10 ms·

I've been microdosing psilocybin daily for the past six months during quarantine as a bit of a cognitive experiment. I feel a lot more switched on and focused i

I've been microdosing psilocybin daily for the past six months during quarantine as a bit of a cognitive experiment. I feel a lot more switched on and focused in my work. Reading these posts I wonder what other diseases such as Parkinson's, seizures, PTSD, depression, anxiety have yet to be studied and require more research. Can anyone speak to this? Anything else I should add to my stack?

trabant00 6y ago
> I've been microdosing psilocybin daily for the past six months [...] I didn't get COVID and I feel a lot more switched on and focused You lost your causation vs correlation sense though :)
- agumonkey 6y ago
  he's now fully quantum
- qz2 6y ago
  Nailed it. A lot of the "I did this and it had great effects" are compounded with "I did this and it ruined my life" and a bit of "I did this and it ruined my life and everyone around me". I suspect the human mind is tailored to promote the first outcome and stick it's fingers in its metaphorical ears about the last two outcomes. Turns out we need actual formal studies and even those aren't necessarily conclusive so it's best to err on the side of caution.
  - mimac 6y ago
    Good evidence that big doses work: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0269881120919957 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/026988112091995...
    - qz2 6y ago
      I’m sure that is caveated on some people and for some conditions. I’d expect a better standard and more research to be defined here or we’ll end up with another paroxetine mess on our hands. I lost a decade of my life to cleaning up after that mess and that was just a family member’s encounter with it. What is factual is that things are invariably more complicated than they look when it comes to human minds. Look up “study 329” for an example of complexity.
  - dmurray 6y ago
    > I suspect the human mind is tailored to promote the first outcome and stick it's fingers in its metaphorical ears about the last two outcomes. It's more complicated than that. Plenty of people hear the bad outcomes and stick their fingers in their ears about the good ones. The subject of recreational drug use is a particularly good one for eliciting this behaviour, both for and against. The interesting questions are how people in the same society get primed for one reaction over the other, and how we can individually avoid this behaviour and approach controversial topics with an open mind.
    - adamsea 6y ago
      And (although I think you kinda said this), different people may respond in different ways.
- PakG1 6y ago
  This sounds too much like Billions season 5 episode 7. Uncanny. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtJNljm1pVs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtJNljm1pVs
  - okamiueru 6y ago
    Is that clip indicative of the quality of the show?
    - drewmate 6y ago
      Currently, yes. The first season was _much_ better, and there has been a decline (at first steep, then gradual and consistent) with each season since then. This was the last episode they aired due to COVID-related production shutdown. They're supposed to finish this season and do another, but I wonder if the show might just shut down quietly at this point.
      - toby 6y ago
        It was initially based on a true story described in the book "Black Edge". It just kept getting more and more outlandish once they ran out of source material.
- f69281c 6y ago
  The self-reported positive effects hallucinogens are awful. They alter your perception so your perception of perceived benefits is unreliable, and anyone who's not tripping can tell you that. I mean, with full doses the reported benefits are things like connecting with the thread of the universe and speaking across planes to dimensional beings that inform you that we're all one, but the word fractal is jammed in there somewhere. I'm not saying these people can't have fun, but pulling THAT experience back to just reduced levels of the drug is probably still going to give terrible accuracy for self reported results. Microdosing reminds me of those people who left high school parties saying it was fine because they drive better drunk, or that they took some coke to balance it out.
  - teataster 6y ago
    Microdosing implies non psychoactive dose. It would be more like people who left after drinking one beer because they were not under the influence. Furthermore, how can you be certain that you sober perception is more accurate than the altered one? How can you be certain that the effects of microdosing are even comparable to full doses? I am not making claims either way, just asking.
  - loves_mangoes 6y ago
    Here's my personal anecdote: I took acid once (200ug sublingual), and realized that I need to clean my apartment and brush my teeth more often. I'm not a very spiritual person, and I don't have a strong desire to 'connect with the thread of the universe'. But I'm very curious and happy to try things, if I can convince myself they're reasonably safe. That was a few weeks ago, and I'm happy to report that my floor is noticeably cleaner and my teeth cared for =) I could try to claim other less measurable and subjective benefits, but that wouldn't be very honest with myself after only a couple weeks, and I doubt you'd believe me.
