LSD was discovered in Switzerland by a pharmaceutical company investigating the use of ergot alkaloids for treating migraine and other headaches. Due to the psychological side effects and recreational use/abuse, it was never licensed for those purposes. But there is anecdotal evidence that LSD and related compounds (like (LSA)) can provide significant, often long term relief for cluster headaches and migraines.

Althought the exact mechanism of LSD is not known, here (cache) is a paper that discusses some possibilites. It is known that LSD affects the serotonin receptors, possibly triggering long-term changes that are beneficial to people with cluster headaches or migraines. The short-term action of some ergot compounds is very different from the long term effect ... some people report an initial increase in headache activity (generally one or a few days) after taking LSD or psilocybin, followed by a longer period (often months) of being headache free.

LSD is a controlled substance (ie, illegal) in most countries, and this website does not advocate that you break the laws that apply to you. LSA is a naturally occuring chemical relative of LSD which is technically illegal to use as a drug, but widely available in the seeds of several garden plants.

More detailed information on the use of hallucinogens to treat vascular headaches is available at www.clusterbusters.com (cache).

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Photo of LSD blotter courtesy of free-stock-photos.com (cache)/US DEA.