LONGECITY

I'm 18 and 1 month ago I took 2 "LSD" blotters. Not sure it was LSD because it lasted 14h, had few visuals and affected my cognition in a way I was not expecting (I was completely numb, couldn't follow a conversation!). Since then I have HPPD - persistent visuals like double vision, absurd light sensitivity to glares, long lasting negative afterimages and about 0.5 seconds positive afterimages for everything. I also got several cognitive issues: I feel extremely lightheaded, sluggish and with brain fog, as if I'm sleepless, though I'm sleeping well. That horrible feeling of mental tiredness/retardness is on me 24/7 with no improvement. It's exactly like if some of the 'numbness' I had during the trip did not go away.

For instance, when I'm shopping, I have to make an abnormal effort to do things right. I have to actually think in what I'm doing like "OK now I wait on the queue... OK, now I talk to the attendant... OK now I pay...". Or when I'm talking to friends, I'm so slow I'm constantly asking them to repeat their statements, as if I didn't hear, so I can process the info and think in an answer. Otherwise I just can't follow the conversation.

This all is DESTROYING me to a point I'm turning suicidal. I have made an appointment with 2 doctors that had no idea of what I had and gave me random remedies. Do anyone here have any idea of what the hell happened to me, scientifically talking? Perhaps receptor damage? Neurotransmitter depletion? Neuronal death? Neural networks rewired? What can I do to be myself again?

Note: I also had weird episodes where I woke up in the middle of the night with my heart racing, feeling something really weird and scary, it was like a FEAR without reason. It felt like I was poisoned or on some drug, though nothing like any drug I used before. It was not a panic attack as I was in complete control of the situation. It used to last up to 10 minutes and then I could sleep again. I was always having neutral dreams just before awakening up. That happened almost every night after the trip and now happens each 5 days or so.

I had only used LSD once, cannabis about 10 times, modafinil and venlafaxine for 1 week (different weaks) and lots of caffeine last year. I noticed I had very similar cognitive issues on all of those drugs but it never lasted long.

Visit a doctor.
There was the thread regarding similar problem, where I left more detailed comments. Check it.

A somewhat educated guess... it sounds like it was PCP and not LSD. There's a few threads here on reversing damage done by NMDA antagonists. Also, that does sound like a minor panic attack. They're not all uncontrollable... I'd term the uncontrollable ones major panic.

There is almost no way that you ingested a drug other than LSD on blotter paper. This is because the dosages for LSD are around the 100 microgram range and almost all other drugs of psychedelic effect have dosages 1000X greater than LSD. Essentially, it is not possible to fit enough PCP or psilocybin onto an area the size of a blotter paper that would cause threshold effects. My guess is that you ingested LSD and had a difficult experience. One problem with non-clinical administration of LSD is that the dosages are not standardized so that knowing you took two blotters does not say anything about dose. You may have consumed a massive dose without knowing it, and therefore experienced something that you are having trouble dealing with. It is a good idea to avoid LSD in the near future, and give your psyche time to integrate. FYI, there are no known reports throughout 60+ years of research indicating that LSD causes any type of cell death whatsoever. The problem with LSD comes from chronic administration of high doses to individuals with underlying predisposition towards psychiatric illness. Something that may help you is trying to convince yourself that LSD did not "fry your brain". Many people get it in their heads that LSD causes irreversible brain damage from single uses and this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. There has been a lot of exciting research as of late into medical applications of LSD, specifically by the Harvard School of Medicine's department of psychiatry. Try reading some true science about LSD and this may help you become convinced that LSD is not a "melter of brains". Unless you end up making LSD trips a weekly thing, you should be able to put all this behind very soon.

You could try Trazodone which is a strong 5-HT2A receptor antagonist. LSD is a strong 5-HT2A receptor agonist.

I would stop ALL drug use and see a doctor or psychiatrist.

Why would you want to antagonize the serotonin receptor if he/she took LSD a month ago? I do not think that the serotonergic effect of LSD would linger for that long.

