Weird low dose LSD experience

[lieff]

So it was my first time trying acid, I did 1/2 tab of what was supposedly 120ug. I was at a friend's house, the day was beautiful, setting was perfect. I'm not going to describe the experience, I'll just list the things I felt. I cut the piece of paper in half and put it under my tongue at about 2:10pm. The effects kicked in at about 3:30pm and and lasted until around 12am. It was basicaly:
jitteriness
anxiety
anguish
purge, like I had something inside my chest that I needed to expel - this led to an urge to cry or vomit, but I couldn't do neither
shivers
body tremors
depression
chest tightness
tingling
cold
No euphoria, no happiness, no empathy, no visuals, no colors, no patterns, no walls breathing. Just unpleasant feelings.
It was terrible. I didn't feel ANYTHING good at all. If I had this symptoms when sober my first thought would have been "I don't feel so good".
During the entire time I was just trying to keep myself calm and be ok with whatever I was experiencing. I mean, it was very easy to let myself be consumed by these sensations and freak out. I had clonazepam, it was so tempting to take a few drops to make myself feel better, but I felt like I needed to go through this. I think I should have gone for the whole tab.
I would like to see this as a VERY intense therapy session.

That's me during the peak.

What the fuck was that??
I had a panic attack on weed the first time I used it about 6 years ago, because I fed the unpleasant symptoms and then everything went downhill. Full blown panic attack.
Will I ever be able to enjoy the good sides of psychedelics??

 

[Xorkoth]

Oftentimes, underdosing psychedelics can produce a lot of the symptoms you feel for many people, because you get all the discomfort of being thrown into a strangely altered state but without the positive effects of a fully developed trip. Personally I like low dosing now but when I didn't have much experience I found it difficult and uncomfortable like you describe.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

Yeh, psychedelics are weird like that. Underdosing can result in the unsatisfactory, uncomfortable state you describe. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that taking more will guarantee a good trip.

You get what you're given with psychedelics...

 

[lionheart90]

It's possible that you're just an anxious person and LSD revealed that for you.

Maybe you are the type of person who has such a strong need to stay in control that they don't even let themselves feel anxiety. Then when they take a drug and lose control, even if just a tiny bit of loss of control, suddenly they feel extreme panic and anxiety.

Usually people with trauma in their past are like that. The trauma leaves them with a burning desire to remain in control of themselves at all times. And drugs are usually the opposite, they take control away from you and they do their own thing.

This is all just possibilities, since I don't know your past it could be a totally different thing.

but yeah like the other users said, sometimes doing a low dose can have bad effects. For some people it can be really amazing. Set and setting is important. So if you didn't research set and setting and prepare for those, that may also be the reason you had a bad experience.

IMO best thing to do is take another dose within a few weeks. LSD truly is amazing, and if you leave this memory of "LSD is bad, look at what it did to me that one time" in your mind it will be like really shitty.

 

[lieff]

Usually people with trauma in their past are like that. The trauma leaves them with a burning desire to remain in control of themselves at all times. And drugs are usually the opposite, they take control away from you and they do their own thing.

I had a panic attack on weed when I first tried it. I was young, stupid, didn't know much about it, set and setting were terrible. I took a huge bong hit and what happened a few seconds later was my heart started pounding like it never did before and I also got a burning sensation in my chest, and anguish. I didn't get high. I got severe anxiety from paying too much attention to these physical symptoms which led to me think I was going to have a heart attack/die. That was a classic panic attack. Smoked a few times after that, sometimes it was ok, sometimes the physical symptoms would show, but I managed to keep myself calm and just let it pass. But I could never enjoy weed like other people can.
I am fascinated with psychedelics. But that weed panic attack left me some with kind of trauma that makes me scared to try any psychoactive substances, scared that the terror I experienced that day would came back.
The set and setting yesterday was perfect, and all I got was bad feelings. One could easily freak out under those circumstances. Somehow I think I needed that. I needed to put myself in that same situation that made me panic several years ago. I had to go through it and just be ok with it, I had to face my anxiety without freaking out. It's was almost like a therapy session.

 

[Phobos]

It's possible that you're just an anxious person and LSD revealed that for you.

Maybe you are the type of person who has such a strong need to stay in control that they don't even let themselves feel anxiety. Then when they take a drug and lose control, even if just a tiny bit of loss of control, suddenly they feel extreme panic and anxiety.

