Happy New Year Everyone!
Just wondering what you make of something I have just read in a book about Jim Morrison the lead singer with "The Doors" The time would have been the late 1960's and it says that Jim and his partner would drop Acid togeter and then got B12 shots at the UCLA Medical Centre to help them come down?
I assume Acid is LSD but can anyone throw any light on how this would work if it is true?
Happy New Year to you too!
That's interesting. Yes, LSD stands for lysergic acid diethylamide, so Acid is the common street phrase.
As far as I know, any recreational drug taken in huge quantities will deplete B vitamins and especially B12. Jim Morrison was famously an acid dropper, and 'The Doors' band name is a reference to Aldous Huxley's 'The Doors of Perception', where Huxley documents his experiences with mescaline, which is the natural form of LSD. I don't think in Huxley's time LSD was available in the tab form that was popularised in the late 1960's and 70's.
Jim Morrison was most likely dropping huge amounts of LSD. He was a binger and an experimenter. So he probably researched how to relive the effects of a come down and it makes sense that he took injections of B vitamins, perhaps in a cocktail with other vitamins, to get back to his normal state and avoid the lows following the highs.
Just like Nitrous Oxide abuse depletes levels, I don't think any Doctor is able to confirm exactly why this happens. My theory is that a large chunk of B12 is taken from the liver stores to purge the body of the toxin/drug in one go, since B12 is a detoxifier. The B12 molecule, I think, gets used up in large quantities as it transports the toxins from the body. This may not apply to all toxins, but those in a large or ongoing/excessive quantity such as certain recreational drugs.
A little bit here or there is probably OK. But a mega dose of LSD may compromise B12 stores hence an injection the next day to get back on track/replace missing nutrients.
Hi there,
Well Thank You for that fascinating and informative reply. He certainly was a binger and his body took some hammerings so it is no wonder he diesd so young. Amazing though that there was that sort of knowledge about B12 back then when some are so ill informed in 2023.
I believe that to much alchohol depletes the body of B vitimins so it makes sense what you are saying.
The book is Jim Morrison. "Life, Death and Legend" by Stephen Davies by the way.
All too sad that there's a continued lack of awareness, training, and supposed knowledge of nutrition in the medical field. Do they know but they don't want to talk about it since they can't monetize vitamin supplements? A question for another post maybe.
But now, especially in London, many of these IV drip salons promote 'detox/recovery' for people who have a heavy night or weekend. They're not cheap but also I don't believe it's entirely placebo - these people most likely do have lower levels of B vitamins but not necessarily a deficiency. So they can probably bounce back anyway once the alcohol leaves the system. But an IV 'Myers Cocktail' the day after may offer some benefits, just as a fry up of meat and animal products helps a hangover and boosts B vits. Plus, drug and alcohol detox facilities also offer injections and vitamin recovery. And why is that? Because alcohol and drugs do deplete essential nutrients if they're taken in big quantities or on a regular basis.
I believe that as long as Doctors assume there are no benefits from supplementation--unless there's a measurable deficiency-- we will never get to a point where they understand the benefits. It's too hard to measure, so it isn't measured. And since pharmaceuticals can target an issue and can be monetized, they'll be chosen over vitamins. For example, it's very easy to get a prescription for a PPI without a test, but impossible to get a prescription for B12 without a test. Why is that?
Broken belief systems, money, poor education, ignorance, the list can go on and on. More and more I'm starting to believe that almost all modern illness is rooted in a lack of necessary nutrition. The gut absorbs nutrients, and so is the home of them. And if there's a problem in the gut, there's a problem with nutrients and vice versa.
If anything, it shows that Western medical systems - and certainly US and UK - have not made any progress since the 1970's. Which was 50 years ago...to put that in perspective, 50 years before 1970 was 1920. Which was when a cure for PA was found. That's more than 100 years ago, and to date hardly any further knowledge has appeared. Only more Doctors telling us 'supplements are a waste of money unless you have a deficiency' and 'we would know by now if they worked'. Well, they probably do work but they can't be accurately measured. Drug interventions can, and so that's what we got.
I wish that Doctors were trained in nutrition. It's the elephant in the room. But we do tend to treat them as gods and assume they have all the answers. In today's world, no-one can hide from incompetence. And Doctors are incompetent when it comes to nutrition.
Happy to be challenged on that!
Sorry to bring you down though! Thanks for the book reference, I'll check it out.
That was a very interesting reply thank you and it didn't bring me down at all.
Been on a long journy with PA and it only really got better after being able to acess sites like this where your fellow sufferers understand and then you learn so very much. SI was my answer after many years of not being tested despite feelng dreadful and then when when I finally was fighting to increase the frequency of injections as 3 monthly ones were next to useless.
When a different doctor actually stopped them because my bloods came back OK I had had enough. It is an illness as you probably know that leaves you drained and without the energy or mental stamina to fight the ignorants who dictate to our lives! Thank Goodness for places like this where other members really care and share.
Take Care and Keep Well!
One of the reasons that B12 is considered safe is research in, I believe, The Netherlands, into treatment for cyanide poisoning. Heathy volunteers were unfused via IV with up to 10 grams of B12 in the span of 5 hours. The idea was that cyanide in the blood would bond to B12, and excess B12 would be cleared from the system, taking the cyanide with it. (The only side effects of the megadoses of B12 were dermatologic and soon cleared.)
(stichtingb12tekort.nl/engli...
Perhaps the same clearing effect was expected to occur with LSD.
Thanks for that! Don't think would have been a very happy volunteer for that trial somehow! Amazing what you can learn on here though!
Book I just bought about Vitamin B12 Deficiency
Am I suffering from lack of Vitamin B12?
How much b12 am I meant to be taking 
B12 loading dose - am I just being impatient?
B12 reading of 87 and Folic Acid deficiency
