The story of the doctor who tried to treat his depression by smoking DMT every day.

A psychiatrist decided to resort to the properties of this substance with hallucinatory effects.

Mood disorders and anxiety are two of the most are two of the most common mental problems in the Western population today. Fortunately, there are a wide variety of methods that allow sufferers to reduce or even make their symptoms disappear. However, in many respects these solutions are not entirely satisfactory.

Often the use of psychopharmaceuticals the use of psychotropic drugs is often required.which allow the symptomatology to be controlled while psychological therapy is being carried out. However, in some cases the drugs prescribed to combat these symptoms are not sufficiently effective or take a long time to take effect, so that even today the effects of new substances or possible applications of elements not used therapeutically so far are still being investigated.

This is what happened to a retired psychiatrist, suffering from bipolar disorder with a high proportion of depressive episodes, who, faced with the infectivity of conventional methods, decided to try to treat his depression by smoking DMD. decided to try to treat his depression by smoking DMT every day..

What is DMT?

The dimethyltryptamine or DMT is a substance of psychodysseptic type that generates alterations in the perception in the form of hallucinations.. These hallucinations are generally brief and often of mystical and existential content. It is considered one of the most powerful hallucinogens, and is usually consumed orally or smoked, having practically immediate effects.

This substance is part of the well-known ayahuasca, a concoction that some indigenous tribes of America use in a ritualistic way to experience different "mystical" visions. It is an illegal drug and has the potential to provoke psychotic episodes, confusion and anxiety.confusion and anxiety. Currently, the use of DMT appears to be linked to the use of MAOI antidepressants, which allow its effects to be potentiated and prolonged (since it is naturally metabolized quickly).

DMT can be found in various plantsIt is also found in small quantities in some regions of our brain. Sometimes called mystical or God moleculeIt has been popularly linked to the experience of out-of-body phenomena and sensations in near-death experiences. Sometimes it has been speculated that also it is produced during the dream.

The possible Antidepressant effects of this drug.

Although it is not considered to produce feelings of euphoria like other psychodysleptics, there has been speculation about the possibility of using this substance or derivatives of it in the treatment of depression or addiction to other drugs.and for that reason different investigations have been carried out in this respect.

The results of some of them reflect that DMT has a serotonin-enhancing effect, mimicking the behavior of this hormone in different brain receptors. One of them is 5-HT2C, whose activation can generate an improvement in mood. Likewise, the activation of other serotonin receptors could explain the presence of hallucinations.

In controlled studies it has been found that administration of DMT can produce relaxation and a decrease in depressive symptomatology at low doses, although this effect should be replicated at low doses, although this effect should be replicated and the possible complications derived from it should be analyzed (the trials had very few participants).

The case of the ex-psychiatrist who medicated with DMT.

Suffering from a bipolar disorder in which depressive episodes predominated and against which conventional medication is ineffective, and based on the results of previous studies conducted on ayahuasca and DMT, a forty-year-old retired ex-psychiatrist decided to try to to treat his depressive symptoms through daily consumption of this substance..

Initiating treatment

The subject in question acquired the substance illegally, through the deep weband started a treatment in which DMT was administered daily.

The doses were extremely high, of about one gram per day. In spite of this, due to a slight improvement in his mood, the subject decided to add to his treatment the administration of phenelzine, an MAOI or monoamine oxidase enzyme inhibitor used in the treatment of atypical depressions, although it requires exhaustive control of aspects such as diet, as it can easily cause liver failure and sudden and dangerous elevations in blood pressure.

This second substance greatly potentiates the effects of DMT. During this period, the family later reported that the experimenter began to manifest hypomanic and erratic behaviors, as well as to exhibit a significant increase in their level of religiosity.. He also had decreased sleep, which the ex-psychiatrist treated with clonazepam.

Withdrawal syndrome

However, six months after initiating his self-medication the individual had to take a plane out of state and was forced to cease consumption for a few days. This sudden cessation of the supply of the substance caused him a severe withdrawal syndrome. caused him to suffer from severe withdrawal symptoms that would that would cause him to be taken to the hospital.

The subject suffered a severe psychotic episode and also manifested manic symptoms, aggressive behavior (having to be reduced and restrained) and difficulties in communicating. He then collapsed, suffering seizures and even needing to be intubated for a day while he was stabilized. Once stabilized, he began to show logorrheic behavior, presenting with powerful hallucinations of a religious nature during the course of which she even demanded an exorcism to be performed on her.

After the administration of a treatment that lasted for a week, the symptomatology seemed to subside. Finally, an outpatient follow-up of the patient's condition was proposed, whose current condition has not been disclosed.

Implications of the case

The case of this ex-psychiatrist has important implications to consider. DMT is a substance that needs to be studied carefully and currently has no approved therapeutic use. has no approved therapeutic use, and further exploration of itsIt is necessary to further explore its effects and risks.

It has been stated that it can also generate manic and psychotic episodes due to its hallucinatory effects in cases of previous psychopathology or consumption of other substances. In the case that gives rise to this article, moreover, the dose used (1 gram daily) was exaggeratedly high, which potentiates the risks.

In addition, the investigations carried out previously worked under controlled conditions in which the volunteers manifested severe and chronic depression, but not bipolar disorder. In bipolar disorder, there have been at least episodes of hypomania, and in the case of ex-bipolar disorder, at least episodes of hypomania.In the case of ex-psychiatrist, the clinical history reflects the existence of a previous manic episode. By this we mean that the use of DMT could provoke an increase in manic symptomatology (as in fact would occur in this case).

Likewise, as with other substances, it must be taken into account that the acquisition of dependence and tolerance to a substance implies that abstinence syndromes of varying severity may arise after an abrupt withdrawal. that could even end in the death of the subject. Whenever withdrawal of a substance occurs, it should be gradual and controlled.

Finally, another of the issues that we can see in this case is that of the self-medication carried out by this former psychiatric professional. Although in the case of this subject it was someone who had training linked to the world of psychotropic drugs, self-prescription and self-administration of drugs can have severe consequences for those who carry it out, especially if it is done without knowledge of the subject or of the possible adverse effects, interactions or indicated doses.