Muscle Cramping/Twitching/Stiffness

[gettys]

Recently I've been having problems with muscle cramping, twitching and stiffness while tripping. While I have always felt this to a degree, a recent 25mg experience with 4-aco-dmt was painful and scary. My face was twitching, my upper back muscles would involuntarily contract, my feet were numb and my hands and arms were so numb that they would cramp. My extremities got very cold and at times I was faint headed. Oddly the twitching continued occasionally even the day after the trip. Also notable during the trip was the near lack of CEVs, which I had experienced fairly nicely on 4-aco-dmt in the past. I did a decent amount of nitrous oxide during the trip as well, but I've done that in the past without issue. I also vaporized a lot of marijuana.

The severity varies each trip, but 4-aco-dmt seems to be the worst compared to other psychedelics I've done recently. I've also done up to 28mg of 4-aco-dmt in the past without this issue (or at least not nearly as extreme). This was my first trip in 3 weeks, although I rolled on a strong MDMA & MDA dose the prior weekend and took a medium dose of diazepam following my roll. However, before the 3 weeks, I had been tripping once weekly for about 6 weeks. I take a wide range of supplements and vitamins, and more so than usual recently because I rolled the prior weekend.

I'm mostly hoping for ideas on why I'm having these muscle problems, and if there are any over-the-counter drugs or supplements that may help (already taking magnesium). Negative physical side effects sometimes keep me from dosing as high as I'd like and also add a lot of anxiety to the experience. Benzos during the trip reduce it, but they also dull the trip. One to two drinks of alcohol seem to help as well, leading me to think I am just extremely sensitive to the stimulation.

 

[chemical messiah]

The twitching can sometimes be a problem for me post trip. Haven't found anything to alleviate it other than benzos. May experiment with baclofen next time it happens.

 

[TheUncreated]

May sound cliche, but I have actually found that when I consciously stay ahead on hydration and electrolytes, the difference is noticeable when I trip. I commonly experience tension on PEA's and now I've started pounding down a bunch of water for about an hour or two out from dosing, and have been pleased with the increased comfort level during my trips
. it also helps to feel better in the long run (I.e. after comedown)

Hope that helps!

 

[Jesusgreen]

May sound cliche, but I have actually found that when I consciously stay ahead on hydration and electrolytes, the difference is noticeable when I trip. I commonly experience tension on PEA's and now I've started pounding down a bunch of water for about an hour or two out from dosing, and have been pleased with the increased comfort level during my trips
. it also helps to feel better in the long run (I.e. after comedown)

Hope that helps!

Agreed, make sure you drink plenty. Also, I'm taking Magnesium for my vasoconstriction and I get significantly less muscle stiffness/cramping and jaw grinding etc. I'd recommend a single dose of ~200-400mg Magnesium a couple hours before your trip for best results.

 

[TheUncreated]

Yea amen to that. Or you can go all the way and take a magnesium salt bath while tripping

 

[any major dude]

magnesium & potassium may help alleviate the symptoms the OP has. I've read a few scattered reports of hypokalemia concurrent with psychosis subsequent to psychedelic usage. I'd be willing to bet it results from poor diet combined with the acute stress of a comeup on a psychedelic, but that's just speculation.

 

[gettys]

I've been taking magnesium daily, but in oxide form, so I'm waiting for my shipment of a more bio-available form to arrive. I do take a multivitamin, but I notice that it contains only 2% RDA of potassium. I will pick up potassium supplements as I likely do not get much through my diet. Thank you for the suggestion.

For what it's worth, I think tripping in somewhat close proximity to rolling (1 week after) caused an increase in the muscle issues as I have had another similar, but less severe, experience in the past (but not every time after rolling). Perhaps this is related to residual disturbance at brain serotonin receptors.

RC tryptamines seem to give me the worst muscle issues. Problems on RC phens are less pronounced (but still present). I stopped experimenting with 4-ho-mipt due to muscle tremors and cramping, so I just hope I don't also need to stop with 4-aco-dmt, which I usually love. Most psychedelics are extremely over-stimulating to me at higher doses during the peak, often giving me a "about to have a seizure" feeling (not that I've ever had one, so I couldn't say what it really feels like). I find alcohol to be somewhat effective at reducing this with 1-3 drinks, but not as effective as benzos, which unfortunately diminish the psychedelia, even at very low doses.

I'm planning on carefully experimenting with piracetam preloading and predosing combined with a low dose of either LSD or 2c-e. I'm hoping this will reduce the negative side effects while keeping the intensity of the trip intact.