The microdosing thread

[Salacious Crumb]

I have a friend that has been championing microdosing for depression for years. As I have anxiety and mild OCD I’ve been quite interested and finally decided to try it.

 

I tried Zoloft, then Prozac and finally Wellbutrin over the last 2 years to try and improve my sense of wellbeing. Hated the side effects from using them. They definitely took the deep lows out of my life but they also muted anything that used to bring me joy a bit too.

 

Started microdosing a month ago and feeling much better overall.

 

I was wondering if anyone else has any experience in this area?

Edited June 24, 2022 by Salacious Crumb
edit: I took a week off Wellbutrin before starting on this journey.

[AngelicHearts]

Never heard of it before. I learned something new today. 

[Dazzle]

Microdosing is totally a thing with other pills. It's often used to ease into the effects, particularly with stuff like weed, or something else that gives visuals.

[-AJ-]

Never heard of it. What is microdosing?

[JM_]

1 hour ago, Salacious Crumb said:

I have a friend that has been championing microdosing for depression for years. As I have anxiety and mild OCD I’ve been quite interested and finally decided to try it.

 

I tried Zoloft, then Prozac and finally Wellbutrin over the last 2 years to try and improve my sense of wellbeing. Hated the side effects from using them. They definitely took the deep lows out of my life but they also muted anything that used to bring me joy a bit too.

 

Started microdosing a month ago and feeling much better overall.

 

I was wondering if anyone else has any experience in this area?

how do you determine what and how much to take? curious on the info sources. 

[Aladeen]

1 hour ago, -AJ- said:

Never heard of it. What is microdosing?

Basically it’s using a very small amount of psychedelic compounds to help with various mental health challenges like depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder.

 

Usually it is psilocybin (the active hallucinogenic substance in magic mushrooms) but can be others such as DMT, LSD etc. 
 

It was studied quite a bit back in the 60s and 70s, I believe and showed great promise especially in the area of treating drug dependency to things like heroine and cocaine. Unfortunately most of the research was deemed illegal back at the time of the war on drugs but has since made a resurgence in becoming a focal point for psychologists and psychiatrists. 
 

There are many large companies starting to invest in the research these days, especially after the advent of the legalization of cannabis leading to many economic opportunities for early investors. 

[-AJ-]

4 minutes ago, Aladeen said:

Basically it’s using a very small amount of psychedelic compounds to help with various mental health challenges like depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder.

 

Usually it is psilocybin (the active hallucinogenic substance in magic mushrooms) but can be others such as DMT, LSD etc. 
 

It was studied quite a bit back in the 60s and 70s, I believe and showed great promise especially in the area of treating drug dependency to things like heroine and cocaine. Unfortunately most of the research was deemed illegal back at the time of the war on drugs but has since made a resurgence in becoming a focal point for psychologists and psychiatrists. 
 

There are many large companies starting to invest in the research these days, especially after the advent of the legalization of cannabis leading to many economic opportunities for early investors. 

Interesting. Like @Salacious Crumb, I think I may have minor OCD, but I haven't had it diagnosed or anything though. I have no experience with anything remotely hallucinogenic though, so it would be pretty far outside my comfort zone. I'm of the sort that was raised in an "absolutely no drugs, smoking, etc." and I don't even drink, but I suppose maybe if I were to think of it in a more medicinal sense than recreational sense, it might seem less intimidating to me.

[Aladeen]

14 minutes ago, -AJ- said:

Interesting. Like @Salacious Crumb, I think I may have minor OCD, but I haven't had it diagnosed or anything though. I have no experience with anything remotely hallucinogenic though, so it would be pretty far outside my comfort zone. I'm of the sort that was raised in an "absolutely no drugs, smoking, etc." and I don't even drink, but I suppose maybe if I were to think of it in a more medicinal sense than recreational sense, it might seem less intimidating to me.

I definitely would recommend speaking with a professional in the field rather than self-medicating with microdosing. 
 

There are a lot of mental health professionals starting to incorporating microdosing into their practices these days and I know it’s definitely not for everyone. Though the people it works for seem to really benefit from it and so the potential exists for a relatively safe treatment that seems to have little to no side effects for most patients. 
 

It may also be worth noting that most patients don’t experience any sort of “high” from microdosing as the amount taken is too low to illicit a hallucinogenic experience.
 

Often the user reports an increase in things like well-being, motivation, focus and self worth. Though it’s a shame that the research was essentially paused for 40 years as the strides that would have been made in that time would possibly have been a great help for many suffering from mental health challenges.

[-AJ-]

11 minutes ago, Aladeen said:

I definitely would recommend speaking with a professional in the field rather than self-medicating with microdosing. 
 

