Psyches & The Immune System

[TheAppleCore]

O.K., this has now happened one too many times for me to ignore it: I catch a cold within hours of tripping.

Last semester I recall it happened at least twice. The first I recall was becoming ill within about a day of tripping on 4-AcO-DMT. Then, I remember, I got a really nasty cold which started to attack me as I was peaking on 2C-C. Now, this semester, within 48 hours of a 4-AcO-DMT trip, sick again.

Based on when & how often I tripped this semester, there was about a ~17% chance of randomly catching a cold within 48 hours of dosing a psychedelic. Not beyond the realm of possibility, but you know, it's happened three times since summertime.

Anyone else with some further insight on the matter?

 

[lamanogaucha]

Fascinating... I'm getting over a harsh cold that began as I was peaking on 60mg of 2C-C almost a week ago. I've caught colds three times over the last year, invariably during or shortly after a psychedelic experience. Granted, I've been through a good deal of stress for much of that time, but this is still an intriguing topic.

 

[psood0nym]

Hmm, I trip all the time and haven't been stay home sick for 12 years despite living with a woman whose been sick twice just this winter. I've wondered if the occasional psychedelic-induced puke might purge bugs, actually. I occasionally get excessive mucus production while tripping but I think that's just because the body misidentifies the psychedelic as histamine. It's this sort of spurning the immune system into action in error that I'd expect would LESSEN one's frequency of sickness, if anything, by inducing the body to effectively flush itself out.

I'd say it's socializing with infectious people while tripping that's the source of the bugs. Also, if you drink more alcohol to get to sleep after a day of tripping like I do that can depress the immune system.

EDIT: also be aware that illnesses tend of have a gestation period of a few days, during which no symptoms are experienced.

 

[cryptix420]

I often think of the phrase 'you don't get something for nothing' when it comes to using drugs.

Even safe drugs like LSD and mushrooms exact a toll on the mind, body, and soul. Whether or not it is worth the cost is up to the user.

 

[psood0nym]

^Balderdash! Karmic repayment for pleasure is philosophy, not medicine, and a self-sabotaging philosophy at that. For me, psychedelics are the gift that keeps giving. Now, excuse me, I have some more cake that needs eating.

 

[zn13bt]

I occasionally get excessive mucus production while tripping but I think that's just because the body misidentifies the psychedelic as histamine.

I often get a runny nose when I'm tripping. Especially on 2C-I, for some reason.

 

[RobotRipping]

over the weekend i came down with a nasty flu while tripping on proscaline. Really sucked but i knew i was getting the flu anyway, it's flu season and everyone is getting sick around here now. I think it was going to happen whether i tripped or not. However the next 2 days of being sick i did ethcathinone both nights and it completely took away all symptoms of the flu, even tho i was binging on it i didn't have a crash or big come down, my flu symptoms just returned. Today i am feeling better, so IMO psychs don't really have an impact on the immune system IME. I think stimulants may have helped me get over my flu quicker than normal but if not, then they provided hours of relief while going through it which made it much easier to deal with. I hate tripping while sick tho, terrible.

 

[sekio]

As far as I know, psychedelics don't really interact with the immune system per se, it's all indirect. 5HT2a agonists like 2Cx don't directly interfere with immune processes, even though they may modify some aspects of immune response (viz. DOI's potent antiinflammatory effect). Some of the phenethylamines are also adrenergic ligands, so they will also act as decongestants to some extent. Hence the runny nose.

A likely explanation, though, is that your body is simply stressed by psychedelic usage and becomes more vulnerable to infection. There are defined physiological responses to psychedelic/stimulant drugs, and I am sure they at the very least increase basal metabolic rate.

 

[Dmytry]

in my experience, one time i had pink eye, took 4-aco-dmt, and felt much better after the trip. but that may have something to do with serotonin regulating the immune system and psilocin (metabolite) being so close to serotonin structurally. stress itself is a huge contributor to illness

 

[Ismene]

Strange apple, psychedelics and in particular MDMA always CURE colds for me. I've always assumed it's because the body temperature increases slightly which helps your body destroy the lurgy.

 

[lamanogaucha]

I'd say it's socializing with infectious people while tripping that's the source of the bugs. Also, if you drink more alcohol to get to sleep after a day of tripping like I do that can depress the immune system. Also be aware that illnesses tend of have a gestation period of a few days, during which no symptoms are experienced.

