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Psychedelic "heat"

Foreigner

Foreigner

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I've always known that LSD has sympathomimetic qualities. It causes a lot of heat, electric sensations, upward moving feelings toward the head, sweating, and vasodilation. Because of this it can also be very dehydrating.

In the days after doing LSD, I still feel parched. I've already taken electrolyte solution, consumed plenty of moistening and cooling foods, and generally tried to replenish liquids, yet this dry feeling remains.

I'm wondering why this is the case? In eastern qi gong we have the concept of bodily yin. It's the energy of the body that is cooling, descending, moistening, and calming. In the days following a major LSD trip, it seems like "yin" is constantly lacking. I am a lot more dry, there is more mental hyperactivity, and even sleep is disturbed (a product of yin deficiency). Even my cheeks are red (malar flush) when they're not usually. There is major heat!

Is there a scientific explanation for this? Do the sympathomimetic qualities linger at lower levels for longer than is known? Does it make the body run "hotter" for longer? Or did the acid trip consume some aspect of "yin" that cannot be restored merely with water and electrolytes?

I'd also like to know if others experience this "yin" depletion after LSD, and what they do to help restore it? Right now I just want to go jump in the ocean!
 
It reminds me of when Ram Dass gave his guru some LSD:

When I asked him if I should take LSD again, he said, "It should not be taken in a hot climate. If you are in a place that is cool and peaceful, and you are alone and your mind is turned toward God, then you may take the yogi medicine."
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I think LSD's sympathomimetic qualities are related to the activation of serotonin receptors in e.g. blood vessels, and possibly a great enhancement in sensory intensity.

I would be more apt to ascribe a feeling of dryness and heat to the environmental conditions (local heat wave), rather than any effects of the LSD. In terms of bodily stress, it's pretty gentle compared to e.g. amphetamine.

Maybe you need to further adjust your salt balance. Persistent thirst can be a sign that you need more, or less, salts.
 
My body heat is on average a full degree less than normal. 97ish. I dislike taking most psychs if it is not hot enough outside for my body to perspire. LSD however seems okay if cooler though. But I don't know. I still like it hot.
 
sekio said:
I think LSD's sympathomimetic qualities are related to the activation of serotonin receptors in e.g. blood vessels, and possibly a great enhancement in sensory intensity.

I would be more apt to ascribe a feeling of dryness and heat to the environmental conditions (local heat wave), rather than any effects of the LSD. In terms of bodily stress, it's pretty gentle compared to e.g. amphetamine.

Maybe you need to further adjust your salt balance. Persistent thirst can be a sign that you need more, or less, salts.
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The environmental conditions don't seem to matter too much. I've done LSD in the winter and had the same results... dry mouth, dry eyes, dry nose, malar flush, dry skin, etc. It really lingers. You could be right about the electrolyte factor. I'm just wondering if there is something receptor-based going on.

LSD is a non-specific agonist of the 5-ht system. In migraine sufferers it seems to release all of the vasoconstriction and regulates the circulatory system. In eastern medicine, anything that invigorates blood flow usually warms it as well, but this "warming" is called yangqi in the blood, which does not shed light on the scientific causes. I could explain the eastern medicine understanding of what LSD does to the body, but I'm not sure if it would be useful for the scientists here. Might give some ideas though? All I can really say is that after each LSD use, some aspect of the deepest yin is lost and it takes time to re-establish.

I've also considered that maybe the ancillary chemicals on the blotter, like the preservative, could be the reason for the dryness. Sometimes those chemicals give me nausea.

Earthbounded said:
How much did you take OP and was it tested? I have taken LSD 50+ Times and never had heat linger on my body. I have never even heard of this, I took LSD on saturday night so 3 nights ago, and I have normal body heat.
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It's pure, unadulterated LSD. But I do tend to take 500ug or around there at a time.
 
WSH said:
But LSD (or a metabolite of it) also has direct dopaminergic effects:
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In rats, sure. Humans, however, are not murine. Also, dopamine agonism isn't directly sympathomimetic, to my knowledge? Norepinephrine/adrenaline are bigger players.

Foreigner said:
I've also considered that maybe the ancillary chemicals on the blotter, like the preservative, could be the reason for the dryness. Sometimes those chemicals give me nausea.
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I've never really bought the claim that either blotter inks or "preservatives" are the cause for nausea/etc, for a variety of reasons.
1. Nausea is a documented effect of LSD ingestion. Especially at higher doses. (Maybe from loss of equilibrium?) Like most effects, it's hard to predict.
Wiki said:
Other physical reactions to LSD are highly variable and nonspecific, some of which may be secondary to the psychological effects of LSD. Among the reported symptoms are numbness, weakness, nausea, hypothermia or hyperthermia, elevated blood sugar, goose bumps, heart rate increase, jaw clenching, perspiration, saliva production, mucus production, sleeplessness, hyperreflexia, and tremors.
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2. Most inks nowadays are food-safe. Even the ones that aren't, wont cause nausea unless ingested in truly absurd quantities.
3. To the best of my knowledge, LSD is stable enough when kept dry and dark that no preservatives are really needed. Adding antioxidants or such would risk adding acidic/basic impurities that could catalyse degradation, in fact.

As far as I know, LSD (the molecule) has a pretty short half life in humans, and the serotonin receptors build tolerance to constant stimulation pretty quickly. At about 36 hours after ingestion, there will be less than 1% of the original dose in your blood (and, more practically speaking, most people are down to reality at t+12 hours) I'd therefore either chalk it up to nocebo effect, or an idiosyncratic response to your body's equilibrium being disrupted. (500mcg is not exactly a light dose)

Do you get this response on any other psychedelics?
 
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sekio said:
Do you get this response on any other psychedelics?
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No just acid... but on mushrooms I get freezing. The only other drug that makes me this hot is MDMA, so you could be right about the serotonin connection.

I don't think the hyperthermia is a psychological thing. I was walking in the woods tonight next to the ocean with a t-shirt while my partner wore a sweater, and he said my hands were on fire.
 
I dropped yesterday and sweated like crazy. I drank water all day. No residual effects. I didn't sweat while I slept either. My skin is quite cool today. I have found I tend to sit in one spot and not move, for like 2 hours, some problems post acid are because of shit like that. Or I walked for 20 miles on some crazy journey and now everything hurts. No idea how to stop the sweating, maybe swimming (don't drown).
The strangest thing I have noticed post LSD is I no longer have any sleep disturbances. Trip ends, I sleep. When I was 18 I didn't ever sleep well for 2 or 3 days after LSD. I actually sleep better now after my acid trips than I do on a regular night. My theory (unsupported by any science) is that people should wait until later in life to drop acid. I don't know if it's brain development or what but LSD is much easier on my system now. I have never have bad trips anymore either and it's not because I am a jedi master of acid, they just stopped happening and I have no idea why. Timothy Leary never had a bad trip either, and his first trip was age forty.
 
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