(another taken from forum)

My son went on a trip to Peru for a ten day cermony using ayahuasca one day and a mild tea on opposite days. The journey was fine, but 3 days later be came mentally unbalanced - hallucinations, inappropriate behavior, paranoia. The other 8 members are fine - they brought him back to the states, but it's been 10 days and he's not much better and not integrated into his body. I'm told sometime, rarely, it can take weeks before you are back in your body. I'm hesitant to bring in medical dr. as I think they will hospitalize him. He is now with good lifetime friends who are with him 24 hours a day. Does anyone have any experience with the long term effects such as he is exhibiting and what suggestions can you give me.

Thanks,
Bettyjay

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts. He doesn't have a history of any mental illness, although I am diagnoised with thymic depression. He has been watched and taken care of by good people for the past 2 weeks and doesn't seem to be getting any better. He's 32 but has no insurance. I too feel the last resort is hospitalizing. I will work on finding an experienced counselor in the Las Vegas area. Thanks again

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Thanks again for your thoughts. Yes, he is still having psychotic breaks and is showing signs of ODC. I am thinking about if we medical intervention at this point. I can't tell you how much I hate to even think of that. I know they will drug him up and not really treat the fundamental problelm.

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I just returned from Santa Barbara after spending two weeks with my son. I wasn't need a computer and so haven't posted since I left.

First of all, thank you to everyone who has given me advice and insights. I appreciate each of them. Here's the update:

He did take Ayahuasca three previous times (single night) in SB with no after effects. The day after finishing the ceremony he was fine – active and himself. The next day (Sept 18) he started acting strangely and it continued after he returned to the states. I went to Santa Barbara four days after he returned (Sunday, Sept 28). He was in the care of his brother, cousin and friend. During this time he was very much out of it- paranoid, thought he was still in Peru, had been cloned, and other fantasies. I took him to a recommended doctor on Monday, but he wasn't very helpful. Tuesday evening I took him to ER where they gave him some anti psychotic drugs and sent him home. We saw the attending psychiatrist the new day and he gave him more meds. The boys needed to get back to work, so we took him to my brother's house in Southern Cal. It is on a couple of acres of land and has a separate casita. We also enrolled him in the county mental health program because he has no insurance. They have provided him with anti anxiety, anti psychotic and sleeping meds. Even with all of these, he only slept for a few hours at a time. He is now sleeping about 8 hours per night. When the med level is sufficient, he is very much like himself. However, if his level gets low, he goes into a paranoid, psychotic state. He has become very obsessive/compulsive even when things are good – laying things out in rows, repacking clothes over and over etc. He originally had short term memory loss which has improved, but he still has no sense of time and a very short attention span. We have been working with Dr. Grob of UCLA who has done a lot of work with Ayahuasca in the past. We are hoping to get him an appointment with a psychiatrist in Santa Barbara that Dr. Grob recommends. He has stabilized somewhat with the meds and doesn't have to be watched 24/7. He is however watched from a distance and is staying in places that are somewhat isolated from the outside world. We have people giving him meds as he can't be trusted to take them on his own right now. It's been almost 4 weeks and I had hoped he would be much more grounded by now. It's very hard to see him in his confused state of mind.

Again, thank you all for your suggestions and kind thoughts – I will be following up on them. We will see him this coming weekend in SB (he wanted to see friends and he is being lovingly cared for by them in SB) and reassess him and what direction we will be going.

Bettyjay

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