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Tryptamines Psilocybin/mushrooms vasoconstriction/blood pressure risk

someguyontheinternet

someguyontheinternet

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Does anyone know what the risk level is of psilocybin mushrooms is like? How high does it raise blood pressure and is it dose dependent? Has anyone had personal experiences with blood pressure issues and using mushrooms/psilocybin? How about you older folks on bp meds, any weirdness or interactions? Any other cardiovascular risks?
 
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I believe the blood pressure increasing effect of psilocybin is very mild. It’s not even that uncommon for people to have fainting spells from mushrooms, which seems possibly more indicative of a blood pressure drop.

That being said, it could affect you more significantly if you already have blood pressure issues. It’s not the most dangerous psychedelic in that way though, and rather may more likely be one of the safer ones. I would avoid some of the synthetic derivatives if you’re concerned, though. For instance, my father who was in his late sixties at the time and taking medication for high blood pressure once took a full dose of 4-HO-MPT and briefly had a blood pressure reading of 200/100. Nothing happened to him, though. He has a history of having very high readings to the point that doctors have been afraid of letting him leave the office before because they think there’s an immediate threat, but to this day it’s still been nothing but a number. But of course that doesn’t mean it’s not concerning and I do understand the fear.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do.
 
someguyontheinternet said:
Does anyone know what the risk level is of pailocybin mushrooms is like? How high does it raise blood pressure and is it dose dependent? Has anyone had personal experiences with blood pressure issues and using mushrooms/psilocybin? How about you older folks on bp meds, any weirdness or interactions? Any other cardiovascular risks?
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They are to be taken orally!
 
I take blood pressure meds. Don’t really have that high of blood pressure. I definitely have white coat syndrome. But I’m also old enough to have the stresses of work and home where a persons blood pressure could go up. Ha ha. My highest reading was 155/92. That was in a doctors office after a very stressful day at work, of course my blood pressure was high. I do blame work. Most of the time my blood pressure is in normal range now on a low-dose of a med.

I have no problem taking acid or mushrooms or anything really. Have done it a lot in the years that I’ve been taking the meds. I admit I take my blood pressure before I smoke DMT or Salvia. If I think it’s a little too high like 150/85 then I won’t do anything. When I get a reading of 125/76 then I go for it.;)

I do know people that walk around with sky high blood pressure and are totally fine. One day at work I took a blood pressure cuff in and had a whole bunch of people tested. There were some people walking around with as high as 190/110. Most were overweight, but healthy as can be and going about their life. Some people can just have high blood pressure.

I was never into meth or stimulants of any kind. Those habits sound a lot more dangerous if a person has blood pressure issues. And I’m sure a lot of users of those drugs do have blood pressure issues. I think if a person is used to tripping, they can keep their blood pressure in check. And it is always a good idea to check your blood pressure before really doing anything if you do have an issue.

I also want to say they lowered the numbers that they consider high in the medical world.. That always seems suspicious to me. I think the older numbers were more accurate. We are the low number anything over 90 is considered high. Now it is said anything over 80 is high. I think that’s nonsense but that’s just me.
 
someguyontheinternet said:
Holy shit. 190/110 is absolutely nuts
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I do believe that person did finally go on medication too and I’m so glad I took the blood pressure cuff to work. But some people for sure walk around with high blood pressure.

My wife has the opposite issue. Her blood pressure goes as low as 80/40. She has been rushed to the hospital with heart issues too as I believe her heart is trying to compensate. Crazy. She has dizziness and fainting issues.
 
On and off. She use to faithfully. We do some walking regularly.

Recently she asked if she could trip. I changed the subject. With the issues she has had I say not now.
 
That's a smart choice. I was wondering if exercise might help her heart. Hopefully you guys can find something that helps, cardiovascular issues are no fun
 
someguyontheinternet said:
That's a smart choice. I was wondering if exercise might help her heart. Hopefully you guys can find something that helps, cardiovascular issues are no fun
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She fainted at the gym once. And after a treadmill was rushed to the hospital. All exercising. She was wearing a heart monitor and after 20 minutes on a treadmill her heart was beating way too fast and way too low of blood pressure. We got a call and they said get her too a hospital.

Walking seems best for now. Walking is great.
 
There are not many medication that raise blood pressure specifically. With other heart issues, she has, like her heart beating up to compensate, exercise really is the only thing that’s going to help. Not to mention one of her heart doctor her main one says she has heart damage and had a heart attack. The other heart doctor says no. Just keep me the fuck out of hospitals! Nothing but big contradictions.

I think several other members were on blood pressure meds and trip a lot. Which reminds me, I gotta find my cuff.

Honestly, though, I want someone high blood pressure to come and post about how they trip with no problem. But it is a good topic.
 
I hope some people with experience chime in as well. As I get older I'm paying more attention to the cardiovascular pharmacology. I think it's an important and often overlooked area of harm reduction
 
someguyontheinternet said:
As I get older I'm paying more attention to the cardiovascular pharmacology. I think it's an important and often overlooked area of harm reduction
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Agreed and likewise. I'm increasingly concerned about cardiovascular side-effects of psychedelics. I no longer take them without the use of antihypertensive drugs to decrease the blood pressure spike. Lately, I've been using nifedipine (a calcium channel blocker). I take 10 mg of immediate-release nifedipine at the same time I dose mushrooms/4-aco-dmt. For years prior to that, I used nitroglycerine (sublingual or slow-release capsules) for this purpose.
 
someguyontheinternet said:
Does anyone know what the risk level is of psilocybin mushrooms is like? How high does it raise blood pressure and is it dose dependent? Has anyone had personal experiences with blood pressure issues and using mushrooms/psilocybin? How about you older folks on bp meds, any weirdness or interactions? Any other cardiovascular risks?
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Yes, the blood pressure effect is dose-dependent. The bulk of the vasoconstriction produced by 5-ht2a agonists comes from the activation of L-type calcium channels. To a lesser degree, the COX pathway - which is stimulated by 5-ht2a agonists - accounts for some of the vasoconstriction. The implication is that the combination of a calcium channel blocker (a commonly used class of drugs in cardiology) and a NSAID (like ibuprofen) would substantially reduce the blood pressure response to serotonin receptor agonists.

Sources:

Mechanism of contractile dysfunction induced by serotonin in coronary artery in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol 2020 Nov;393(11):2165-2176.

Contribution of thromboxane a₂ in rat common carotid artery response to serotonin. Sci Pharm 2010 Jul-Sep;78(3):435-43. doi: 10.3797/scipharm.1004-04.
 
I did some casual research recently and learned that it's pretty normal for blood pressure, particularly systolic (the high number) to surge while exercising. This suggests to me that people who can tolerate exercise will probably be fine with classical psychedelics like psilocybin raising BP for a short period of time. For those who can't I'd be a bit wary.
 
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