LSD use and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS)

[Foreigner]

A friend of mine has been doing heavy monthly doses of LSD for about two years now, but has stopped use. During this time, her sensitivity to synthetic fragrances has gone through the roof. If she smells AXE deodorant or any other artificial fragrance, it will trigger a migraine in her. She says that she never even noticed these fragrances before two years ago, and now she has to leave the vicinity if anyone is wearing it because she will start to get the migraine pro-dromal syndrome within minutes of exposure. Because she is trying to rule everything out, she has asked me if there is any connection between her heavy LSD use and her sensitivity to migraine triggers.

I'm wondering too if there might be a connection since LSD agonizes a wide variety of receptor systems in the brain, including vaso-regulators. If the vaso-regulation receptors in the brain become more sensitive to down-regulation due to excessive agonization, then maybe they are also more sensitive the chemistries of these artificial fragrances.

Paradoxically, some people use LSD for migraines, but maybe those people have a hyper-active receptor network and the down-regulation causes relief.

There may be no connection at all, I'm just exploring this because my friend has a point. I can't find any research on this. Going from rarely having a migraine to having one whenever you're around an artificial fragrance is a big leap. On the other hand, maybe she is just getting more sensitive with age, or maybe the fragrances themselves are getting more harmful since the fragrance industry is unregulated.

Thoughts?

 

[sekio]

If she smells AXE deodorant or any other artificial fragrance, it will trigger a migraine in her

This is probably a psychological response more than anything else. AXE does fucking stink though. I can't blame her.

I don't think there's any evidence that LSD causes headaches. Or "chemical sensitivity". It may just be the sensory stimulus of complex perfumes are too much for her to handle at once.

 

[endotropic]

A friend of mine has been doing heavy monthly doses of LSD for about two years now, but has stopped use. During this time, her sensitivity to synthetic fragrances has gone through the roof. If she smells AXE deodorant or any other artificial fragrance, it will trigger a migraine in her. She says that she never even noticed these fragrances before two years ago, and now she has to leave the vicinity if anyone is wearing it because she will start to get the migraine pro-dromal syndrome within minutes of exposure. Because she is trying to rule everything out, she has asked me if there is any connection between her heavy LSD use and her sensitivity to migraine triggers.

I'm wondering too if there might be a connection since LSD agonizes a wide variety of receptor systems in the brain, including vaso-regulators. If the vaso-regulation receptors in the brain become more sensitive to down-regulation due to excessive agonization, then maybe they are also more sensitive the chemistries of these artificial fragrances.

Paradoxically, some people use LSD for migraines, but maybe those people have a hyper-active receptor network and the down-regulation causes relief.

There may be no connection at all, I'm just exploring this because my friend has a point. I can't find any research on this. Going from rarely having a migraine to having one whenever you're around an artificial fragrance is a big leap. On the other hand, maybe she is just getting more sensitive with age, or maybe the fragrances themselves are getting more harmful since the fragrance industry is unregulated.

Thoughts?

Anecdotally, there is an association between LSD and migraines, but in the opposite direction. It doesn't seem like there's been much, if any actual research on the topic though.

One paper you might want to check out:

Problem child is no headache.

No abstract, and I don't have access to the full text so I can't say if it will be helpful really Somewhere to start at least.

 

[Foreigner]

This is probably a psychological response more than anything else. AXE does fucking stink though. I can't blame her.

It's not psychological. Artificial fragrances are a known migraine trigger, among other things. It's why many places, like medical offices, are now fragrance free. Certain fragrances trigger me as well.

 

[atara]

LSD agonizes 5-ht1b and 5-ht1d, which are the primary targets of anti-migraine drugs, particularly 5-ht1d. It is possible some downregulation may have occurred. There are reports of headaches related to psychedelic use, which thankfully seems to be rare:

http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/494233-Psychedelics-and-Headaches

During this time, her sensitivity to synthetic fragrances has gone through the roof. If she smells AXE deodorant or any other artificial fragrance, it will trigger a migraine in her.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindling_(substance_withdrawal)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocebo

I think the mechanism has been something like this. Migraines, like asthma, and ulcers, are a very real physical malady which seem to be nonetheless strongly linked to the expectation and anxiety of the subject. The more you become aware that AXE causes migraines for you, the more potently it does. LSD obviously affects the way a person thinks, so it's relevant here, but that doesn't mean LSD will reliably produce this effect, any more than it will cause someone to, say, throw a no-hitter at a baseball game. A major difficulty in the understanding of psychosomatic disorder is this: a thing can be both psychosomatic and still very real (like an ulcer), and neither of these facts can be dismissed.

This is why things which are physiologically benign, like MSG, can be reported as migraine triggers: it's a nocebo. MSG has a strong and distinct flavor, you know when you've eaten it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperosmia

Normal olfactory acuity will usually return over time if the cause is environmental, even if it is untreated.

It'll probably go away on its own. It may be a good idea to avoid LSD for some time, though it probably won't be helpful to develop an association between LSD and headaches if she plans to revisit the drug in the future. Normal migraine medications, e.g. ergotamine and sumatriptan, will probably be helpful. After some time, she may find she no longer needs them.

 

[Foreigner]

^ Ok, I won't totally dismiss the possibility of psychosomatic migraines, but how do you explain that I was having migraines triggered by these substances before I even knew that they were the culprits? For example, tannins in tea cause migraines, but I have no aversion to tea and regret that I cannot drink it.

Also, what about when I wake up in the morning with a migraine because the atmospheric pressure has dropped? I was unconscious when it happened.

Most people I know get headaches if they suffer pro-longed exposure to AXE deodorant in concentration.

