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Psilocybin against Crohn's disease

Psilocybin for Crohn's

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Psilocybin and Crohn's

More and more scientific studies confirm that psilocybin works as an anti-inflammatory. Most natural treatments for Crohn's disease work because they have anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Can psilocybin, as an anti-inflammatory agent at the cellular level, mean something for people with Crohn's?

What is Crohn's disease?

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that affects the digestive tract. This causes abdominal pain, diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss and malnutrition. The inflammation caused by Crohn's disease can affect any part of the digestive tract, from the mouth to the anus. These symptoms have a significant impact on patients' quality of life. Understanding the underlying causes and treatments of this condition is essential to finding a cure for this disease.

Possible causes

The causes of Crohn's disease are not yet fully known. However, scientific research has shown that factors such as heredity and a disturbed immune system probably play a role in the development of the disease. In addition, risk factors such as age, ethnicity, family history, smoking, use of anti-inflammatory medications, and certain environmental factors can contribute to the development of Crohn's disease. We do not yet know everything about this condition, but thanks to scientific studies we increasingly understand how the disease can manifest itself.

What we do know about Crohn's

Measurements have made it known which inflammatory products occur in high concentrations in Crohn's. These products include C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. These measurements allow us to better understand the disease and develop targeted treatments that counteract these inflammatory products.

Does psilocybin have an anti-inflammatory effect on Crohn's?

According to various scientific studies, psilocybin can precisely reduce the inflammatory products that are increased in Crohn's. In theory, this seems like a solution to reduce the symptoms of Crohn's and get the disease under control. Below we indicate per topic whether psilocybin can have a positive influence on the inflammatory processes of Crohn's.

psilocybin for inflammation

CRP

C-reactive protein remains reduced for a long time after using psilocybin.

There is some evidence to suggest that lowering C-reactive protein (CRP) levels may help treat Crohn's disease. Lowering CRP is an indication of reduced inflammation levels.

IL-6

Interleukin-6 is also permanently reduced after using psilocybin.

According to research, lowering IL-6 can reduce or worsen symptoms in people with Crohn's disease. For now it is unclear why this happens and more research is needed for a clear picture.

TNF-α

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha is reduced during use of psilocybin.

Lowering TNF-α can reduce inflammation and relieve symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea and weight loss. Psilocybin reduces TNF-α mainly during use of high doses.

Cautious conclusion on the efficacy of psilocybin

Reducing inflammation in the intestines in Crohn's disease is seen as the best solution to combat the harmful effects of Crohn's. Psilocybin can reduce various inflammatory factors. Whether psilocybin therefore contributes to reducing Crohn's disease needs further investigation. For example, a previous study showed that blocking IL-6 alone could contribute to worsening of the disease, which may be due to the selective blockade of IL-6 alone. IL-6 plays a dual role by both inhibiting and promoting inflammation.

Of course, we cannot say with certainty whether it is wise to use psilocybin against Crohn's. We think that psilocybin will mainly have an anti-inflammatory effect in Crohn's, but more research will have to tell us more about its activity and safety.

What else can you do?

In addition to the use of psilocybin, there are many other things that have an anti-inflammatory effect and can therefore help with Crohn's disease. We hereby provide a list of tips against Crohn's.

Psilocybin session under supervision

Supervised psilocybin sessions generally work better because the therapist or counselor can support and guide you during the experience. We can help you explore your thoughts, emotions and experiences and can conduct conversations, offer guided meditations or use other techniques to help you gain insights and process any problems you may have. They also ensure your physical safety and we can help you with the preparation and integration of the session.

At Triptherapie we use a step-by-step plan for psilocybin sessions:

1. Registration: You can register without obligation via the intake form. Here you can indicate what you want to achieve with the session and mention any medical or psychological conditions.

2. Intake: After registration we will contact you to indicate whether a psychedelic session can take place in your case.

3. Advice: Based on the intake, we provide advice on nutrition, supplements and, if necessary, exercise advice. We can also provide tips to prepare for the session. Following this advice can improve the effect of the psilocybin session.

4. Monitoring: We will be in contact again about a week before the session to discuss the progress and effect of the advice. We can still decide to adjust the planning if necessary.

5. Psilocybin session: During the session you take a dose of psilocybin, usually in the form of magic truffles. Your supervisor of choice will guide and support you during the effect of the psilocybin. We can use different techniques to help you gain insights and process any problems.

6. Integration: After the session it is important to integrate the experience into your daily life. We offer support and guidance in this process, for example through conversations or assignments.