Spiral Erowid Zip Hoodie
This black mid-weight zip hoodie (80/20) has front pockets,
an Erowid logo on front chest, and a spiral design on back.
Donate and receive yours!
Near-Death Experience
Heimia salicifolia (Sinicuichi) & Alcohol
Citation:   Oranos. "Near-Death Experience: An Experience with Heimia salicifolia (Sinicuichi) & Alcohol (exp60642)". Erowid.org. Apr 1, 2007. erowid.org/exp/60642

 
DOSE:
6.0 g smoked Heimia salicifolia (extract)
BODY WEIGHT: 135 lb
A few weeks ago, I ordered a quantity of sinicuichi from an online distributor along with a few other herbs (wild dagga, dream herb, etc.). When the package arrived in the mail I was eccstatic. I couldn't wait to see what all the fuss was about.

Last night, I was with a few friends at my apartment when I decided to attempt to make sinicuichi extract, following the instructions on another's post. On the post, the recommended amount to use to start was 10g, but I decided that since this was my first time to use less. I took 6g of the plant material and boiled it in about a cup of water for about a half hour. Once the water turned a dark brown color, I strained the leaves and boiled them again in fresh water. Once this water turned brown, I added it to the previous water and boiled for a third time. Once I had almost a cup of this dark brown, bitter liquid, I began to boil it down. I've heard of boiling this substance down to a shot-glass worth and gulping it down, but the taste is terrible and I wanted to try to get more potent effects by creating an extract.
Once the water boiled down to about 50mL, a yellow film appeared on the side of the pot. Once boiled even more, the remaining water turned into a brown goop at the bottom of the pot. I allowed this 'goop' to cool and harden, and when it did I scraped the pot clean and put the results in a bag. What I was left with looked almost like very cheap cannibis, and a decent amount of crystalline powder. I am not sure if I boiled the liquid down enough, or even prepared the sinicuichi in the correct way, but all I knew was that I wanted to smoke it.

Time = 0

I packed a pipe with a small amount of the substance, I would say about .15-.2 of a gram worth. My 3 friends and I then preceded to smoke it, and even with such a small amount the pipe went around the circle twice. As it burned, the substance and ash hardened in the pipe allowing for an extra hit or two. From the first hit, I felt it in my lungs, a heavy, thick-smoke feeling.

Time = +5 mins

Within 5 minutes, I had an extreme light-headed feeling, and felt very similiar to being 'stoned'. We were all laughing at not much of anything and commenting on how the extract worked better than we thought it would.

Time = +15 mins

My friends passed out within another 10 minutes (granted we were drinking quasi-heavily before this, but that is besides the point). As I walked into my room around 3, definitely still feeling effects, I hopped on the computer. All was well. I felt light-headed and somewhat stoned and my chest felt heavy.


Time = +30 mins

Rather suddenly, I began to feel cold. I put on an extra shirt, but it just made it worse. Within minutes I was full-blown shivering and decided it was best to lie down. Before I could, the heaviness in my chest worsened, and I could feel my breathing passages shut tight like an asthma attack.'OK, don't panic,' I told myself, 'This is just from the smoke, it will pass in a few minutes.' Not true. Once I began to shiver, my lungs filled up with liquid. I could only take a breath 1/3 of that of my normal breath and an attempt to breathe any harder caused extreme pain in the chest and made me feel as if I was about to vomit/faint. I thought if I lied down it would go away, but it did not. The more that time passed, the harder it got to breathe. I struggled to gasp for air, taking the biggest breath I could, but still it got worse. I stumbled into the bathroom at this point, unable to walk as my limbs were not functioning properly. I sprawled out on the bathroom floor in front of the toilet (not one of my prouder moments) gasping for air for dear life. My lungs were getting tighter and tighter and I found it almost impossible to breathe. The deeper breath I took the worse I felt. For over an hour I laid on that floor, pleading with an unknown creator not to let me die in such a unglamorous fashion. I was beginning to lose my grip and could feel darkness setting in. I thought that was it.

Time = +1 1/2 hours

With my last ounce of strength I forced myself to drink from the faucet as my mouth was drier than sandpaper. Doing so felt refreshing for a quick moment, then brought about extreme pain in the chest as if someone was squeezing me as hard as they could. I could only drink a mouthful. I dragged myself back to bed. It was a little after 4 now. The rest of the night was filled with me tossing and turning every 30 seconds trying to find a position that allowed me to breath easier, but there was none. I stared at the clock on my nightstand for hours, watching minutes tick away, all the while wondering if this was the picture wrap for yours truly. I thought about how much I still wanted to accomplish in life and kept hoping that my lungs might suddenly open back up and I could breathe again normally. That never happened. Instead I was forced to rip off my clothes as they had become drenched in sweat, and all the while I was shivering uncontrollably. I thought with the water in my lungs that I was developing pneumonia. That still could be the case.

Time = +10 hours

The time was about 11:30 am now, and breathing got slightly easier. I did not sleep a wink all night. My mouth is so dry my lips were stuck together and I had to tear them open. Deep breaths are still impossible, but I can take slightly deeper breaths than I could before. My girlfriend called around 12:30 but I could only squeak out a few words. She's on her way now to take me to the hospital. I don't know what I'm going to tell them. As I write this it is 2:30 in the afternoon. I did not sleep all night. I cannot move my limbs well, my mouth is still bone-dry and I have a terrible taste in my mouhth. I can still only breathe a small amount, enough to keep me living. I don't know if my breathing passages are closed (like an asthma attack which I've gotten very infrequently, but this was no asthma attack), if my lungs were filled with water, or if one of my lungs collapsed (it happened to a friend of mine 3 times already). I am honestly extremely surprised I made it through the night. When I finally got up my friends had vanished back to their own apartments, but I was never able to talk to them to find out how they reacted. When I do, I will post their answers. For now, I will be bed-ridden until tomorrow when I have work (provided I make it that long). I feel like I have an extreme fever, and am only breathing with a quarter of a lung.

Last night was the worst experience of my life. I had heard so many glowing reports about sinicuichi that I was so excited to try it. Perhaps I had a bad batch. Or perhaps I prepared it completely wrong (it was my first extraction). Rather still, it could just be my own personal reaction to it due to my chemical composition. I'm just happy I didn't take more than a hit or two, otherwise I might not be here to write this. I warn to take EXTREME CAUTION with this herb unless you know exactly what you're doing (I didn't). Maybe this will be the best herb you ever try, or maybe like me you'll find yourself paying homage to the porcelain god, struggling to take every breath, wondering if each would be your last, trying to fight blacking out. I just had to write this experience on here to warn others, because what happened to me last night I would not wish upon my worst enemy.

Exp Year: 2007ExpID: 60642
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Apr 1, 2007Views: 25,939
[ View PDF (to print) ] [ View LaTeX (for geeks) ] [ Swap Dark/Light ]
Heimia salicifolia (150) : First Times (2), Combinations (3), Preparation / Recipes (30), Difficult Experiences (5), Health Problems (27), Hangover / Days After (46), Bad Trips (6), Small Group (2-9) (17)

COPYRIGHTS: All reports copyright Erowid.
No AI Training use allowed without written permission.
TERMS OF USE: By accessing this page, you agree not to download, analyze, distill, reuse, digest, or feed into any AI-type system the report data without first contacting Erowid Center and receiving written permission.

Experience Reports are the writings and opinions of the authors who submit them. Some of the activities described are dangerous and/or illegal and none are recommended by Erowid Center.


Experience Vaults Index Full List of Substances Search Submit Report User Settings About Main Psychoactive Vaults