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Plateaus
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[top]Overview
DXM seems to exhibit at least four definable plateaus based solely on dosage, and an additional plateau sigma is notable from a specific dosing regimen. Not everyone notes distinction between the first and second plateaus, or between the third and fourth plateaus. Some people will disagree with this classification method, but it may be the best way to represent DXM's effects. Both the third and fourth plateaus have significant dissociative characteristics, much like ketamine. |
[top]The Lower Plateaus
The four dosage plateaus can be divided into two groups based on a certain degree of similarity: the lower plateaus and the upper plateaus. The lower two plateaus share many features and some of these will be considered here. A generalization would be that the lower two plateaus are more "recreational" than the upper plateaus. Specifically, they have considerably less hangover, do not generally involve serious disruption or breakdown of sensory processing, and are more similar to other intoxicants. DXM in the lower two plateaus has been compared to a cross between MDA and alcohol. It tends to intensify emotional responses and feelings of meaning from external events. At the lower plateaus there is usually enough motor control to be able to engage in physical activites (although, like MDMA and MDA there are reasons why you may not want to, including dehydration and overheating). |
[top]The First Plateau
The first plateau generally occurs around 1.5 to 2.5 mg/kg, but this may vary depending on metabolism and other factors. [top]EffectsThe primary effects of the first plateau are general euphoria, euphoria
specifically linked to music and motion, slight disturbances in balance, moderate stimulation, and very slight intoxication. The intoxication and balance disturbances are similar to that induced by alcohol, but much weaker and without the mental confusion; there is little if any mental sluggishness or confusion with a first plateau trip. [top]Sensory EffectsMost of the effects of the first plateau relate to the senses. The best known, and probably the most responsible for first plateau use of DXM, is the effect upon hearing (specifically upon music). Sounds may seem "richer" or "deeper", and music in particular is affected (the difference between listening to music on DXM versus sober has been compared to the difference between music in a concert hall versus on a cheap radio). In addition to the change in the nature of hearing itself, music can bring a sense of euphoria, often quite intense. In comparison to the positive effects on music reported by some users of cannabis, the DXM music effect is usually characterized as much "speedier". Visual effects are not particularly strong at this plateau. If present, they usually consist of motion trails (as if afterimages of each "frame" of vision were not clearing quickly enough). There may be some deterioration of stereoscopic vision (and thus depth perception). Colors may seem slightly more vivid. Some have remarked that peripheral vision seems to be degraded. Taste and touch do not seem to be appreciably affected, although some users have reported that taste is enhanced and mildly euphoria-linked. Others have reported the same effect for touch. The sense of smell, on the other hand, is improved for some; in fact, some find scents so overpowering that they cannot remain around scented items. Balance and body position sense can be significantly affected, ranging from a mild disturbance (some call it "sea legs") to a near total loss of position and balance sense (generally this only happens on upper plateaus). The changes seem to relate to an anesthesia of the body senses in particular. The effect (like the other sensory DXM effects) can be euphoric; some users like to roll around, do cartwheels, dance, march, whatever. People who are very susceptible to motion sickness seem to report nausea, but most do not. Overall some have described these effects as like free-fall. [top]DurationA first plateau trip usually takes between 20 and 40 minutes to start (on
an empty stomach), peaks about 1.5 to 2 hours later, and lasts between 4 and 6 hours. Gel capsules take up to 1 hour additional to dissolve. Hangovers are very rare from this plateau, but if they do occur, they tend to consist mainly of lethargy. [top] |
[top]The Second Plateau
The second plateau occurs around 2.5-7.5mg/kg, 6.4mg/kg.
