I took mexicans (1.5g dried), was nauseaous the whole time and came down after 6 hours to a constant feeling of anxiety (claustrophobia, heavy heart beating, cant relax, fear etc.). Its now 4 days later and Im still feeling some anxiety and my vision is slightly off. I was prescribed xanax by the doctor which I am hesitantly taking to ease the anxiety. Has anyone experienced this after-effect of anxiety this long after a bad trip? Does anyone know how long this will take to go away and when I will be back to normal?

Re: " Does anyone know how long this will take to go away and when I will be back to normal?"

Answer:

You will probably be fine in the next few days. Take the xanax to hits the reset button on your anxiety level. Try to relax, exercise moderately, drink lots of water, eat well, and sleep in. If you carry a map you can go on a nice long walk anxiety-free knowing you're not going to get lost. Vondel Park is nice.

Avoid alcohol since it will interact with your xanax.

I'm curious how long you have been in Amsterdam and if some of this is perhaps culture-shock-anxiety...

Nausea: the nausea is often experienced by people who eat those mushrooms and should fade within 12-24 hours. Are you still nauseous?

Claustrophobia: Especially for americans who are used to big rooms, suburbs with lush grassy front lawns and downtown streets packed with cars instead of pedestrians it can be a bit claustrophobic getting on a standing-room-only tram in amsterdam or using a dutch public bathroom so small you have to shut the door to sit down.

Heavy heart beating: Did the Doctor say it was beating irregularly, or does it just feel that way? Or did it just feel (hallucination?) that way immediately (0-12 hrs) after taking the mushrooms? Heart beat and respiration are basically unaffected by psychedelics. If you are young (20-35) then basically you don't have to worry about your heart.

The record is around 21 days for minor vision anomalies from MASSIVE doses of psilocin, established by Leary and Alpert using 10 mg psilocin tablets, the active ingredient in those mushrooms you took. They started out taking 1 tablet at a time which is roughly equivalent to what you took, and eventually took 300mg+ as a single dose. On higher doses they noticed visuals continued even after they had 'come down', sometimes for a few days afterwards, they were clear-headed, felt 99% back to normal, but colors were still a little 'off'... Eventually it all goes back to normal. Rest assured that It is not a sign of toxicity, it's purely psychological, and there is no lasting damage.

With psychedelics, everyone comes down eventually.

I gotta ask--are you still in Amsterdam?

Unless you grew up in that kind of population density, it's basically impossible to get used to. You can ignore the effects on your psyche most of the time--especially when sober and distracted by your normal activities, but once you're tripping and notice how constrained you are by the constant presence of lots of other people, you can't get past it again.

If you are in Amsterdam, I suggest a trip to somewhere truly natural, where you can just sit by yourself for an afternoon--Vondelpark doesn't fit the bill. If that's not possible, lock yourself in a hotel room for a day--alone--and just sit. You'll be bored, you might still have some wierd visual effects, but (in my experience) you'll calm down.


Buck M.

back home in the states.
xanax is helping but still mildly anxious.
thanks for the input. Im counting the days for this feeling to go away!

hows about you go back take twice as much hawaiins and hope for the best

Well that's good, no more claustrophobia, no more nausea, xanax seems to be working, now "mildly" anxious... excellent. I suppose your MD probably gave you 10 days worth of xanax, followup appt needed for refill? If so if you still feel anxiety at that time ask yr doc to try valium Rx instead since it is less toxic, longer acting, less habit-forming, cheaper, etc. Studies have shown it is more effective for some than xanax in treatment of chronic anxiety.

best wishes.

And I do recommend since you feel that this was created by taking those mushrooms that you either refrain from psychedelics in the future or use a much smaller dose under the supervision of a qualified professional. It's always safer partying with MD's and Therapists.