Research library / Case report
5-MeO-DMT for post-traumatic stress disorder: a real-world longitudinal case study
Ragnhildstveit A, Khan R, Seli P, et al. Frontiers in Psychiatry 2023;14:1271152
This case report describes one 23-year-old woman with long-standing PTSD that had not responded to treatment. She inhaled vapour from dried Sonoran Desert toad secretion, estimated to contain 10-15 mg of 5-MeO-DMT, once. Her PTSD symptoms improved markedly by the next day, along with hopelessness and suicide risk, and the gains were still present at checks up to 12 months later. She described a full mystical-type experience. There were no serious drug-related problems, but she had nausea, found the experience overwhelming, and later developed night terrors. As a single case using an unregulated toad product, it cannot show that 5-MeO-DMT works for PTSD or how safe it is; the authors themselves stress its limits.
What it found
- Clinically significant PTSD improvement was seen the next day, with lower hopelessness and suicide risk
- Improvements held at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months, monitored by a supporting clinician
- No serious drug-related adverse events; she reported acute nausea, overwhelming effects and later-onset night terrors