DMT withdrawal does not produce symptoms but the event may be complicated by after-effects, dual diagnosis or additional substance use.
DMT is a hallucinogen drug that occurs naturally and can also be produced in the lab. DMT is illegal and has no approved medical uses in the United States. Although DMT does not produce an addiction like many other drugs, people may develop a behavioral addiction that results in the habitual use of the drug.
DMT does not produce withdrawal symptoms. People who use DMT are likely more concerned about the effects during and after a “trip” — especially a “bad trip” — or with the residual psychotic symptoms that can persist long after the previous drug use.
What Causes DMT Withdrawal?
Medical experts don’t fully understand how DMT affects the brain to produce its effects. Hallucinogens are the only class of drugs that impact the brain in the way that they do.
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What is known is that DMT activates two important chemical messenger receptors in the brain by emulating those chemicals (the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine). Both of these neurotransmitters are heavily implicated in psychosis, which is likely related to the hallucinogen effects. Persistent symptoms are almost certainly due to residual effects on the brain’s ability to regulate these two neurotransmitter systems.
Diagnosing DMT Withdrawal
Since there are no DMT withdrawal symptoms, there is usually no indication that an individual used the drug. Lab testing will not identify the drug because DMT testing is not part of standard drug testing panels. The drug is undetectable in the blood one hour after use, and less than 1% of the drug is excreted in the urine.
For people who are getting residual psychotic symptoms after using DMT, the only way to diagnose the after-effects is for the individual to admit to the drug use. Otherwise, the symptoms may be diagnosed as a psychotic disorder.
DMT Withdrawal Symptoms
DMT is unusual among drugs of abuse — including other hallucinogens — in that there are no DMT withdrawal symptoms. However, during a “trip” people will appear detached from reality and may have dilated pupils. People may also exhibit some of the following symptoms:
- Vomiting and diarrhea
- Elevated blood pressure and heart rate
- Dry mouth
- Profuse sweating
- Bizarre behaviors
- Psychosis
- Agitation
- Anxiety
- Dizziness
- Rapid eye movements
- Chest pain
- Overwhelming fright
At high doses, DMT may cause seizures, respiratory arrest and coma.
The symptoms of fright and agitation may last for days after the previous drug use. Such elongated symptoms may be considered to be a withdrawal effect.
People withdrawing from DMT use may, at some point, develop persistent after-effects:
- Persistent Psychosis: Ongoing psychosis that persists long after the last drug use. The individual essentially develops schizophrenia.
- Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPDD): sudden, unpredictable flashbacks of hallucinations and other psychosis symptoms, lasting months or years after the drug was used previously.
How Long Does DMT Withdrawal Take?
Because DMT does not have a withdrawal period akin to other drugs, like opioids, the effects of DMT use wearing off (the “trip”) may be considered as DMT withdrawal. A DMT “trip” does not last very long. The drug is rapidly metabolized by the body so that the onset of its effects are only seconds to minutes from taking the drug and only lasts 15 to 60 minutes depending on how it was taken. On average, the drug’s effects start within two minutes and are negligible by 30 minutes.
Although a “bad trip” will last an hour or less, people often remain genuinely frightened for hours or days afterward and may not be able to function properly. Behavior may be erratic during this time.
DMT Detox Treatment for Withdrawal
DMT withdrawal is generally easy for people who have not recently used and who are not experiencing any residual symptoms. However, DMT drug addiction occurs in the setting of polysubstance use in nearly 90% of cases, and the withdrawal from other drugs may be complicated. This factor is especially the case for drugs that are very difficult to withdraw from, such as alcohol and opioids.
Dual diagnosis (the presence of an underlying mental health disorder) may complicate detox and recovery from DMT use, so diagnosis and treatment is important in such cases. DMT use may unmask or cause a mental health disorder in some people.
What to Expect During DMT Detox
DMT abuse does not result in withdrawal symptoms, so it is a relatively easy detox compared to most other illicit drugs. For people with polysubstance use, the use of other drugs may present a more challenging detox experience.
Hallucinogen detox should be focused on planning for abstinence and recovery from the drug use by identifying any psychological dependence issues that may be responsible for continued use of DMT.
Finding a Detox Center
Undergoing medically assisted detox at an accredited facility is the safest and most effective way to detox from substance use and transition smoothly into treatment and recovery.
At a professional addiction treatment center, a team of healthcare professionals will have the expertise to help people detox and recover from any kind of drug use. The Recovery Village has treatment facilities throughout the United States that can help people address their addiction and co-occurring mental health disorders.