  - travisjungroth 6y ago
    If someone is impaired to drive they are by definition not microdosing. The equivalent to alcohol would be like a quarter of a beer.
dmos62 6y ago
Nice to have such a steady access to psilocybin. Why not LSD, by the way? > I've been microdosing psilocybin daily for the past six months, [...] I didn't get COVID. Made me laugh.
- emteycz 6y ago
  Isn't the tolerance to LSD built way too fast for daily (micro)usage over half a year?
  - teataster 6y ago
    Yes, same as psilocybin. When you microdose you are not supposed to get psychedelic effects. The supposed benefits come from prolonged presence of the molecule in the body. Similar how antidepressants work, the point is not to take one tablet once.
    - WalterSear 6y ago
      The effects of microdosing begin on consumption and end on discontinuation. They do not build up and fade slowly. Tolerance and breaks are frequently discussed. So, it's not about the effect of a prolonged presence.
  - quantumwoke 6y ago
    Not sure what other people are using, but I've worked up to about 64mcg/day.
    - NeutronStar 6y ago
      100mcg is usually a full dose. Usually micrososing is 1/10th of a typical full dose so 10mcg. Your tolerance is already quite high if you're at 64mcg/day and not actively feeling any tripping.
- dkersten 6y ago
  > Why not LSD At least this [1] suggests that LSD microdosing doesn’t do anything, while there have been a few studies that suggested psilocybin micrososing does. Dunno how strong the evidence is in either direction but that would make me more inclined to start with psilocybin if I were to experiment myself. [1] https://www.gwern.net/LSD-microdosing#conclusion https://www.gwern.net/LSD-microdosing#conclusion
BrianOnHN 6y ago
What size micro dose? Personally, I've concluded I cannot be productive with even as little as 100-200mg of cubes.
- Out_of_Characte 6y ago
  mcg, I presume. But 200mcg is a really high dose. 10-20 would be a microdose for most. I hope you test your stuff and have the right potency because your comment doesn't sound right.
  - travisjungroth 6y ago
    They’re talking about milligrams of cubensis mushrooms (cubes) not micrograms of LSD.
    - Out_of_Characte 6y ago
      My bad, tracked the wrong parent comment by mistake. I thought he was talking about consumable microdose lsd cubes. Makes alot more sense now.
- WalterSear 6y ago
  5-7 mg. 10mg verges on a perceptual dose for me.
phkahler 6y ago
>> I feel a lot more switched on and focused in my work. Quarantine alone can do that for some people. Shutting out the world is a requirement to focus on deep work. Same reason Joel Spolsky says software engineers need offices with doors. Not saying you're wrong, just that you cant separate out this obvious factor in your experiment.
chrisweekly 6y ago
Lots of questions; top 2: How did you get started? Is there a reasonably safe (both medically and legally) way to source it?
- cakemuncher 6y ago
  1. Going into this, you need to research a ton. 2. Know someone that sells it. Or look for a field for them and go hunting. Or grow them, spores are legal and you can buy everything you need online.
- WalterSear 6y ago
  There are many places online that will ship spores where it is legal to have spores. Many places discussing it, too.
dezmou 6y ago
I started microdosing psilocybin since 3 years, sometime every day, sometime once every 1 or 2 weeks. When I take it the morning, I am very focused on my work, but also I am less stressed and anxious. I had a Tinder period with lot of date and psilocybin really help to build confident with women.
- throw_this_one 6y ago
  Do you take the psilocybin specifically before the date? Or just in general, the microdosing has made you better with women
  - dezmou 6y ago
    Every morning of the day of the date, but surely in general too, I feel like upgraded in every field possible with a long terme cure.
    - throw_this_one 6y ago
      Yeah I tried for the first time. Was roughly 300mg? For the first hour I was a bit off, but then it cleared and I felt very straightforward and open emotionally all day. Could definitely see it being useful for a date. What's your dose, is it extract or raw material?
      - dezmou 6y ago
        It is raw dried B+ magic mushroom, I mix it to obtain a powder. I don't know the exact gram of dose, it is about between 0.5 and 1.0 cubic centimeter of powder
- andai 6y ago
  Interesting, when I was microdosing LSD I was much more social: less social anxiety, more outgoing and more friendly. (A nicer person, as far as I can tell!) Also I was able to consistently keep an early bedtime for the first time in my life. The most interesting effect for me was that it became impossible to procrastinate. (I normally spend 99% of my time procrastinating.) I would go on YouTube or Reddit but the whole time I was just consciously aware that I was trying to distract myself from something... so in the end it was easier to just go ahead and do the damn thing to get it off my mind. Very productive time for me.
say_it_as_it_is 6y ago
Lion's Mane mushroom is being marketed by Stamets