A 14 hour trip is not unusual for LSD. Nor is it unusual to have extreme difficulty following conversations. In fact, that is part of the amusement for some. The ill effects you are talking about would have probably at one point in history been considered to be strychnine poisoning. That, of course, is a myth:
http://www.erowid.or...lsd_myth5.shtml

Judging by your post, I'm assuming that you had no idea what you were getting into and are probably a bit traumatized by the experience. As others have said, you probably don't have any damage caused by LSD itself, though you may have have come under considerable stress and had other ill effects from the powerful experience. My advice would be to take it easy, stay off of hallucinogenic drugs, including marijuana, and make better choices about what you put into your body in future.

Sorry to hear about your situation, it's terrible to see someone endure a drug induced psychosis and experience insanity. I would definitely go see a doctor about this, one that isn't completely closed minded and one that will listen to what you have to say. I'm not a doctor myself, but I would recommend mirtazepine as it's a much safer antidepressant drug compared to SSRI's and won't produce the same negative effects..I don't think you should be on an antipsychotic personally, those are terrible drugs and destroy people. Remeron (mirtazepine), is a tricyclic antidepressant that may help with a lot of anxiety and depression that you're currently experiencing, I know from personal experience (I currently take it to help me sleep and for my depression). I also use Sulbutiamine (a synthetic analogue of Vitamin B1 that crosses the blood-brain barrier), which I think would help you as well, it's been shown to improve many aspects of thought, memory, concentration, etc. and I believe it could be a possible solution to help you get rid of the psychosis that you're dealing with. Talk to your doctor about both of these drugs..you don't need a prescription for the sulbutiamine by the way, just the mirtazepine. Other potential supplements you may consider include Ashwagandha extract and zinc.

I hope everything goes well for you..let me know how you progress and be sure to see a doctor right away.
Edited by Spectre, 20 February 2011 - 01:50 AM.

LSD itself is 100% incapable of causing any physical harm to the human brain or body..

this will turn out to be a good experience for you in the long haul..

posts like this are irritating, what did you expect to result from taking such a powerful hallucinogen being completely unprepared for the experience..?

i'd suggest you do more research on LSD and perhaps learn to meditate. do real research on the drug and it's effects, don't take your information from propaganda spreaders

edit: oh and to answer your question.. this is your new self, so get used to it
Edited by owls, 20 February 2011 - 02:41 AM.

I get the feeling that most if not all of these negative effects are solely from stressing over negative effects. And if the trip lasted 14 hours it was likely a psychedelic amphetamine, a DOx chemical.

Hey Victor, sorry to hear about the bad experience. 14 hours is about right for LSD, though I wouldn't rule out that it contained something else in addition. Your description actually does sound a lot like PCP, and it doesn't take much PCP to get whacked, so depending on the size and thickness of the blotter, I think that's a possibility. Ultimately, I don't think it matters though. Neither of these drugs will give you 'brain damage'. However, you mentioned that a whole bunch of drugs gave you similar cognitive effects, though not lasting as long. This suggests that your brain was fairly delicately balanced to begin with. You've clearly thrown something off, and you need to give it time to get back in balance. It sounds like this has happened before, but to a much lesser extent. It got better by itself before, and I think it will get better again, but it will just take longer. I don't recommend throwing a bunch of new psych drugs at it. Instead I would give your brain what it needs to get better; good diet, sleep, and exercise. I'm not surprised that you are very weirded out by the symptoms you have. I think The Human Meteorite is right in that a good part of the negative effects you're experiencing now are related to fear, anxiety, and depression over what you thought was permanent damage rather than what actually happened. If you want to take something, consider Fish Oil and Magnesium Glycinate. Just take good care of yourself and steer clear of getting high for a while. You'll get better. I've known people that have had this sort of response to potent hallucinogens. One guy I knew said it took him about six months to get back to normal. If you're armed with the knowledge that this isn't the end of your life, and if you have a period of healthy living, it will speed up the healing. Good luck with it. Remember: Good food, sleep, and exercise are your friends.

