Kazakh woman nearly dies after experiment with fly agaric mushrooms

Tengrinews.kz — In Petropavlovsk, doctors spent several days fighting to save the life of a patient who followed a dangerous trend and consumed fly agaric mushrooms "to relieve stress and boost energy".
The 40-year-old woman was admitted to the City Multidisciplinary Emergency Hospital in critical condition. In addition to symptoms of severe intoxication, the patient exhibited aggression, irrational behavior, a lack of self-control, and pronounced psychomotor agitation. According to the woman herself, she had consumed fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) mushrooms prior to the episode.

"Following the necessary examinations, the patient was rushed to the intensive care unit with a diagnosis of 'acute poisoning by an unknown substance.' Co-morbidities and dependency syndrome were also identified," the medical facility's press service reported.

Intensive care doctors literally pulled the patient back from the brink. For four days, they worked to detoxify her body, providing intensive therapy to support vital functions, correct impairments caused by the intoxication, and prevent serious complications.

"Once her condition stabilized, the woman was transferred to the therapeutic department for continued observation and treatment. Upon discharge, the patient was recommended to seek specialized help from a psychiatrist and an addiction specialist," the hospital noted.

Last year, mushroom poisoning led to the hospitalization of five people in the North Kazakhstan Region.
Petropavlovsk doctors noted that the practice of "microdosing" fly agaric mushrooms became fashionable in neighboring countries several years ago, and the trend has recently reached Kazakhstan.
Various products made from dried fly agaric are openly available on several marketplaces, including caps, ground mushrooms, and ready-made capsules containing microdoses of red and panther fly agaric. Prices range from 3,000 to 40,000 tenge depending on the type and quantity.
In their descriptions, sellers claim that small doses of the mushrooms supposedly help manage stress and depression, improve sleep, increase energy and concentration, and even treat various diseases and alcohol addiction.
However, doctors emphasize that there is no such thing as a safe dose of this dangerous fungus.

"Fly agaric and other plants or substances used to alter consciousness are not a safe way to 'relax,' relieve stress, or seek new sensations. It is impossible to predict an individual's reaction or the severity of the resulting intoxication," emphasized doctors at the Petropavlovsk Multidisciplinary Emergency Hospital.

The medical institution warns that poisoning can lead to impaired consciousness, seizures, respiratory distress, and cardiac dysfunction. The outcome can be extremely severe, including death.
Note.According to official medical data, fly agaric mushrooms are dangerous due to their toxic and psychoactive substances, which can cause severe poisoning, brain damage, psychosis, and death. The primary toxic components are muscimol, muscarine, and ibotenic acid—potent neurotoxins and hallucinogens. Ibotenic acid damages brain cells, while muscimol causes psychiatric disorders and hallucinations. The toxin muscarine disrupts the nervous system, constricts blood vessels, slows the heart rate, and can lead to pulmonary edema or suffocation. Additionally, amatoxins and phallotoxins cause rapid destruction of the liver and kidneys.
Fly agaric poisoning can manifest as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, loss of consciousness, psychosis, and extreme agitation.