5-MeO-DMT Breathlessness

[GrandMasterFrillz]

I've been thinking about trying Ayahuasca or smoking DMT sometime this summer after the academic year ends. So I've been reading about and researching into nn-DMT and 5-MeO-DMT online in order to better prepare myself for the experience. It sounds like Ayahuasca is the gentlest path to take when it comes to the DMT endeavour, but I am most curious about smoking it too.

A lot of users seem to report an inability to breath correctly as an effect of smoking 5-MeO-DMT:

"My instinctual breathing mechanism ceases working, and I find myself deliberately trying to keep breathing."

Another trip report describes the experience in this way:

"It is a push, a shove, an acceleration, a rocket exhaust, a steadily rising voltage, like being at the base of the Grand Coulee Dam as an earthquake shatters the concrete wall and lets 50,000,000 gallons of water follow the force of gravity towards your body and sweep you off into the great beyond, and you don't have any idea where it will tail off and allow you to breathe again. Higher and higher and higher and yet again higher and just as it starts to get unbearable, the peak is reached, and I settle down into the roller coaster and realize I will live."

My question is this: Is this feeling of breathlessness an actual physical occurrence? Is it actually difficult to breath, or is it just seemingly difficult to breath? Is there any real danger associated with the breathlessness induced by the 5-MeO-DMT experience?

Thanks, GrandMasterFrillz

 

[Reverend Random]

Great question. There does indeed seem to be this feeling of being without breath with 5-Methoxy-DMT... I really doubt that it's got something to do with actually slowing down your breathing, but it does sure influence the experience of breathing! It can however seem difficult to breathe, although personally I feel like I need to take deep breaths in order to maintain some contact with physical reality, because the sudden blast into another dimension can be quite overwhelming and there's no real way to prepare yourself for the launch. Breathing really deeply seems like a way to ground yourself, at least in my case.

 

[GrandMasterFrillz]

Thank you for your quick response! As far as psychedelics are concerned, I've never really ventured outside the realms of LSD and relatively low doses of psilocybin, so I can safely say I've always felt pretty comfortable and still in contact with the physical realm during my past experiences. My breathing has always been instinctual and something that I've not really thought about in the past during a trip. The DMT experience sounds like something else completely!

 

[PippUK]

With regard to 5MeO-DMT, there are profound physical effects alongside the mental phenomena, and they are not all psychosomatic.

Cardiovascular effects can be quite pronounced. In my experience, I perhaps over egged it a bit the first time. I noticed tightness in my chest affecting my breathing, rather strong red flushing of my skin, intense salivation (as precursor to nausea) and a very definite sense of pressure in my body. It fairly shook me, as maybe the second RC material I'd ever tried at that point (10 years since). I little understood the meaning of the 5MeO prefix and was naively starstruck by the other initials - DMT. Thankfully I had followed Shulgins dosage advice. . .

After that I aimed lower and worked upwards. The startling physical effects were thereby reduced though still present. I was not so unnerved by them after that and have not had to dash for the bucket since.
I suspect the nausea was psychosomatic as a result if the sudden physiological surprise I played upon my unwitting body.
The advantage of 5MeO-DMTs short duration of effect assured me that I might expect to survive my encounter even if things appeared to be going badly askew.

Still, caution is as always advised, but especially with 5MeO-DMT. There are some reports of very bad outcomes in quite a few cases, mainly due to excessive dosages, unwise combinations, confusion of nomenclature and plain old panic.

I like to dabble in it maybe once or twice a year. Each time it reminds me of it's tremendous power. The physical and sensual effects are now enjoyable rather than threatening. It remains in the arsenal.

Take care with this one. Approach sensibly and reap the rewards. Watch out if you have underlying medical conditions.
Peace - Pipp

 

[Morninggloryseed]

Forgive me for simply re-posting a bit I wrote from elsewhere....but it seems relevant to this thread....

When I provide the sacrament I give a 'mantra' which is 'breathe' and I remind the initiate to focus on that mantra, that I sit across from the initiate watch them take it in, say out-loud "BREATHE' and then 'oneness' and then I breathe in rhythm with the hand-selected music (Fireman- "Rushes" song 4). This initiate ran into a pickle about 30 seconds in which I was completely in-tune to....he began to hyperventilate so I took his hand, said 'breathe' loudly' and prayed and sent him good vibes, and he snapped out of the pickle... When the trip was over, I saw a man so grateful for life and so taken aback.....