The thing is that I trip alone 95% of the time. The other 5% is with my wife (she as sitter). I don't drink alcohol either... As you said, it normally takes a few days for the bug to do its work, so in my case, this is almost certainly just coincidence. As a side note, and as others pointed out, psychedelics can indeed give one a runny nose at some point during the experience, this without any other flu/cold symptoms. 4-AcO-DMT always does this for me; some other psychedelic compounds too, from time to time. Interesting topic.

 

[RobotRipping]

4-aco-dmt consistently gives me watery eyes, to the point where i have to wipe them every few minutes, frustrating and strange. I don't take 4-aco-dmt anymore.

 

[TheAppleCore]

Strange apple, psychedelics and in particular MDMA always CURE colds for me. I've always assumed it's because the body temperature increases slightly which helps your body destroy the lurgy.

Interesting. I was guessing that my problem was that psychedelics were ~lowering~ my body temperature. I consistently feel very very cold on psychedelics, and have to wear significantly warmer clothing, and turn up the heat in my room.

As you said, it normally takes a few days for the bug to do its work, so in my case, this is almost certainly just coincidence.

The fact that a virus contraction takes awhile to manifest doesn't rule out the possibility that psychedelics still play a role. It could be that, if you trip while harboring a virus, it will weaken your defenses to the point of tipping you over the edge into illness, whereas if you hadn't taken the psychedelic, you would have fought off the virus without noticing a thing.

 

[TheAppleCore]

I often think of the phrase 'you don't get something for nothing' when it comes to using drugs.

You know, I was thinking about this. I think that everything comes at a price in life, not only with regard to drugs. And conversely, you can't ever sustain a loss, because every loss is recompensed in some way.

Once you realize this, it's very liberating. You can't ever make a "wrong" choice - even total self-destruction simply creates a blank canvas, on which the forces of creation will paint a new and entirely different, but no lesser or greater, picture.

Sorry for getting all philosophical and off-topic. But I think this is important stuff to keep in mind.

 

[cryptix420]

^ such is the beauty of impermanence, one of th 3 basic Buddhist principles of human existence.

 

[Foreigner]

Psychedelics engage the sympathetic nervous system bigtime, making your body more active than it usually will be for the duration of a trip. If your body is already tired, malnourished, or possibly fighting a low level infection, then a psychedelic could make it worse; but I agree that the effect is indirect. The psychedelic itself does not weaken your immune system, your own body's energy output in response to the psychedelic is what does it. Psychedelics are fairly catabolic on the body. In order to trip your body will have to sacrifice resources and work that it would be otherwise investing in other areas, like immunity.

If you get sick after doing psychs then you need to address your lifestyle: healthy diet (all the nutrients, etc.), exercise, proper balance of rest and activity, and if necessary immune adaptogens in the form of herbal medicine.

 

[lamanogaucha]

The fact that a virus contraction takes awhile to manifest doesn't rule out the possibility that psychedelics still play a role. It could be that, if you trip while harboring a virus, it will weaken your defenses to the point of tipping you over the edge into illness, whereas if you hadn't taken the psychedelic, you would have fought off the virus without noticing a thing.

That makes perfect sense and it's very much in line with what Foreigner said right above me. BTW, I too tend to feel cold when on psychedelics -- almost always, in fact.

@Foreigner: I maintain a pretty healthy lifestyle and take vitamins every day. That's probably why I get sick only once about every twenty trips (i.e. ~5% of the time). I bet that if I didn't take care of myself as much, I'd rather often fall ill during or shortly after a trip.

 

[Ismene]

Interesting. I was guessing that my problem was that psychedelics were ~lowering~ my body temperature. I consistently feel very very cold on psychedelics, and have to wear significantly warmer clothing, and turn up the heat in my room.

I tend to find that for the first comeup but don't you get a bit warmer after that?

I'm not entirely sure whether psychedelics do increase body temp - have to do a bit of reading round. I always find they offer a good relief from colds anyway - apparantly LSD is as effective a painkiller as heroin.

Perhaps it's the lack of sleep and not eating that lowers your immune system?

 

[TheAppleCore]

Perhaps it's the lack of sleep and not eating that lowers your immune system?

This must have something to do with it, as well. On trip days I eat less, and the following night I sleep less.