LSD, SSRI, PMS, PMDD, stomach pain and tab age.

[AlexandraTheGreat]

This is not advanced as such but doesn’t seem to fit in the trip recounting section. I will try to be brief.

Background:

I don’t drink or smoke, am 46. I smoke marijuana about four times a year without nicotine starting about ten years ago.

I was on a contraceptive pill and felt I was getting the beginnings of depression (not my nature) I came off. Coming off triggered a massive hormonal flux resulting in severe PMS/PMDD (not fun new drug acronyms - Pre Menstrual Syndrome/Pre Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder!)

Prescribed SSRI Lexapro for two weeks per month, from ovulation to menstruation. Gave me the internal distance to understand, map and navigate the symptoms. Over time (10 years) reduced dose down to very occasional 5/10mg at times of increasing tension, maybe three days a month, not every month. Almost placebo levels but I seem to be pretty sensitive. Symptoms by now no longer semi psychosis.

Waited another five years before first LSD experience. Was excellent. Was maybe 3/4 of a 100 tab.

PMS now very predictable; high stress results in a ‘crash’, can predict, SSRI dose (or not) and navigate accordingly.

Have taken moderate LSD doses since then, spread out over about five years, maybe three/four times a year. (High roller!) Also did a two week micro dose experiment immediately after I ended a long term relationship. Never a bad trip, no mental negatives at all.

So, specifically now. I had researched LSD and SSRI contra indications interactions on this site, mainly noting the potential (and sometimes disputed) blocking effect of SSRI’s to LSD. I felt that enough time had passed since my small SSRI doses, but had indeed felt a lessening of the LSD impact even after taking a complete tab. In addition I was noticing stomach pain.

So, the last time I tripped, I had had a longer period and higher dose of the SSRI’s than I had for a long time. It was a good seven days past, maybe longer. Within I think twenty minutes I had the most extraordinary, severe, crippling constant pain - running vertical and central from below navel to mid chest. I could not stand straight, or breathe properly. (Luckily my mindset is not prone to panic, and I guess thanks to the LSD it was actually quite funny) Then extreme nausea, then faintness, then I threw up. The pain didn’t stop after being sick, continued for at least an hour, maybe longer.

IF I am not out of my mind with menstrual hormones, I am an extremely calm, rational and logical person. I think someone else would have found this violent physical reaction very, very frightening indeed - I cannot emphasise the level of pain enough. So thought it a damn good idea to pass on my experience.

My conclusion was that the higher and longer the dose of SSRI, the more the LSD effect was diminished and the the more stomach pain I got. I very much enjoy LSD and feel it to be an entirely positive and beneficial experience, but definitely do not want physical effects like these again! I haven’t taken it again yet since as I am waiting for a very long, clear period away from any SSRI in my body, but I definitely will and will report back. I will try to take greater note of LSD dose, time distance from SSRI, and cumulative SSRI dose over what time period.

I have since found a references to stomach pain and other physical negatives increasing with the age of the tab...which may be of some or even greater import than the SSRI’s, I can’t establish a definite correlation between age of tab and pain as I did have doses from the same batch but did not have pain every single time, so not certain. I will have to wait to experiment.

 

[Xorkoth]

Hey there, welcome. You posted in the right place, the Trip Reports forum is only for posting stories of a single, individual trip, and not for asking questions.

Hopefully someone will have more info, but I will say I get stomach pain, feels like intense gas pain that won't go away, from LSD every so often. My girlfriend has done LSD twice, and the first time, she got pretty bad pain (but not in the stomach as much as the bladder/uterus). She is experiencing some hormonal stuff so I thought I'd mention it.

 

[TripSitterNZ]

Stomach pain can come from lsd, Every so often nasusa and pains can be bad, I personally find it is due to the diet i was eating around the trips and more processed and unheathly foods the more my gut would hurt on a acid trip.

 

[Hodor]

IMO, it might be better to stay on an SSRI and take a slightly higher dose of LSD rather than quitting the SSRI and entering the trip while your mindset is negatively affected by SSRI discontinuation syndrome.

At any rate, as far as the origin of your pain is concerned, psychedelics tend to cause an amplification and alteration of sensory inputs... I once tripped while my muscles were all sore from working out the other day, but since set and setting were somewhat good, the pain turned into stretching sensations that almost felt like a massage, to the point where even breathing became pleasant... all in all it can be very unpredicable.

Of course, there is a very real possibility that your pain is "real" (i.e. not related to the psychological, but rather the physiological effects of the drug) since lysergamides can be used to induce labor and staunch vaginal bleeding in childbirth, so they might also be causing sensations akin to menstrual pain for women with pre-existing issues surrounding their period. (Disclaimer: This is pure conjecture. I am not a woman, and certainly no gynecologist) So... maybe try and see if it helps to have a comforter / hot water bottle around?

I mean, this discussion kind of puts me into a logical bind because on the one hand I am very aware that many women feel that their menstruation-related medical issues are not being taken seriously, but on the other hand I encourage people to always consider the possibility that anything they feel on psychedelics is heavily influenced by their set&setting and phenomena like the placebo/nocebo effect. ?