I am providing you on some information on ayahuasca based on what little reading I've done.
Consult your doctor if you want to take ayahuasca.
Consult your doctor if you want to take ayahuasca.
Firstly, I must tell you about my experience. I've always wondered what a hallucination was like. I've never done drugs and I don't want to. At the same time, I'm very conflicted about my own personality. Sometimes I don't know if I'm a good person or a selfish person. I don't know if I've really faced all my flaws. Apparently ayahuasca can help you to face these issues. Also, I do community work, and it would be useful to know what intoxication and hallucination experience is like so I can better understand my clients. So for these reasons, the controlled ayahuasca experience would have been perfect for me.
I spoke to a shaman via email and chat and to a shaman's assistant over email. As ayahuasca has properties that can alter your brain chemistry (obviously), it can conflict with drugs you may be taking, including anti-histamines (allergy medication). As it turns out, I needed to take 1 tablet a day to counter this breakout I get. Various sites have said drug interactions can be near fatal or fatal with ayahuasca. Some sites said I had to stop the drug weeks before taking ayahuasca. Some said to stop it a few days before. The shaman's assistant said not to take it 24 to 48 hrs before. I went to my doctor and I explained the conflicting ingredient, and he said the ayahuasca should not conflict with my allergy medication. At the end of the day, I decided it's not worth the risk.
Throughout my research and reflection on whether I should take the drug, I realized that they are really exploiting tourists and overcharge for a spiritual experience. They'll also charge for lodging, which makes no sense, because you're having visions in an allocated room within a group for up to 6 hrs or more. That's almost the whole night. Sapan Inka charges $160 for a 1 night experience. You need to go to a real shaman (which is hard to find on the common tourist path vs. the amazon where ayahuasca actually grows), and they will tell you that you can pay whatever you can afford.... If you're going to do this, try and find someone who doesn't charge a lot and is a traditionally trained shaman. It's not supposed to cost you anything, except maybe the cost of supplies. On top of this, those who charge $100 and up for this spiritual experience aren't respecting the process themself and you wonder how much they really respect ayahuasca or you and your goal of spiritual upliftment. Also, I learned that the best ayahuasca is freshly brewed ayahuasca. The ayahuasca you get in Cusco and such is shelved ayahuasca that was brewed months ago, and therefor may be less effective or not effective at all even though it may have a pretty good 'shelf life'.
Here is a great link that shows you how safe you must be to take ayahuasca. If you have to take these many precautions, then that means it is nothing to f@#$ with:
SOME of the drugs and food that are said to conflict with ayahuasca:
amphetamines, cocaine, MDMA, opiates, barbiturates, deconjestants & allergy medications, cold medications, diet pills, methylphenidate, asthma inhalers, meperidine, levodopa, dopamine, carbamazapine, certain antihypertensive medications, sympathomimetic amines (direct & indirect acting) including psuedoephedrine & ephidrin ,
cheese, L-tyrosine, liver, broad beans, dry sausage, beer & ale, chocolate, sauerkraut, ripe avocado yeast extracts, caffeine, raspberry jam, certain nuts, dried fruit, banana peel, soy bean products, vermouth, cognac, sherry, chianti, smoked meat, poultry & fish, protein dietary supplements, meat extracts & tenderizers and more
Here are some things to consider:
1. FIND OUT IF IT CONFLICTS WITH ANY MEDICATIONS YOU MAY BE TAKING
2. Even local Peruvians are not enthusiastic about ayahuasca. They know it is a scary spiritual experience that takes a lot of inner strength to face.
3. It's hard to find an authentic traditionally trained shaman
4. Not everyone has an experience everytime, or even the first time
5. If you do it, be aware you may vomit and get diarrhea soon after taking the ayahuasca
6. It can be an extremely scary experience. Some people have seen visions of scary animals or monsters and didn't know if it was real, or people from their past they've experienced trauma with. Some people have even felt as if they're dying or have felt as if their spirit left them
