DOSE:

1 seed

oral

Datura

BODY WEIGHT:

135 lb

Datura for Depression

I have had depression, anxiety, and social anxiety all my life. I have been using Datura the last 3 months, and it helps a lot.

I typically take 1 seed, rinse it with water, crush it between my teeth, and hold it in my mouth for several minutes before swallowing. Usually I notice a numbness in my lips, nose, and tongue within a couple of minutes. Next a numbness and coldness begins to spread throughout my body. Usually within 5 minutes I realize that I feel some hope and optimism, and I am able to tackle my work, make decisions, talk to people, etc. Problems that seemed insurmountable minutes before suddenly seem minor. This antidepressant effect lasts about 4 hours, but I am often able to accomplish more in those 4 hours than I would in an entire week otherwise.

I have a few worries:

(1) Datura seems to only work once per day for depression, and sometimes it doesn't work at all. Taking a second seed after the first seed wears off doesn't seem to work, and sometimes the first seed doesn't work. The success rate for the first seed seems to be about 50% to 75%. I noticed this same quirkiness when using transderm scop patches, so I think it is not attributable to varying seed potency.

(2) Scopolamine withdrawal syndrome is worrisome. Peope who use transderm scop patches for longer than 3 days often begin to experience motion sickness as a withdrawal symptom. I try to limit the Datura to every other day in hopes of minimizing this risk.

(3) I have noticed a tolerance. Originally 1/2 seed was sufficient, and a full seed seemed excessive. Now I use a full seed.

(4) Scopolamine is used to create dementia symptoms in rats, and cholinergic drugs may contribute to dementia in older people like me.

In conclusion, I wanted to say something positive about Datura. Whenever I take Datura I feel an overwhelming gratitude towards the plant for giving me some temporary relief from depression. I think if Datura is treated respectfully as medicine rather than a recreational drug then it can be very positive.

My hope would be that some neurologist might see experience reports like this and try to understand the antidepressant effects of Datura to improve the treatment of depression.

Exp Year: 2020	ExpID: 114609
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 53
Published: Aug 5, 2020	Views: 1,239
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Datura (15) : Not Applicable (38), Therapeutic Intent or Outcome (49), Depression (15), Retrospective / Summary (11)