People in a new study who took psilocybin often experienced headache, nausea, anxiety, dizziness and elevated blood pressure — side effects similar to those seen with regular antidepressants. Photo by Adobe Stock/HealthDay News Many people with tough-to-treat depression may be trying psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, as an alternative to antidepressants.
Thinking that it’s a "natural" drug, folks might assume it comes without side effects.
That assumption would be wrong.
People in a new study who took psilocybin often experienced headache, nausea, anxiety, dizziness and elevated blood pressure — side effects similar to those seen with regular antidepressants, according to a team from the University of Georgia in Athens (UGA). Related
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The good news: Such side effects were only temporary. It’s less clear if longer-term side effects might emerge with time, the researchers noted.
The short-term side effects "are what we may expect from your traditional antidepressants because those medications work in a similar fashion to psilocybin. They both target serotonin receptors," explained senior study author Dr. Joshua Caballero , an associate professor in UGA’s College of Pharmacy."It’s very encouraging," he added in a university news release, "because the studies we examined consist of just one or two doses per patient, and we’re finding that the beneficial effects of psilocybin may stay for months when treating depression."Psilocybin was shunned by the medical community for decades because, at higher doses, it can have hallucinatory properties. But used under the guidance and supervision of a therapist, the drug is having a comeback as a new form of antidepressant. But what about any side effects?To answer that question, Caballero’s group looked at data from six different studies on the supervised use of single doses of psilocybin against depression. The studies included a total of 528 people.They found a number of side effects, among which nausea, dizziness and elevated blood pressure were most common. These effects appeared to dissipate within 48 hours.Importantly, "psilocybin use […]
Side effects of ‘magic mushrooms’ similar to regular antidepressants