Hey Victor, sorry to hear about the bad experience. 14 hours is about right for LSD, though I wouldn't rule out that it contained something else in addition. Your description actually does sound a lot like PCP, and it doesn't take much PCP to get whacked, so depending on the size and thickness of the blotter, I think that's a possibility. Ultimately, I don't think it matters though. Neither of these drugs will give you 'brain damage'. However, you mentioned that a whole bunch of drugs gave you similar cognitive effects, though not lasting as long. This suggests that your brain was fairly delicately balanced to begin with. You've clearly thrown something off, and you need to give it time to get back in balance. It sounds like this has happened before, but to a much lesser extent. It got better by itself before, and I think it will get better again, but it will just take longer. I don't recommend throwing a bunch of new psych drugs at it. Instead I would give your brain what it needs to get better; good diet, sleep, and exercise. I'm not surprised that you are very weirded out by the symptoms you have. I think The Human Meteorite is right in that a good part of the negative effects you're experiencing now are related to fear, anxiety, and depression over what you thought was permanent damage rather than what actually happened. If you want to take something, consider Fish Oil and Magnesium Glycinate. Just take good care of yourself and steer clear of getting high for a while. You'll get better. I've known people that have had this sort of response to potent hallucinogens. One guy I knew said it took him about six months to get back to normal. If you're armed with the knowledge that this isn't the end of your life, and if you have a period of healthy living, it will speed up the healing. Good luck with it. Remember: Good food, sleep, and exercise are your friends.

Although I agree with many parts of this post, I disagree with the statement you made about PCP not causing brain damage..dissociatives IMO are some of the worst hallucinogens a person could ever take, they cause terrible effects on cognitive function, memory, and can make some people absolutely lose their minds. PCP is definitely a toxic substance and one of the most dangerous drugs that I'm aware of. I think he could benefit from certain psych meds but should stay away from the typical antipsychotics and SSRI's..they would more than likely worsen his condition. I do agree that a proper diet, good sleep, and exercise are definitely some key factors in getting him in a better state though. Just my opinion.

Ok people... like someone above already stated, it would be impossible to fit active doses of PCP on two squares ("hits") of blotter paper. what you took sounds exactly like one persons way of perceiving the effects of LSD

and for the record, PCP can and will cause heavy brain damage and is neurotoxic to the cerebellum..

Ok, Please, know what you're talking about when it comes to illicit substances before spreading misinformation. Thank you!

Ok people... like someone above already stated, it would be impossible to fit active doses of PCP on two squares ("hits") of blotter paper. what you took sounds exactly like one persons way of perceiving the effects of LSD

and for the record, PCP can and will cause heavy brain damage and is neurotoxic to the cerebellum..

Ok, Please, know what you're talking about when it comes to illicit substances before spreading misinformation. Thank you!

owls, a dose of PCP could be as little as 3-5 milligrams. As I said above, depending on the size and thickness of the blotter, this is a possibility. Do you know how little 5 milligrams is?

Do you have any evidence to back up your claim of "heavy brain damage" and cerebellar neurotoxicity? Particularly from one small dose? Just curious. Throwing out scary language isn't going to be very helpful to a kid who is already scared. He doesn't have "brain damage", but you aren't helping him your claims.

Guys, I'm not trying to encourage anyone to take PCP, the drug everyone loves to hate. I stand by my post above, in which I noted that his description of his trip sounds like PCP, and the amount of PCP that he might have had wouldn't cause "brain damage".

dissociatives IMO are some of the worst hallucinogens a person could ever take, they cause terrible effects on cognitive function, memory, and can make some people absolutely lose their minds.

I disagree. Look at ketamine. It has a long history of use in humans both medically and recreationally and I've never heard of it causing issue with cognitive function/memory (post use of course!). Also, research is now showing it can have positive effects for treatment of depression for example. I've used ketamine frequently (no more than once a week) for the last 10 years and use MXE (a new legal ketamine analogue) once a week now and I've never been better.

Dissociatives are the most fascinating of all the recreational drugs IMO.

Thanks you all. I don't want to break the flow of good answers, but just a question: if LSD can't change you permanently why is it so obvious when you see someone that has done much acid?

