Ecstasy / MDMA

Alcohol lessens the effects of MDMA. Also the desired effects. So you feel less of the MDMA. There is a chance that you will then take more MDMA to get a bit more effect.
You may also be less aware that you have had too much to drink. When your MDMA wears off, you are suddenly very drunk. The hangover will also be much bigger the next day.

Some users find it a pleasant combination. Cannabis can soften the ecstasy rush, especially at the end of the experience. However, it can also make the experience a bit more vague, which is not always positive.

Some people say that GHB would prolong the action of MDMA. The combination can make you push your limits even more than the individual drugs. GHB and MDMA alone often cause someone to go further than they would do sober. The combination can enhance this effect. So keep that in mind. Don’t do things that you later regret.

Some people think that the combination of MDMA and/or amphetamine (speed) with GHB can prevent you from passing out. It is true that your mind may feel clearer than if you were taking GHB alone. But you can still pass out. There is some evidence that if you lose consciousness from a GHB overdose, your coma may be deeper and longer if you have also taken speed or MDMA. Therefore, never use uppers to avoid passing out.

It changes the XTC/MDMA experience. After using MDMA, many people indicate that they already have some hallucinations (crash barriers, bar tables, sunglasses, etc.). Ketamine increases the risk of hallucinations. This can be fun, but also scary. The experience becomes much more vague. Some take ketamine after the MDMA to take the sharp edges off the end.

With both drugs, people often suffer from memory problems when they are under the influence. You can no longer come up with names, for example. Or you don’t remember what you just did. The combination enhances that effect. Writing down when you took something can prevent you from accidentally overdosing.

There is a chance that the combination will make you more impulsive. Something stupid or dangerous seems like a good idea. A sober tripsitter can keep you from doing risky things.

If you choose to combine, take less of both drugs. Or wait until one of the two has significantly decreased in strength. If you have no experience with MDMA or ketamine, make sure you have experience with both drugs separately.

Both ketamine and MDMA increase heart rate. This can put an extra burden on your heart and blood vessels. If you have heart problems, the combination is not recommended.

Under the influence of XTC/MDMA, laughing gas can intensify the trip. This can be fun, but also scary, if it’s too intense.

It can be tempting to just keep taking balloons. It is best to enjoy this in moderation. See also the risks of nitrous oxide.

Combining MDMA with uppers mainly ensures that you notice less of the MDMA. The desired effects, such as euphoria, are smoothed out. So you feel less of the MDMA. There is a chance that you will then take more MDMA to get a bit more effect. The uppers also remove the vagueness of the MDMA. You feel a little brighter.
The more MDMA you take and if you combine it with other uppers, the bigger the hangover. You feel empty and exhausted.
The combination also causes more brain damage. And a greater load on the heart and blood vessels.

If you’re depressed, it’s definitely not a good idea to take MDMA. If you’re on modern antidepressants, known as SSRIs, you will probably feel little to nothing from the MDMA. The effect of MDMA on the messenger substance serotonin is blocked in your brain. However, you can experience side effects of the MDMA that works on other messenger substances, such as noradrenaline and dopamine. These are mainly the effects that people do not want to have.

If you take an old type of antidepressant, called MAO inhibitors, it is very dangerous to use various drugs, including MDMA. Your blood pressure can rise to dangerous levels and you have a higher risk of serotonin syndrome.

MDMA also disrupts the balance in your brain. You may feel good for a while, but then you feel worse. This just makes it harder to feel better overall.

A side effect of MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy, is that your vision isn’t as good as it normally is. For example, you can’t focus as well because your eyes move quickly back and forth. Your brain likes to understand things. So it will then fill in things so that you can see things that are not there (hallucinate). People see bar tables for example, or fences or sunglasses. If you take a high dose, you will get hallucinations faster.

Ecstasy generally ensures that you have more energy and that you feel more connected to the people around you. You may feel the need to talk a lot and tell your friends how much you love them.

But: those effects are not always the same and they are not the same for everyone. A high dose can make you introverted. You then feel less like communicating with others. If you are not feeling well mentally or if you are not enjoying yourself, you can also become more introverted. So watch your dosage.

Ecstasy (MDMA) activates the ADH (antidiuretic hormone) hormone. This hormone normally ensures that you do not urinate all your body fluids. If you use MDMA, this hormone is extra activated. Your kidneys then excrete less water through the urine. In other words, there is less fluid in your bladder to urinate. That is why it is important not to drink too much while under the influence of MDMA. Otherwise, there is a risk of water poisoning. Do not drink more than 1 – 2 glasses of water or soda per hour. Want to know more about water poisoning? We made an animation about this.

Pupil size is determined by two different types of muscles: muscles that contract the pupil and muscles that dilate the pupil. These muscles keep each other in balance. When you take ecstasy (MDMA), substances (neurotransmitters) are released in your body that lead to a so-called ‘fight or flight’ reaction. As part of this response, they stimulate the muscles that dilate your pupils, giving these muscles the upper hand. This will give you large pupils.

XTC (MDMA) use increases muscle tension and that also happens with the jaw muscles. Unfortunately, teeth grinding can be an annoying side effect of XTC. The higher the dose, the more tension on the muscles. Magnesium can lower muscle tone. You can get this from food or from supplements. Magnesium citrate tablets are well absorbed by the body. Supplements work especially when you have a magnesium deficiency. This helps against muscle soreness in the days after MDMA use. You can prevent damage to the tooth enamel by chewing gum without sugar.

