In a head to head trial, Psilocybin improved depression compared to Lexapro.
https://www.bmj.com/content/386/bmj-2023-078607
In a real shocker of findings here (note my sarcasm), Psilocybin or “shrooms” have done better at reducing depression and mood symptoms than Lexapro (escitalopram). This is not surprising at all based on the anecdotal findings in my office.
Of course the FDA does not WANT to approve Psilocybin. That would be detrimental to the big pharma SSRI cogwheel. They say “oh it takes high doses, like 10mg or 20mg to see improvement”. What they are banking on is that the layperson doesn’t realize that most people micro dose with 2-5mg Psilocybin to maintain mental health stability. 10-20mg is not a high dose. 100mg is a high dose that will probably cause you to hallucinate, which is what “shrooms” were and are used for recreationally. The low micro-doses are super beneficial to mental health from the sample size I have seen at work. (N=10).
Here is the deal with Psilocybin. You can legally order the mushroom spores, the dirt, the grow lights, the “shroom food” online. However, it becomes a felony when you GROW the spores. (If you get caught). That is a barrier to people growing their own Psilocybin is the legal fear. However, for those that I treat who have decided the legal risk is less than the mental health benefit have had amazing outcomes. NONE of them are on depression medications any longer. NONE OF THEM. They all report better mental clarity, calmness, and less emotional lability or rollercoaster emotions of sadness and anger. Most of them micro dose a few times per week, some micro dose daily. Some use as little as 0.3mg every few days. Others take 2-5mg every other day, 2-3 x per week, or just once per week. It depends on the person and the response they get.
There will be much knuckle dragging and ballyhoo-ing to get psilocybin approved by the FDA. **Disclaimer I am in NO way telling you to order and grow mushrooms that are against the law. I am just passing on the information that I get from patients who suffer from depression and mood disorder and the benefit it has had for them. **
As someone who has witnessed another take his own life, I would have been ecstatic for him to have tried Psilocybin. The meds he used to take, long before I met him, made him gain a ton of weight. He ended up getting off the meds and losing 187 pounds - the equivalent of another human being (that’s when I met him). He looked great on the outside. But without any meds, depression won that day. Aaron lost.
Jennifer, you are a tireless advocate for the health of your patients. I have a daughter who has struggled with severe depression. Ketamine has been a good but expensive and not so ideal remedy. SSRIs were horrible and worthless.
Jennifer what I admire most about you is the fact that you are willing to take some risk to improve the lives of patients who have desperate problems and no hope from standard medical practices.
We both saw the same problem with Covid and the refusal of the medical profession to even follow common sense and treat Covid aggressively after the first symptom with antivirals and other obvious remedies. Then as well as now you stepped out of that damaging paradigm.
Keep up the good work.