GordoTEK
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Awesome New Free Mushroom Dosing Calculator Plus Updates on Kits and News of Interest
🕑 Added 2024-07-17 17:48:34 +0000 UTCI am happy to introduce the first free mushroom dosing calculator that I can fully endorse:
https://sporelore.co/dose-calculator
Years ago I publicly expressed my disappointment with existing mushroom dosing calculators but I never got around to correcting that problem UNTIL NOW. To give credit where credit is due, the calculator was coded/built by a patron who goes by "Oddo". It is based on the formula that I previously posted and we refined it together until I was satisfied. Please provide any feedback you think could improve it further. The tool has a way to pick a specific species or cultivar to see averages based on publicly published HPLC testing data, but just to be clear (and there is a very clear warning about this in the tool itself) your personal grow could vary considerably from any published average. In general, you will hit higher potency levels if you follow all of the best cultivation practices that I have shared over time, namely, use gypsum in the substrate, harvest just before spore drop (for most species), immediately begin dehydrating after harvest, only leave in dehydrator until cracker dry, blend the cracker dry fruit bodies into a powder, store in a sealed glass jar preferably with an inert gas like Argon or CO2. If you do sloppy work, wait until the fruit bodies are deteriorating or shedding spores like crazy, or you are slow to dry them and/or use poor storage methods, your potency levels will generally be lower.
It is my recommendation that you not guess the potency based on averages or other assumptions, but actually measure it if you want the best possible results. Labs you can send samples to include MagicMyco and Altitude Consulting (those are the two US labs I've worked the most with, MagicMyco has a code 'GordoTEK' you can use to get a discount by the way). Other labs include: TrypLabs, Tryptomics, Rose City Labs, Flourish Labs, and Hyphae Labs. In Europe Energy Control seems like a great option as well as Kykeon.
While HPLC testing is usually the most accurate, I know it can also be kind of expensive. A very nice, lower cost, somewhat newish option are these home test kits from Miraculix.
The cool thing about the Psilocybin Qtest is that it was developed by hard core researchers (like Felix Blei) who have published cutting edge research on psilocybin mushrooms and purchasing the test kits directly supports their lab and continued work in the field. I'm sure some will also be wondering if the QTest uses the same "Psilocybin Equivalent" value that I use all the time (where the psilocybin and psilocin amounts are combined into one number, with accommodation for the different molecular weights and corresponding potency). The answer is YES, that is exactly what is reported by the test! The way they achieved that is by using an acidic solution that converts all of the psilocybin to psilocin, and then a color based test scale that is calibrated to psilocybin equivalency:
If you really want to geek out, they even sell a QTest Photometer that will read your test results and give you a precise value without you having to determine it yourself based on the color chart. Note that for very potent species like TTBVI which go off the scale of the QTest, you can use half the amount of mushroom material and then double your result (for example if the test says it's 15mg/g (or 1.5% potency) based on the half sample size, that means it is 30mg/g or 3% potency. You will need an accurate gem scale for reliable results.
Also please note that another caveat to a dosing calculator is that different people have different sensitivity to psychedelics. This is one area of research that doesn't seem very well documented yet, for example I have no idea what percentage of the population could be considered to have "natural low sensitivity" and what percentage has "unusually high sensitivity". I personally fall in the very high sensitivity category, but I know several people that have low sensitivity. In ayahuasca ceremonies it is somewhat common for some people to have incredible deep visual experiences while others have no visions whatsoever. What we DO know is that some medications can cause low sensitivity, such as SSRIs, SNRIs, and opioids but there are probably other meds that impact sensitivity. Another probable cause is temporary or permanent damage to 5HT2A receptors, this might be caused by past drug abuse or medications that had been taken for an extended time. In some cases, receptor damage seems to be able to be healed over time, and improved sensitivity to psychedelics can happen after weaning off medications. But there is also a genetic factor, people that just have low sensitivity without any of the previously mentioned reasons, perhaps they have very high levels of MAO (mono amine oxidase) which breaks down psychedelics in the gut and blood. Or perhaps the genetic factors relate to the number of 5HT2A receptors in the brain, or the ability of psychedelics to cross the blood brain barrier.
