LSD & acid reflux

[feelgoodhit]

a friend of mine tried LSD for the first time the other day. all went well - peak effects lasted four hours, but at the six-hour point, she started to experience heartburn, which is the first sign of acid reflux (from which she suffers). she hadn't eaten anything out of the ordinary, & rode it out until bed at about the eleven hour point. she had a full night's rest.

the next morning, she woke up experiencing the following symptoms of acid reflux - headache, nausea, & a feeling of not being able to breathe. they lasted into the night time.

she is fairly convinced that it was the LSD (which has "acid" in the chemical name), but i'm trying to figure out whether or not this is true. she had a beneficial trip that she would like to repeat in the future, & i suggested that since acid reflux starts in the stomach, maybe she should try sub-lingual or trans-dermal absorption next time (the LSD was ingested on a sugar cube this time).

what do you guys think? maybe it was the alcohol in the liquid LSD solution that was dropped onto the cube? i'm stumped. any help is appreciated.

love+light,
feelgoodhit

 

[swilow]

Stomach acid production increases under stress, be it good or bad stress. I know if I am worrying or excited I often get heartburn, for which I just take an antacid of h-blocker. While acid reflux is felt in the stomach, it begins in the brain generally. I doubt it was the actual acid or acid-solution that caused it; maybe the adrenal effects though...

 

[SKL]

I can't say anything other than LSD can do funny things to my GI tract. The "acid" in LSD has nothing to do with it though ... quantities being so miniscule and "acid" not being very acidic. Also, the amount of alcohol is very small. It's not the nature of the chemical, but rather it's effects, that I would consider, also depending on what she had eaten or not eaten.

 

[tobala]

A long shot here, but lysergic acid derivatives were used historically in women to induce contractions during pregnancy. The ability of the substance to contract muscle tissue could idiosyncratically be affecting the cardiac sphincter of her stomach.

This valve is the one that prevents gastric contents from refluxing back into the lower esophagus, i.e., anything affecting its operation could manifest in the GERD-like symptoms you describe.

Again, a long shot--more likely it's possible that the stress and excitement of an acid trip could have induced an acid-reflux type response. It's certainly not due to the acid-base properties of LSD itself. It's only ~100 mcg, and could in no way compete with the hydrochloric acid content of normal stomach contents anyway.

 

[feelgoodhit]

let's say it was the stress - it just because it was her first experience? is there any way to tell if this will happen with every psychedelic?

 

[SKL]

Unlikely

 

[Entropymancer]

The "acid" in LSD has nothing to do with it though ... quantities being so miniscule and "acid" not being very acidic.

Very true. Contrary to it's popular name, LSD is not an acid; it's a base! It's lysergic acid diethylamide. And amide is a basic derivative of an acid and an amine (in this case lysergic acid and diethylamine).

 

[n3ophy7e]

Unlikely

I would've said "likely"!

In my own personal experience (I too suffer from reflux), I get reflux most times I take psychedelics. But hey, everyone's different!

Is she on any long-term medications for the reflux? I am on Nexium 40mg once a day, but despite this I still take antacids when I'm tripping. I've just accepted that I need to take this preventative measure every time I take acid. Maybe your friend will too?

 

[feelgoodhit]

so you suggest taking the medication before taking the psychedelic? which medication? she is very opposed to nexium, which actually can make acid reflux worse.

 

[BilZ0r]

Well its hard to say whether this was a direct effect of the serotonin mimicry of LSD or because of the psychological effects feeding back onto the body.

I always get this strange niggling unpleasant feeling in my throat whenever I take any psychedelic (tryptamines being worse than PEAs, except for the short acting trypts).

It is within the bounds of reality for your friend to suffer heart burn every times she takes LSD, or any psychedelic.

She could try it and find out; or she could take a prophylactic approach and take antacids and/or Omeprazole (losec) before hand.

If the LSD is acting directly on the stomach to cause this effect, the taking LSD sublingually might help, though it is debatable how much LSD is absorbed through the mouth when blotters are placed under the tounge (vs just being transporter to the gut via saliva)

 

[n3ophy7e]

so you suggest taking the medication before taking the psychedelic? which medication? she is very opposed to nexium, which actually can make acid reflux worse.

