzine A can really be compared but I think it should be a good lead to go on trying to judge the Rivastigmine interaction...

 

[spacejunk]

This is totally speculative with nothing scientific to back it up, but i'd imagine phenethylamine psychedelics would be - for the most part - best avoided.
The 2C-x family seem very tingly and 'electric' in a way that makes me imagine they could cause seizures - and i'd definitely stay the hell away from NBOMes.

But it's a really tough call. I wouldn't really want to encourage someone with a TBI to use any kinds of drugs that could be risky, just on the off chance it causes serious complications.

 

[Volsam]

Which are an unsafer / worse psychedelics choice for seizures you believe?

IMO 4-Aco's tryptamines are not good if you are prone to seizures - there's something in the way the come up happens - there is definite "electricity" that I imagine may trigger an episode in some. Agree with spacejunk on 2C-x's as well. Something as intense as DMT, DET, DPT, and MET will obviously be not a good choice too.

IMO mushrooms, 4-HO-MET or low dose lysergamide would be safest choice if prone to seizures.

 

[Solipsis]

Well I do know about the potential leg tremors with 4-AcO's, not sure if that has any similar bearing to seizure-like activity but you might be onto something.

But actually mushrooms don't seem to be the ideal psychedelic if you want to avoid seizures either, just check this thread: http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads...Seizures-amp-Blackouts-on-Psychedelics-Thread

On 4-HO trypts people do report the leg tremors too by the way.

 

[CrypticArc]

Be very careful of seizures, but there might be something to your idea. Studies show that mushrooms temporarily cause an increase in neurogenesis, the growth of new brain cells. Paul Stammetts used to have a deformed nerve in his brain that would cause him to have an incredibly severe stutter, to the point where it was the worst thing in his life, and mushrooms literally fixed his brain overnight. I'm not saying mushrooms will reverse a TBI but it could have some sort of positive impact in theory.