The First Time Questions and Advice Thread

[Rogue]

Hey all, I'm a first time mushroom user here and I have a couple of mushrooms from a reputable source who informs me that they are Psilocybin *something*.





My intention was to dry them (was planning on putting them in the oven and checking on them every few minutes) and then grind them up and eat the powder, hopefully allowing me to measure amounts more accuratly.


Is this a good method of taking them for the first time? I've also been told that it's possible to smoke them, has anyone tried it?


Any help would be appreciated. I'll probably be doing them later on in the week so I'll be sure to post what I remember of the trip as a report.


Thanks

[OneDiaDem]

Air dry them under a fan. You dont want them exposed to over 95 degrees or they will degrade the magic.

[Rogue]

They're nicely dried now. I have 12g of dried overall. How much shouldI take for some good visuals?

[YoEt1970]

if you have 12 grams dried id try about 1-3 grams. that will give you a good sense of what they can do to you but still keep yourself in control. good trippin

[Phungushead]

Those are psilocybe cubensis.

SWIM's first trip on shrooms was about 2.5 grams, and that was definitely
enough to have some major open eye visuals, so try something like that.
First trips on anything are very powerful even with lower doses, so keep
that in mind too.

Those things also taste like crap. What SWIM does is put the shrooms, a
couple spoons of frozen grape juice concentrate, and some ice cubes in a
blender and mix it all together. The grape hides the taste and the blended
ice hides the texture (which SWIM thinks is almost grosser than the taste).

Oh yeah, SWIM tried smoking some once - didn't do shit. The active
ingredients are degraded by heat... don't waste your shrooms.

[Rogue]

Well, I decided to try them last night and going by advice from a friend, I ate the whole 12g. I was surprised at how inoffensive they taste, no retching at all and no nausea either. The trip on the other hand, was much too powerful for a first time, I certainly got some bad advice there. The whole thing lasted over 6 hours (I was expecting something around 2) and 3 hours in I was really wanting to come down. Was scary, but it definitly had some enjoyable bits.

[zigzag]

Wow



Taking that much the first time is ballsy,i kinda freaked out a bit my first time and it was off a much lesser amount.

[fiftyseven]

ya 12g is pretty high for a first go, but if you go into it expecting to trip hard then it would probably be ok. i hope that it did not turn you off to the whole mushroom thing. im guessing that your pals who hooked you up are grownign then things so its cool that you have a decent supply to play with btw by the looks of those things they know what they are doing. sometimes it might be a good ideato go all out on the first try, i tried to get this girl i know interested by giving her a tea made from a gram and she was deffinatly not impressed enough to want to do it ever again. go fig

[billbong]

Pls feel free to move or delete. This is a trip guide for psychedelics in general not just shrooms and there is probably most of this info scattered on this site but thought i'd post this anyway


The term good trip is an ambiguous one. Many people define a good trip as one that they learn something from but we're going to keep it simple here and define a good trip as one that is; overall positive, achieves its purpose, and doesn't involve any freak-outs, overdoses, major trauma, trips to the hospital, arrests, accidents, or other tragedies.

There are four components that determine the direction of a trip. They are:

Drug
Different drugs have different effects. Begin your trip with prior knowledge of the drug you are about to ingest as it is never good to be surprised. Once your tripping its too late to change your mind.

Dose
The amount of the drug you take has serious influence over where the trip will go. Some drugs, like the dissociatives, change their effects completely at different dosages. It is good to begin with a low dose of any new chemical and work your way up to higher doses over the course of several trips as you become more familiar with the way it effects your body.

Set
This is perhaps the most important of the four. What you bring into the trip with you is what you have to work with. Your health, mental and physical, can determine how the drug makes you feel. Someone in better physical health, for example, will be less disturbed by a little nausea or muscle aches. The mental state you enter the trip with; however, is everything.

Most psychedelic drugs intensify moods, so a happy person may feel euphoria from acid whereas a depressed person can be sent toppling into a hell of fear, anger and sadness. Pre-existing mental conditions can be triggered and brought to the fore of your psyche by any intense experience, and psychedelics are DEFINITELY intense.

Be wary if you have or exhibit symptoms of any mental illnesses, especially things like schizophrenia, epilepsy, manic depressive disorder, multiple personality, etc. People with these illnesses are very likely to become a danger to themselves or others while under the influence of psychedelic drugs. Other things to be careful about are interactions the drug may have with any medicines you are on; particularly MAOIs.