To help a person determine their personal sensitivity it is strongly recommended that you start at the lower levels of psychedelic experience and work your way up from there as desired, one level at a time with at least 2 weeks between experiences. Also note that researchers found no particular value to going above the highest level range described. Excessive doses can cause elevated fear, anxiety, panic, sweating, paranoia, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. Please don't brag about taking abnormally high doses, it's the psychedelic equivalent to the morons who drink an entire case of beer in one night. Also some people taking very high doses simply have very low sensitivity (or high tolerance) for numerous possible reasons (medications they take, past receptor damage, or genetic factors) and they cannot achieve the described levels without taking much higher doses than an average person. You will figure out your sensitivity as you work your way up the levels, check to see if what you experienced matches the descriptions. You can also use the MEQ-30 questionnaire to confirm what level you have achieved.
[3 to 6mg PCBE]:
This level produces mild effects, with some visual enhancement like brighter or more vibrant colors and sometimes an elevated mood. Some short term memory anomalies. Left/right brain communication changes causing music to sound 'wider'.
[6 to 12mg PCBE]:
Bright colors, and visuals (ie. things start to move and breathe) some 2-dimensional patterns become apparent upon shutting eyes. Confused or reminiscent thoughts. The natural brain filter (salience network) begins to deactivate, thoughts may be distracted, creativity may feel enhanced, fixation on objects within your view or parts of your body can happen (for example staring at your hand or a flower or tree). The salience network or midcingulo-insular network or ventral attention network, is a group of regions in your brain that work together to filter out unimportant information and decide what deserves your attention.
[12 to 18mg PCBE]:
Very obvious visuals, everything looking curved and/or warped patterns and kaleidoscopes seen on walls, faces, etc. Some mild hallucinations such as rivers flowing in wood grained or 'mother of pearl' surfaces. Closed eye hallucinations become 3 dimensional. Open eyed visuals everywhere with no effort. There could be some confusing of the senses (ie. seeing sounds as colors etc.) Time distortions and `moments of eternity`. Movement at times becomes extremely difficult (too much effort required).
[18 to 30mg PCBE]:
Strong hallucinations, objects morphing into other objects. The brain’s default mode network becomes less active or inactive resulting in loss of ego or splitting of the ego. Things may start talking to you, or you find that you are feeling contradictory things simultaneously. Some loss of reality. Time becomes meaningless. Out of body experiences and perceived esp type phenomena are possible. Different parts of the brain become “hyper-connected” resulting in full blending of the senses (synesthesia). You may experience colors when listening to music, see shapes when smelling certain scents, or perceive tastes when looking at words.
[30 to 40mg PCBE]:
Total loss of visual connection with reality. The senses cease to function in the normal way. Total loss of ego. Merging with space, other objects or the universe. The loss of reality becomes so severe that it defies explanation. The earlier levels are relatively easy to explain in terms of measurable changes in perception and thought patterns. This level is different in that the actual universe within which things are normally perceived, ceases to exist. You may experience momentary periods of absolute peace and calm while the ego is suppressed and your brain is unencumbered by its usual worries or passions.
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Unrelated, but wanted to post a follow up to the new vendor selling GordoTEK grow kits and other supplies, full details and review of the kits previously posted here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/105964263
MidwestFreshMushrooms was a bit overwhelmed by the massive demand for those kits and had some unexpected challenges but they are completely caught up now and have even hired some additional helpers. So I just wanted to drop a note that things are finally back in stock again and ship times should be normal now. Thanks also for posting feedback, from what I've seen people have been happy with the kits and service, this vendor makes things right if/when anything doesn't meet expectations and feedback has resulted in further improvements already.
