Posted by pinksharkmark (196.3.74.234) on July 16, 2000 at 04:48:51:
In Reply to: Wrong tree posted by Miguel on July 15, 2000 at 22:58:22:
I agree that your suggestions are based on sound scientific procedure, and was not attacking you personally, or your ideas. I just feel that the order of experimentation should be reversed. LSD first, Sansert second, or better yet, not at all.
I have done an exhaustive search on this site of the posts regarding both LSD/psilocybin therapy and Sansert therapy. I did even more research in the seventies, before I developed CH, regarding LSD's other therapeutic uses.
The posts on this site regarding LSD/psilocybin therapy were overwhelmingly positive... almost universally so. The single negative report I have seen on the LSD/shroom therapy is that a single dose of what was purported to be LSD didn't abort a cycle for someone.
The posts regarding Sansert are riddled with warnings and reports of failure. As a matter of fact, I have yet to see any CH treatment as universally condemned as Sansert, and that includes prednisone. For example, there was a post on July 4 from someone who developed retroperitoneal fibrosis from using Sansert. It is certainly not the only post reporting this, just the most recent. I have also read many, many posts regarding leg cramps, swollen legs, even one regarding a throat swollen so badly that an emergency trip visit was required to open the airway again. Several posters have reported that their neurologists refuse to prescribe it.
My own neurologist was extremely reluctant to prescribe Sansert for me, calling it "the medication of last resort." He had many reservations about its use, had little faith in its effectiveness, and warned me to discontinue it immediately if I had any negative side effects. At the time, I was so desperate to try anything that might work, that I bullied him into prescribing it anyway.
From a strictly scientific efficiency point of view, as well as a humane one, it seems to me to make more sense to first try a therapy whose efficacy can be determined with a single trial. If it doesn't work, the next step can take place immediately. Even Sansert's proponents admit that it typically requires a course of gradually increasing doses over a period of ten days to two weeks to notice any benefits.
Let me pose a hypothetical question: If LSD/psilocybin were as readily available by prescription as Sansert, given their respective track records, (both clinical and anecdotal) which would you try first, as a patient seeking the most immediate relief? Or as a researcher seeking to maximize limited lab time and available funding?
On a more personal note, I am happy to hear the windsurfing is working so well for you. I, too, am a windsurfing fanatic. It's one of the most beautiful sports ever invented.
regards
pinky