I'm not gonna try and scientif-ize this... I'm going to tell my personal story, and hopefully it will somehow contribute to science, or at the very least, improve someone's experience.

When I was young(er) I got two hip replacements due to advanced inflammatory arthritis. I had been doing psychedelics on and off (including ayahuasca) in the years before and after the surgeries.

One of the hip surgeries (the second one) was a little rougher than the other one. A few days afterwards, I got this clicking and pain from it that didn't seem to go away.

In the years after the surgeries, especially about 7-12 years after them, occasionally I would get some looseness and pain in my "hips" associated with walking asymmetrically due to some arthritis in other joints in the legs.

This was very worrisome, as hip replacement revision surgeries are usually much harder to go through than the first hip replacements.

Long story short, I used Ayahuasca to resolve the issue. Usually just the vine would work, the chacruna / DMT-containing plants not necessary.

I know there are studies showing that harmalas induce cartilage regeneration:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23116713/ ("Novel chondrogenic and chondroprotective effects of the natural compound harmine " (and some others I believe)

I believe that the harmine and perhaps other harmalas caused the bone to re-form around the hip replacement.

When the problems first started showing up, I would have to take Ayahuasca (usually just the vine) nearly once a month to resolve the problem. After a year or so, I would only have to take it like once every 2 months. Gradually that time span has increased to about 6 months today. I am very grateful.

I sincerely believe that without the help of the Ayahuasca vine, my life would be very different now. Perhaps in a wheelchair. I can't imagine how my life could have continued the way my hips were going, how it was affecting my gait more and more, and causing me great pain.

I hope my story can help many people. Even the elderly, who are usually the people with hip replacements. If they can be assured that the Ayahuasca vine by itself is not a crazy trippy drug, but a relaxing antidote to joint pain (fake or real joints, heh) and is legal, then maybe there can be advances in medical science with using harmalas for this purpose.

Thanks for listening.

Wow - thanks for sharing.

Well I hope Syrian rue will also have this effect as I could do with regenerating some cartilage in my spine.

Thanks for sharing!

When I ran out of Ayahuasca vine, I used Syrian Rue. It still worked, but it somehow felt less efficient than the vine. Like, I had to take it more times, and really focus on other healthy habits to support the process (eating vegetables, hydration, physical therapy). And it wasn't as pleasant.

But it still worked.

same here..my right hip has very little cartilage in it and i was scedualed for a hip total replacement 5 or 6 years ago..

I was warned about the thin cartalage more than 20 years ago..but i stubornly refused the operation...

Ive been very athletic most of my life ..lots of running and tons of bikeing...[thats probibly why the cartilage is so thin..lots of running across many a green fields]

I walk with a slight limp because of the hip arthritis...but i do walk on my own no cane needed!

My daily biking has strengenthed my legs ..so my leg musles can soften my hip pain enough and my near vegatarian eating habits keep my weight down...

I ride my bike every day...atleast 4 to 5 miles..rain or shine. or snow...its just one of my good habits i guess..

Peter Fonda....[ the actor in the movie .. [Easy rider]...[or the trip] ...had both hips replaced with plastic and steel..

now ... he is gone...except for in memory of the great movies he and Hopper stared in ..

I think its best to be active ..stay healthy...and dont get hip replacments unless there is no other choice...

Thanks for your "I almost got a hip replacement" story.

I postponed mine until literally could not walk except for a 6-hour window each day.