Posted by Flash (134.32.125.179) on July 11, 2000 at 10:15:07:
In Reply to: LSD and CH posted by dragan on July 10, 2000 at 20:54:46:
Over use of LSD can bring about an episode of cluster headaches in sufferers. As can late nights, irregular mealtimes, stress etc.
Many people who are aware of what LSD does, are immediately concerned that it might have an adverse effect on conditions such as migraine and CH. When I was using LSD recreationally I used to be scared that it would trigger an attack of CH.
However there are properties of LSD that few people are aware of:
1) LSD was 'discovered' by a scientist researching migraine treatments. It did prove effective in treating vascular headaches, and was administered to patients at migraine clinics in the late 60s. It was only withdrawn as a treatment because of advese publicity surrounding it's recreational side effects.
2) LSD is an Ergot Alkaloid. It shares that part of the chemical tree with two other drugs Ergotamine and Methysergide (Sansert), both are established cluster headache treatments. The current generation of durgs such as Imitrex have been developed with regard to those substances.
3) In common with many other psychoactive substances, LSD part consists of an Indole ring structure. Serotonin shares this feature. Serotonin has been implicated in cluster headahces. LSD acts as a Serotonin agonist/antagonist. It may block the Serotonin receptors.
4) LSD is currently being trialed as an anti-depressant. It has been shown the redress chemical inbalances in the brain, especially with regard to Serotonin.
5) Myself and other sufferers have been using LSD, and more recently Psilocybin (the active ingrediant in Magic Mushrooms, also has an Indole ring structure) to treat the condition. In my case I have completely aborted all episodes from 1993-present, except one in 1995, and one in 1998 when I didn't have access to either of those substances.
I thought it was worth going into this because the first reaction of many people is that LSD is a hallucinogen therefore it must cause CH. My own CH started 8 years before I first took LSD. It has entered remission everytime I have taken LSD.
If you would like more details on this, then do a search on 'LSD' or 'shroom' from the site search button. Please note on the button on the top right hand corner of the screen works (DJ if you are reading this please fix the other search points too!).
Flash