Opinions - mdma for anxiety

[mitchellca]

Swim is planning a little experiment. As swim has posted elsewhere he suffers from social anxiety. So what swim intends to try is dosing .125-.250g before going out and seeng what effect it has.
Swim has been prescribed beta-blockers, diazepam and most recently lorazepam all with little to no effect. Swim also tried kratom with negative effects.
Swim is experienced in taking larger doses of mdma in powder and pill form. He is aware that some people suffer from anxiety after mdma but im interested to see in small doses how it goes as nothing has relaxed him more in the past. Obviously he wont be going out driving or anything stupid whilst under the influence.

Anyone have any opinions on how they think it'll go? Any tried anything similiar?

[RaverHippie]

the "small dose" SWIy is considering is the standard recreational dose. SWIY's standards are skewed from hanging around people who abuse MDMA too much.

(the information about standard dose is not only formed from general observed opinion of many respected people on this forum but is also the standard used in all medical trials using MDMA for therapeutic reasons.)

In short, SWIY will just be taking it and have recreational effects, not taking the edge off of social anxiety.

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[mitchellca]

Perhaps .250 was being a little exhuberant. Then instead maybe .075g before going out and another .075 a few hours later if needed?
What would you suggest would be a suitable dose? Or do you think its pointless overall?

[Mammon]

Mate, taking MDMA too often can make you a seriously unhappy person. SWIM has never suffered a sadness like the one Mandy gave him.

I assume SWIY has tried this, but, alcohol rarely let SWIM down.

[mitchellca]

Yes swim has tried the alcohol route too and ended up bordering on alcoholism, and therefore having to cut that out because the only time i went out was when i was drinking.
Im also aware of the damage to the serotonin (i think thats what it is) and perhaps swim wasnt clear enough originally. He isnt talking about doing this everytime he goes out.
For example the benzos he recieved, were intended to be taken to calm until he felt comfortable enough to go out. However these didnt relieve the physical symptoms. So he intends to try something similiar to try and 'slip back' into society. And a plus point is no physical addiction as with the benzos.

[Panthers007]

MDMA has a narrow range of dosage in which it works it's magic. This would be at the 125mg dose. As an anxiolytic, I would council against this use. While one might have a wonderful time, the drug would wear off and leave one with a memory of a good night. MDMA would be more appropriate, with lifetime benefits, if it were used to quietly sort the nature of the anxiety and it's root cause. Used in this way, one might well find oneself able to overcome the anxiety altogether without further need for a social lubricant.

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[Mammon]

the only time i went out was when i was drinking

Hmm, sounds very familiar this. SWIM has a similar problem even now. He tried Benzos as well but felt that they kind of robbed him of his intelligence; he just felt mentally slower than he should be.

Would you mind describing the physical symptoms a bit? SWIM had a friend who went on Prozac because of panic attacks and it helped him quite a bit.

[mitchellca]

Originally Posted by Jamal

Would you mind describing the physical symptoms a bit? SWIM had a friend who went on Prozac because of panic attacks and it helped him quite a bit.

No problem. They do of course vary from milder symptoms such as feeling hot, sweating and ranging right up.
The top end though which causes the problems is with 'butterflies in stomach'(although that makes light of it,) nausea, diarrhea and nunmbness in limbs occasionally.
The general order of it is-
1-anticipating a situation with people around-butterflies start
2-begin the situation(party, at the pub)-Nausea starts
3-When i start feeling like this i try to draw attention away from myself-stomach pains and diarrhea.
Then thats usually when i do my best to get out of the situation. After this i feel i begin to lose control of the situation.

mitchellca added 9 Minutes and 48 Seconds later...

Originally Posted by Panthers007

MDMA has a narrow range of dosage in which it works it's magic. This would be at the 125mg dose. As an anxiolytic, I would council against this use. While one might have a wonderful time, the drug would wear off and leave one with a memory of a good night. MDMA would be more appropriate, with lifetime benefits, if it were used to quietly sort the nature of the anxiety and it's root cause. Used in this way, one might well find oneself able to overcome the anxiety altogether without further need for a social lubricant.

Sorry for the double post, but just to clarify are you suggesting swim uses the low does on his own to try and work through the actual issue, rather than doing it whilst going out and blocking the problem out of his mind?