Don't get me wrong, LSD can cause powerful changes in psyche and this is why medical research is beginning to re-delve back into the possibilities of using LSD to treat conditions such as panic disorder, substance abuse, and PTSD. From what I have read, the usefulness of LSD in a clinical setting is that it allows the types of breakthroughs or "realizations" that are achieved through traditional psychotherapy except in much shorter time spans. Instead of 2 years of therapy, it may take a few controlled LSD experiences to reach the same place. This being said, these medical investigations occur with constant medical supervision and the guidance of a professional psychologist. The problem with recreational LSD use in many situations is that the dose is not controlled, and the user is attempting to be the patient and doctor simultaneously. The use of such powerful and effective psychopharmaceutical agents should not be taken lightly outside of a clinical scenario. FYI, we are the only culture that we know about throughout the millennial use of psychedelic substances that uses these chemicals for recreation outside of a religious, shamanistic, medical setting.

Thanks you all. I don't want to break the flow of good answers, but just a question: if LSD can't change you permanently why is it so obvious when you see someone that has done much acid?

Acid isn't for everyone. Some people, like yourself, are harmed by one trip. Other people can trip repeatedly without a major incident. Acid doesn't cause "brain damage", i.e. there aren't going to be necrotic lesions in your brain. It can certainly make you feel different, and for a few people, you might feel different for months on end. This "feeling different" is certainly a change, so I don't mean to say that LSD can't change you. However, the majority of the change doesn't seem to be permanent. There might be some minor lasting perceptual differences. People have speculated that these minor differences were there all along, but weren't noticed until the experience of tripping showed you what to look for. Our perceptual sensors produce a fairly messy, inaccurate data stream, but the brain compensates as it builds its model of reality. For example, the data from the eyes might be a little "wiggly", but the brain will depict the corner of a building as straight because it "knows" that the walls intersect in a straight line. After a trip has lifted the curtain on this process, you might not look at the world in quite the same way. Is your brain broken now, or are you just harder to fool? Note that I'm talking about subtleties here, not about the gross abnormalities that you've been experiencing since your trip.

There is almost no way that you ingested a drug other than LSD on blotter paper. This is because the dosages for LSD are around the 100 microgram range and almost all other drugs of psychedelic effect have dosages 1000X greater than LSD. Essentially, it is not possible to fit enough PCP or psilocybin onto an area the size of a blotter paper that would cause threshold effects. My guess is that you ingested LSD and had a difficult experience. One problem with non-clinical administration of LSD is that the dosages are not standardized so that knowing you took two blotters does not say anything about dose. You may have consumed a massive dose without knowing it, and therefore experienced something that you are having trouble dealing with. It is a good idea to avoid LSD in the near future, and give your psyche time to integrate. FYI, there are no known reports throughout 60+ years of research indicating that LSD causes any type of cell death whatsoever. The problem with LSD comes from chronic administration of high doses to individuals with underlying predisposition towards psychiatric illness. Something that may help you is trying to convince yourself that LSD did not "fry your brain". Many people get it in their heads that LSD causes irreversible brain damage from single uses and this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. There has been a lot of exciting research as of late into medical applications of LSD, specifically by the Harvard School of Medicine's department of psychiatry. Try reading some true science about LSD and this may help you become convinced that LSD is not a "melter of brains". Unless you end up making LSD trips a weekly thing, you should be able to put all this behind very soon.

Your actually quite wrong. Tons of new chemicals are able to fit onto blotter. bromo d-fly, DOB, DOC, DOI, other DO-X chemicals., 5-meo-amt, and many others.

So niner, you say LSD won't cause any kind of brain damage. Are you saying that it won't damage the brain no matter how many times one does it? What about other drugs? I find it hard to believe that LSD is any different than drugs like cocaine, alcohol, and MDMA, which have been shown to have potential to damage the brain.

So niner, you say LSD won't cause any kind of brain damage. Are you saying that it won't damage the brain no matter how many times one does it? What about other drugs? I find it hard to believe that LSD is any different than drugs like cocaine, alcohol, and MDMA, which have been shown to have potential to damage the brain.