I just take Zantac 300mg before I trip, as well as the daily Nexium, and I have normal antacids on hand during the trip just in case I still get reflux.
I'm not very savvy with any other meds for reflux, I'm fairly new to the syndrome!

 

[feelgoodhit]

do the meds you use ever provide side effects DURING your experience?

anyone else have preventative measures to share? by the way, it doesn't sound like she had a particularly stressful experience, certainly less than most other LSD experiences (probably because of the low dose).

 

[n3ophy7e]

do the meds you use ever provide side effects DURING your experience?

Do you mean adverse side effects? Nope.
But if you mean did they provide relief during the trip, then yes, definitely!

 

[burn out]

If the LSD is acting directly on the stomach to cause this effect, the taking LSD sublingually might help, though it is debatable how much LSD is absorbed through the mouth when blotters are placed under the tounge (vs just being transporter to the gut via saliva)

that would be a question easily answered by not swallowing.

 

[Jabberwocky]

I don't have any sources for this other than my own personal experience (of myself and friends) but I am sure LSD can cause some funky things with hormones (cortisol being a 'stress' hormone) after the experience. Not always negative, per se, but I could see that aggravating an existing condition like the one you describe your friend having.

Also its hard to eat 'normal' when you're tripping balls on acid since you don't want to eat usually...that throws off your 'baseline' and has given me upset stomachs a time or two before (in fact now that I think about it tummy issues are pretty common for me on psychedelics, ranging from nausea to 'tightness', etc). Maybe suggest next time she trips having some soothing foods or teas around for the comedown?

hope she feels better...and I would say it wouldn't be a repeat thing probably.

peace,
samadhi smiles

 

[swilow]

I just take Zantac 300mg before I trip, as well as the daily Nexium, and I have normal antacids on hand during the trip just in case I still get reflux.
I'm not very savvy with any other meds for reflux, I'm fairly new to the syndrome!

I wouldn't be combining Nexium and ranitidine (zantac) personally. Nexium really does make stomach acid production almost nil- though I get heartburn etc. even when I've taken it. Ranitidine is good, better IMO. Thats what I would take....and do.

 

[Pimp Lazy]

Man I wish I had acid coming out of my stomach. I'd be bulimic though so that wouldn't be cool, but fuck... I'd be an acid machine. Acid going in... acid coming out. 24-7-12-365-1. Yeah baby yeahhh...

Once again chilluns... any drug that has serotonergic effects could have a naughty effect on your tum-tum. That organ is responsible for most of the 5-ht production in your body. So when you interfer with that system directly fear the reaper, but in the non-literal sense.

Peace,
PL

 

[n3ophy7e]

I wouldn't be combining Nexium and ranitidine (zantac) personally. Nexium really does make stomach acid production almost nil- though I get heartburn etc. even when I've taken it. Ranitidine is good, better IMO. Thats what I would take....and do.

Nah ranitidine doesn't help my reflux at all anymore. The Nexium works wonders for me. Taking the ranitidine at the same time as the Nexium before I trip is more of a psychosomatic preventative measure
Each to their own I suppose!

 

[Mr_Fluffykins]

actually i notice this too, heartburn, it takes away form the trip

 

[swilow]

Nah ranitidine doesn't help my reflux at all anymore. The Nexium works wonders for me. Taking the ranitidine at the same time as the Nexium before I trip is more of a psychosomatic preventative measure
Each to their own I suppose!

I more meant its not such a safe idea combinging a proton pump inhibtor with a histamine inhibitor like ranitidine. At least, my doctor (who "kindly" foists off sample paks of Nexium to me) claims this to be the case. You may wanna get your stomach checked out, if you haven't already, if these drugs aren't helping your reflux...

Anyway, back OT...its a stress-related thing, nothing to be concerned by particularly, except that heartburn etc. is very painful, and one wishes to avoid physical pain on LSD.