DOSE:

Pharms - Memantine

In the interest of harm reduction, I feel compelled to write this report. I have determined that memantine is indeed a psychoactive substance. I have also discovered that there are some potential dangers involved when experimenting with this chemical. I would not want anyone else to unintentionally induce the undesirable effects of taking multiple doses of this drug. There are some potentially serious complications that could occur when experimenting with high doses of memantine. This is how it has since been explained to me by a more knowledgeable soul than I:

'The problem with memantine is its slow absorption and excretion. It is largely not metabolized, 57-82% is slowly excreted with urine. In clinical applications there is a large accumulation of memantine with only one dose per day. If you are taking a large dose it will take some time until it hits you, and the effect is prolonged, because it remains in the body for a very long time (the half-life is 60 to 80 hours). Taking large doses daily is probably a bad idea.'

Needless to say I learned this lesson the hard way. Plain and simple, I am at 48+ hours and still feeling the compounded effects of multiple doses.

But for now, on to the good stuff...

I have found that 50-100 mg taken orally is an acceptable dose for a pleasant evening, waiting one to three hours for the full effects to manifest. One of my first single-dose experiences was at this level, and I noticed very few lingering effects 24 hours later. This leads me to believe that single doses via oral administration may prove to be the best way to experience this substance.

On the other hand, 50-100 mg taken by intramuscular injection (50 mg per ml) provided me with a stinging, itchy, burning sensation in my flesh/muscle, which eventually gave way to a very pleasant, comfortable feeling in mind and body. For five to six hours, I noticed similarities to both ketamine and methylone. Reluctantly, but at the insistence of my tripping partner, I decided to attempt multiple dosing. My friend 'C' and I have had incompatible schedules lately, which do not allow us the luxury of shared tripping time. Seeing as how we might not have the opportunity to explore this molecule together again for some time-but against my intuition and better judgement-we re-dosed four times over the course of the next seven or eight hours, at levels ranging from 50 to 100 mg taken by intramuscular injection.

This turned out to be a bad idea. 'C' had obligations yesterday that she was unable to fulfill, due to lingering effects and her inability to drive a car. She was reluctantly able to perform some of her obligations today, although she re-dosed with much smaller amounts than I. On the other hand, I am still feeling pretty 'warbled out' at 48+ hours, with pending obligations myself, later this evening.

While definite similarities were noted to low doses of ketamine, at no point did I ever experience anything that I would even remotely compare to a breakthrough ketamine experience. Other than the fact they are both NMDA-antagonists, similarities would be that they share the same type of body signature, driving energy, and create an inability to sleep. I find that when a single oral dose of 50-100 mg is taken, memantine provides a very comfortable, desirable effect, that resonates nicely in my body and mind.

I would not recommend intramuscular injection of this chemical for two reasons. First, the vast majority of this substance commonly available is in a pre-packaged pill form that likely contains binders or other impurities which you would not want to inject into your body. Second, there is a definite stinging sensation present when injecting memantine intramuscularly. It irritates the tissue at the injection point, leaving an itchy red bump, similar to a bee-sting, that eventually subsides over the course of a few hours, although the pain should be gone within 10-20 minutes.

Additionally, it does not seem that this chemical is readily soluble in water. I was able to mix 50 mg of memantine hydrochloride into 1 ml of distilled water only after applying light heat to increase solubility. If one does not mind waiting a few hours for the effects to be felt, and due to the pain involved with intramuscular injection, I believe oral administration would be the preferred method at 50-100 mg. I'd also like to add that I tried insufflating a 10 mg line at one point during one of my original experiments. I only managed to snort about 5 mg before I realized it burned. A lot. I thoroughly regretted even attempting such a thing. It was very uncomfortable, to say the least.

It is now 66+ hours, and 'C' and myself are both still feeling pretty warbly, although improving. Multiple doses are definitely not recommended unless you have a lot of spare time on your hands. The overall experience from a single administration could be considered rather subtle by some standards, and one might feel compelled to take multiple doses. Beware of the possible consequences if you choose to do so. And the experience, although highly enjoyable, doesn't really break into uncharted territory. So is the ride worth the ticket price? The jury is still out on that one.

It has come to my attention that one may be able to clear his or her body of memantine faster, by acidifying one's urine. Apparently, drinking cranberry juice can aid in this process. Here is what I have been told by someone more knowledgeable than I:

'This is how you can get the memantine out of your system quickly. Try to acidify your urine. That way, memantine is eliminated 7-10 times faster. There are over-the-counter medications available to acidify the urine too; for example, pills containing methionine, which is used to prevent bladder infections.'

I have just awoken at 90+ hours, and I think I'm finally pretty much back to baseline. I feel it is inevitable that someone else is going to attempt experiments with this compound in the future, due to the fact that its potential recreational value has begun to be discussed on the Internet, coupled with the fact that it has recently been approved as a prescription medication by governments worldwide. It would be a real shame for someone to experiment with multiple and/or high doses of this chemical, without realizing the potential dangers involved. For example, if it was crucial that one should drive a car or perform other obligations 24-72 hours into the experience, I would not want anyone else to be unknowingly forced into such a situation.

Let this also be a lesson to other intrepid psychonauts who attempt experiments with high doses of relatively unresearched substances. I have definitely learned my lesson. It may be possible for some people to reasonably predict the actions of unknown chemicals with a bit of foresight, but the ability to do this is unfortunately not one that I possess. I feel pretty irresponsible at this point in time. Although I dedicated a lot of time to researching the properties of this drug before I consumed it, I was unable to foresee this unexpected turn of events. I sincerely hope this report helps someone else avoid a potentially hazardous situation in the future, and I share this information only because I feel it is inevitable that it will soon be noticed that memantine has potential recreational value. Peace. Go Vegan.

Exp Year: 2004	ExpID: 32398
Gender: Not Specified
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Mar 30, 2004	Views: 42,292
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Pharms - Memantine (309) : Small Group (2-9) (17), Multi-Day Experience (13), Retrospective / Summary (11)