Considering that the dosages vary by a factor of a million, I don't think these compounds are comparable. As I suggested above, some people have brains that are teetering on a razor's edge. They shouldn't trip. Some of them shouldn't even meditate. One trip could be enough to cause them problems. Is it "brain damage"? Do they have holes in their brains? Dead tissue? No. Have they screwed up a subtle balance of neurotransmitters? Maybe. Is it permanent damage? Probably not. If someone tripped every day for ten years, is it possible that their brain would be permanently messed up? Maybe, in terms of subtle changes in chemistry, but it still wouldn't have holes in it. (I've never run that experiment, and I don't recommend anyone try.) It's also possible that they would acclimate to lsd, and it wouldn't have much effect on them. People who take reasonable doses of acid may find that if they need to talk to their boss, drive a car, or pitch a no-hitter, they can bring the trip under control. Later when they relax, the trippiness returns. So it might also be the case that extensive use of lsd would become more or less a non-event.

Everyone seems to think that because lsd has a major effect on perception, that it must damage the brain. What about general anesthetics? They have a major effect on consciousness. Do they damage the brain? Cigarettes, on the other hand, don't have a very extreme effect on us. That doesn't make them safe. You really can't connect therapeutic effect with safety. They're two different things.

There is almost no way that you ingested a drug other than LSD on blotter paper. This is because the dosages for LSD are around the 100 microgram range and almost all other drugs of psychedelic effect have dosages 1000X greater than LSD. Essentially, it is not possible to fit enough PCP or psilocybin onto an area the size of a blotter paper that would cause threshold effects. My guess is that you ingested LSD and had a difficult experience. One problem with non-clinical administration of LSD is that the dosages are not standardized so that knowing you took two blotters does not say anything about dose. You may have consumed a massive dose without knowing it, and therefore experienced something that you are having trouble dealing with. It is a good idea to avoid LSD in the near future, and give your psyche time to integrate. FYI, there are no known reports throughout 60+ years of research indicating that LSD causes any type of cell death whatsoever. The problem with LSD comes from chronic administration of high doses to individuals with underlying predisposition towards psychiatric illness. Something that may help you is trying to convince yourself that LSD did not "fry your brain". Many people get it in their heads that LSD causes irreversible brain damage from single uses and this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. There has been a lot of exciting research as of late into medical applications of LSD, specifically by the Harvard School of Medicine's department of psychiatry. Try reading some true science about LSD and this may help you become convinced that LSD is not a "melter of brains". Unless you end up making LSD trips a weekly thing, you should be able to put all this behind very soon.

Your actually quite wrong. Tons of new chemicals are able to fit onto blotter. bromo d-fly, DOB, DOC, DOI, other DO-X chemicals., 5-meo-amt, and many others.

all of those chemicals last MUCH longer than 14 hours. what he took was very much most likely LSD. once again please get your shit straight before posting..

So niner, you say LSD won't cause any kind of brain damage. Are you saying that it won't damage the brain no matter how many times one does it? What about other drugs? I find it hard to believe that LSD is any different than drugs like cocaine, alcohol, and MDMA, which have been shown to have potential to damage the brain.

i would find anything hard to believe if i was ignorant and knew absolutely nothing about the subject. LSD is less toxic to the human body than WATER

Ok people... like someone above already stated, it would be impossible to fit active doses of PCP on two squares ("hits") of blotter paper. what you took sounds exactly like one persons way of perceiving the effects of LSD

and for the record, PCP can and will cause heavy brain damage and is neurotoxic to the cerebellum..

Ok, Please, know what you're talking about when it comes to illicit substances before spreading misinformation. Thank you!

owls, a dose of PCP could be as little as 3-5 milligrams. As I said above, depending on the size and thickness of the blotter, this is a possibility. Do you know how little 5 milligrams is?

Do you have any evidence to back up your claim of "heavy brain damage" and cerebellar neurotoxicity? Particularly from one small dose? Just curious. Throwing out scary language isn't going to be very helpful to a kid who is already scared. He doesn't have "brain damage", but you aren't helping him your claims.