In his own words, he said I 'saved him' and pulled him back from the 'brink of darkness into the light.' Then he called it the most life-changing experience he ever had...and I reminded him that nothing in his life has changed...the 5-MeO-DMT only was a wake up call...

Follow my procedure (the breathing 'mantra'.) It works every time...tried, tested, and true on a number of people spanning early 20s to a native american woman in her 50s.

If you don't have a 'guide' or 'sitter' to help facilitate this experience, then you need to spend some time learning breathing exercises and being able to focus on these breathing exercises even with distractions around you...this will help you 'learn' to control your breathing even when 'out of body.'

Approach it with intentions (and some self-assurances that you are going to be stronger for doing it.) Nothing or nobody can prepare you for the type of experience 5-MeO-DMT produces but if you know your material, and know your dose, then you know it's safe...the rest is all in your mind. Embrace the fear as opposed to trying to 'conquer' it.

 

[xx001]

The sketchy physical effects of 5-meo-dmt seem to be quite common, especially a feeling of tightness and pressure on the chest. Just start small to see how it will effect you before trying to break into another dimension.

 

[RobotRipping]

i think it's psychological. I felt the exact same thing but knew my body would subconsciously keep me breathing and went with it, turned out great! but it is a scary feeling. You aren't likely to stop breathing though. 5-meo-dmt is insanely strong but i think it'll affect you far more psychologically than physiologically.

think of 5-meo-dmt as being launched out of a cannon, yeah you're going to feel a bit of weird sensation with breathing as you feel that force, as well your chest and body may also feel that force of going so fast. I compare it to sitting in a twin turbo car right as you accelerate super fast, you just get thrown back and your whole body feels it. It's a great feeling! though i do prefer to take a benzo before 5-meo-dmt as it's a bit too fast.

 

[Morninggloryseed]

I have to admit I've smoked a lot of 5-MeO-DMT as well as shared a bunch...never heard of these effects.......hyperventilating I've seen, but no sketchy body feelings or pressure on the chest. Guess it just doesn't happen in this neighborhood.

 

[Reverend Random]

Might be dose-related as well. I've never experienced an actual chest tightening either, but then again, my dose was always 11 or 12 mg. vaporized.

I just remembered: the first time I introduced my friend to 5-MeO, we both did it together (with a third friend sitting us). In the middle of the experience, he suddenly panicked, got up and walked towards me and told me to never forget breathing. We told him that he was all right (don't know how I was able to though) and that he was breathing all the time anyway, which calmed him down. That was intense!

Btw, mgs's mantra is very good advice for tripping in general. Remember to breathe... very easy, very efficient for when you're feeling shitty. Focussing on your breathing helps!

 

[RobotRipping]

when i smoke 5-meo-dmt it's at a dose that sends me to the void. Every single time, i'll feel my body stop breathing and disconnect and then be shot into the void, centre of the universer or god or something. If i focus on my breathing i end up giving myself panic attacks (well panic for the brief moment before lift off). Just remember your body will make sure you are breathing, at least with 5-meo-dmt.

 

[redeyesmj]

I feel that breath is so connected with life how could it feel like it is not being affected by a deep ego shattering trip. when I smoke 5-meo-dmt I have two different breathing experiences. one I feel as I am breathing for the world, like I am breathing for the uncounsous people and I am doing my part to keep the whole alive. This usually involves me breathing very heavy and deep. the second I experience is the lack of breath or me holding my breath, as I hold my breath and let go of all my thoughts I can see visually all the thoughts leave my brain and I am left with a swirling point of existence..i can watch the energy that makes up all beings flow and try to keep flowing on without the help of my physical body. In essence I like to feel the energy that sustains us slowly start to slip away with the lack of life giving breath...death

 

[psy997]

I actually get this with regular DMT, where I "forget" to breath and find myself then taking larger breaths to make up for it.

 

[Jesusgreen]

With regular N,N-DMT I've had the experience where it seemed like I ceased breathing or needing to breathe, I'm pretty sure I was still actually breathing just unaware of it though, but after a certain period of holding the hit in it no longer feels like I'm struggling to hold it and actually feels like I could hold it infinitely longer now and am suddenly no longer breathless. Weird feeling and one I've not experienced with any other drug.

 

[vegan]

personal experience :
you don't even remember that you're breathing or have a body, so "problem breathing doesn't fit in the equation"

at a dose that's worth its name, ayahuasca cannot be called the gentlest path to take dmt. it lasts much longer and gets as strong as smoked
yes, it usually builds up more slowly
but the passage from a ++ to an absolutely overwhelming experience can sometimes be as quite quick as a couple minutes