Mushrooms and Medication
More and more people are seeking natural alternatives to Big Pharma when it comes to mental health management.
I am not a doctor. These posts (and all other information blossoming from Aliud) are merely for educational purposes and not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please consult a healthcare professional before treading these psilocybin-spiked waters.
More and more people are seeking natural alternatives to Big Pharma when it comes to mental health management, and many have found themselves wading around curiously and curiouser in the shallow but fast-deepening waters of mushroom microdosing — psilocybin that is. In crescendoing unison, we ask: can psilocybin replace pharmaceutical prescriptions? And what happens if taken together?
Let’s dive in — I highly suggest isolating your microdoses (and macrodoses) from any pharmaceutical medications because 1. I am a proponent of psilocybin as an alternative to Big Pharma, 2. I want you to be fully aware of and receptive to the subtle effects from the microdose, and 3. There are some rare but potential dangers when combining the two.
To understand why combining certain substances with psilocybin can pose problems, we should first understand what the two main molecules in a mushroom are. Enter, stage right: psilocybin and psilocin. These two peas in a pod may appear extremely similar in molecular structure to the non-scientist eye, but the measly addition of three O’s, an H, and a P (POOOH? or phosphate ester) will change a fella. In this case, it makes him more stable (ie: protects him from degradation such as oxidation).
Although magic mushrooms contain both psilocybin and psilocin (always with more of the former and less of the latter), when ingested, all of the stable psilocybin converts to psychedelic psilocin (psilocin being the molecule of the two that is responsible for their famed psychotropic effects).
The fact that both of these molecules attach to serotonin receptors, means that when combined with other psychotropic substances that do the same, there is a possibility of some adverse and potentially fatal consequences — the main concern being serotonin syndrome. This is a group of symptoms typically caused by the use of two or more serotonergic substances. It is more accurately dubbed serotonin toxicity due to it being a form of poisoning caused by large elevations in serotonin levels.
The table below shows psilocin having much lower dissociation constants than psilocybin. The lower the dissociation constant (nM), the stronger the bind to the serotonin receptor, the greater the effect.
All of that superglue-like serotonin bonding that mushrooms create, means we need to be especially wary of other serotonin-inducing substances, namely SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOIs, TCAs/TeCAs, NRIs/NDRIs, SMSs/SARIs, Lithium, and others outlined in the table below:
Another useful table is this one by TripSit outlining various drug combinations and their corresponding danger levels (great for general reference but, as always, do further research and consult a healthcare professional for more detailed advice):
Even though the real dangers arrive moreso when mixing macrodoses with other psychotropic substances due to the higher serotonin levels, I still prefer to err on the side of caution and recommend against even microdosing while on any type of medication or other serotonergic substance. If you are currently taking anything, I strongly suggest avoiding mushrooms altogether. If you have recently taken/tapered off anything, I strongly suggest waiting a little while for your body to go back to baseline before embarking on your mushroom journey.
As for the main question on every prospective microdoser/microdoser’s mind: can psilocybin replace pharmaceutical prescriptions? I may be biased and a little premature (also amateur) in my prediction but.. I say yes. It has been said that mushrooms work because they do the opposite of antidepressants. Instead of creating a sort of emotional blunting in the brain (such is the case with SSRIs), mushrooms help to revive emotional responsiveness in the brain.
Contrary to what we’ve been made to believe all these years, the alleviation of depression occurs from emotional receptivity being enhanced not muted. In one experiment, patients reported after taking a dose of psilocybin "a greater willingness to accept all emotions post-treatment (including negative ones)," whereas they felt their previous depression treatments worked to "reinforce emotional avoidance and disconnection."
Similar to why talk therapy is so effective, mushrooms help to open a person up, so they can confront all of their emotional burdens and, in turn, let them go. Antidepressants support bottling up emotions, and we all know how a shaken up bottle of Coke ends up.. let’s avoid the violent explosions, shall we?
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin_syndrome#Spectrum_concept
https://thesunlightexperiment.com/blog/2017/1/31/is-psilocybin-a-nootropic
https://psychedelicreview.com/psilocin-active-component-magic-mushrooms/
https://psychedelicreview.com/binding-of-psilocin-and-psilocybin-to-serotonin-receptors/
http://wiki.tripsit.me/images/3/3a/Combo_2.png
you deserve a safe alternative - ALIUD