Richard Andrew Sewell M.D with the Department of Psychiatry, West Haven Veterans Affairs Hospital, West Haven, CT and others have just published an article in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs titled:
Indoleamine Hallucinogens in Cluster Headache: Results of the Clusterbusters Medication Use Survey
Cluster headache is one of the most debilitating pain syndromes. A significant number of patients are refractory to conventional therapies. The Clusterbusters.org medication use survey sought to characterize the effects of both conventional and alternative medications used in cluster headache. Participants were recruited from cluster headache websites and headache clinics. The final analysis included responses from 496 participants. The survey was modeled after previously published surveys and was available online. Most responses were chosen from a list, though others were free-texted. Conventional abortive and preventative medications were identified and their efficacies agreed with those previously published. The indoleamine hallucinogens, psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide, and lysergic acid amide, were comparable to or more efficacious than most conventional medications. These agents were also perceived to shorten/abort a cluster period and bring chronic cluster headache into remission more so than conventional medications. Furthermore, infrequent and non-hallucinogenic doses were reported to be efficacious. Findings provide additional evidence that several indoleamine hallucinogens are rated as effective in treating cluster headache. These data reinforce the need for further investigation of the effects of these and related compounds in cluster headache under experimentally controlled settings.
Schindler EA, Gottschalk CH, Weil MJ, Shapiro RE, Wright DA, Sewell RA.
J Psychoactive Drugs. 2015 Nov 23:1-10. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 26595349
Just as psilocybin can be "comparable to or more efficacious than most conventional medications" for cluster headaches, psilocybin may be the best medication available for PTSD. Researchers will not know this if they do not run any Clinical Trials utilizing psilocybin to treat PTSD.
Unfortunately the study was published posthumously for Dr. Sewell who died in 2013 following surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Hats off to this heroic researcher and condolences to his friends and family.
I am a veteran and I used to psilocybin to treat PTSD. It is not a cure but it was a great stepping stone in the right direction. I feel it helped rewire my brain and break down the wall I had built up.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, thank you for your comment and for your time in service.
ReplyDeleteYour psilocybin experience was for the right reason and taken with a simple intent, one of healing and seeking connectedness (Set). You may have been fortunate enough to have had the psilocybin in a supportive environment as well (Setting). From what I have read and seen on some of the documentaries that have followed individuals who have taken psilocybin therapeutically, the experience is not an instant cure but does 'reset' some neural pathways that makes it possible to adopt new avenues to successfully deal with PTSD and other existential issues. It helps to break up repetitive negative thinking and start again from scratch.
During the the days, weeks, and months following the psilocybin experience it is essential to build on the new pathways formed through spiritual means, mindfulness meditation or counselling with psychotherapeutic techniques such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It seems to me as though getting access to magic mushrooms and taking it is the easy part, The difficult part is finding an experienced spiritual guide or therapist to guide you through the experience then to provide follow-up care for an extended period afterwards.
As there are no effective treatments specifically for PTSD, it is imperative that this promising treatment be pursued by those institutions with a vested interest. While there are intelligent, compassionate individuals within the Federal Government, fear and bias is preventing timely research on psilocybin. Why they are not breaking down doors to lead research on a compound that needs to be taken only once or twice, is not only non-addicting but is used to treat addictions, is less toxic than caffeine and has potential to treat both PTSD and suicide speaks for itself. Then of course there is no money under the table from drug companies.
PTSD is not unique to the Veteran population. The Middle East is one continuous war zone where PTSD must be the norm. With the flood of refugees spreading across the globe, they are bringing their psychological issues with them. As the earth's population continues to climb and the climate grows warmer, the refugee problems will only increase, along with climate extremes and terrorism. It appears to me as though psilocybin and ayahuasca may be one of the few things that can offer us a greater sense of spirituality and connectedness to foster more cooperation to meet these growing threats. Anyone have some better ideas?