[top]DurationSecond plateau trips usually take between 30 and 60 minutes to start (on an
empty stomach), peak about 2 to 3 hours later, and last about 6 hours. Again, gel capsules take up to 1 hour additional to dissolve. Hangovers are not common with lower second plateau trips, but some people experience them. [top]Sensory EffectsThe most general sensory effect of the second plateau is "flanging". Flanging, also called phlanging, phasing, stop-action, framing, strobing, etc., is the sensation that continuous sensory input has been chopped up into frames (as if you were watching a badly animated cartoon), often with some echo effect of each frame. There does not seem to be any loss of sensory content; instead, it is as if the ability to keep sensory input time-continuous were disturbed. The best analogy from other drugs may be the effects of nitrous oxide upon sound. The best analogy from non-drug experiences is listening to a voice through an echo/delay effects box (which is where the term "flanging" comes from). Vision in particular is changed on this plateau. Depth perception is often lost, and the ability to keep both eyes focused on the same thing is diminished (leading to slight double vision). This is most noticeable in people without a dominant eye. Sound, as already mentioned, tends to be flanged. With the sense of touch, there is not necessarily flanging so much as a noticeable delay between the stimulus and recognition of it. Pain especially tends to be somewhat dissociated. Taste is usually simply dulled. Many people report a vastly improved sense of smell though some report that it is dulled as well. The sense of balance is severely disrupted, as is body position and kinetic sense. Keep in mind that dissociation of pain and the disruption of body sense together make physical exertion somewhat risky, as it is possible to over-exert and not notice. Closed-eye hallucinations tend to begin at the second plateau (and in fact are the reason I distinguish this from the first plateau). Usually these are not "true" hallucinations, but instead are considerable enhancement of imagination, up to fully eidetic imagery (i.e., you experience lucidly what you imagine). This is especially powerful with memories; some users are able to re-experience past events, or "simulate" future events, as if actually there, interacting with the environment (I call this the "Holodeck Effect"). Many users report this to be quite useful for introspection. Actual hallucinations, if they do exist, tend to be abstract and cartoon-like. There seems to be an emphasis on linear structures - long, thin lines, or long queues of simple objects. There may also be Lilliputian hallucinations (everything seems either way too big or way too small, or both). Some people find considerable similarity with fever hallucinations; this can be unpleasant. Your experiences throughout the day will influence the hallucinations you see and the imagery you can create. For example, if you have spent the day playing DOOMTM, your hallucinations are likely to involve scenes and elements from the game. Eidetic imagery works a little different - you can conjure up images, but they are likely to have a "DOOMTM-esque" feel to them (bitmapped textures, ugly walls, etc.). This is an interesting effect, and my hunch is that DXM hallucinations and imagery may be very dependent upon what's already stored in intermediate term memory. So it might be worth planning the events of the day with your trip objectives in mind. This may also be possible to some extent during the trip itself; e.g., if you want to imagine yourself in space, go to a planetarium. [top]Cognitive/Emotional EffectsHigher reasoning is still not appreciably affected at the second plateau;
in fact one of the more interesting aspects of DXM at the first and second plateau may be its ability to disturb one function of the mind while leaving another almost untouched. On the other hand the content of one's thoughts may become increasingly abstract as the outside world is ignored. An interesting cognitive effect that is pronounced at the upper second through the third plateau is a change in self-referential thinking. Self-referential thoughts or ideas (e.g., "this statement is false") may seem both more understandable and more profound, both in the abstract and on a "gut level". Thoughts can, in fact, get quite abstract, sometimes to the point of seeming meaningless to other observers. Quite a few people have reported some sort of self-referential or abstracting aspect to thoughts, such as a "self-creating and self-invoking meme" that consists of the concept of itself. Another example is abstracting the concept of abstraction (and abstracting that, and so on and so on). There may be an overall blurring together of cause and effect, and causality may become an alien concept (I've spoken to more than one quantum physics student who enjoyed DXM). Language becomes difficult, partly due to cognitive changes (as in the first plateau), and partly due to difficulty in coordinating the mouth and tongue motions. There may also be a direct effect on the language-producing centers of the brain. Interpreting spoken language is difficult due to sensory flanging. However, thinking in language is still fairly easy. The curious detachment from painful or embarrassing topics of conversation that occurs at the first plateau continues and is much stronger at this plateau. Again, this is generally viewed as a positive event, although if you're not prepared to encounter and possibly discuss your deepest, darkest secrets, you might want to avoid higher doses until you're comfortable with DXM. Another major defining characteristic of the second plateau (as well as closed-eye hallucinations and flanging) may be the motivational aspect. Repetitive, mundane, boring tasks suddenly become doable, and (if one can avoid distraction) may be easily accomplished, even if they take hours. There may be a considerable behavioural stimulant effect remaining at the second plateau without other feelings characteristic of stimulants. The euphoria from the first plateau continues but diminishes as dosage across the second plateau increases. [top]Motor EffectsThe first-plateau effects on motor skills continue to exist, and may be