[Mammon]

O.K. That sounds pretty bad. SWIM's problem is that he just starts to want a drink SO MUCH when he goes out. He thinks that's just what's left from the days when he used to have a bit of a drink problem.

Accept that SWIM's advice is of limited use, but he'd go to the doctor. It helped his friend.

[mitchellca]

Oh i knew i'd forgotten something in that post.
Swim has been frequenting the doctors for the last couple of years and there is nothing physically wrong. And their suggestions have all been fruitless.
Thats how i ended up at this possible experiment

[candy_kid]

has swiy tried piracetam? swim has never been all that anxious, but he did have certain things that would set anxiety off in a similar fashion as described. He started taking piracetam for a variety of recreational and beneficial reasons and found it quite enjoyable on a number of spectrums-- one thing that was somewhat unexpected though was situations that would have triggered anxiety in the past would feel like they were starting to cause it, but never get past that point. It completely crushed all anxiety. a friend of swim's with social anxiety then tried it after he suggested it and found that it completely killed anxiety for her too... it works on gabba (alcohol), serotonin (mdma) and acetycholine (nicotine)-- I'm sure the reason for it's effect is one or a combination of those things... either way, a longer term solution than a drug that loses it's fun if used more than once every couple of months.

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[Panthers007]

Originally Posted by mitchellca

Sorry for the double post, but just to clarify are you suggesting swim uses the low does on his own to try and work through the actual issue, rather than doing it whilst going out and blocking the problem out of his mind?

Yes. This is exactly what I meant. The power of MDMA as a tool for working out psychological issues is beyond doubt. As was found during the few short years that therapists were able to work with it (legally, that is). And the issue brought up by SWIM is a perfect candidate for resolution using MDMA in a serious manner.

[mitchellca]

Thanks a lot for the info Panthers. Swim will be trying this in the near future and will certainly report on how it goes. I did briefly look up what research had been done into using mdma medicinally but did not find anything about anxiety specifically.

Re:candy kid-Swim had never heard of piracetam to be honest with you but that sounds like it could be helpful. Will look into that aswell, however it doesnt seem to be used as an anti-anxiety drug so is a little stumped for how to go about getting a script but thanks to you too.

[RaverHippie]

piracetam isn't a prescription, it's available OTC afaik.

[Panthers007]

I believe it is prescription in the UK - where the OP is from.

[RaverHippie]

Originally Posted by Panthers007

I believe it is prescription in the UK - where the OP is from.

Erowid had this to say "We have been told that Piracetam is approved in the U.K. for Acute Anoxic Myoclonal Spasms (Myoclonus). (uncofirmed) (thanks RC, A) Piracetam is sold via mail order from companies based in the U.K. (thanks DRL) We have also been told that it is possible to import piracetam into the UK without encountering any problems. (unconfirmed) (thanks DJK) (last updated Mar 2007)"

so it does look like it's prescription only there but not tightly regulated? either way it looks like trouble to accumulate.

[FrankenChrist]

MDMA for anxiety? MDMA can also make you feel paranoid, you know.

Try alcohol first, but moderate doses.

Maybe you don't need something that opens you up, but something that gives you a "don't give a fuck" attitude. Don't know if substances are the best way.

[Mammon]

candy_kid, what are the effects of piracetam? How does it compare to other drugs?

Obviously, you've never taken it and I have no intention of taking it; I seek merely your knowledge.

Cheers.

[mitchellca]

Originally Posted by FrankenChrist

MDMA for anxiety? MDMA can also make you feel paranoid, you know.

Try alcohol first, but moderate doses.

Maybe you don't need something that opens you up, but something that gives you a "don't give a fuck" attitude. Don't know if substances are the best way.

As swim said, he is experienced with mdma and is very much aware of the possible negative affects.

Also tried alcohol which was to some benefit until swim felt himself becoming addicted.

To make it clear swim intends to use this as a way to break through the anxiety not as a regular occurence. I understand what you're saying but the anxiety does not come from being shy. Swim has never been shy and would say he already has the 'dont give a fuck' attitude but the anxiety is more in the subconcious mind.
It may work, it may not.