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ATTENTION EUROPEANS! I have a new partnership with a vendor in the Netherlands called Mycotrop who put together a kit that is similar to the one above from MidwestFresh (although I think it's half the size). To be super transparent, they have NOT sent me a kit to personally test & review which I generally require of all vendors but understand it is very expensive to ship large heavy objects across the ocean. So consider this a provisional endorsement, if anyone orders from them, PLEASE send me feedback. The really cool thing about this kit is that they even include liquid cultures of my genetics (TTBVI and natalensis) so it is truly an all in one kit. Here is an affiliate link to the product: https://mycotrop.com/en/home/1628-1592-gordotek-all-in-one-kit-mycotek-version.html?affp=10366#/strains-natalensis
Again I would VERY MUCH appreciate detailed feedback from anyone that orders from this vendor (obviously intended only for Europeans). They had a good score on TrustPilot but apparently TrustPilot has recently removed all "bad fit" businesses from their site, which includes businesses related to drugs, I guess no exception for mushrooms which are gaining significant recognition for their legitimate use cases and even medical acceptance in many jurisdictions.
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IN THE NEWS
There are some interesting ideas about using VR for psychedelic integration mentioned in this article. They make a good point about the sad proportion of investment $ going into psychedelic drug development vs. R&D on best ways to use psychedelics for the benefit of humankind. https://www.forbes.com.au/covers/innovation/psychedelics-therapy-will-be-legal-in-july-heres-what-you-need-to-know/
Besides integration, it would be really fascinating research to see if VR could be used also during psychedelic experiences to somehow help achieve certain goals like steering a person toward the type of experience that might help them most, etc. or maybe to calm an anxious person for example.
Some unscrupulous companies have been selling fake mushroom products with research chemicals in them, and people are getting sick: https://doubleblindmag.com/fda-investigates-diamond-shruumz/ I don't trust research chemicals and they aren't even putting these ingredients on the label. Yet another reason why people should grow their own supply. Many people believe the growing part (caring for a living organism that will reciprocate by caring for you) is a healing process in and of itself.
I've also been seeing more and more negative articles on Amanita. Not sure if anyone here is into that species, see: https://ashlegal.pro/blog/f/amanita-muscaria-loophole-or-hangmans-noose I've never been a fan due to the toxicity despite many people saying you can remove the toxins with the right processing. If you saw the episode of Hamilton's Pharmacopeia on Amanita, you will note that Hamilton refused to consume them, that is pretty rare for him, as he will try just about anything 😂. That should probably tell you something.
More on amanita and sketchy commercial products being sold with research chemicals (shout out to Tryptomics' Caleb King and Chris Pauli): Psychedelic mushroom edibles promise health benefits. Be wary, experts say.
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UPDATE: It turns out, Johns Hopkins who initially insisted on the bodyweight adjusted dosing which I've always been skeptical about, actually self corrected and no longer recommends bodyweight adjustments, so the calculator no longer has a bodyweight adjustment option in case anyone was wondering about that. For what it's worth, I requested the raw data from Johns Hopkins years ago to check on this recommendation, it should have been very easy to provide, I wanted to plot MEQ30 scores against bodyweight to see if there was a correlation between the two (if heavier people were consistently getting higher scores it would clearly indicate a problem with the bodyweight adjusted dosing). Hopkins ignored my request and did not send the data, but instead conducted their own internal review and apparently discovered my suspicions were correct. I don't remember them ever publicizing this discovery nor did they ever bother to follow up with me. I am a bit disappointed by the lack of research that went into their initial decision to use bodyweight adjusted dosing in the first place but at least they have corrected the error now. The nice thing about science is that it is generally self correcting over time.
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Check out our patreon COMMUNITY chat section if you haven't yet (available on BOTH the patreon website AND the patreon APP). People are really helping one another and sharing great tips and other information. It has a wonderful, friendly, helpful vibe. Besides the FAQ, this is the next best place to look for help when you have a question. Nothing like members helping members.
Links to all of my TEKs, Videos, Trip music, and frequently asked questions with answers can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/22774475 (everything is made available for FREE, I do not use pay walls, support the work only if you feel like you've benefited from it and you are able to do so). People have told me my work has helped them overcome depression, addictions, PTSD, relationship issues, direction in life, and to have important, meaningful, sometimes life changing mystical experiences. I feel honored and blessed to play a small role in this. That is my reward.
