I am siting on some ayahuasca and I really want to try it but to be honest I'm a little nervous. I smoke DMT a lot - but from what I hear it can be quite different and can make you sick. My friend wants to try it with me - but I would like to hear a little about what to except from the first time. I've read other peoples stories and know about the possibility of sickness and a very long trip. What can I do to limit the possible negative side effects? Mood, atmosphere, etc? Thanks for your tips I'm extremely experienced in the world of psychedelia, but think this might be something a little different...

I wouldn't be too afraid.
The nausea isn't too pleasing, that is certainly true (for me).
Some eat ginger...but puking it up is not something i fancy. Have some food handy, perhaps some fruit, plain rice etc.

Do not fear.
It has been gentle to me, showing me it's beautiful world.
I think a good place to do it, is in your bed because you might feel a little cold.
Minxx suggested ripe mango to override the ayahuasca taste. I think it works amazingly.
Some good ambient tunes for the comeup...ISHQ - Orchid is amazing for example.
Doesn't have to last long. If you balance your DMT intake, it can be over in 1-3 hours.
In this time, you will be able to aquiere a lot of gemstones.

Thank you!! I actually love smoking DMT in my bed - so that would probably work out perfectly. I'll have to check out that music. What do you mean by "balance my dmt intake"? Does this mean in the original preparation? Should I smoke dmt at the same time?

What you can expect from the first time is completely unknowable. It could be a trip to heaven and back, or it could be an enduring and trying schizoid freak out, or relatively little at all might happen. Good experience/bad experience - both can be accompanied by sickness. I usually try to keep the ayahuasca down for at least an hour. After the hour mark, I like to try to purge if I'm feeling even the slightest of nausea because that can really help prevent you from having a positive experience, and usually right after the purge, if I can get everything up, then it's a nausea-free ride for the rest of the experience. If I can't get most of it up, then I'll probably persist in being nauseated to at least some degree.

There are some psychedelics that may go well with an adventurous sort of vibe like with acid, but with aya you'll want to create a nice comfortable space for yourself where you can lay down or recline if necessary, and not plan on moving for a while. This includes having a sweatshirt that you can take on and off or blankets and pillows so you can just drop anchor and let your mind do the walking. Fluctuations in hot and cold are normal (I feel cold a lot with aya) and having the blankets and whatnot help to prevent that from being an issue.

If you start having negative side effects, distractions of all sorts are incredibly helpful at dealing with many of these issues and can help to steer things back in a positive light. One of the most therapeutic is music. If you can have a playlist or something already set up and ready to go so that you ideally don't even have to get up to cue it can be a godsend. Also just talking to someone can help keep your mind focused and collected. edit: humming, vocalizing or buzzing with your mouth and vocal chords can be extremely comforting and pleasing

Your experience may be an hour, it may be 3, 5, or up to 8 hours, but there's no way to know how that's gonna go. For some reason, it seems to be a bit hard sometimes for people to get undesirably little effects or short durations. In these cases, it can be helpful to have some DMT loaded up in the pipe, ready to go before you even start tripping. Usually right after I purge (or try to), I like to vape DMT out of the GVG to really kick things to the next level. As a bonus, if I was unable to purge (enough) before, inhaling this DMT seems to do the trick for pretty much pulling the switch in my stomach for purging. If I had already gotten everything (enough) up beforehand, then no further nausea ensues. Some things to note are that this step isn't really necessary. You gotta feel it out for yourself and see if you can take more, and realize that it's gonna be exponentially more in a really quick period of time. You don't need to load up as much DMT when you're on the harmalas, and also realize that for some reason it will take just slightly longer for the DMT vapor to kick in when you're on harmalas as opposed to starting sober. By longer, I mean only about 15-30 seconds longer, but when you compare that to instantaneous transformation when you're just starting to hold in your hit as opposed to waiting a few seconds after you've exhaled can make all the difference, and you don't wanna double down if one hit was gonna be too much anyway.

Start low, perhaps with something like 30mg dmt and see were it takes you. How long you'll be gone. Also try to find your sweet caapi spot. It can take some practice. I still havn't found "my" dosage yet. Global got some sweet advice in his post. Lots of it resonates with my experience. I also like to prepare a playlist, because ayahuasca is very much driven by sound and it can be a beautiful, synaestetical experience. You can smoke DMT after drinking caapi. It works like a booster for 15-20 minutes in my experience. So even if you doses too low on DMT, nothing is lost. Please go low on DMT the first time. Caapi provides the visions..

Great advice from both of you! Thanks so much. One more question... should I be prepared for a "hangover" the next day?

No, you usually feel great the next day. Expect to feel better than before!

I second that

Thanks peeps I will update with experience after I try. I guess one more question... do you think it would be better to do it alone, or bring my friend along for the journey. She is not as experienced when it comes to trips... but she is very open minded.

It really is up to you to decide that one, but my recomendation, since this is your first time, would be NOT to administer the brew to anyone else. But ultimately it really is your call and you wil have to follow your intuition.

Again I would advise against taking it with someone this first time, but perhaps it would be a good idea to have your friend their as a non-tripping sitter, in the other room or something, just chilling incase she is needed.

Also i find that solo journeys are the most introspective and rewarding, where the deep work is done, and dosing with people is great as well, but different.

Ultimatly its up to you though and if you guys do decide that she will dose as well, make sure she is not on any drugs that could have a bad reaction, and be cautious and careful with the dosage.

Wishing you an amazing, and pleasant healing journey!
Good luck