So I briefly touched upon why I have to take an abnormally large dose of magic mushrooms in an earlier blog about Golden Teacher Spores. The reason I take 10g+ dosages is because of two medications I take, Quetiapine & Mirtazapine.
DISCLAIMER
I am not a medical professional. Magic mushrooms are drugs. Your mileage may vary. Do not take my word as gospel. This entire blog post relates to my own experience and should not be used as a guide for your own journey.
A lot of people don’t understand that antidepressants & anti psychotics can counteract the affects of magic mushrooms because of the nature of what each of them do.
According to Wikipedia, Psilocin (the compound in magic mushrooms that makes us trip), is a Serotonin receptor agonist. Whaaaaa? Yes I agree, that sounded confusing so let me break this down for you. The neuropsychological effects of psilocin appear to be mediated by stimulation of serotonergic receptors (link). What do serotonergic (Serotonin) receptors do? Firstly, according to Medium.com, Magic Mushrooms activate a specific serotonin receptor known as 5 HT2A, which is responsible for perception, mood, imagination and a few other things. The magic mushrooms contain psilocybin which is converted to psilocin, the psychoactive substance, in the body.
Psilocin on a molecular level, is very similar to serotonin and it binds to the serotonin receptors in the brain, effectively lighting up pathways for neurotransmitters to fire making it like a flood of serotonin. Think of all of that dream like information firing on new pathways in the brain making the brain respond with hallucinations. There are lots of current studies ongoing aiming to figure out exactly how this happens.
Medication & Magic Mushrooms
Some medications can counteract the affects of magic mushrooms because of the way in which they work. Certain antidepressants (especially SSRI antidepressants) and antipsychotics can work against psilocin. So what is an SSRI? According to the NHS, SSRI’s are Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
Quetiapine
Quetiapine, also known as Seroquel is an antipsychotic used to treat conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorders and major depressive disorders (link). That’s not to say everybody who takes it is psychotic. For example, I take it to help with borderline personality disorder. Quetiapine is believed to work by blocking a number of receptors including serotonin and dopamine (link).
Mirtazapine
Mirtazapine is an antidepressant which is an antagonist for D2 receptors and 5-HT2 receptors (link). Again, sorry for the technical jargon, let me simplify it for you… The 5-HT2 receptors are a subfamily of 5-HT receptors that bind the endogenous neurotransmitter serotonin (link). So Quetiapine works by doing the complete polar opposite of what psilocin does. This means that Quetiapine will also work against Psilocin and they can very often cancel each other out.
What to do?
So now that we know that certain (SSRI) antidepressants, Mirtazapine & Quetiapine can work against the affects of Psilocin, what choices do we have? I think this is completely dependant on your circumstances. I’m not going to sit here and tell you to stop taking your medication because that would be irresponsible of me and if you did stop taking them, that would be irresponsible of you.
It’s important to consult your GP/Pharmacist before discontinuing your medication. Please seek medical advise before doing so. Certain medications such as mirtazapine, quetiapine and other antidepressants can have severe withdrawal affects.
For me, I cannot come off my medication. Just missing one dose can have profound affects on my mental health and within 3 days I can spiral into rock bottom so it’s just not worth discontinuing my medication.
It’s important to remember that if you are trying to find your minimum dose, that you don’t over do it. Leave yourself a good break between trips. This is because you can build a tolerance. I wait at least 2 weeks between trips and it’s usually a few months between trips. As an example, I’ve not yet taken any mushrooms this year.
Conclusion
So now that we know the difference between what magic mushrooms do and how some medications can counteract the affects and prevent us having a decent trip. We can see that magic mushrooms convert psilocybin into psilocin in the body and that the psilocin binds to the serotonin receptors in the brain creating new neural pathways. The new pathways are firing an overload of sensory information causing us to trip. Certain medications such as SSRI’s, Mirtazapine & Quetiapine work against the affects of Psilocin. Our choices are to discontinue medication for either a period of time or permanently, depending on the advise of your pharmacist or GP, or to figure out a higher dose by gradually increasing the dosage of mushrooms over a period of time to figure out what our standard dose is.
Certain conditions mean we need to be on certain medications, so please do not discontinue any medications without speaking to a medical professional first.
I hope that this blog has been informative for you. If you have any suggestions or experiences, please leave a comment or email [email protected]. Don’t forget to check out our Golden Teacher Spores and our other magic mushroom spores.
Thank you for this post. I have been taking a high daily dose (150mg) of the antidepressant Amitriptyline for many years. When I checked up on taking Psylocybin together with this drug I found severe contraindications. If I were to take a 10g dose of the mushrooms I could be facing
symptoms including seizures, coma and death.
I have resolved this situation by stopping taking Amitriptyline entirely. Knowing the consequences, I simply went cold turkey. The nasty stuff
was over in a week and I feel fine now. By the time of my first crop all my brain’s 5-HT receptors will be all mine again, to dispose of however
I wish. By the way, UK law does not permit this.
I am posting this comment was warn any future readers of the potential dangers of mixing drugs. Be careful and responsible.
Very informative piece. I’m currently on mirtizipan and have been considering using mushrooms. Didn’t know what the right dose might be or if there might be some harmful effects. Ultimately I’d like to go off mirtizipan but have had trouble. I was hoping that mushrooms might be a pathway off. Any experience?
This was literally so helpful wtf thanks
I’ve microdosed 0.75 g P. cubensis this morning. First time in two years as had a gig that wouldn’t allow me to partake.
I often need to take 12.5 mg Quetiapine and usually skip over a couple nights prior but forgot this time.
Didn’t really notice any weakening, thought my dose was in a chocolate bar and kept in the freezer over that time.
As it’s been awhile, may have fogged memory but want to provide notes for others. Won’t be 3-5 weeks before I redose.
Can you get serotonin syndrome from taking mushrooms and mirtazapine?
Hello
Thank you loads for this enlightening article.
I am currently tripping on magic mushrooms and having a good trip trying to heal.
It’s my first time tripping for real. I’ve tried 2-3 times before but the stock wasn’t good so I didn’t get high. And I understand now that my medication might have prevented me from tripping, too.
Anyways. Hope you’re doing well, I hope your family and everyone you know is well, or will get well soon.
Thanks again for the article.
And thank you for listening to me .
Sam
Hi there. I have been taking medication for depression and insomnia for years. Antidepressants don’t work and sleeping pills don’t either. My Dr put me on seroquel and dopaquel for sleep and epitech. I have since left this Dr. The medications are for treatment of schizophrenia . I don’t have schizophrenia! I’m wanting to get off these meds and I have a new Dr who agrees that I get off these meds. But it takes time. I want to know if these medications are safe to use with golden teacher.
My problem is I am wanting to try golden teacher and can’t find an answer as to what (if any) impact combining the specific meds I am currently taking and shrooms. It’s going to take months to get off these meds. I want to know if epitech and seroquel are safe to be on with golden teacher.
I’m currently on 5mg of Lexapro and 50mg of Seroquel. My psychiatrist told me that it’s mostly the Seroquel that interferes with my trip experience, with magic mushrooms, not necessarily the Lexapro. What do you think. I could discontinue the Seroquel, however, every time I’ve tried to quit the Lexapro I’ve gotten very sick (like bad vertigo). What are your thoughts and experience?
Yes the seroquel blocks the activity of psilocin.