There are a lot of mental health professionals starting to incorporating microdosing into their practices these days and I know it’s definitely not for everyone. Though the people it works for seem to really benefit from it and so the potential exists for a relatively safe treatment that seems to have little to no side effects for most patients. 
 

It may also be worth noting that most patients don’t experience any sort of “high” from microdosing as the amount taken is too low to illicit a hallucinogenic experience.
 

Often the user reports an increase in things like well-being, motivation, focus and self worth. Though it’s a shame that the research was essentially paused for 40 years as the strides that would have been made in that time would possibly have been a great help for many suffering from mental health challenges.

Yeah, I would definitely seek a professional opinion before choosing any medication. I'm generally averse to medication unless it's really necessary anyway, so it's not likely I'd do something like that.

[Aladeen]

One thing that would be important to check with  a professional in is if one is taking an SSRI (antidepressant drug) as Psilocybin is thought to have an effect on the 5-HTP2A receptors in the brain which leads to an increase in production of serotonin (our feel good neurotransmitter). 
 

Although psilocybin is generally thought to be safe and non-addictive the combination of psilocybin and SSRIs do have the potential to lead to an excessive amount of serotonin flooding the brain which can lead to symptoms such as seizures. But either taken alone should safely regulate the amount and not lead to that condition.

[Salacious Crumb]

1 hour ago, -AJ- said:

Interesting. Like @Salacious Crumb, I think I may have minor OCD, but I haven't had it diagnosed or anything though. I have no experience with anything remotely hallucinogenic though, so it would be pretty far outside my comfort zone. I'm of the sort that was raised in an "absolutely no drugs, smoking, etc." and I don't even drink, but I suppose maybe if I were to think of it in a more medicinal sense than recreational sense, it might seem less intimidating to me.

There is zero affect as far as hallucinating. I used to trip hard in the late 80’s. This is literally micro dosing. There is just a mildly uplifting feeling. I take 1 capsule on and then 2 days off. 

 

I’m very pleasantly surprised. My friend is a psychiatric nurse and she recommended a certain place downtown. I’m not sure if it would be against board rules if I said where.

 

 

[luckylager]

4 hours ago, Salacious Crumb said:

I have a friend that has been championing microdosing for depression for years. As I have anxiety and mild OCD I’ve been quite interested and finally decided to try it.

 

I tried Zoloft, then Prozac and finally Wellbutrin over the last 2 years to try and improve my sense of wellbeing. Hated the side effects from using them. They definitely took the deep lows out of my life but they also muted anything that used to bring me joy a bit too.

 

Started microdosing a month ago and feeling much better overall.

 

I was wondering if anyone else has any experience in this area?

Hi Crumb! Been a bit

 

My experience with mushrooms has always been recreational, but I am familiar with the reported benefits of microdosing for recovery from brain injuries, but also for the treatment of depression and anxiety. 

 

Dr. Deen put everything in a white overcoat for everyone, so I'll just add that taking small doses of mushrooms is always a good time. However I've tripped balls and freak the &^@# out from taking wayyy to many. 

Hapns

[Salacious Crumb]

1 minute ago, luckylager said:

Hi Crumb! Been a bit

 

My experience with mushrooms has always been recreational, but I am familiar with the reported benefits of microdosing for recovery from brain injuries, but also for the treatment of depression and anxiety. 

 

Dr. Deen put everything in a white overcoat for everyone, so I'll just add that taking small doses of mushrooms is always a good time. However I've tripped balls and freak the &^@# out from taking wayyy to many. 

Hapns

I used to trip a lot. Acid, local shrooms, the Mexican long stem. An eighth steeped in hot water for 10 minutes and add a bit of honey for special tea.

[luckylager]

1 minute ago, Salacious Crumb said:

I used to trip a lot. Acid, local shrooms, the Mexican long stem. An eighth steeped in hot water for 10 minutes and add a bit of honey for special tea.

Yeah.. not anymore.

I still like eating on camping trips and stuff, but I prefer a cap or so every few hours, just coast.

Couldn't really say I get high high, but enough to make my brain sparkle a bit.

[Salacious Crumb]

You were sparkly before that lucky

[Darius]

Where would one get micro doses of psilocybin?  Im assuming a registered therapist would be a safe way to start dosing, are there any recommended pros in the Vancouver area?Interesting that this thread popped up as I have been researching this for a few days now.  

[Salacious Crumb]

2 hours ago, Darius said:

Where would one get micro doses of psilocybin?  Im assuming a registered therapist would be a safe way to start dosing, are there any recommended pros in the Vancouver area?Interesting that this thread popped up as I have been researching this for a few days now.  

I went to the place at the corner of Davie and Richards and chatted with the very knowledgeable staff there.

[Darius]

38 minutes ago, Salacious Crumb said:

I went to the place at the corner of Davie and Richards and chatted with the very knowledgeable staff there.

thank you for the tip...