considerably stronger. Some users find themselves contorting their limbs into rigid positions (and in some cases with general muscle rigidity), others may extend and stretch themselves. These effects are not always immediately apparent; when they are, the user usually reports that it just "feels right" to be in that position. It is still possible to override this. Another accentuation of first-plateau motion effects that sometimes occurs is that the large, sweeping motions, once initiated, may continue for considerable time (looking somewhat like a cross between modern dance and Huntington's disease). Again, it just "feels right" to do. [top]Memory EffectsIntermediate-term memory and working memory may be severely disturbed,
although experience with DXM seems to help people compensate. Possibly because of the changes in memory, it may be very difficult to get bored, even with repetitive tasks. At this plateau, a lot of time may get lost, and the more mundane aspects of the trip are easily forgotten after it is over. [top]The Transitional PhaseBetween the second and third plateaus lies a transitional phase. Not everyone experiences it; it seems that about 70% of DXM users have reported at least one aspect of it. In some senses it seems to be "programmed", in that the content of the experience, although varying from individual to individual, does not change much from one trip to another. Overall these experiences are probably the crossing of a threshold in dissociation. The hypothesis is this (although it is by no means proven). Generally speaking, sensory input competes with "feedback" input from the brain (you've probably noticed this from being deep in thought and not noticing what is going on around you). As sensory input becomes sufficiently inhibited, networks where sensory and feedback information are combined and reconciled begin to gain a larger and larger proportion of their input from internal feedback sources. Eventually, there is enough attenuation of sensory input (and probably intermediate-term memory as well) that the feedback loop becomes "free-running", leading to internal states (or models, if you prefer) that are increasingly detatched from the outside world. During this time, people generally report that they can experience the process or they can discuss, relate, write about it; it does not seem possible to experience it while attempting to maintain contact with the body in any way. Unfortunately, memory of the experience is often impaired, so one gets the feeling of having taken an incredible ride without remembering it. Fortunately, the threshold experience may repeat itself throughout upper plateau trips (see Section 8.2.1). If you want a very rough model for the threshold experience, get a video camera and a television, and feed the output of the camera into the TV. Point the video camera at the TV, turn on the date display on the camera (to provide some sort of "sensory input"), and turn the brightness down on the TV. Adjust the zoom on the camera to roughly include the entire TV screen. You will notice one or two copies of the date/time digits appearing, but overall the picture still looks like a video of a TV screen inside a screen (or two). As you increase the brightness on the TV, however, something interesting begins to happen. Eventually, the feedback becomes self-sustaining, and you can get extremely complex, self-reinforcing patterns which take hold and maintain themselves. The entire picture begins to turn into abstract blobs and colors. As you adjust the zoom, you will find a stable point where you can wave your hand in front of the screen and the effects of this "sensory input" will ripple through the system, mutating constantly but never really leaving. This also makes a fascinating trip toy, by the way. Overall there are some common features to most people's threshold experiences. The first is a sensation that has been described as the opening of nasal passages, being full of helium, losing one's body, or having one's heart stop beating. The actual effect is most likely a sudden cutoff of sensory input from within the body - everything from all the little aches and pains to the awareness of one's own heartbeat go away. This can be very disturbing if a naive user interprets it as heart failure! The second transitional effect is a temporary loss of all sensory input (this does not always occur), as if one were in a sensory deprivation tank. This is often accompanied by severe Lilliputian hallucinations, probably because there is no internal size reference (since the rest of the universe has just gone away). One person reported feeling as if he shrunk down to the size of a proton, and the rest of the world were light-years away. This transitional phase often repeats itself between the third and the fourth plateaus. |
