Patterns of use/effect over the past 2 years.
Hmm. With me it's love and hate. I binge once every couple of months. Maybe 2g over a week. I work and function OK. Wife unable to tell, well, unable to differentiate from my usual stoned persona. We actually have some great conversations with 6APB as my personal secret catalyst.
But, on the morning after, my body aches. The thigh and calf muscles particularly (I'm postal worker - it can be a bit of a bitch for physical graft).I force myself to eat properly and supplement with tryptophan or 5htp.
I notice my immune system weakens after such binges. Lymph nodes, tonsils etc are tender/inflamed and I usually contract some kind of 'Manflu' as the wife calls it.
Mentally, the aftermath is inconsistent. About a week afterwards I become emotionally sensitive, but not in a bad way necessarily. A kind of solemn melancholy seems to grip me for a day or two, so that small gestures of kindness will bring a lump to my throat, or a particular news story of human tragedy will draw painfully intense empathy from me. I gather my wits for a week or so, noting a frustrating slowness of mind that lifts by a week or so.
Short term effects seem negligible (spoken as a reasonably informed but in no way expert enthusiast). The possible longterm effects are, as yet, unknown. The data for longterm effects of MDMA may soon be coming in. Instinct tells me, crudely based on the physical and mental effects of both materials being similar, the processes they alter are not far removed. The stresses which play on these systems that are altered might be comparative in their longterm prognoses.
These are the gambles we take. I guess everyone has their way of getting round this seemingly risky game.
For me it's the creative headspace and drive that I find for a few hours, when I create music on my Cubase system or guitars etc. I can't get enough of that set/setting.
When I hit the end of the bag, there is sadness tinged with relief. I read my body well enough to stay well clear for a while. It's only when I forget how rough I've felt that the stuff starts to worm it's way back into my feebly weak mind.
I gotta confess. This weekend is one such binge occasion and I have just taken a break from playing my bass intensly for some time. Great fun!
Take care with empathogens such as this. They can become very compulsive sometimes. Peace - Pipp