Hello!
Something weird is happening. I'd often get a weird dizzy, anxious feeling and i'm wondering if it has anything to do with substance intake or not. It feels like meningitis with a weird mix of dizziness and anxiety. You just want to focus on nothing because thoughts and sensory input just make you wanna spin out of control, throw up etc. It is pretty hard to find any sleep in this state, because laying down makes you sink deeper and deeper into this nasty feeling.

I've had this after...

-low dose LSD
-mid to high dose of cacao (especially in combination with Kava)
-melatonin
-Threshhold ketamine

It often happens at night, and i'd always wake up feeling very fatigued.
It is not 100% reproducible. Sometimes i can take melatonin no problem, or cacao for that matter and nothing terribly bad happens. But then, sometimes i'd even wake up in the middle of the night feeling very very nasty just hoping that this isn't the moment before death.

Perhaps it has to do with the circulatory system? I know theobromine acts on it quite strongly and LSD is a vasoconstrictor. Don't know about melatonin and ketamine though....

its could be ketamine , i dont know if this is related however i've suffered with this weird dizziness after ketamine use , usually not on the same day of using the substance however the next day i start to feel weird approximately at the same time i would have been snorting ketamine a day before

and it does feel like dying or the moment when death is approaching , what puzzles me is this comes up on the next day on using ketamine , not the same day , weird ......

I experienced something similar the last few months, although I'm taking a break from psychedelics atm.

It would happen mostly at work sitting behing the pc or after work in the car. For a brief moment I would get anxious and fear that I might pass out, or even die.

The fact that this would rarely happen at home or in the weekends made me conclude that it was stress related and psychosomatic.

Now it's completely over and I feel better.

So my guess would be that you are experiencing some kind of panic attacks. It could be that the substances are just amplifying some deep rooted fears.

Maybe you aren't in the best mindset for drugs? Is this only happening shortly after substance intake?

If this is freaking you out than I might consider a little break...

There's probably a lot of things that can cause this kind of thing. My first guess is also the Ketamine. On the few occasions that I've tried it, it has left me feeling pretty bad afterwards and for quite a while as well.

However you might also consider that in a complex organism as yourself, there may not be ONE thing causing this. Perhaps it is a mix of underlying stress, malnutrition (deficiencies of things like B12 can have quite crazy effects on our systems), drug intake and some kind of virus or bacteria you are fighting at the moment. Some people for exampel get glandular feever (Pfeifersches Drüsenfieber) and don't realize it, thinking they have burnout-syndrom or depressions.

Keep an eye on it, try to eat healthy, perhaps take some vitamin-suppliments for a few days, and stop doing anything that could be severly taxing on your immune-system (substance intake).

Hope you get better soon!

Try going for a run then eating some rib-eye.

Well, thank you all for your participation in this thread. Sad to see that my experience with ketamine wasn't a fluke, as it would eventually leave me in a state of heightened productivity.

Yes, it could very well be anxiety and my body not responding well to these substances at this time Enoon has mentioned infection and this could play a big role. It's the end of march, and it is snowing and freezing cold out there. It has also been a very very dark winter. I believe it is really a mix of factors mental unwellness coupled with an ongoing low-level infection.

I can't wait for milder temperatures and more sun. It's going to do me a whole lot of good this year, im certain!

sounds like you have adrenal problems..I would get that checked out before it gets worse.

It could have nothign to do with the substances themselves other than that your dont have the metabolic energy to do be doing that sort of stuff right now. If you have adrenal issues it is normal to feel that way after. I have spoken with a naturopathic physician about this when I was daignosed with adrenal insufficiency and everything you mention is a symptom..especially waking up in the night feeling like that. I had that for a long time as well as lingering background nausea all day long with chronic fatigue and anxiety from high cortisol levels. It would be worse every time I took a psychedelic because I just did not have the energy levels to do that. It's gotten way better though by using adaptogenic herbs,vitamines, eating lots of quality animal products and no refined sugars at all..making sure to eat at least every few hours combining protein, fats and slower release carbs like sweet potatoes or yams and never skimping out on sleep..never eating carbs without fats and protein..the sugar spikes just stress the adrenals out even more and stop al intake of caffine including cacao.

I would find a good doctor who is willing to concider adrenal issues..some wont others will.

It only gets worse and worse if you dont do something about it. Dont expect things to just fix themselves.

Ask yourself this..do you have anxiety?..stress? Are you chronically fatigued? These are like huge indicators of some sort of metabolic energy disorder usually involving the adrenals and/or the thyroid.

Stress/anxiety is a huge issue though..it puts a lot of pressure on the body and the adrenals especially.

Minxx had those symptoms too obliguhl..where she could not sleep..she would wake up feeling sketchy and feel anxious and get anxiety in the middle of the day for no reason..feel weird and dizzy ,disorientation..it progressed into full on panic attacks etc. She was daignosed with adrenal fatigue(adrneal insufficiency) and went to a naturopath a year ago and got on a proper eating routine to build the adrenals back up and was given supplements like licorice extract and some other adaptogens..she began to feel better immediatly. Go see a dctor man you dont want to end up havng full blown anxiety attacks.

it really sounds like you have adrenal problems and not some infection. Please go to a doctor.

Thanks Jamie, I got my cortisol levels tested and they're normal. But i apparantly go extremly high testosterone for my age. Again, if anybody remembers me chatting...no surprise, really.

Did these happen before you started substance use, and do they happen when you have been sober for a while, or is it restricted to an interval after drug use?

I would get yourself to a doctor post-haste: what you describing could be a symptom of a lot of different things, ranging from blood sugar problems to anxiety or panic disorders to full blown temporal lobe seizures.

Go visit a doc, and in the meantime, I would discontinue the use of any and all mind-altering substances, (unless proscribed, of course), and focus on keeping your body in good shape (sleep enough, eat right, maybe a little exercise etc).

If you feel comfortable with your doctor (most doctors should abide by doctor/patient confidentially), make sure that when you're describing the symptoms that you mention that they happen after psychedelic use.

Blessings
~ND

Cortisol and testosterone are only a small part of endocrine health, I have an autoimmune thyroid disorder trust me. My adrenals were whacked out, and as a result I had an imbalance throughout the whole endocrine system. PTA axis, pituitary-thyroid-adrenal axis can be disrupted with drug use, and depending on diet, stress, genetic predisposition, can spiral out of control if nothing is done.

What you described sounds similar to feelings I have had when using substances, or after using them.

I would suggest taking a break from substances, if you don't already exercise and eat cleanly do that. And if you have good health insurance find a good endocrinologist as well.

Also why do you say meningitis? if you think you have that you should go to a hospital immediately.