Setting
The last of the four, and the one which can surprise you if you haven't planned well in advance is the setting. This is where your trip takes place at. It includes all of the environment, everything from the people you are with to the music that is playing. Take care to spend your trip with people who will remain positive, not do anything dangerous, and be interesting in conversation and ideas. Select music that you enjoy, but know ahead of time that it will likely sound very different while you are high. Sinister music can easily put a trip into a negative space so be careful. While you may love your new Death Zombie Cannibals album it could very possibly scare the living shit out of you while your tripping.

The environment you pick for your trip will have great impact on how you experience it. A clean comfortable room with lots of soft pillows, interesting art/posters/trip toys will generally provide a much better experience than a chaotic messy place with an odor that you just can't place but reminds you of a cross between a week old tuna sandwich and a pair of dirty underwear. Social settings and public places can be enjoyable on certain substances at certain dosages, but be careful, you would be advised to experiment with it at home first. Nobody wants to become the tripping fool who is freaking out and hitting people or being dragged away by security. If your at home, unplug the phones, lock the doors, and let people know your going to be unavailable for the duration of the trip. Nothing is worse than trying to talk to your grandmother while your tripping your balls off.



The Trip
Now that we've examined the basics, lets take a look at specific intentions people have in mind when they trip.

Recreational Usage
Recreational use of psychedelics is both possible and acceptable. There are a few things to keep in mind.

Keep your dose low. On higher doses of these substances you have much less control of the direction your trip takes.

Pick a proper setting. Have good friends around you, to keep you out of trouble and help you if anything goes wrong. Be somewhere fun, and having something fun planned to do so that you don't become bored and stuck in your head.

Make sure your mental attitude is a happy one before you ingest. Be ready to have a good time, don't take the drugs if your stressed, upset or otherwise distracted. Recreational psychedelic use is only possible if your already having a good time anyways. And remember, "there are no insignificant psychedelic experiences. (Shulgin)" Just because you plan on having a good time doesn't mean your brain won't decide it wants to work through specific issues or show you a mystical experience. If this happens, don't fight it, flow with it. Keep positive. And make use of it.

Problem Solving
Many people take drugs to work through inner questions, specific problems, and/or areas of their relationships with other people. This is perhaps one of the best uses of these drugs.

For these sorts of experiences, a low to medium dose is recommended.

Find a quiet place of solitude. It may help to be outside in nature, but a quiet room in the house with a stereo and a soft place to sit can be good too.

Work out ahead of time exactly what it is you want to try to deal with. You may want to write these issues down so that you don't forget them.

If you can find one, a therapist willing to talk to you while on these substances can be extremely helpful. If that is unavailable you might try a really close friend. Make sure whoever this person is knows what your intentions are, what your going to be on, and that they need to remain objective and not be overly critical on you. It would be preferable that they had experienced the drug before themselves, in fact some of the major psychonauts say this should be a prerequisite.

If your going to do this with a trip partner, especially if the purpose is to discuss issues of your relationships, you would be wise to set ground rules before you begin. Agree not to get angry about whatever is said or revealed, etc. Be prepared to be extremely open and honest with each other, and to be surprised or this can go downhill fast.

Some other recommendations are to record the details of your trip either by voice or by writing it down. Often it is in looking over such recordings in the morning that we find the solutions we were seeking.

Experiment with expressing yourself in art. Many of our finer pieces of literature, music and visual art were done "under the influence." This can be a powerful tool in getting in touch with your subconscious.

Don’t make sudden decisions while tripping. For example, if you've been great friends with someone for years, but never romantically interested in them, now is not the time to decide that "Damn, she sure looks sexy" as many people have woken up the next morning wondering just why the hell they are naked.

Above all, remain very aware of your mentality throughout the experience. Deal with the issues as they arise, but don't dwell on them. Don't try to hard to control the direction of the trip, as it can often be futile, but don't let the direction of the trip control you either. Be mentally prepared for any possible consequences, and again don't enter the trip depressed, worn out, stressed, or angry as those things will only be intensified.

Attaining Mystical Union / Visionary States
Many people use these drugs because they fill a spiritual hole or gap in their lives; or because they enhance an already profound spiritual life. Gaining entry into these states is never entirely predictable and you can't take a drug and suddenly be "enlightened."
It is possible; however, to increase the odds that such an experience will happen, and to have a very spiritual experience by planning in advance.