......

It is my experience and that of many others that LSD and many other psychedelics do not induce any "loss of control" per se, but will put the user in a state where he might choose to control himself in a different way, such as allowing oneself to consciously feel something they normally wouldn't, and accept it, rather than rejecting it.
While this might have been obvious for the more experienced here, the OP is coming from a one time user, so I felt it was important to make this point.

And to lieff: I would say that I think it's possible that the new feelings induced by the come up got your attention a bit too much and influenced the rest of the experience.
Did you stay inside a house during the experience?
Some people do not like to be indoors when high, or at least in some moments.
Was everyone present high on LSD?
Did you smoke weed or had alcohol prior/during the experience?
You mentioned having clonazepam, how often do you take it, and when did you start?

 

[lieff]

And to lieff: I would say that I think it's possible that the new feelings induced by the come up got your attention a bit too much and influenced the rest of the experience.
Did you stay inside a house during the experience?
Some people do not like to be indoors when high, or at least in some moments.
Was everyone present high on LSD?
Did you smoke weed or had alcohol prior/during the experience?
You mentioned having clonazepam, how often do you take it, and when did you start?

I was at a friend's house, just me and her, and she was sober the whole time. The house is pretty big, there's a huge backyard, swimming pool etc. I did not use any other substance, just 1/2 tab of acid. I don't use clonazepam, or any other prescription medicine. I had it just in case, to make me feel safer. There were absolutely NO external factors that could influnce the experience in a negative way. My friend did an amazing job as a trip sitter. However, during the trip I had a lot of weird sensations, none of them were pleasurable. It was a mixture of sadness, anxiety, heartbroken, anguish, fever, it's hard to explain but it wasn't nice. But I had a lot of insights and thoughts about my life, and for some reason I felt like I needed to cry but I just couldn't. It reminded me of the time I did a session of holotropic breathwork. I literally felt like it was a therapy session and I had to go through it. The clonazepam was so tempting but I chose not to use it, I had to face my fears, I had to be OK with whatever negative feelings I was having.

 

[Phobos]

There were absolutely NO external factors that could influnce the experience in a negative way. My friend did an amazing job as a trip sitter.

With all due respect and with no offence meant, don't be too sure that the environment was not a bad influence. Or that your friend was a good trip sitter.
Being that it was your first experience, you just can't know either way.
If you will have more experiences, you will probably be able to analyse the situation and why it didn't develop into a pleasurable one.

Please take into consideration this advice: on the come up try a hot shower, the initial vasoconstriction can be extremely uncomfortable for some.
Also consider going for a walk at some point, just to provide yourself with constantly changing sensorial stimuli.

 

[lieff]

With all due respect and with no offence meant, don't be too sure that the environment was not a bad influence. Or that your friend was a good trip sitter.
Being that it was your first experience, you just can't know either way.
If you will have more experiences, you will probably be able to analyse the situation and why it didn't develop into a pleasurable one.

There was nothing going on in the environment that would cause anxiety, except for the fact that I had just put a piece of paper with LSD under my tongue. I was nervous before even taking it. After I freaked out and panicked on weed years ago, anxiety became a part of my life, although I don't have any panic attacks and I don't take any prescription medicine. But that episode with cannabis traumatized me in a way, and it made me scared to take other psychedelics and feel that same terror again. Therefore, I woke up nervous on saturday just by knowing I was going to take LSD that day. The moment I put the piece of paper under my tongue my nervousness just got worse, it was that kind of feeling you get before an important test or job interview. Maybe that influenced the whole experience in a negative way. The setting was perfect, I didn't have any paranoia or anything like that at all. All I had was unpleasant feelings, especially in the chest area, it was very uncomfortable. But in a way I'm proud of myself for going through it without losing my shit. All I could think was "this is very weird and uncomfortable, but it's OK, it's just a feeling and it will go away". I do think of this whole experience as a lesson. I needed to face these fears, I needed to feel uncomfortable and be OK with it.

 

[Phobos]

By the way you are writing, it would seem that you think that you are, at this point in time, able to analyse the experience on your own.
You are not, and until you accept this, you will not be able to change in a way that will allow you to.
You need more experiences, just like everyone else.

Please believe me I am saying this with the best intentions, I am not trying to be an asshole.

