Author: Gary Jackson

LSD Overdose: Symptoms, Risks, Response, and Treatment

D-lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD, is a hallucinogenic chemical compound considered a drug that produces profound, dose-dependent effects and can lead to long-term psychiatric symptoms. This chemical has a historical context that dates back nearly 50 years and is relevant to the social perception of the drug today. Effects of LSD are compared and contrasted to similar hallucinogenics and sympathomimetic drugs in this course. Dr. Roger Weiss is a practicing mental health specialist at the hospital. Dr. Weiss combines his clinical practice and medical writing career since 2009. Apart from these activities, Dr. Weiss also delivers lectures for youth, former addicts, and everyone interested in topics such as substance abuse and treatment.

Healthline does not endorsethe illegal use of any substances,and we recognize abstaining is always the safest approach. However, we believe in providing accessible and accurate information to reduce the harm that can occur when using. While it’s been studied for potential therapeutic uses, LSD remains a Schedule I drug in the United States. Our addiction treatment specialists are here to assist you in verifying your insurance coverage.

What are the effects?

As the dosage increases beyond this arbitrary set point, reports suggest an increase in the intensity of the drug’s effects. However, it is essential to note that different individuals will respond differently to similar doses of any drug. Scientists are still investigating the properties of this drug, but some tests are difficult to do because the half-life of LSD is very small, and traces of the drug disappear almost simultaneously as its effect stops. D-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is an indolamine compound of the lysergamide class known for having powerful psychedelic effects on humans. However, a shared element is the profound nature of the experience elicited by the drug in users. A person who overdoses on LSD should be transported to an emergency room, a social detox center or a substance abuse clinic.

• The drug primarily produces so-called pseudohallucinations, which are illusions derived from the misinterpretation of actual experiences.
• However, as time goes on, the body builds a tolerance to LSD, and a person who abuses it must use more and more to achieve the same high as before.
• AddictionResource aims to present the most accurate, trustworthy, and up-to-date medical content to our readers.
• In most cases, lysergic acid diethylamide overdose results in the body rapidly absorbing the acid into the bloodstream.

A thorough history and physical require emphasis; this is not to say other testing modalities are unnecessary. Coagulation studies and serum electrolytes should be obtained in complicated cases, especially when seizures or neuroleptic malignant syndrome are suspected. Electrocardiography is appropriate to evaluate tachycardias, bradycardias, and other arrhythmias; these conditions are not necessarily caused by LSD itself but possibly from co-ingestion with other potent stimulants, such as MDMA. Alexander Shulgin, in his work, “Tryptamines I Have Known and Loved (TiHKAL),” detailed the synthesis of LSD from lysergic acid (classified as a schedule III controlled substance).

What Is LSD?

In more complex cases, inpatient treatment may be necessary to provide the safest environment that includes around-the-clock supervision. The intensity of a person’s addiction, as well as the length of time they have abused LSD and other drugs for, will further help determine if inpatient or outpatient treatment is the best approach. Eight individuals who accidentally consumed a very high dose of LSD had plasma levels of 1000–7000 μg per 100 mL blood plasma and suffered from comatose states, hyperthermia, vomiting, light gastric bleeding, and respiratory problems. However, all survived with hospital treatment and without residual effects. Individuals have been known to subject themselves to dangerous circumstances without even realizing it.

If you think that you’re experiencing an overdose based on the above information, seek medical attention right away. If they don’t seem to be experiencing an overdose but are very agitated or seem like the might harm themselves or others, get them to a safe environment and stay with them while you call for help. He then lost consciousness, was taken to a hospital, fell into a coma, and died about a week later.