Typically, the dosages necessary to reach these states are of the higher order, although they can occur on low and medium doses. The goal here, is to enter a world inside your own mind, where the normal boundaries of the body and its perceptions do not apply. Set must be positive, and holy. The people who have these experiences are generally those actively seeking some form of spiritual change or who are already spiritually grounded; however this isn't always the case. They do occur spontaneously, some people even have them without drugs, while shopping for groceries or doing their laundry. But this is the exception and not the rule.

A ritual or meditation performed as the effects begin is one of the surest ways to put a spiritual direction into your trip. Its also one of the easiest ways to ground yourself for any trip, period, and to prepare mentally. There are far too many methods of these for me to discuss them at length here, but it should be fairly easy to find a yoga, tai chi or Zen teacher in your area who will instruct you on how to meditate.

The setting should be somewhere sacred. Either in a beautiful natural scene, or a part of the house set up specifically for mystical experience. Candles, holy images, incense and soft, repetitive music can all enhance the setting, and help put the mind into the right frame of mind.

Now, lay back, close your eyes, and let your mind wonder where it will or try to quiet it. It really doesn't matter from here, the experience will happen or it won't. Be patient, it may take minutes, hours or it may not happen at all. If not try again.

These experiences can be euphoric and blissful, but they can also be terrifying. Be prepared for whatever may come, and know that if you have one of these experiences you will in all likelihood be changed forever.


If you begin to have a Bad Trip
Have some benzodiazepines on hand such as valium or xanax as they can help relieve anxiety and allow you to sleep. If these are not available, alcohol can work, though it may also make you sick. Be careful not too take too much of either one, and if using dissociatives be especially careful of things like respiration and heart beat.

I've often heard of people using GHB to take the edge off of a bad trip, but I've read several reports of a fugue state being entered when GHB is combined with psychedelics. (Read one of the more intense ones here http://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php3?ID=8635 ). Be wary if you do this, and use a low dose. GHB is one drug we still don't understand too well. It may also possibly cause increased risk of brain damage when used in conjunction with dissociatives. ( This Is Your Brain On Dissociatives http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dxm/dxm_health1.shtml )

Keep your head. Don't do anything extremely stupid if you start freaking out. Your only going to make things worse. Try to stay as calm as you can.

Find something to take your mind off the negative aspects of the trip. Do something fun and distracting like turning on cartoons or changing the music. Sometimes something as simple as taking off your shoes or going into a different room of the house can have profound effects on the trips direction. It may be beneficial to get outside, but be safe and stay out of public view. If you have a backyard, or live in a quiet neighborhood then a quick walk can do wonders.

Find someone to talk to. Often just stating whatever is bothering you to someone else can allow you to move past it or talk it out. A listening ear is always good, and this applies especially to psychedelics.

Remember that it is just a drug. Sometimes all you have to do is remind yourself that you have taken a substance, you are experiencing the effects of that substance and it will soon be over. (Even if that "soon" feels stretched into psychedelic eternity, "real time" does continue to pass and it will end)

Keep in mind that these are all just suggestions, find what works best for you through trial and experimentation. Above all, be safe and have fun. Happy tripping!

[serpent]

"you are a good person,you are with good people and you are taking this drug with the intention of giving other people a good time,by you yourself having a good time.if you start to feel frightened,remind yourself of the lethal dose of the drug.this should be hundreds of times more than youve taken,in most examples.whatever happens,you will come down and be back to normal after sleeping.sleep may be delayed for up to 12 hours,but you were prepared for that before the trip and you are looking forward to the day in bed tomorrow and an uninterupted evening where you can intergrate the previous nights events into your normal life."

youl get the best visuals in the dark and the best setting for the shrooms is in their own enviroment.go outside in the woods,or a walk in the fields,anywhere without streetlights and people and you cant go wrong realy.20 grams fresh is plenty.

[billbong]

Also adding melatonin to your chosen psychoactive might be worth a try. Melatonin is a sleeping aid (i use it) But when taken with psychedelics it's tryptamine properties become active

[Apparatus]

Tonight I am going to try shrooms for the first time, and I was
wondering if there was anything I might need to know about them.
None of my friends have tried them so I don't know much about
them. The only other things I have done is alcohol, pain pills,
weed, and E. I am guessing its not like them. I just want
to know what it will be like?