Everything! It just takes a bit of effort.

Often ecstasy (MDMA) users have no appetite at all after taking it. Nevertheless, food is an important element, also during the party. Your body burns extra energy and therefore desperately needs that food. It won’t be a three-course meal, but a banana is also effective! Or a cup of soup. A visitor once said: “I just sit down. Then I do nothing but eat my food for 15 minutes. After that I feel much better.”

Eating before, during and after using MDMA not only ensures that you are fitter, but also that you recover faster. Look here for more information and nutrition tips!

Usually this is not the case. Most ecstasy pills contain only MDMA or an MDMA-like substance. Amphetamine (speed) is rarely encountered by the testing services (<1%). This is one of the most persistent myths that we hear at Unity. Why is this often thought? Amphetamine and MDMA are both amphetamines and both have a stimulant effect. The more MDMA you take, the more the stimulant effects of the MDMA you will notice, and the less the euphoric effects will be noticeable. Do you have the idea that there is often speed in your pills? Then there is a good chance that you dose too high or use it too often. Try taking a little less next time. About 1 – 1.5 mg per kilogram of body weight. And are you curious about what is really in your pills? Then have them tested at one of the many test services in the Netherlands.

Yes, that’s possible. There are several ways you can die from MDMA. Too high a dose of MDMA can make your body temperature so high that your muscles dissolve. The loose pieces will then roam through the body and clog your organs. They can no longer function normally. You can die from this. But your blood can also clot for example, you can have a heart attack and there is a risk of an epileptic attack.

A hangover can occur after using a drug. This is especially the case with ecstasy/MDMA. You feel tired, depressed, sad, listless, hypersensitive and empty. How bad the Tuesday blues is differs from person to person. But users often report things like fatigue and bad mood in the days after use. It is unclear what exactly causes the hangover in a drug. But a high dose, combination use and dancing in combination with little food and little or no sleep certainly play a major role.

There are certain supplements you can take after taking ecstasy to limit the negative effects of your dip. L-tryptophan is a supplement that can be used. This helps in the production of serotonin. 5-HTP also helps with the production of serotonin, but is not recommended because you can also take too much of it. Furthermore, taking antioxidants is useful. You can get this best from your diet, for example broccoli, spinach and in fruits such as apples, blackberries and cranberries. Furthermore, supplements such as vitamins C and E, zinc and selenium.

More about l-tryptophan and 5-HTP.

MDMA appears to be harmful to the brain cells that use serotonin as a messenger (neurotransmitter). One of the most important parts of the brain for memory, the hippocampus, has many serotonergic brain cells. The hippocampus ensures that memories from your short-term memory are stored in the long-term memory so that you will remember it in 5 years and hopefully at 90. Check this page for more information on this topic!

4-FA is a stimulant that can cause complaints on your cardiovascular system. This risk is increased by combining it with other stimulants such as speed or MDMA. The effects reinforce each other and because 4-FA continues to work for a long time, you increase the risk of unpleasant side effects and risks such as: tight jaws, muscle tension, heart palpitations, pressure on the chest, sleeping problems, a strong hangover and hangover the days after. You are also more likely to suffer from severe headaches.

Always make sure that you are and remain safe yourself. If you are in danger, you cannot help the person in need.
Find a quiet place with the one who is having a hard time. Don’t try to deny that he/she is having a bad trip. Try to reassure him/her: he/she has taken drugs and the effects and thus the bad trip always wear off. Ask the person about what they are experiencing and try to talk the trip on a positive side without downplaying it. For example, by giving a positive meaning to the things he/she sees. Try to do things that make him/her feel comfortable, such as moving or singing. See if it makes sense to talk about pleasant things. Distraction can also help, for example by drawing. Let your voice sound calm and reassuring.
Make sure that the user does not end up in dangerous situations such as traffic. Call emergency services if it becomes unsafe for the user or his environment or if the bad trip is too intense to solve it yourself.

Both substances have an effect on the serotonin balance in your body. As a result, you quickly build up a tolerance if you use it within a few weeks. You will also experience more adverse long-term effects such as brain damage and depressive symptoms. Make sure that you always give your body time to let the serotonin balance recover and do not use substances that have an impact on your serotonine balance more often than once every 6-8 weeks.

Some complaints after using drugs can last longer, A medical explanation or even treatment may then be necessary. The Brijder has set up a national consultancy for party drugs related medical complaints. If you have medical complaints after the use of party drugs, you can call the consultancy: 088 – 358 29 40. This service is only available in the Netherlands.

To be able to weigh a certain dose properly, you need a good scale. Have a scale that can weigh milligrams, to 3 decimal places (0.001 mg). A scale that weighs 0.01 (2 decimal places) may be just accurate enough for MDMA, but not for many other substances.

Where can you find such a scale?

On the large international online webshops you can find scales for around 20 euros that can weigh 3 figures after the decimal point. You can buy empty capsules in different sizes at pharmacies, smart shops or drugstores. Some are also suitable for vegetarians. You can write the drug and dosage on the capsule with a waterproof marker or a CD marker.

It is not possible to tell from the outside how much MDMA an ecstasy pill contains. In addition, an ecstasy pill can also contain substances other than MDMA. The only way to know how much MDMA is in your pill is to have it tested. This can be done for free with all test services in the Netherlands.

Here you can find the annual reports of the test service.