Guys, I'm not trying to encourage anyone to take PCP, the drug everyone loves to hate. I stand by my post above, in which I noted that his description of his trip sounds like PCP, and the amount of PCP that he might have had wouldn't cause "brain damage".

yes, 3mg = 3000ug, and that's way too much to fit on blotter.. look it up

i thought i already told him that it's impossible that he has brain damage. if not, i'll make it clear. kid you do not have brain damage!

i never once said that one dose of PCP is going to cause any permanent damage, but PCP has a reputation as the most damaging amongst commonly used dissoaciatives.. and yes it possesses a trait of being neurotoxic to the cerebellum unshared by other common dissociatives

I think the greatest misconception here is the belief that "brain damage" is directly associated to physical damage. While the brain is a physical structure, it represents a neural network. That neural network holds every information needed for the processing of inputs (ex visual stimuli) into their outputs (ex sight). A change in the iteration of the neurons will change the structure of the neural network. So you CAN cause brain damage without killing neurons, by rewiring them.

Also, the fact that there's no proof that LSD can kill neurons doesn't mean it can't. There's no proof it can't, also.

It's perfectly possible that LSD kills neurons (by overexcitation), that it damages the receptors it binds to, that it causes neurotransmitter imbalances or that it changes the structure of neural networks. Whatever is the case, LSD can change our brain's normal functioning for very long times in a way that is not psychologically related - even after a single dose. HPPD is the proof.

That is just my opnion. So, enough of that. Let's return to this topic's purpose that is helping me with my problem. I'm very interested in brain nutrients that can speed up my recovery of whatever went wrong. I mean, things to balance neurotransmitter levels and to help with neuronal growth etc. Can you guys help me?
Thanks in advance.
Edited by VictorMaia, 21 February 2011 - 07:13 AM.

Everyone seems to think that because lsd has a major effect on perception, that it must damage the brain. What about general anesthetics? They have a major effect on consciousness. Do they damage the brain? Cigarettes, on the other hand, don't have a very extreme effect on us. That doesn't make them safe. You really can't connect therapeutic effect with safety. They're two different things.

I actually do wonder if some type of damage occurs with general anesthesia in some people.

When you say it is possible that some permanent alteration has taken place, I consider that to be damage.

I think the greatest misconception here is the belief that "brain damage" is directly associated to physical damage. While the brain is a physical structure, it represents a neural network. That neural network holds every information needed for the processing of inputs (ex visual stimuli) into their outputs (ex sight). A change in the iteration of the neurons will change the structure of the neural network. So you CAN cause brain damage without killing neurons, by rewiring them.

Also, the fact that there's no proof that LSD can kill neurons doesn't mean it can't. There's no proof it can't, also.

It's perfectly possible that LSD kills neurons (by overexcitation), that it damages the receptors it binds to, that it causes neurotransmitter imbalances or that it changes the structure of neural networks. Whatever is the case, LSD can change our brain's normal functioning for very long times in a way that is not psychologically related - even after a single dose. HPPD is the proof.

That is just my opnion. So, enough of that. Let's return to this topic's purpose that is helping me with my problem. I'm very interested in brain nutrients that can speed up my recovery of whatever went wrong. I mean, things to balance neurotransmitter levels and to help with neuronal growth etc. Can you guys help me?
Thanks in advance.

Bacopa, See my post. --> http://www.longecity...post__p__453077
High dose of high concentrate DHA / EPA would greatly benefit you. ALCAR enhances NGF http://www.sciencedi...ee&searchtype=a, http://www.sciencedi...4b&searchtype=a

try 25mg of pregnenolone daily for 2 weeks with bacopa and gotu kola.

Pregnenolone is a horrible idea. The last thing that someone who is trying to reestablish mental balance needs is messing around with hormones. Not to mention, pregnenolone affects almost every tissue in the body (ie- not just CNS effects). Even if done correctly after blood tests, adjusting hormones would just create more physiological change rather than returning to equilibrium. Brain damage vs. no damage aside, cognition and and so-called neural networks is an poorly understood part of physiology, and no one can even begin to say how single cell neurons give rise to complex feeling and emotion. What we do know is that the brain exhibits incredible plasticity meaning that the brain has the ability to constantly change itself and rewire itself. Thus, any damage you may think you did to your brain is not a permanent state, and your brain will quickly find its set-point once again. We also know that one of the great influencing factors in neuroplasticity is vigorous exercise.