25-I-NBOH: when intense meets colourful

My first experience with 25-I-NBOH was with a higher than recommended dosage (800 micrograms) and the effects were overwhelming and scary.

25-I-NBOH

In my first experience my visual field was obscured by spinning fractals, tessellated surfaces and other obnoxious visual artifacts that quickly turned chaotic – both as open-eye and closed-eye visuals. My body temperature fluctuated between shivers and profuse sweating, my mind was racing, my heartbeat increased to what I thought was an alarming rate and I was not very happy with the experience.

And then it lasted for 5 hours.

I filed 25-I-NBOH in the "overwhelming" category and abstained from it for almost a year.

Take 2

Yesterday I found some notes I had prepared about my second excursion with 25-I-NBOH. After not thinking about it for a year, I decided to try the experience again but with a lower dosage of 400 micrograms.

The day for this experience was sunny and hot. I was in a happy and optimistic mood.

Administration by a pre-measured paper blotter which I took in the usual way: I brushed my teeth and gums, placed the blotter between cheek and gums for twenty minutes, spit out. I don't swallow the spit or the blotter – very effective to reduce nausea.

After thirty minutes of "spitting the blotter" (T+0:50) the classical effects of a phen start appearing: giddiness, lightness in the extremities, pressure in the temples, random smiling. And energy. Lots of energy that needed to be channelled somewhere productive.

I decided to hit the gym and measure the effects in a more scientific and physically demanding environment than the couch.

By the time I reached the gym (T+1:15) the next obvious effect was a very interesting –I'd even say artistic– shift of the colour perception. It did not affect all colours, only those with high luminosity: bright oranges and bold reds, hot magentas and pinks. Even skin colours looked more saturated.

Subdued browns, greys, blues and greens looked almost exactly the same, but everything had a light violet tinge to it. I wonder if the iodine in 25-I has an effect on the perception of colour – here's a very crude sketch of the colour shift.

Normal vision (left) vs. 25-I-NBOH (right)- saturation is up, with a violet tinge

Hot colours looked almost insolent in their boldness –and in a gym environment there's bold colour everywhere. In shoes, tank tops, shorts and sports equipment. Eye candy. 

Ambient and electronic music were fantastic –but more upbeat tunes were overwhelming and confusing. I did not enjoy dance music or pop under the influence.

I was very pleased with the surroundings in the gym, and started with the testing of the heartbeat rate in a stationary bike. Initially my heartbeat was 10% higher than usual and as I went through the test I noticed that it climbed another 10% –still within limits, but definitely out of order for only five minutes of exertion.

A thought of "...should I stop doing this?" came over me and I could see the heart monitor going up three or four notches  in 30 seconds. It felt like I could control the heartbeat rate.

At that moment I decided to calm down, breathe deeply, relax and stop worrying. I had to think happy thoughts and be calm – to my astonishment, the heart rate went from 120 to 105 in two minutes (while still pedalling at the same speed). I have never seen anything like this, anywhere, and reinforces my initial thought: 25-I-NBOH is a demanding chem. You do not want to force yourself into a high-energy situation.

After another twenty minutes of easy pedalling I finished the exercise, cooled down and went in a cold shower. My heartbeat had stabilised to 15 to 20% above usual, my pupils were huge and I felt fantastic. I was anxious but not paranoid, happy thoughts still in my mind. With that, I left the gym and returned home.

That night I had a scrumptious dinner and after watching TV I went to bed –but I could not manage to sleep. A very common side-effect of phens.

This experience changed my mind about 25-I-NBOH. I have a new respect and even fondness for it. It's a great compound but it's difficult to work with. It needs "eye for the detail" and the right "set and setting" – it can quickly turn into an uncontrollable ride. It seems excellent for a colourful afternoon in a museum, park or even, an outdoor physical experience like a hike.

But I will never, ever drop 25-I-NBOH to go to a rave, a house-party or to a chaotic and unpredictable scene.

I am not in a rush to try it but once a every blue moon. It seems to be stable and keeping well –after a year of buying this batch, stored in a dark, cool drawer, it still seems to be potent.