Astral Codex Ten

amphetamine

3 min read

amphetamine

Article

amphetamine is a recurring concept in the Astral Codex Ten archive, appearing 2 times across 2 issues between April 12, 2021 and November 16, 2022. The archive places it in contexts such as “that medication is amphetamine”; “MAOIs and amphetamines”. It most often appears alongside @AutismCapital, A Whirlwind Tour Of Ethereum Finance, Adderall.

Metadata

  • Category: Concepts
  • Mention count: 2
  • Issue count: 2
  • First seen: April 12, 2021
  • Last seen: November 16, 2022

Appears In

Source Context

Recovered passages from the original issue text. When the raw archive preserved outbound links inside the source passage, they are listed directly under the quote.

Links For April
April 12, 2021 · Original source
25: The good news - a commonly used medication, when taken together with opioid painkillers, makes them much more effective - so that even a low dose might be able to block pain effectively. The bad news - that medication is amphetamine. It’s probably still worth it.
Inline links: It’s probably still worth it
The Psychopharmacology Of The FTX Crash
November 16, 2022 · Original source
This is what happens with serotonin. If you take a drug that prevents serotonin breakdown (like a traditional MAOI) and a drug that prevents serotonin reuptake (like an SSRI) at the same time, you definitely die. Lots of doctors have noticed that the MAOI + stimulant situation is pretty similar and decided you shouldn’t take these at the same time either. So some people following the FTX situation have wondered whether this combo might have been very dangerous - either to Sam’s health or to his risk-management ability. My verdict: this is a bad idea but - surprisingly! - probably won’t literally kill you.
MAOI expert Dr. Ken Gillman writes about MAOIs and amphetamines, but I think the lessons more or less carry over to MAOIs and modafinil:
Inline links: writes about MAOIs and amphetamines
One or two recent papers about the mechanisms of action of MAOIs and amphetamine at the molecular level suggest why the combination of amphetamine (with MAOIs) is not unduly risky as has been (mis)stated for so long. Care and experience are required but it can be done safely although small increases in dose do sometimes seem to have disproportionate effects.