DOSE:	10 mg	oral	Pharms - Escitalopram	(daily)
	10 - 60 g		Mushrooms	(fresh)

BODY WEIGHT:

180 lb

Before broaching the topic of Lexapro and classic tryptamines, the parameters and scope of this paper must be defined. The goal of this report is to provide my firsthand, if only "anecdotal", knowledge of the complex ways Lexapro does or does not modify the effects of psilocybin, LSD, and DMT. To most thoroughly inform someone who takes Lexapro and feels they may benefit from consuming psychedelic tryptamine drugs, I will describe briefly the effects these three drugs had on me prior to, during, and after a prolonged daily Lexapro dosage.

As for the Lexpro, my dose was 10mg taken once daily over a period of one year. After those 12 months I gradually tapered myself off of the antidepressent over 2 additional months not by decreasing my daily dose, but rather by taking 10mg every other day for a few weeks, followed by taking 10mg only twice weekly, and finally a few weeks of taking one 10mg tablet once every seven days until no perceived withdrawal symptoms could be discerned. In order to understand how Lexapro modified the effects of these drugs I will briefly outline my entire experience with psychoactive substances, followed by the effects of these drugs "under the influence" of Lexapro, followed by the effects of these drugs in intervals ranging from 6 weeks to 18 months post cessation.

I am 38 years old and have used a wide variety of substances over 25 years. At around the age of 13 I used cannabis, alcohol, and tobacco. Around age 16 I quickly graduated to LSD, mushrooms, cocaine, amphetamines, and pills (primarily benzodiazepine tranquilizers and opioid pain relievers). After high school I more frequently used those drugs in addition to MDMA, ketamine, and a number of research chemicals. At 20 I used methamphetamine on a near daily basis, followed by heroin a few years later which continued for about 10 years until I used methadone to break that particular cycle of addiction at age 32. I have used phenethylamine and tryptamine hallucinogens at regular intervals since I was 16.

I began using mushrooms much more frequently about 4 years ago when I picked up a new hobby, identifying fungi. While wild psilocybe ovoideocystidiata comprises the majority of my psilocybin intake, wild panaeolus cinctulus and gymnopilus spp. And cultivated psilocybe cubensis account for the rest. Before I began taking Lexapro, a typical dose of psilocybe ovoideocystidiata (ovoids) for me is 10-30g fresh which is roughly equivalent to 3-9g of dried cubensis mushrooms one may procure from a drug dealer. In the spring and early summer when they fruit abundantly I typically eat them everyday, my tolerance fluctuating with the humidity, temperature, and rainfall. The more I eat in a given time, the shorter the trip rather than a decrease in hallucinogenic effect.

About 2 1/2 years ago I started taking Lexapro after the death of my brother and a couple months before the start of the spring rains which usher in the copious bounty of the ovoids' first flush. Shortly after locating and immediately brewing about 100 fresh grams into tea, I drank 10g worth of the earthy drink and sat back in anticipation of the onset. It's not atypical to feel that first giddy floating tryptamine effect within 5-10 minutes of consumption. At around the 45 min mark, and still at baseline, I decided to take 10 more grams worth of the brew (100mL). Wondering if the Lexapro was responsible for delaying the onset, I decided waiting a full hour before taking more. Sixty minutes later I still felt nothing, so I took 20g more (200mL) bringing the total dose taken to 40g (400mL). Finally, 30 minutes later (T+2:15 from first dose), I began to feel an effect. To my dismay, I felt only mildly buzzed, but no visuals. The body sensation was similar to, but qualitatively different from, a mushroom trip. No visuals at all. Not only did music lack the magnetic pull I'm accustomed to under psilocybin's influence, I was repulsed by its seemingly discordant cadence.

A few days later after reading up on the the interactions between psilocin/psilocybin and various SSRIs, I resolved to take the remaining 600mL of tea (60g fresh weight) all at once. Surely, I thought, visuals would come from such a dose. After all, 60g of fresh ovoids is similar to eating nearly a half ounce of dried cubensis mushrooms from a drug dealer. Prior to Lexapro, 60g of fresh ovoids or 12g of dried cubensis mushrooms would have resulted in earth shattering loss of psyche effects. To my disappointment the same thing happened this time and was more akin to a threshold dose of LSD than a large dose of psilocybin. A complete letdown, like smoking a half gram of THC distillate but getting only the effect of 20mg CBD. This same scenario played out every time I ate mushrooms while taking Lexapro. LSD, on the other hand, worked just like it always had before Lexapro. It actually seemed marginally stronger than it was prior to Lexapro, this I chalked up to a higher quality product being in circulation at that time as after I stopped taking Lexapro LSD was exactly the same as it had always been for me. The mushrooms weren't so simple.

Six weeks after emancipating myself from the bonds of the chemical handcuffs we call Lexapro, I enthusiastically attempted to try mushrooms again. The letdown was visceral, no change whatsoever. At 12 months post-cessation I began to recover the effects of psilocybin I've been accustomed to most of my life with a few notable differences. For one, I must take double the dose to achieve the desired head space. Then there is the factor of duration. A dose that would have resulted in a 3-4 hour experience 3 years ago at that time lasted about 1-1.5 hours. Little improvement was noted an additional 6 months later. Two grams of Syrian rue seeds marginally increased both duration and magnitude of the experience, but also qualitatively altered the experience making it vaguely reminiscent of DMT (minus the fast onset, plus nausea).

While on Lexapro, DMT seemed to work as it always had. In retrospect, that is not completely true. I realized that on Lexapro DMT causes strange auditory hallucinations I don't experience today. Also noteworthy is the fact that today DMT has a dynamic and fast paced "swirling" motion to its visuals that is almost mechanical in nature. On Lexapro, the "motion" of the visual hallucinations is better described as stagnant or stationary. Upon onset, the landscape would merely transform to a foreign or even alien environment. Post Lexapro, DMT is once again the roller coaster it used to be, complete with the presence of divine entities and sentient consciousness.

It is my hope that this report will answer questions you may have concerning Lexapro and tryptamines and/or alleviate your concerns when weighing the pros and cons of SSRIs and other antidepressents such as psilocybin and other drugs (such as ketamine) only more recently embraced by the medical establishment.

Sincerely,
The Ovoid Kid

Exp Year: 2021	ExpID: 115139
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 38
Published: Jan 31, 2021	Views: 2,596
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Pharms - Escitalopram (304), Mushrooms (39) : Retrospective / Summary (11), Combinations (3), Unknown Context (20)