[pjbth]

Well i hope you had fun but i'll post what i have to say anyway.



Having something to drink when eating them is a real help. Try
and do it with friends and not in a bar or anything like that on your
first trip. Walking outside is amazing (look at the moon through some
tree branches ) If you have to stay
inside I hear music is really important to set the mood. Hard rock or
the beatles is awesome especially that I am the walrus song!



Main thing is have fun

[Apparatus]

Well, I did it. Looking at the lights and the sky was
awesome. I spent most of the time just walking around the
city. It brought back a lot of different memories and once in
awhile I would feel paranoid. It really seemed like my senses
were heightened, smell, vision, hearing.

[lone058]

Hello everyone!

I'm going to try out shrooms tomrrow. The dose is 2-4 whole ones or XXX worth I'm not sure how much is XXX worth(dealer said like 4 whole ones). It's just going to be me and I'm going to have a sitter with me. And i want to see if thats a good dose. Last thing is what are the after effects of shrooms because i know liquor you just have a hang over and with weed it leaves you kind of dumb for about a month( short mem, etc) what do shrooms do a day after or a week etc etc. And what are the dangers. Thanks!

[Nature Boy]

Only 4? They must be big ones if they cost XXX bucks, otherwise you my friend have been ripped off. The dangers aren't that bad. The most common downside of mushrooms is that some people get sick or get the shits if it doesn't agree with them. Other people don't like the mind-warping headfuck off them and don't really enjoy the buzz.

Don't drink while on them. It will render their effects useless. Smoke plenty of pot though. It's the only way to go. Do you know what type of mushrooms they are by the way?

[Phungushead]

SWIM's first trip was like 2.3g, and that was a hell of a trip).
Considering that they're just normal cubensis shrooms - ask whoever
sells them to you... if they happen to be copelandia, 2.3g will give you
a big surprise... 1g is a good dose of those.

Anyway, pretty much everyone I know has really no negative effects the
next day. SWIM usually has an afterglow-effect - feeling all
light and happy and stuff for a day... very pleasant, no hangover at
all. Sometimes get a headache the next day, although not very
often.

Shrooms don't really have any negative physical effects (unless they're
the wrong kind of shroom or something, and you end up eating a
poisonous one). As long as you don't go overboard with the dosage
for your first time (and I also wouldn't recommend combining them with
anything this time - so you can be familiar with shroom effects and
all)... plus, you're going to have a sitter so everything should go
just fine.

[Nature Boy]

Most shrooms I get over here are pretty tiny. Usually liberty caps. They work well but you need about 30 of them to start tripping.

[pokeymcsmot420]

unfortunately same here, swim avereages around 9 caps an eighth, with those little stems that are hardly thicker than pot stems.


however they have never failed to kick swims ass for a good few hours so im not complaining.


friend got an eighth that was 2 caps once tho! so it all depends on the size of the shrooms if its a good deal.

[Muirner]

I would ask your "friendly drug dealer" for a scale just to see how much your getting and this way you can plan your trip accordingly. Most people can trip off of 1/2 an eighth of mushrooms. I dont know the name, but a picture of a quarter is


When you go to your dealer to get some mushrooms ask him to borrow his scale and weigh out 1/2 an eighth for anyone who is doing them. If your dealer is sketchy about that then i'd say he is a sketchy guy. But if it comes down to it lay everything u got onto a paper plate, and divy them up so that it looks equal. Know that the best shrooms are the stems and caps connected.


As for consuming them, try to eat them all at once with no drink until you are done, eat them on an empty stomach. If you are eating them in the morning try to eat very light the night before, and if your eating them at night, try to eat very little during the day, and fast for 7hrs+. the drink i have found that makes me trip the hardest (for some reason) is OJ. I think it is because of the acidy in the OJ, it breaks down the mushrooms and the trip is on. I love the taste of mushrooms hell when i eat them i let them sit in my mouth until i'm sick of them and then i chew them up and swollow them. Eat all the mushrooms i'm going to eat at that time and then one or two sipps of a drink.


Dont sit around and go "am i tripping?, is this what it's like to trip?, when am i going to start tripping?" Just sit back and do something fun, play xbox, watch tv, or something,one of my personal favorite things to do is to watch a funny movie.and ~30 minutes later you should start to feel something.