[top]
The Upper Plateaus The upper plateaus are considerably less "recreational" than the lower plateaus, and are more introspective, spiritual, and shamanic. Most people who use DXM for psychonautical exploration or spiritual work do so at the upper plateaus. The upper plateaus generally take more out of the user, with more frequent hangovers and moments of dysphoria. Unlike the lower plateaus, most upper plateau experiences do not lend themselves to moving around much. Most people find it better to find someplace comfortable and stay there. Trying to move too much can induce nausea in some people. |
[top]The Third Plateau
The effects at the third plateau itself tend to be very intense, and often very different from earlier plateaus. Keep in mind that a third plateau trip can be terrifying to people who are not psychologically comfortable and prepared. Because the third plateau is so individually variant, I don't feel comfortable in trying to come up with a narrative. [top]Sensory EffectsThe flanging of visual effects, coupled with the loss of stereoscopic
vision, becomes so strong that the brain seems to completely give up trying to process vision, leading to a sort of "chaotic blindness". Simple images (e.g., a candle flame) are still recognizable, although given the loss of stereoscopic vision one tends to see two of everything. More complex images, especially images that are not sharply defined, are difficult if not impossible to recognize. Vision, when possible, has a very dream-like quality to it. Simple sounds are still understandable, and one can usually comprehend language, although it may be necessary for the speaker to phrase it in a complex rhythm (see Section 5.7.2). Music euphoria is rare. Touch and taste are subject to considerable anesthesia, and pain especially may be completely dissociated (it's still there, it just doesn't seem to apply). Body position, kinetic, and balance senses are similarly disrupted. Some people continue to report an enhanced sense of smell on the third plateau; in a few people almost all smells are overpowering, and subtle elements of scents may be recognizable. This can affect taste, and ordinary foods or drinks can take on peculiar tastes as previously unknown odors are noticed. Even the type of container can affect the smell, with faint scents from paper cups, plastic, and even metal noticeable. Hallucinations may continue, although they tend to be more abstract and "pre-sensory" rather than being predominantly visual. Oftentimes there is an overall sensation of being surrounded by "grey-ness", which brightens to white light as the dosage increases. There do seem to be more frequent moments of "virtual world" experiences, where one can construct an imaginary sensorium with the eyes closed. At the third plateau, the flanging of sensory input occurs both on a raw level (sounds, images) and on higher levels (words, phrases, faces, etc.) This is, to my knowledge, unique to DXM. Flanging may slow down and speed up, leading to periods of lucidity alternating with periods of semi-consciousness. [top]Cognitive function becomes severely disrupted at the third plateau. Complex |
[top]The Fourth Plateau
[top]EffectsInformation pertaining to the fourth plateau (roughly, above 15mg/kg) is limited, and what I have gathered will be presented as a general overview. Fourth plateau doses are similar to fully dissociative (but pre-anaesthetic) doses of ketamine. Please note that dosages in these ranges are approaching the danger zone, and under no circumstances should anyone take this much DXM without a sober assistant who can take you to the hospital if the need arises! Many people neglect "trip sitters" with psychedelics. While you can probably get away with this with LSD (provided you remain in control enough not to do something stupid), with DXM there may be moments of such total confusion that you can wander into trouble without knowing what's going on. Additionally, the danger of adverse physiological effects, although not great, is worth paying attention to. Finally, psychotic breaks are most frequent at fourth plateau doses (and of course increase as the dosage increases). Generally, people entering the fourth plateau report that they lose all contact with their bodies, often suddenly. This can be somewhat frightening. In particular, the sense of breathing is one of those missing, and people have occasionally interpreted this as evidence that they were dead. The surrounding environment may be evenly colored (usually grey or white), or it may appear vividly realistic, or cartoon-like, or anywhere in between these. Many users have reported experiences very similar to "out of body" and "near death" experiences. In such cases, many report that they have contacted other beings, whose reaction to the user is usually somewhere between curiosity and amusement. Contact with "superior being(s)" has also been reported, sometimes as a raw force, sometimes personified in some way. In the reports given to me, the "superior being" image is more often female than male. Delusions can become fairly involved at this plateau; the crucial factor seems to be whether or not the individual realizes that the belief or thought is drug-induced. Some people, especially those more experienced at this