trabant00 6y ago

> I've been microdosing psilocybin daily for the past six months [...] I didn't get COVID and I feel a lot more switched on and focused You lost your causation vs correlation sense though :)

agumonkey 6y ago
he's now fully quantum
qz2 6y ago
Nailed it. A lot of the "I did this and it had great effects" are compounded with "I did this and it ruined my life" and a bit of "I did this and it ruined my life and everyone around me". I suspect the human mind is tailored to promote the first outcome and stick it's fingers in its metaphorical ears about the last two outcomes. Turns out we need actual formal studies and even those aren't necessarily conclusive so it's best to err on the side of caution.
- mimac 6y ago
  Good evidence that big doses work: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0269881120919957 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/026988112091995...
  - qz2 6y ago
    I’m sure that is caveated on some people and for some conditions. I’d expect a better standard and more research to be defined here or we’ll end up with another paroxetine mess on our hands. I lost a decade of my life to cleaning up after that mess and that was just a family member’s encounter with it. What is factual is that things are invariably more complicated than they look when it comes to human minds. Look up “study 329” for an example of complexity.
- dmurray 6y ago
  > I suspect the human mind is tailored to promote the first outcome and stick it's fingers in its metaphorical ears about the last two outcomes. It's more complicated than that. Plenty of people hear the bad outcomes and stick their fingers in their ears about the good ones. The subject of recreational drug use is a particularly good one for eliciting this behaviour, both for and against. The interesting questions are how people in the same society get primed for one reaction over the other, and how we can individually avoid this behaviour and approach controversial topics with an open mind.
  - adamsea 6y ago
    And (although I think you kinda said this), different people may respond in different ways.
PakG1 6y ago
This sounds too much like Billions season 5 episode 7. Uncanny. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtJNljm1pVs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtJNljm1pVs
- okamiueru 6y ago
  Is that clip indicative of the quality of the show?
  - drewmate 6y ago
    Currently, yes. The first season was _much_ better, and there has been a decline (at first steep, then gradual and consistent) with each season since then. This was the last episode they aired due to COVID-related production shutdown. They're supposed to finish this season and do another, but I wonder if the show might just shut down quietly at this point.
    - toby 6y ago
      It was initially based on a true story described in the book "Black Edge". It just kept getting more and more outlandish once they ran out of source material.
f69281c 6y ago
The self-reported positive effects hallucinogens are awful. They alter your perception so your perception of perceived benefits is unreliable, and anyone who's not tripping can tell you that. I mean, with full doses the reported benefits are things like connecting with the thread of the universe and speaking across planes to dimensional beings that inform you that we're all one, but the word fractal is jammed in there somewhere. I'm not saying these people can't have fun, but pulling THAT experience back to just reduced levels of the drug is probably still going to give terrible accuracy for self reported results. Microdosing reminds me of those people who left high school parties saying it was fine because they drive better drunk, or that they took some coke to balance it out.
- teataster 6y ago
  Microdosing implies non psychoactive dose. It would be more like people who left after drinking one beer because they were not under the influence. Furthermore, how can you be certain that you sober perception is more accurate than the altered one? How can you be certain that the effects of microdosing are even comparable to full doses? I am not making claims either way, just asking.
- loves_mangoes 6y ago
  Here's my personal anecdote: I took acid once (200ug sublingual), and realized that I need to clean my apartment and brush my teeth more often. I'm not a very spiritual person, and I don't have a strong desire to 'connect with the thread of the universe'. But I'm very curious and happy to try things, if I can convince myself they're reasonably safe. That was a few weeks ago, and I'm happy to report that my floor is noticeably cleaner and my teeth cared for =) I could try to claim other less measurable and subjective benefits, but that wouldn't be very honest with myself after only a couple weeks, and I doubt you'd believe me.
- travisjungroth 6y ago
  If someone is impaired to drive they are by definition not microdosing. The equivalent to alcohol would be like a quarter of a beer.

dmos62 6y ago

Nice to have such a steady access to psilocybin. Why not LSD, by the way? > I've been microdosing psilocybin daily for the past six months, [...] I didn't get COVID. Made me laugh.