Comments
LegitosaurusRex
Hey Gordo, cool calculator! One thing I noticed, it asks for capsule weight, but I could see people putting the total weight of the capsule there rather than first subtracting the weight of the capsule itself to get the weight of the powdered shrooms inside.
Karl Malin
Gordo, the calculator is Awesome thank you bud!
JP
Hey Gordo, Huge thanks for the tip on where to find your kit in Europe! I’ve been lurking for a while and was getting pretty frustrated not being able to try your tek like other Patreon members in the States who have easy access to everything. When you mentioned Mycotrop in your newsletteri did my research, save up and i jumped on it and grabbed the all-in-one kit with the fully colonized spawn. Just got it shipping took 3 days total, i paid with my card, and wow, it’s top-notch super professional setup. I’m currently following the Easy Pan Tek, and I gotta say, it’s been a game-changer. I actually subscribed to your Patreon today just so I could thank you for all your work and give you some feedback, like you asked. About mycotrop, so far the have been helpfull, i am a total noob so when i got my kit i did not know what was what like how to identify the casing from the rest ? , it was not clear, so i sent pictures and they told me, they also thanked me for the feedback and now they say they will number the bags with explanations and be more noob minded lol . If it’s cool, I’d be happy to post some pics of the MycoTek/GordoTek kit would that be allowed? actually i do not see the option to post in comment ? Thanks again, man!
Lee
This calculator is “AWESOME “!!!!
sultan
I was actually working on making a similar calculator, and kept getting stuck on the participant body weight part because it really seemed to be irrelevant. Thanks for confirming my suspicions. :)
Joe Wells
Hey man. I just found your YouTube page yesterday. You have great content!! Never had Patreon. Downloaded it yesterday. Appreciate you and your work. Could I please get a spore print that you were talking about?
GordoTEK
Yes, you can send me data to add, I will also look for more data. I've had bisporus tested before, and seen a bunch of tests on zapotecorum too although I'd like to see more data on that species.
Matt Battistini
Gordo, the calculator is amazing! Bravo! Is there a way we can request new species over time? I'd love to see bisporus, zapotecorum, and a few other exotics on there as well
GordoTEK
Most came from the largest HPLC data repository, described here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/92409214 And all the raw data is also linked from that post, spreadsheet form you can filter and mine.
GordoTEK
Yea, it turns out Johns Hopkins backtracked on doing bodyweight adjustments, I did not notice this change from them until recently. I have updated the previously posted formula and the calculator to eliminate the bodyweight adjustment.
DRS
I'm of the school that anything you can "put your finger on" so to speak, means it's not a micro dose, but I've had to back off on that a bit, because back when I tried micro dosing, I was sure it made me hungry, hehehe! So I'd be able to know if I got the placebo, and would ruin the experiment:)
Cartmen
Awesome
Christian
What data sets were used to create this calculator? Is there anywhere we can find that data to look at 🤙🤙
YellowHound
Brav-Oh, El Gordo! Double bravo!
AgapeBass
Thank you for the response! I got one this morning!
Mr. Shroom Extraordinaire
Hi there, we will be getting caught up on all current orders this weekend. I’ll go ahead and list a limited number of kits and we should be able to fill them and ship them on Wednesday.
james Sutton
Thank you AQL
james Sutton
Thank you Hypo, I missed that. Good community.
Aql
It was added by Gordo in the post, check at the bottom for "UPDATE"
james Sutton
Any sources to cite for that comment?
Aql
Oddo, great work on the calculator! Much love A feature I would highly appreciate is to have an automatic conversion between species. Let's say someone tried 0.5g of TTBVI just out of the dehydrator but now they want to try Natalensis that were dried 6 months ago and have a similar experience. Being able to input all that info and get instant conversion would be amazing 💚
james Sutton
Gordo: I followed that dosage calculator link aNd it’s not like that shown in your screenshot. It does not ask body weight anywhere. Also, the results for Natalensis was substantially (almost 100%) different than your article’s calculation that we confirmed via DM. Something appears to be very wrong . Why? Using your formula for a 300 pound man , taking Gordo P.Natalensis a hero dose would be 4.8g. This calculator says 2.45g.
