Has anyone had an allergic reaction to these?
Not that I've heard of ... and I've read tons of reports ... but it's always possible.
Yes, definitely.
I might buy a 150mcg blotter, i've never tripped before, so should i start with half a tab?
I've personally never experimented down at that level. TiHKAL indicates 80 to 160 mcg, and 150 mcg has become the de facto "1-hit" dose. 150 mcg is definitely a very enjoyable experience for me. And pushing to 300 mcg can pretty reliably open the psychedelic floodgates -- again, for me. I don't feel the need (only the curiosity) to go higher. I know others who have. It's always best to start small and grow, though.
The question becomes one of efficient use of material: if 75 mcg doesn't do much for you, will you be stuck with another useless 75 mcg half-tab? Or do you have a reliable source for more? It would be a shame to waste the whole experience by cutting up your one and only (if that's the case) worthwhile dose into two.
How long would you say a 75mcg or 150mcg trip would last?
TiHKAL says 6-8 hours. And that's about right, I think. (In the end, you can't really say exactly when a trip starts and stops -- especially stops.) Your question about pupil dilation has me wondering: are you trying to do this within a specific time frame and without anyone knowing what you're up to? If so, you're still going to look like an owl well past that 8-hour mark ... and probably not be quite "right" (mentally) after your first psychedelic experience until the next day. Just a friendly word of warning.
(With more on that below.)
Wow ... how to answer that? It's safe for me to do it alone -- so far. But that does nothing to answer your question. If someone insisted on doing a psychedelic alone for his first experience, AL-LAD is probably the one I would give him. But, I wouldn't recommend that. So, that does nothing to answer your question either. I think you're going to have to make that call. If you do decide to do it alone, then do yourself a favor and read every trip report you can get your eyes on. Know what to expect. And, as someone earlier said, have a Benzo on hand for a quick "out."
Really, it would be best by far to have a sitter for your first psychedelic experience. (Maybe all of them ... IDK?) You don't really know how solid you are until you're there, and once you're there it's kind of too late to go into rational planning mode. In a "proper" psychedelic state, you're liable to become highly suggestible to every implausible and impossible thought that crosses your mind. And it often feels like millions of them are crossing your mind every second. Most of them are benign, amusing, funny, totally ridiculous, and on and on. But, when they turn scary and sinister (as they admittedly do not often do on AL-LAD), someone from "back home" can give you a little jolt and reestablish the real world tether. (I don't know if that's a metaphor that will make perfect sense.) Got any friends with 6 hours to kill?
Here's maybe the most important thing. If I'm reading this situation correctly (with the clues being your concern with pupil dilation and trip length), I suspect that you're trying to do this somewhat on the down-low and hoping to get back "in time." Nothing wrong with that on the surface, but I can tell you from experience that this is difficult to pull off. That is, going into any trip with urgency and the thought of "I've got to get this totally wrapped up by 6:45" is a good way to provoke things into going south. That anxiety gets greatly magnified and twisted in all sorts of crazy ways when you're in a psychedelic state. I don't think there's a huge risk of this on 150 mcg of AL-LAD ... but there definitely is on higher doses and with other substances. You don't want to find yourself in Pandora being drawn and quartered by the solar wind while the bricks are flying out of your walls and the ocean is pouring in through your ceiling ... and then have the thought that your girlfriend is due home -- when? sometime soon? who's my girlfriend? I've lost all track of time? what's time? where am I? who am I? That's when things can get a little dicey. Again, best not to provoke those sorts of experiences ... don't challenge these substances, or yourself on these substances -- especially your first time in. 'Cause you're liable to want to just get out. And you can do that with your Benzo ... but then the whole thing was kind of a waste. I may be misreading the situation, though -- and, if so, you can disregard my concern. Good luck...
While I am not saying you should throw caution to the wind, AL-LAD is pretty gentle. Just be prepared to have everything, including your grasp on reality, questioned. And remember that whatever happens, it will be over in 8 hours, even if those 8 hours may seem like an eternity.