Just to give you a few examples:

• The fact alone that you were indoors could have been a problem. For some people it just works this way. It may be very possible that you will be able to trip indoors in the future, but not everybody gets to be able to do that without issues.
  Same goes for interacting with strangers and being in crowded places.
  
• Some anticipation induced anxiety is to be expected, this should be a lesser problem next time.
  
• Some of the uncomfortable comeup feelings are due to quick vasoconstriction, make sure that you are taking strong doses of a B complex supplement, not the supermarket type, the ones you can buy from bodybuilding oriented shops/websites and also get some Citrulline malate, it is a NO booster and it will combat vasoconstriction.
  Take this supplements every day for a few days before you take LSD again.
  As I mentioned in an another post, a warm shower on the come up can also help with vasoconstriction. Warm water also feels better than normal when tripping.
  
• Make sure to check your body posture, tripping tends to alter posture in many people. Most commonly the neck will be inclined forward, shoulders might be a bit slouched, diaphragm might be a bit compressed.
  This does not help with the chest tightness caused by anxiety.
  
• Most psychedelics have the property of amplifying the perception of sensorial stimuli, if this stimuli are not varied this can lead to uncomfortable feelings.

 

[pofacedhoe]

bad things on trips

being indoors (sometimes once it kicks in you have to change your scenery)

being around others who are not high (never had a trip sitter never will- weird concept given that being around people who are not high can make u feel super self conscious)

over focusing on yourself and your body

lack of music (cannot stress how important good music is for tripping)

too much shit tv (switch it off ffs)



having had bad trips sometimes they are dominated by unpleasant sensations. i think low dose lsd is not ideal, you want to get to the point where it really peaks to an extent then you have something amazing to focus on instead of your chest etc.

 

[pofacedhoe]

I woke up nervous on saturday just by knowing I was going to take LSD that day. The moment I put the piece of paper under my tongue my nervousness just got worse, it was that kind of feeling you get before an important test or job interview. Maybe that influenced the whole experience in a negative way. The setting was perfect.

if you felt like that it was not perfect

someone gave me a tab when i was out maybe a year ago and i didn't take it until one day on my way home from work in the sun i was in such a good mood i just wanted it. it went very well. that is how to do it. wait until you are in the perfect mood not "oh its weds at 2:45 pm time for acid"

its not a job interview but you approached it like one...

 

[Phobos]

being around others who are not high (never had a trip sitter never will- weird concept given that being around people who are not high can make u feel super self conscious)

Good point, I would like to elaborate.
As you probably noticed, when high on LSD your way of having a conversation changes a lot.
Instead of focusing on only one matter at a time, more somewhat related things come to mind and are expressed.
If a sober sitter doesn't follow this style of conversation, it could create a problem for some trippers.

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

Are you sure it was actually LSD, and not some research chemical and a completely different drug, or fake acid and no drug at all?

This sounds like anxiety or a panic attack, and you should avoid using drugs and tripping.

 

[Phobos]

Are you sure it was actually LSD, and not some research chemical and a completely different drug, or fake acid and no drug at all?

This sounds like anxiety or a panic attack, and you should avoid using drugs and tripping.

Given the timeline I think it could have been LSD, but as it was his first trip ever.. nothing to compare to really.

 

[Anthem Acid]

Pretty much the only time I've had an unenjoyable LSD experience was on a 1/2 hit of LSD. First time I ever tripped by myself but that wasn't really the problem. I had all negative effects (sweaty, the acid "feeling", uncomfortability, restlessness) and pretty much none of the positives of a low dose trip (Euphoria, introspection, "speedyness", enhanced funny bone).

I tried to watch Armageddon as a "so bad it's good" experience. Nope. Just made it more of a piece of garbage.

I think it just happens sometimes. Like Shadowmeister said. Having one foot in the tripping door and one foot out can be very irritating. That's not to say i haven't had a great time on low doses, but I've had my worst physical experiences low dosing LSD.