See here:

I put Axe into the cosmetics chemical safety database Skin Deep. Low and behold, 66 products showed up and they fell into a range of moderately hazardous to the most highly hazardous categories. Axe Shower Gel Recovery, the bodywash/cleanser, had a highly hazardous score because the ingredients in the product are linked to cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity , violations, restrictions and warnings, allergies/immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, bioaccumulation, organ system toxicity, and more. Need I go on? Your body is telling you the truth. This stuff isn’t good for you.

Other grooming products and deodorants contain toxic chemicals as well.

In any case, I didn't come here to debate whether or not these triggers are real, because they are. You just need to do more research to find out. All I wanted to know is if there is any scientific history which shows that LSD agonism can lead to more sensitive receptors, which in turn could make exposure to triggers more intense.

 

[endotropic]

^ Ok, I won't totally dismiss the possibility of psychosomatic migraines, but how do you explain that I was having migraines triggered by these substances before I even knew that they were the culprits? For example, tannins in tea cause migraines, but I have no aversion to tea and regret that I cannot drink it.

Also, what about when I wake up in the morning with a migraine because the atmospheric pressure has dropped? I was unconscious when it happened.

Most people I know get headaches if they suffer pro-longed exposure to AXE deodorant in concentration.

See here:



Other grooming products and deodorants contain toxic chemicals as well.

In any case, I didn't come here to debate whether or not these triggers are real, because they are. You just need to do more research to find out. All I wanted to know is if there is any scientific history which shows that LSD agonism can lead to more sensitive receptors, which in turn could make exposure to triggers more intense.

Did a senior moderator just admit to SWIMing?

Anyways, did you have a chance to check out that paper I linked earlier? It discusses the link between LSD and migraines, there might be something there.

Migraines are very complicated beasts. When one study shows a link between vasoconstiction and migraine the next shows a link with vasodilation. The pathology is probably a lot more complex than "too much 5-HT1B/D".

In any case sensitization like you're talking about is pretty uncommon (monoamine releasing stimulants being the exception), and I've never seen evidence that psychedelics cause a sensitization response. On the other hand, there's a good chance no one has ever taken the time to find out.

 

[sekio]

Axe Shower Gel Recovery, the bodywash/cleanser, had a highly hazardous score because the ingredients in the product are linked to cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity , violations, restrictions and warnings, allergies/immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, bioaccumulation, organ system toxicity, and more. Need I go on? Your body is telling you the truth. This stuff isn’t good for you.

The toxicologist in me suggests: it's the dose that makes the poison.

That site also seems to think "fragrance" is responsible for murdering babies (all fragrances, apparently), and things like ethyl alcohol are horrible toxins. Not sure how much I would trust that. Sodium chloride, well known irritant and killer in excess, is "benign". Yeah, right!

All I wanted to know is if there is any scientific history which shows that LSD agonism can lead to more sensitive receptors, which in turn could make exposure to triggers more intense.

As far as i know, no. The evidence points to the opposite.

 

[atara]

^ Ok, I won't totally dismiss the possibility of psychosomatic migraines, but how do you explain that I was having migraines triggered by these substances before I even knew that they were the culprits? For example, tannins in tea cause migraines, but I have no aversion to tea and regret that I cannot drink it.

I'm not saying that it's a totally psychosomatic thing, but that it's enhanced, at least potentially, by the nocebo effect. It's extremely likely that a given subject will possess the underlying cerebrovascular structure typical of migraines and interact with irritants in the usual way. It's also unfortunately possible that a stress hormone like ADH could accelerate the process endogenously. Kindling/nocebo accounts for, at least in theory, the markedly increased sensitivity to irritants, i.e. the positive feedback loop becomes faster. With that said, the underlying physical thing is very much there!

The treatment pathway is the same, basically, as for migraines without a nocebo: you break the cycle with triptans etc.

In any case, I didn't come here to debate whether or not these triggers are real, because they are. You just need to do more research to find out. All I wanted to know is if there is any scientific history which shows that LSD agonism can lead to more sensitive receptors, which in turn could make exposure to triggers more intense.

I do not know of any such thing. Google Scholar turns up nothing. So it probably does not, my initial post was in error.

Did a senior moderator just admit to SWIMing?

No. Foreigner had already stated that both (s)he and his/her friend experience migraines.

 

[bloodshed344]

It's not psychological. Artificial fragrances are a known migraine trigger, among other things. It's why many places, like medical offices, are now fragrance free. Certain fragrances trigger me as well.

How do you know it's not a psychological response? Your reason does not mean it isn't, it still could be. Scents like AXE or women's perfume give me awful headaches, but worse than that they upset my stomach. Trigger IBS systems. Like a whiff of strong perfume when I'm constipated, BOOM stomach cramps OUT THE ASS. It feels bad. It's been like this for my whole life so definitely not triggered by drug use.

 

[Sturnam]

While I would agree with the majority sentiment that usually LSD has been associated with decreased headaches, long term use may affect some of the same processes as this:

Overuse of antimigraine medications can promote an increase in the frequency and intensity of headache, a syndrome termed medication overuse headache (MOH). The mechanisms leading to MOH are not known, but may involve the processes of amplification including central sensitization and descending facilitation.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21467931


In which case, I would say that like atara pointed out...

LSD agonizes 5-ht1b and 5-ht1d, which are the primary targets of anti-migraine drugs, particularly 5-ht1d. It is possible some downregulation may have occurred. There are reports of headaches related to psychedelic use, which thankfully seems to be rare

It seems possible that either LSD's activity at 5-HT1B or 5-HT1D might be responsible for the effect. It would probably be a good idea for your friend to lay off LSD for a while, and see how the situation improves.

 

[amanitadine]

Good responses Sekio and Atara.

Personally MCS seems like a crock of bogshite for all I've read about it.