As for turning blue on the dry shroom, that happens when they are handled when they are fresh, the blue on the dried mushrooms are just where they were brused during picking. Nothing to worry about.


Muirner

[bushman]

I have decided to use mushrooms next Saturday. I don't want to freak out so can anyone please tell me what to expect?


Thanks

[Nature Boy]

My main piece of advise to you is to not eat them all at once. I did this recently with 20g of Mexican shrooms and it wasn't a pleasant experience. Find out what kind of mushrooms they are, and what the standard dose is.

Anyway, whatever you do, have a good five hours planned ahead of you before you start eating them. Make sure there are no sources of paranoia e.g. unwanted visitors, disturbing music, very bright lights etc. For a first timer, you should go tripping with a guide, someone who will be there with you who has experience but will keep an eye on you.

A lot of people can get close to an anxiety attack when tripping for the first time. If you feel like this, explain it to someone who knows what you're on about and make sure you can find a nice comfortable spot to relax if you get a bit freaked. If you trip too hard and want to come down fast, I recommend drinking lots of orange juice as the combination of sugar and vitamin C will even you out.

Oh yeah, remember that your pupils will dialate once you're tripping properly so avoid relatives or people who don't want to see you on drugs. Although mushrooms are quite natural and aren't much of a risk to your health, dialated pupils will freak out whoever sees you who isn't in the know.

So, with that knowledge intact, enjoy. And remember, if you feel paranoid (which is unlikely if you dose right) just remember that it will wear off after a few hours and that you are not in physical danger. Good luck.

[Muirner]

Nature, it all depends if he is eating fresh or dried with that # you posted.

Ok so my advice to you is to eat them all at once. But only 1/2 an eighth. If you dont feel anything with in an hour, hour and a half you can take the other half. Because remember you can eat more not less. Throwing up just reinduses the psyclobin into your body and therefore is not useful.

So prepair by eating nothing for at least 5 or so hours prior, and make sure that you dont have anything important to do that day, like a appointment, work, or anything like that.

Eat your mushrooms and get confortable. Turn on a movie, watch tv, play a game, do something and dont sit around thinking "am i tripping." "is this what tripping is" "am i seeing something" When the time comes you will know and there will be no question about it. Be in an atmosphere where you feel at home and relaxed, no worries about parents or anything. You can have your phone on you, but as most people will tell you, it is unwanted during a trip.

Muirner

[psyko_tripper]

Hello guys..

A litlle background first: I've taken shrooms many times in the past, including acid, xtc and related stuff.
Now I've never been unconfortable taking these substances. But about a year ago I've gotten this pot-related panic disorder. There've been ups and downs on my quest to annihilate this disorder. But every day I smoke, I get this litlle panic attack and stuff.
Now my question, will I be able to trip on shrooms without risking having a panic attack? I'll not smoke any weed that day, cause if I would I'd probably freak out. This happened once on acid and was a horrible experience, but I lived .
I'm asking because I want to trip with some friends: one who'se got medium experience, like he took acid once, and shrooms once, but didn't trip, he says. And one guy who's never tripped before. I want to initiate them and guide them during their first real trip: a good dose of hawaiian shrooms.
So should I trip with them or stay sober and sit them?

all comment appreciated

Psyko

[Pinkavvy]

Well, swim always uses weed to ground theirself while tripping, so swims common answer of trip with them as a guide can't be a guide unless they are with the tourists.

however, since you seeem to have a differant raction then swim, here's what swim would suggest -

take a half dose of shrooms. take half of what they will take. make sure you are in a position to be able to change the environment, incase somebody needs to escape a bad corner quickly. what I mean by this is have access to changing the lights (on, off, mellow, flashing, etc) and have access to be able to change the music, and even scenery if possible.

swim has guided many trips (salvia, shrooms, lsd, 2c-e, etc) for individuals and groups and can tell you for a fact that when sombody is starting to get into a bad place while tripping the quickest way to change their trip to an upbeat one is to change the lights to the opposite as they were (off to on, flashing to mellow, etc) and the music (from hard and loud to soft and gentle or from on ganre to another) and right after doing this remind the person they are on a drug that is temperary and they have contorl over, and it changes based on your mood and suroundings. explain to them that luckily it's just a trip and tell a funny story. once they laugh, you know the guided trip can continue.



good luck and be safe!