Anecdotal, but I've tripped with two people who showed seizure like symptoms that they never had before or since.
Couldn't find any data at the time. Tried to get them to submit experience reports on erowid so that there would be some data out there, but they didn't want to put anything about it in writing.
Yeah, I grew them. I didn't sequence them for identification, but they were phenotypically P. Cubensis, as advertised on the spore syringe.
In neither case was it a big deal in the long run (not exactly great vibes in the short term though). I used to be a pretty enthusiastic user, so "just two times" is indeed uncommon.
Hopefully with the recent trend of decriminalization we can get together some respected data about this sort of thing. I still believe that psilocybin has been a net positive thing for most people who have tried it (including these two cases).
Even if the seizure thing were confirmed, all the conventional wisdom re: tripping remains unchanged. Be in a safe place with trusted people, consider a trip sitter, etc. On the other hand, I think having the data might help drive some better decisions: Situations you might avoid (e.g. swimming), etc.
A tangential anecdote... I took a Pfizer COVID booster vaccine and saw my heart rate go up to resting above 100 on my calorie tracker watch. I talked with my doctor about this. He said he stayed away from the COVID boosters because they weren't a good balance of risk vs safety. I asked him whether high resting heart rates were a side effect. He said, no, there's no data for that, but there is data that it has an impact on heart rates.
I said, if there's no data, that means the vaccine isn't the source? He said, no, there's no data because I didn't report it.
Informed consent is a principle in medical ethics, medical law and media studies, that a patient must have sufficient information and understanding before making decisions about their medical care. Pertinent information may include risks and benefits of treatments, alternative treatments, the patient's role in treatment, and their right to refuse treatment. In most systems, healthcare providers have a legal and ethical responsibility to ensure that a patient's consent is informed. This principle applies more broadly than healthcare intervention, for example to conduct research and to disclose a person's medical information.
The booster shots are not mandatory in most countries. Your doctor should have informed you of the benefits and side effects of the booster shots, so there's no point in commenting on it here.
My brother has this permanently, though whether a delayed reaction to the booster or from when he got COVID itself (a relatively mild case) not long after, there's no way to know.
It has been a major detriment to his day to day life though. Any physically involved hobbies are impossible; just walking up a flight or two of stairs now leaves him completely winded for several minutes, as his heart rate also takes longer to come back to resting than before.
He's seen all the specialists. I think they ultimately came down on neurological damage, and tried a battery of drugs until they found some that slightly mitigated the problem. Last we talked about it, though, it hasn't been fully resolved.
Remember when the authorities pulled the JnJ vaccine due to adverse events after it was administered to millions of people? It seems some caution was warranted, no?
I'm being asked on a regular basis by various health practitioners (pretty much on every visit) if I ever had uneven or elevated heart rate after my covid shots (I had), then they take note which specific vaccine brand I had. So - adjust your priors ;-)
