I'm a 50 y/o Dutch guy and each spring and fall I suffer from CH.
My preferred method of aborting an attack is using psilocybine which is the working compound in so called magic mushrooms and truffles.

I noticed that a lot of people seek practical information about using or obtaining shrooms or truffles from Holland.
With this post I will try and give those who seek information about the subject some quick answers and hopefully you'll find them usefull.

All the information below is factual and/or based on personel experience.
You can read it as an rough guide.
If you need more information or help in any way just ask or send me a PM.


Is it legal to buy Magic Mushrooms in Holland?

No.
Since 2008 it is prohibited to buy or sell Magic Mushrooms.

Is it legal to buy mushroom spores or growboxes in Holland?

Yes.
To grow your own mushrooms you can either buy spores or just simple buy a complete growbox.
A growbox is a complete set with instructions and really easy to do.
Spores and/or growbox are legal to be sold and possessed by people of 18 years and older in the Netherlands by Dutch law.

Is it legal to buy truffles in Holland?

Yes.
Since the goverment introduced a ban on mushrooms they forgot to include truffles.
Truffles are legal to be sold and possessed by people of 18 years and older in the Netherlands by Dutch law.

Where can I buy truffles, spores or growboxes?

There are a lot of so called smartshops where you can buy  truffles, spores or growboxes.
You will find a smartshop in almost every major Dutch city or on-line.

What is the best smartshop to visit?

All smartshops buy their spores, growboxes or truffles from the same growers/wholesalers.
It all comes down to freshness of the product. The shop with the biggest turn-over usually sells the best quality.

Can I mail order truffles, spores or growboxes?

Most web-based smartshops will send you your order but with a disclaimer stating that you are responsible for informing yourself on the legal status, import and custom laws of these products in your country.

Is there a difference between truffles and mushrooms?

For aborting or trying to bust CH there is no difference.
Both truffles and mushrooms contain psiclocybine in a more or less same amount and the effects are similar.

Is there a difference between the various truffel products offered?

Smartshops sell truffles with all kinds of fancy names and with al kinds of alleged specific properties. Mostly this is just marketing.

For mushrooms there are different species and some are believed to be more potent then others.
From a botanical point of view this is true but remember truffles and mushrooms are a product of nature. The conditions of growing, the exact time of picking and freshness have an huge impact on the individual potency.

For aborting or trying to bust CH ANY magic mushroom or truffle will do.

How much truffles or mushroom do I have to take?

Depends on what your goals are.
10 to 15 grams of truffles or 15-30 grams of fresh mushrooms (1.5-3 grams of dried mushrooms) is enough for a full psychedelic dose.

If its your first time or if you feel uncertain in any way you can lower the dose from 5 gram and up for fresh mushrooms or truffles. The psychedelic experience will be mild and less profound but still enough for an attempt to bust CH.      

For aborting an attack without experiencing a psychedelic trip you can lower the dose even more.
First you have to determine which micro-dose is working for you.
A quarter to half a gram of truffles or fresh mushrooms is a good starting point to determine your working dose. From here you can find your way down to the lowest possible dose.

With small amounts you do not get into a real trip but you may experience some 'buzz' (which is not unpleasant altogether) that will subside within an hour or so.

Why should I micro-dose?

With suitable micro-dosing you can effectively abort an attack and continue your normal routine shortly after. Especially some dried, grind, weighted and encapsulated mushrooms are ideal when roaming about.
With micro-dosing you can take it on a daily basis.

How much psilocybine does truffles or mushrooms contains?

The common Psilocybe cubensis mushroom contains approx. 10 milligrams psilocybine per 10 grams of fresh mushrooms. Remember this may vary depending on growing conditions and freshness.

Are truffles or mushrooms toxic?

The toxicity of psilocybin is low.
The Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances assigns psilocybin a relatively high therapeutic index of 641 (higher values correspond to a better safety profile); for comparison, the therapeutic indices of aspirin and nicotine are 199 and 21.

Repeated use of psilocybin does not lead to physical dependence.

How often can I use truffles or mushrooms?

Again, depends on what you are looking for.
If you want to experience a full psychedelic trip keep a minimum of 7 days between administering is advised.

If you use a low or micro-dose for aborting an attack (see above) you can take it on a daily basis.
You will still build up a tolerance to the side effects ( the 'buzz') but it will still work on aborting an CH.

When should I take truffles or mushrooms?

If you want a full dose (psychedelic trip) you can take it whenever you feel like it. But keep in mind the effects can be strong and it will takes 4-6 hours minimum before getting back to your more or less normal state. Follow the safety rules when taking a full dose.

If you go for the low or micro dose (sub-psychedelic) you can take it as soon as an CH emergence or when you feel shadows. You might feel some mild effects (buzz) which may linger for about an hour. The CH will halt and subside within about 10-20  minutes (depending on your stomach content.)