level, have reported that although they were aware that their thoughts were delusional, they didn't really care at the time. In general these delusions are fairly harmless (e.g., "I am a flower in the middle of a field"). Typically an individual in this plateau won't be moving at all, which can be frightening to observers. In many ways this state resembles dreaming. If someone in this plateau does attempt to move, his or her attendants should be very sure that he or she is conscious of these actions, and not responding to a delusional environment. Somewhat surprisingly, many cognitive abilities are still intact. Basic computational skills and long-term memory recall do not seem to be particularly affected. It is also possible for the "body" (actually body and some parts of the mind) to undergo fairly complex tasks while the conscious mind is dissociated. |
[top]Plateau Sigma
A few people have independently contacted me about an additional plateau -- one reached not by increasing the dosage but by prolonging the experience. I searched for some time for a name before settling on "Plateau Sigma", both because it seems to be related to sigma activity (see Section 10.2) and because it occurs as one sums up small doses (sigma being the mathematical symbol for summation). This summation may lead to a strong potentiation of the psychotomimetic effects of DXM (227). Over half the people who had a Plateau Sigma experience have said it was extremely unpleasant and that they would never repeat it. The most commonly reported dosage regimen for Plateau Sigma is given below. However, before giving it, I warn you strongly against making this sort of attempt. DXM at high dosages is probably hard both on the brain and the body, and extending the experience is likely to increase the chance for dangerous side effects. Furthermore, one must be experienced enough with DXM, with the psychedelic experience in general, and with one's own mind, to be able to understand the experience. Everyone who has reported a successful experience with this dosage regimen has been at least 23 years of age. While I do not doubt that some younger people may be capable of having a good experience at this plateau, most seem to be unable to understand it and unable to control it, and there may be a real danger of psychotic breaks. Finally, the experience is in some ways acutely uncomfortable, as one's contact with inner and outer reality seems to break down entirely. Combining suggestions from others I have come up with the following dosage regimen. Start relatively early in the day (the experience degrades if one is too fatigued), at about 6 to 10 hours after awakening. It helps tremendously if one is in good physical shape and not under emotional stress. Take a low second plateau dose. In three hours (or about 1 hour after the peak), take a second low plateau dose. At three more hours (or, again, 1 hour after second peak) take a high second plateau or low third plateau dose. After coming down from the third plateau, instead of going back to the second plateau and down to baseline, you may be left in Plateau Sigma. Drugs which inhibit cytochrome P450-2D6 seem to enhance the duration and intensity of the experience. Nicotine is reported to inhibit it, and may even prevent it entirely. At Plateau Sigma interesting things happen to reality. Some have reported vivid, entirely realistic contacts with alien entities, spirits, gods and goddesses. Unlike the fourth plateau, these contacts often take place with eyes open, immersed in everyday reality. Although none of the people who reported these experiences to me had bad trips, most related that the experiences were so real that they felt they easily could have. Vision suffers a curious change, seeming to consist of well-processed but highly strobed images; so strong is the effect that it seems as if one is looking at the world under a fast strobe light. The eyes don't seem to track in synch with the inner 3D model of the world, so that when one looks to one side or another, the world lurches back and forth for a moment. Interestingly, it almost seems as if one is looking at the world from an inner vision with the eyes closed (see Section 5.11). Finally, thoughts can be totally deranged. Connections between entirely unrelated ideas form, causality goes out to lunch, and one's personality seems pretty much dissolved into the universe. Expect to hear a lot of voices; some people find themselves totally obedient to them. There seems to be a "tireless" quality to the experience, as if one does not feel either fatigue or emotion directly, but only receives information from the inner voices ("sit down now, you're tired"). There are interesting comparisons both to accounts of acute schizophrenia and to Jaynes' postulated bicameral mind (350). Again, let me warn you of the dangers here. You are probably stepping head first into psychosis, and unless you've got a very good trip sitter, you might end up coming back to reality in a padded room. Or, if you're really unlucky, you might freak out, have a hypertensive crisis, and end up in the hospital. Chronic high-dose use of PCP has been implicated both in deterioration of some brain areas and in cerebral hemorrhages. While PCP stands somewhat alone among dissociatives due to its additional and peculiar pharmacology, one should always be cautious when blazing trails in uncharted territory. |
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