LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) may be the most effective of the tryptamines for cluster treatment, according to some. A 2006 Harvard Study on cluster headaches and LSD or psilocybin found that 7 of 8 patients reported LSD terminated their cluster cycle and 4 of 5 patients said LSD extended their remission periods. There’s an ongoing study at Yale University that’s researching these tryptamines for both Cluster Headache and Migraine. (Illustration credit: The Third Wave)
Many have reported impressive success dosing with LSD to treat clusters, though using it comes with several challenges:
- It does not occur naturally and is only available through illegal channels.
- It can be difficult to accurately determine a sub-hallucinogenic dose.
- At larger doses, the intensity and protracted 8-12 hour duration of the psychoactive, hallucinogenic experience can be unwelcome and discomfiting.
Read: Legal Information and Warnings.
Even though the substance has a rich history of scientific inquiry, including for the treatment of migraine and other headache disorders, only recently has it again become possible to conduct approved scientific research with LSD. Otherwise, LSD is illegal everywhere.
See Next: Treatment Options, The Psilocybin Mushroom, LSA – Seeds of the Vine