 

[lieff]

• The fact alone that you were indoors could have been a problem. For some people it just works this way. It may be very possible that you will be able to trip indoors in the future, but not everybody gets to be able to do that without issues.
  Same goes for interacting with strangers and being in crowded places.
• Some anticipation induced anxiety is to be expected, this should be a lesser problem next time.
• Some of the uncomfortable comeup feelings are due to quick vasoconstriction, make sure that you are taking strong doses of a B complex supplement, not the supermarket type, the ones you can buy from bodybuilding oriented shops/websites and also get some Citrulline malate, it is a NO booster and it will combat vasoconstriction.
  Take this supplements every day for a few days before you take LSD again.
  As I mentioned in an another post, a warm shower on the come up can also help with vasoconstriction. Warm water also feels better than normal when tripping.
• Make sure to check your body posture, tripping tends to alter posture in many people. Most commonly the neck will be inclined forward, shoulders might be a bit slouched, diaphragm might be a bit compressed.
  This does not help with the chest tightness caused by anxiety.
• Most psychedelics have the property of amplifying the perception of sensorial stimuli, if this stimuli are not varied this can lead to uncomfortable feelings.

I'll keep these in mind... thank you!! My dentist actually told me a few months ago that I may have vitamin B deficiency because my tongue was too smooth or something...

bad things on trips

being indoors (sometimes once it kicks in you have to change your scenery)

being around others who are not high (never had a trip sitter never will- weird concept given that being around people who are not high can make u feel super self conscious)

over focusing on yourself and your body

lack of music (cannot stress how important good music is for tripping)

too much shit tv (switch it off ffs)

having had bad trips sometimes they are dominated by unpleasant sensations. i think low dose lsd is not ideal, you want to get to the point where it really peaks to an extent then you have something amazing to focus on instead of your chest etc.

I don't think it was anything external that made me feel that way. I didn't have any worries about the environment I was in, or any "bad thoughts". I did a lot of things, actually.. played guitar, cleaned the pool, swam, listened to music in darkness, had a little therapy session with my friend, and I thought a lot about my life. The only time I had a negative thought was about 6 hours into the trip when I started thinking that I may have ruined my friend's saturday because she had to stay home and look after me, but it didn't last long. Thinking of LSD as a microscope, what may have happened is it just amplified the nervousness and anxiety I was already feeling prior to the trip. I was already expecting anxiety... and it felt more like anguish, actually. I had this feeling I had to purge something out of me. About the dosage... right after the effects wore off my first thought was "I shoud've taken more", at least the whole tab. Because I didn't get any of the "classic" LSD effects to focus my attention on.

Are you sure it was actually LSD, and not some research chemical and a completely different drug, or fake acid and no drug at all?

This sounds like anxiety or a panic attack, and you should avoid using drugs and tripping.

I tested my tabs with the erlich reagent and it turned purple, but I know this doesn't mean it's LSD for sure..
It was a little bit of anxiety, jitteriness, but if felt more like anguish. I had a panic attack before, I've been there... on weed. This time it wasn't even close to a panic attack, but it did feel unpleasant.

 

[rick24wag]

So I've always felt it's best to do lsd with friends wi are also doing it. At least 1 other person. You will not see or relate to anyone who isn't also taking it. Misunderstanding will result.

If you were afraid to take it that is most likely why it wasn't fun. You need to always know the drug is why you are feeling different and you will be ok. Your mind will play with you if you let it. It sounds like you didn't want to take it but did anyway. You need to let go and accept the process. Still it's easy for things to get carried away by external factors but if you aren't ok with it inside it can be hard to enjoy. I doubt a full tab would have been better. You need to be in a good place mentally. If you are unhappy or anxious lsd won't make you have fun. It likely will magnify your emotional state. Still you can learn a lot about yourself. I've had one trip where we run way too much mushrooms and it didn't start off great but it was amazing and I had the longest afterglow. It wasn't a laugh fest good time like most of my early experiences but it really helped me see who I was and how I can be better. When we see our self for did we really are it can be scary but always try to remember it's the drug doing it and you are safe. I wouldn't be afraid to try it again if I were you just try to be positive and take it with close friends in a safe place. Hopefully with others who have taken it before.

 

[Wubb]

Been tripping for many years and one thing I've never enjoyed is a low dose of LSD, just feels like i'm 'stuck' in some sort of limbo.

Did you actually want to try LSD or was it because your friend had some and you thought 'Why not'?

I always thought it was ridiculous when I use to hear the older heads say things like ' When you ready for LSD it will find you' I know what they mean now. its something you must want, LSD isn't just breathing walls and shimmering wall paper.

I like pofacedhoes comment ''its not a job interview but you approached it like one...''

 

[EntheoDjinn]

................. lsd isn't just breathing walls and shimmering wall paper....''

qft