Illegal or recreational drugs that may be dangerous to combine with MAOIs:
- Opiates
- Mescaline (any phenethylamine)
- Barbiturates
Other psychoactives that should not be combined with MAOIs:
- Kratom
- Kava
Medical Guidelines
with Ayahuasca & Master Plant Dieta
Our priority is your safety and well being, and to guide you to personal healing and growth. During the booking process you will be asked to fill out a medical questionnaire. Please be as forthcoming as possible when answering questions. If any potential medical contraindications are present, we will inquire further to ensure a good process for you.
By registering for a master plant dieta, you are declaring that you are in physical and mental condition appropriate to the activities described in the Master Plant Dieta page, that you agree to participate at your own risk, and that we cannot accept liability for any accident or injury. We will provide the most secure environment to work with ayahuasca and master plant dieta as possible and ensure your welfare to the best of our abilities, at all times. In return, we ask that you behave responsibly and do not endanger yourself or others.
♦ For serious illnesses, we will need to dialogue with you to see if a master plant dieta would be beneficial for you. If you have an advanced physical illness with medications that you cannot stop, we cannot receive you for a master plant dieta. If your illness is in its first stages and you are able to stop medications or are not on medication, your state of mind, openness and trust will determine if you can enter a dieta.
♦ If you have a contagious or complicated illness (such as tuberculosis, AIDS…) or disabilities which requires special care, we will have to see if we are able to accommodate you at the center with the proper conditions.
♦ If you have a heart condition, chronic high blood pressure, or tuberculosis and we have agreed that you can do a master plant dieta, you will not be drinking ayahuasca.
♦ Those with diabetes or a hepatic condition must provide detailed information about their condition.
♦ Pregnant women can do a Master Plant Dieta but must not drink ayahuasca. Breath feeding women can drink ayahuasca when your baby has completed 6 month of age.
♦ Please inform us of any history of mental health problems in the present or in the past. It is important that people with diagnosed mental disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression with psychotic symptoms talk to us about their condition. In some of those cases, such as schizophrenia, you can come to receive a treatment which will no be master/teacher plant dieta and you will not be working with ayahuasca. The maestros will be working with other techniques such as saunas, flower bath, the treatment will depend on the diagnosis and expertise of the maestros.
♦ It is important to suspend any kind of psycho-pharmaceutical and depression treatments 35 days before drinking ayahuasca under the supervision of your doctor !
♦ Once we have agreed that we can receive you, the maestros will be taking care of you in an appropriate and adapted way for you. Which may be, working with ayahuasca or not, or not at the beginning, working with a master plant or receiving other treatments first. The exact way to proceed for you will be decided by the maestros with the diagnostic ceremony at Shipibo Rao.
♦ Reciprocal trust is key to a good dieta process, please contact us before making a reservation to discuss your particular case. We shall consider each of you carefully and with a deep consideration for your well being before letting you know if we can receive you.
From an Amazonian plant healer’s perspective, when a patient or apprentice is working with a medicinal plant, it is important not to take any other substances or medicines. This may interfere with the plant’s energy and provoke unwanted reactions.
From a biomedical perspective, certain drugs and medications have been found not compatible with ayahuasca. It is essential to stop taking the substances listed in the document below and give your system sufficient time to remove them from the body before you begin a master/teacher plant dieta, but please consult your doctor first about the intention of stopping and let us know as well. You should not stop taking prescribed medications without the guidance of your doctor!
Please notify us of any herbal or natural medicines you are taking, as well as any supplements. The following herbal medicines should not be combined with ayahuasca and must be stopped at least one week prior to working with ayahuasca (5):
Note about interaction with cannabis: Smoking marijuana before the ayahuasca session may stupefy and darken the overall experience, acting as a blockage for the visionary plant to manifest in the fullest way. Given the general amplified sensitivity of all participants of ayahuasca session, marijuana negatively affects not just the person who used it, but potentially other participants’ experiences as well as the overall energy of the medicine circle. It is important that it is clear from your system before attending a ayahuaska ceremony.
PLEASE NOTE: The above list is by no means complete. We will review with you any herbal medicines or supplements you are taking before we confirm your booking.
Any medication that contains MAO inhibitors (MAO-Is) are known to cause dangerous side effects when taken in conjunction with ayahuasca and should be suspended. Any medication that has an effect on the serotonin system, including Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), can induce serotonin syndrome, with potentially fatal results when combined with ayahuasca. We advise that SSRI medications be suspended six weeks prior to drinking ayahuaska to allow the system to clear in time. Some of these drugs may cause side effects when you stop taking them so you should allow plenty of time for these to subside and always consult your physician before changing your medical schedule.
PLEASE NOTE: The following list is by no means complete. We will review with you any medications or supplements you are taking before we confirm your booking.
