Woman who took 550 times the recreational dose of LSD says her life is dramatically better

 

Two women who accidentally took large amounts of LSD say their lives have changed for the better after their overdoses.

Their experiences were revealed in the US in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs in January. 

Experts stressed the experiences should not be attempted or recreated. 

One woman says her chronic foot pain was all but cured after she took 550 times the recommended recreational dose of LSD.

In September 2015 the 46-year-old woman accidentally snorted 55 milligrams of LSD , believing the powdered form of the drug was cocaine.

The woman had contracted Lyme disease in her 20s and suffered chronic foot pain which she treated with morphine.

For the first 12 hours she blacked out and vomited frequently. According to her roommate, the next 12 hours she sat mostly still in a chair with her eyes either closed or rolled back in her head. She continued to vomit, but less often.

Once the drugs wore off  her foot pain had disappeared and she did not use morphine for five days.

When the pain returned she controlled it with lower doses of morphine and LSD - and two years later she was able to stop using both and be entirely pain free with no withdrawal symptoms. 

Another 15-year-old girl accidentally took ten times the recommended dose of the drug. She suffered from bipolar disorder but says after the experience she had "a normal brain". 

After behaving erratically for six and a half hours at the party where she overdosed, she had what appeared to be a seizure. By the time paramedics arrived ten minutes later she was alert and coherent.

The following morning she told her father "it's over" which he took to mean the drug trip was over - however she meant she no longer felt the symptoms of her mental illness.

According to the case study she remained symptom free for 13 years until she gave birth and experienced postpartum depression.

Researchers said neither experience could ever be trialled due to the extreme size of the dosages. 

"To understand the effects of extremely high dosages of psychedelics such as LSD an examination of overdoses in naturalistic settings is required," it read. 

In recent years psychedelic substances have been experimented with for medical treatment.  A single dose of magic mushrooms was shown to relieve anxiety and depression in cancer patients and microdosing LSD could improve cognitive function and alleviate depression. 

Despite the success of low level doses in trials, high doses of  LSD can cause extreme changes in mood such as suicidal thoughts, or thoughts of harming others.

It can also cause seizures, fever, irregular heartbeats and brain bleeds. LSD is a Class A substance in New Zealand meaning just being in possession of the drug could get you six months in jail and a fine of $1000. 

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