Three Month Summary

Three months ago, I started taking fly agaric to treat my neuroborreliosis, or advanced Lyme disease. Along the way I've found huge relief, and applications beyond treating just neuroborreliosis. So how am I using the fly agaric three months on?

Internal Application of Fly Agaric Tincture

I am still taking drops of the fly agaric tincture under my tongue, to treat the impaired cognition and memory of neuroborreliosis. In the very early days I was eating small pieces of fried and frozen mushroom, which worked just as well, as would eating small pieces of dried mushroom, the way they do it in Siberia. It is also possible to make tea from the dried mushroom, which they also do in Siberia, but I haven't tried this yet.

I've found that there is no specific dose, and that the amount required can vary day to day. The rule of thumb I've gravitated towards is three drops under the tongue roughly every half hour until I feel mentally alert, then as much as is required to keep me that way. It's not as easy as it sounds though, and can be a bit of a rollercoaster while you get used to it. I haven't felt that I was "tripping" at any time though, and haven't had any hallucinations or anything like that.

My memory and cognition are hugely improved, and I've been able to develop mobile phone apps again - namely Ogham (Druid prophecy and tree lore) and Hugin and Munin, a raven based memo program.

External Application of Fly Agaric Tincture

In countries including Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, there is still a tradition of using fly agaric in this way. A few drops are applied externally - rubbed gently into the skin - to relieve topical pain. It seems that this will work for any pain related to the central nervous system, and its effects are complete and immediate and last around 3-4 hours. It really seems to work like magic.

When suffering the agonies that will sometimes hit as a result of my neuroborreliosis, I've applied the fly agaric tincture very liberally, even 10-20ml at a time if the pain is over a wide area. I'm not aware of any dangers using the tincture in this way. Relief is always complete and immediate. It even works for the pain of migraine, but unfortunately doesn't touch the concussion-like hangover of a bad migraine.

External Application to overcome Chronic Fatigue - as part of the process of making the tincture, I run it through coffee filters. This leaves me with coffee filters wet with tincture. On a whim I tried rubbing these over my muscles, covering as much of my body as possible. I almost immediately felt raring to go, and walked without any trouble up a very steep hill nearby, to the castle at the top. I hadn't even been able to make it up the hill before.

As I understand it, the muscarine in the mushroom tincture is enabling the body's electrical signals to reach the muscles, whereas before they couldn't make it over the neurotoxins. I believe that this is probably how the Viking berserkers used to apply the fly agaric mushroom to themselves before battle. It gives noticeably more energy than ingesting the mushroom.

I also apply the tincture externally to any area - usually the back of my knees - that has been over-exerted and is seizing up. Instead of leading to tendinitis and a couple of weeks of enforced rest, the area is generally absolutely fine the next day.

I have also been applying the tincture externally to areas of my lymphatic system that are blocked, sluggish or painful. I can feel and hear the lymph cracking and crunching and breaking down. The improvements there also help counteract the negative effects of the neurotoxins of neuroborreliosis (advanced Lyme disease). I should add, the species of Lyme disease I have are Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii, the two most common European kinds. I would be interested to hear if anyone is doing anything similar to counteract other species, perhaps most notably Borrelia burgdorferi, the most common North American species.

Cauldron of Rebirth

The ancient Celts would take wounded warriors and soak them in a cauldron that restored them so they could return to the battlefield. It has been theorised that the Cauldron of Rebirth contained fly agaric mushrooms with the active ingredient (again probably muscarine rather than muscimol) dissolved in some liquid.

I've been making very diluted cauldrons of rebirth by adding 5-10ml of fly agaric tincture to the bath. It really does take the pain and aches away.

So to summarise this summary, fly agaric has changed my life. It's taken me from being an exhausted cripple with severe dementia-like symptoms to being pretty much a "normal" person again. I can walk for miles, I am reading voraciously, I can string a thought together long enough to write it down, I can engage in conversation, I don't just lie around all day feeling like death any more, and my mood is greatly enhanced.