If an attack hits you at night (almost always in my case) you can take a micro-dose and resume sleeping within an hour. The next day there will be no side-effects and you can resume your normal routine.

How do I take truffles or mushrooms?

Try to consume the truffles on a fairly empty stomach. This will reduce possible naussea and helps the experience if an psychedelic trip is desired.

Truffles. Just chew up de desired amount.

Mushrooms. You can either eat them fresh or dried.
Or dried and grind, put in capsules and then swallow them (my personal favourite). Some people make a tea (do not exceed 80 degrees Celsius as psiclocybine will degrade in high temperatures!) or smoke dried mushrooms as a joint mixed with some herbs or tobacco.

Mushrooms and truffles taste bad. You can overcome the taste by mixing them with some salted chips, chocolate, honey or chop them up, mix them in some cooled soup and swallow it without chewing.

How do I store and keep truffles or mushrooms?

Truffles in their original sealed package can be kept for weeks if not months depending on their freshness. Store in a cool dark place. As long as they feel firm and are free from fungus and molts you can consume them.

You can put truffles in the freezer and keep them for about 12 months.
If you defrost them they become soft and degrade so you need to take them immediate.

Store fresh picked mushrooms in a sealed container in the fridge and they will keep for about week.
Do not expose to moisture.

Dried mushrooms can be stored in an sealed container and be kept in a cool and dark place.
You can also put dried mushrooms in the freezer and keep them for about 12 months.
I keep dried and grinded mushrooms in capsules in the freezer.
You can swallow them right out of the freezer for aborting an CH attack.

Dried mushrooms can also be kept in honey and stored in a cool and dark place.

Any DON'Ts?

Do not mix truffles/mushrooms with alcohol and/or other drugs, the outcome may become unpredictable and possible dangerous. À small amount of cannabis can be used to relax during the trip and will help to reduce anxiety (if any.)

Do not mix truffles/mushrooms with antidepressants or uppers/downers (this can be very dangerous!)
Do not take truffles/mushrooms when suffering an mental illness.
If in doubt consult your doctor.

Do not take truffles/mushrooms when emotially unstable and/or depressed/angry.

Do not exceed advised dosage!

Any tips?

Truffles/Mushrooms can produces strong emotional states when having undealt or underlying psychological issues. This can be very confronting. In rare cases people can feel depressed or angry. Still don't worry. If something like this happens observe your feelings and keep in mind it will last no longer than an hour or so. It will pass.

Bad trip. There is no such thing as a 'bad-trip'. A so called bad-trip is when the negative emotions discribed above takes the upper hand.

In worst case scenario. When you feel the need of escaping the trip just put on the lights, let fresh air come in, listen to boring talking radio and (strangely enough but it does help) keep your bare foots on the ground. This will calm you down and bring you back to a more rational state.

Hallucinations. There will be no hallucinations! An hallucination is seeing and believing something which isn't there. You will experience visual distortion (paterns, colors, bleeding walls etc.) but you will know they are just distortions produced by the truffles. Just enjoy them.

If possible inform your partner/roommate/family about your plan to take truffles/mushrooms.
Maybe they can act as tripsitter and watch over you.

Make sure you will not be disturbed in any way during a full trip, do not mingle with unknown people and stay clear of small places like toilets or rooms without a view. Turn off your phone.

Unlike with alcohol you will experience an rational inner-voice to guide you, you may experience crystal clear and bright thoughts and even, in some cases, have usefull insights.

The 'set and setting' is important of the outcome of a psychedelic experience. (pls Google: set and setting)

When taking a micro-dose you can wash it away with some taurine containing energy-drink.
This will most likely boost the effect.

Shall I buy truffles or grow my own mushrooms?

They both work fine so that is not the issue.

If you want to be cost effective a grownbox of mushrooms yields up to approx 800 grams under the right conditions.
Which is 80 grams dried.
The only problem is you need 3 to 4  weeks before you can harvest or proces them.

On the other hand, the truffles you buy are ready for consumption.
One box of truffles usually contains about 15 grams.
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I hope this will answer most of your questions.
If not please ask what you missed or want to know.
Please reply here with your personal experience with truffles or mushrooms.

If any newbies, and those of you that are thinking about
going down the mushroom road for their CH's. Best to
checkout our sister site first, which has all the info on
this alternative treatment. The link is too your left on
this page. ClusterBusters.

Good Luck, Hoppy.

edsmith wrote on Dec 22^nd, 2014 at 12:38am:

Are those trip reports in regard to cluster headaches? After all, this is clusterheadaches.com where there's no such thing as using drugs for fun.

Please tell us more so we can see how best to help you with your headaches.

7 years PF thanks to mushrooms. No prescription drugs ever.