AgapeBass
Any idea on when the Gordo Special will be available again on MidWest? Says they’re sold out
Ayoub Abedrabbo
It is still not visible. I have a feeling as something to do with the viewport height. Maybe you can use svh instead of vh
oddo
@Ayoub Abedrabbo - I made some adjustments. Please let me know!
JenX
This is fabulous, Thank You as always Gordo! 🕊️
GordoTEK
Yea I supposed you could just say anything under level 1 = a microdose. Some people consider level 1 a microdose too. Others think if you can feel anything at all, its not a microdose, haha. But I'm not personally into microdosing so much. The alleged benefits don't seem very well established by science so far, and at least one study determined that there was no difference between a true microdose and a placebo. There are also legitimate concerns about heart valve damage from long term regular use of psilocybin although this is not particularly well established by science yet either (more on this in my FAQ: https://www.patreon.com/posts/frequently-asked-22774475 )
GordoTEK
You can use desiccant packets, but yes, if it is breaking and not bending its probably dry enough, if you do the test with a cap you should at least hear some minor snap sound at least if you hold it up by your ear.
oddo
Interesting, I also use Brave on a Google Pixel and I see the "show" link... Disclaimer: I am not a software engineer and have not done thorough testing, but I will try to address any bugs reported. Thank you!
GordoTEK
Awesome, thanks!
Brent
Always great stuff! Thanks Gordo, and Oddo!
DRS
The problem I have is my TTBVI's are so small, it's hard to hear them break. They do break, not bend. I'd love something that you'd put in with your fruit that would definitely indicate it's as dry as you need, but nobody has invented that yet, AFAIK
James Jesso
Very cool. I just shared it and your patreon through my telegram group and on my subreddt. https://t.me/+M7cVfTYCKm9jMjUx https://www.reddit.com/r/ATTMindPodcast/comments/1e5rjoi/a_very_cool_dosing_calculator_for_psilocybin/
Q-Zinart
Thanks for being so thorough. There’s a reason why you are so well respected in this community.
oddo
I'll consider it as a feature request, thanks.
Wazatron
This is amazing! Thank you!! I do have one question, perhaps suggestion? Hard to "ask" for anything more after all the work put into this!! But I am curious, based on the Levels being total or range of PCBE in mg, would it be possible, or perhaps appropriate in this context, to define a PCBE range for microdosing? Perhaps a Level 0? I'm very interested in researching microdose levels and capsule making in addition to the Levels that are part of the calculator.
Ayoub Abedrabbo
I'm on android brave browser. S22
eTanium
Software engineer brain: Not sure who has control to edit the site, but if entered form params are imputed into the URL as hashed key/values, and the initial page load is looking to populate the form with these values, a user could fill out the form with their data, and share it with someone. I am trying to share information with my sister, as she is afraid of taking too much, but she doesn't know anything about the age/strain of my fruits. I'd love to populate this form, and be able to supply her with a URL of a fully populated form.
GordoTEK
Thanks I'll try to see if I can sort that out...
Ayoub Abedrabbo
At the very bottom of the page where it says please read before on mobile, it doesn't show the button. Or the link. On desktop it shows.
Q-Zinart
GordoTEK
I show this in a couple different videos, but the idea is that when its properly dry, you can bend a stem OR cap with two hands and it will snap with an audible sound kind of like what you would hear if you did that with a cracker/wheat thin. So basically just totally dry. If it bends and doesn't snap/break its not dry enough.
Robert Mcdermott
Always wanted to have a reference source to use, great idea.
Christian
Fantastic info, thank you! Quick question, "cracker dry" as opposed to what? Are you saying "as dry as possible", or "only as dry as a cracker, not as dry as _____"?
