Experiences re: psilocybin or ketamine for anxiety/obsessive thoughts

January 18, 2024 10:02 AM

I have a history of anxiety disorder -- mostly health anxiety, also some obsessive jealousy. These have become very severe in the past year.

I'm thinking that having had a hysterectomy/removal of ovaries 14 months ago has put me in a worse place. I am not on hormone replacement and don't want to be -- I'm 71 years old. I do take soy isoflavones every morning.

I don't have RACING thoughts. No mania. I am not particularly depressed.

I have a psychiatrist whom I trust. I've been on sertraline (Zoloft), Cymbalta, Prozac, at various times. They make me MORE anxious. Also Wellbutrin (anxiety went sky-high). clonazepam works somewhat (of course it does!) but, you know, tolerance, addiction. It's very hard for me to fall asleep so I use the clonazepam for that, sparingly. I could go back to the shrink but I'm not excited about being put on another drug that's going to make me feel worse.



Once I took a little bit of "shrooms" that somebody gave me and felt pretty chill. So now I'm wondering about microdosing. How does one do that? Is it mushrooms or in pill form? I know it's not particularly legal (anticipating comments on "particularly," ha) but people do it.

Has anybody here microdosed? What's the deal? Should I try that?

How about ketamine? IV? pills? Does that help with anxiety or only depression? (or nothing (!))

So -- looking to get experiences about these alternative treatments (or any others you might have had good results with).

also -- can you direct me to any forums where I can read (intelligent) conversations about these things specifically? Thank you!

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

Microdosing psilocybin has probably been helpful for my anxiety and panic issues. It's kind of hard to tell, but I think so.

I use pills that I order online (I'm in Canada), but it's also possible to grind up dried mushrooms and take just a little, or to make a tea and also just drink a little.

Here is one intro to microdosing and here are two more.

I started with the Fadiman protocol and now I just do whatever (maybe once per week). I don't notice ANY effects on the days that I microdose, but I do notice that if I haven't done it for a few weeks then I seem to have more bad days. It's hard to say for sure what's happening, but I'm feeling that life is slightly easier with this in my routine.

It doesn't help that the times I remember to microdose are also the times I remember to supplement iron, or exercise more, meditate more, etc. Things get conflated but I really see no downside.

Ketamine and psilocybin are both offered at clinics in my province, and I have been tempted to go for a consultation.
posted by Acari at 12:59 PM on January 18 [4 favorites]

Erowid.org has a large collection of ‘trip reports’ from users describing their experiences, including with microdosing. The site can be a useful resource, lots of info about dose / quantities, what to expect, how to prepare etc.
posted by Joeruckus at 1:46 PM on January 18 [3 favorites]

Hopefully within the scope of your question, but I would consider looking into seeing whether you have ADHD. You have a couple of the major markers for it:

1. ovary having person, who are often missed in the typical diagnostic criteria for ADHD, especially when they're of older generations before ADHD was recognized at all
2. treatment-resistant anxiety and depression, and
3. worsening of symptoms following surgical menopause (estrogen plays a big role in dopamine production and the menstrual cycle can be a roller coaster for menstruating people with ADHD).

Notably, when I was untreated for my ADHD I had obsessive jealousy as well, but only about one specific person I couldn't let go of. This obsessive jealousy was really a stim for me, I now realize, giving my brain something to do when it was at all idle; it's a symptom of a hyperactive mind. Now that I am on medication, that obsession is gone, though I can see my brain try to grab onto it again but now it goes nowhere. It's very interesting.

And of interesting, look at what else microdosing is used to treat. If seeking a diagnosis and getting treatment for ADHD isn't possible, microdosing could be an alternative therapy.
posted by urbanlenny at 1:54 PM on January 18 [8 favorites]

i don't know where you are in the world, but if it's legal where you are, you might look into marijuana edibles. i am also a very anxious and high strung person. but if i take a (very low dose, like 3mg) edible, i can relax, can't keep an anxious thought in my head, and usually sleep well.

i tried looking into ketamine therapy here, but nowhere close offers it, which is disappointing.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 2:24 PM on January 18 [1 favorite]

A friend of mine with refractory OCD participated in a psilocybin study at a major academic medical center. He was, in fact, patient zero, the first guy they dosed. He found the experience interesting but noticed no reduction in symptoms. The informal feedback he got from the investigators was that the microdose was too small. So maybe go (a little bit) big, safely.
posted by 8603 at 3:27 PM on January 18

If you are in the US and don’t find the cost prohibitive, Joyous offers very low dose Ketamine treatment. A friend of mine has had good success with treating anxiety and depression with their program - it may be worth investigating.

Here’s also a Reddit thread discussing Joyous.
posted by hilaryjade at 5:34 PM on January 18

I'd recommend reading the Reddit Subreddit on microdosing. It has been invaluable to me in my own exploration with it. My main issue was depression and I feel it helped with that. Though, I also noticed a major reduction (over time) of rumination type thought patterns. YMMV on it helping with the anxiety end of things.

I'd view the site on a computer because the more valuable information is found in the right hand side bar, which may not be easily accessible via mobile device. It can be overwhelming at first, but I found it helpful to just focus on the piece I was most concerned about at the time, then return when I was ready to investigate more.
posted by pdxhiker at 8:31 PM on January 19 [2 favorites]