Other psychoactives that should not be combined with MAOIs:
We need to emphasize that maintaining the diet is an absolutely essential factor in the healing process. The three most fundamental restrictions before and after a ceremony or a dieta are street drugs (cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, etc), sexual activity and pork. If a guest decides to not adhere to this critical advice after leaving the Shipibo Rao, the consequences can be severe psychological and energetic damage. You are fully responsible for that part of the process, be loving and respectful toward yourself and the work of the Maestros !!
Using stimulants with MAOIs is particularly dangerous and can be potentially fatal. Using cocaine, amphetamines, or MDMA (ecstasy) with MAOIs may cause a severe increase in blood pressure, increasing the chances for stroke and cerebral hemorrhage and making it possible to overdose on a relatively small amount of cocaine. (A fatality has been recorded involving combining peganum harmala and cocaine. Fatalities resulting from combining amphetamines with pharmaceutical MAOIs have been recorded in the medical literature.)
Using other serotonin agonists or precursors with an MAOI can lead to serotonin syndrome. The main symptom of serotonin symptom may be a severe and long-lasting headache (the same symptom as MAOI tryptamine interaction) and/or fever (as high as 40 °C / 104 °F or more) Other symptoms of serotonin syndrome may include rapid heartbeat, shivering, sweating, dilated pupils, intermittent tremor or twitching, overactive or over-responsive reflexes, hyperactive bowel sounds, or high blood pressure. Severe serotonin syndrome may lead to shock, agitated delirium, muscular rigidity and high muscular tension, renal failure, or seizures, and can be life-threatening.
Using tricyclic antidepressants within two weeks of taking MAOIs may cause serious side effects including sudden fever, extremely high blood pressure, convulsions, and death.
Using Fluoxetine (Prozac) within five weeks of taking MAOIs may cause high fever, rigidity, high blood pressure, mental changes, confusion, and hypomania.
Using Benzedrine, Benzphetamine, Desipramine, Desoxyn, Dexedrine, Dopamine, Ephedrine (contained in Marax, Quadrinal, and other asthma drugs), Epinephrine, Guanadrel, Guanethidine, Hydralazine, Isoproterenol, L-dopa, Metaraminol, Methyldopa, Mirtazamine, Norepinephrine Oxymetazoline, Phendimetrazine, Phentermine, Phenylephrine, Phenylpropanolamine, Pseudoephedrine, Ritalin, or Venlafaxine with MAOIs may cause a hypertensive crisis (severe spike in blood pressure).
Using Adderall with MAOIs can result in high body temperature, seizure, and in some cases, coma.
Using Bupropion (Wellbutrin) within two weeks of taking MAOIs may cause serious side effects such as seizures.
Using Buspirone (Buspar) with MAOIs may cause high blood pressure and increased sedative effects.
Using Carbamazepine (Tegretol) with MAOIs may result in fever and may increase seizures, especially in epileptics.
Using Clomipramine with MAOIs may cause high fever (hyperpyrexic crisis) and seizures.
Using CNS depressants with MAOIs may increase the depressant effects.
Using Desipramine (Norpramin, Pertofrane) with MAOIs may result in hypertensive crisis.
Using Dextromethorphan with MAOIs may cause excitement, high blood pressure, and fever, or brief episodes of psychosis.
Using Fenfluramine with MAOIs may result in fever (hyperpyrexic crisis).
Using Kava with MAOIs may result in hypotensive crisis (severe blood pressure drop).
Using Lithium with MAOIs may cause fever and serotonin syndrome.
Using Meperidine (Demerol) with pharmaceutical MAOIs has resulted in deaths from a single dose.
Using Metaproterenol or other beta-adrenergic bronchodilators with MAOIs may cause blood pressure elevation and rapid heartbeat.
Using Mirtazapine (Remeron) with MAOIs may result in hypertensive crisis.
Using Nefazodone (Serzone) may result in high fever.
Using Temaril with MAOIs may increase chance of side effects.
Using Terfenadine with MAOIs may cause an increase in MAOI blood levels.
Using Theophylline with MAOIs may cause rapid heartbeat and anxiety.
Using Trazodone (Desyrel) with MAOIs may result in high fever.
Using Tryptophan or L-tryptophan with MAOIs may cause disorientation, confusion, amnesia, delirium agitation, memory impairment, hypomanic signs, or shivering.
Using Venlafaxine (Effexor) with MAOIs may result in hypertensive crisis.
Using Ziprasidone (Geodon) with MAOIs may cause serotonin syndrome.
Using alcohol with MAOIs may cause side effects like angina (chest pain) or headaches. The headache may mask or be mistaken for hypertensive crisis caused by MAOI interaction. MAOIs can also increase the sedative effect of alcohol.
Using opiates with MAOIs carries a risk of respiratory depression.
Using diuretics with MAOIs may cause a greater drop in blood pressure than normal and increase in MAOI blood levels.
Using anesthetics with MAOIs may potentiate the anesthetic effect.
Using sleeping pills, tranquillizers (major or minor), or barbiturates with MAOIs may increase the sedative effect.
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