emteycz 6y ago
Isn't the tolerance to LSD built way too fast for daily (micro)usage over half a year?
- teataster 6y ago
  Yes, same as psilocybin. When you microdose you are not supposed to get psychedelic effects. The supposed benefits come from prolonged presence of the molecule in the body. Similar how antidepressants work, the point is not to take one tablet once.
  - WalterSear 6y ago
    The effects of microdosing begin on consumption and end on discontinuation. They do not build up and fade slowly. Tolerance and breaks are frequently discussed. So, it's not about the effect of a prolonged presence.
- quantumwoke 6y ago
  Not sure what other people are using, but I've worked up to about 64mcg/day.
  - NeutronStar 6y ago
    100mcg is usually a full dose. Usually micrososing is 1/10th of a typical full dose so 10mcg. Your tolerance is already quite high if you're at 64mcg/day and not actively feeling any tripping.
dkersten 6y ago
> Why not LSD At least this [1] suggests that LSD microdosing doesn’t do anything, while there have been a few studies that suggested psilocybin micrososing does. Dunno how strong the evidence is in either direction but that would make me more inclined to start with psilocybin if I were to experiment myself. [1] https://www.gwern.net/LSD-microdosing#conclusion https://www.gwern.net/LSD-microdosing#conclusion

BrianOnHN 6y ago

What size micro dose? Personally, I've concluded I cannot be productive with even as little as 100-200mg of cubes.

Out_of_Characte 6y ago
mcg, I presume. But 200mcg is a really high dose. 10-20 would be a microdose for most. I hope you test your stuff and have the right potency because your comment doesn't sound right.
- travisjungroth 6y ago
  They’re talking about milligrams of cubensis mushrooms (cubes) not micrograms of LSD.
  - Out_of_Characte 6y ago
    My bad, tracked the wrong parent comment by mistake. I thought he was talking about consumable microdose lsd cubes. Makes alot more sense now.
WalterSear 6y ago
5-7 mg. 10mg verges on a perceptual dose for me.

phkahler 6y ago

>> I feel a lot more switched on and focused in my work. Quarantine alone can do that for some people. Shutting out the world is a requirement to focus on deep work. Same reason Joel Spolsky says software engineers need offices with doors. Not saying you're wrong, just that you cant separate out this obvious factor in your experiment.

chrisweekly 6y ago

Lots of questions; top 2: How did you get started? Is there a reasonably safe (both medically and legally) way to source it?

cakemuncher 6y ago
1. Going into this, you need to research a ton. 2. Know someone that sells it. Or look for a field for them and go hunting. Or grow them, spores are legal and you can buy everything you need online.
WalterSear 6y ago
There are many places online that will ship spores where it is legal to have spores. Many places discussing it, too.

dezmou 6y ago

I started microdosing psilocybin since 3 years, sometime every day, sometime once every 1 or 2 weeks. When I take it the morning, I am very focused on my work, but also I am less stressed and anxious. I had a Tinder period with lot of date and psilocybin really help to build confident with women.

throw_this_one 6y ago
Do you take the psilocybin specifically before the date? Or just in general, the microdosing has made you better with women
- dezmou 6y ago
  Every morning of the day of the date, but surely in general too, I feel like upgraded in every field possible with a long terme cure.
  - throw_this_one 6y ago
    Yeah I tried for the first time. Was roughly 300mg? For the first hour I was a bit off, but then it cleared and I felt very straightforward and open emotionally all day. Could definitely see it being useful for a date. What's your dose, is it extract or raw material?
    - dezmou 6y ago
      It is raw dried B+ magic mushroom, I mix it to obtain a powder. I don't know the exact gram of dose, it is about between 0.5 and 1.0 cubic centimeter of powder
andai 6y ago
Interesting, when I was microdosing LSD I was much more social: less social anxiety, more outgoing and more friendly. (A nicer person, as far as I can tell!) Also I was able to consistently keep an early bedtime for the first time in my life. The most interesting effect for me was that it became impossible to procrastinate. (I normally spend 99% of my time procrastinating.) I would go on YouTube or Reddit but the whole time I was just consciously aware that I was trying to distract myself from something... so in the end it was easier to just go ahead and do the damn thing to get it off my mind. Very productive time for me.

say_it_as_it_is 6y ago

Lion's Mane mushroom is being marketed by Stamets