lsd question while on SSRIs

friend of mine wanted me to find some info for him. heres some background info on him. hes been taking zoloft as prescribed for a few years for depression and anxiety. he says it's by far the best drug out there for treating anxiety and says he doesnt even get attacks anymore. but still takes it so the attacks dont come back and to help battle depression. otherwise hes mentally normal for the most part. pretty much an average joe. hes 32 years old and very intelligent as far as math, science, and history. even has a couple college degrees and works a decent job. so yeah hes more or less your average joe. he smokes weed almost all the time everyday. hes quite an experienced psychonaute cause he used to experiment with harder drugs but quit all that years ago. hes never done acid tho and got a hit from a friend. he wants to know if it's safe to take while on zoloft. i read taking SSRIs can lower the effects of LSD on the net. he knows all about bad trips and the risks of taking LSD. he knows you pretty much have to have a day planned out and if the trip turns bad not to worry and it will go away and you cant die and such. hes never been suicidal or done anything too crazy so hes not going to freak out and do something stupid. his only concern is combining it with zoloft. he just wants me to look into it because he doesnt like combining any drugs. and since zoloft and LSD both having something to do with the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain, he just wants to make sure he wont like have serotonin syndrome or something like that. thanks for any info! you guys at rollitup.org are the best!

Your friend can get serotonin syndrome which is no fun. There is no way to know for sure whether he will be safe or not from others opinions. SSRIs and psychedelics don't really go so well together..

Your friend would be nuts to take it, and nuts after.

Very stupid idea to take LSD while on SSRIs my friend. If he is taking SSRIs it is because he suffers of clinical personality disorders which will be exacerbated by recreational drugs that have such a big impact on the 5ht system in the brain and that have such an effect on personality. Plus SSRIs work over a long period of time by adjusting and shifting 5ht levels which will be interrupted with drugs such as LSD

erowid.org

www.thegooddrugsguide.com

Both links indicate that zoloft will decrease effects of lsd in your friend.

From a video i watched yesterday regarding Synthesisia (crossing over of senses; ~"smelling purple/feeling yellow") SSRI's actually stop synth patients from experience this cross over. This would support the notion that an ssri like zoloft would decrease the effects. I am not certain as to how the lsd is absorbed by the brain, but i know that ssri's basically clog your neurotrans and cause serotonin to be absorbed more slowly

hope that helps

LSD is an antagonist so it binds but does not activate, it sits in and blocks serotonin receptors, but is an agonist of dopamine receptors I do believe. I think I read somewhere that .01% of the actual dose of LSD enters the brain, crossing through the BBB. Most of it is metabolized in the body, or binds to cellular serotonin, dopamine, and adrenal receptors, in the gut, liver and throughout.

Peace

just an update. hes done it a few times now and had no bad effects. he said the first time he took 1 hit and it wasnt very strong. he said next time days later he took 1 hit and an hour later it was pretty weak so he took 2 more. he said not long after he could feel it and knew he was going to be on a ride. he said he got very fucked up but he had almost no paranoia. he thinks the zoloft may have lessened the effects but after taking 3 hits he was in another world. hes been his normal self. he said he would love to repeat the experience and thinks a lot of shit ppl say about lsd are bullshit. just have to be careful and plan ahead of time. hes also experienced with drugs in the past so i knew he would be able to handle it. not all ppl that take zoloft are messed up in the head.