Why Your Truffles Didn’t Work

You took a normal dose, waited an hour and a half, and nothing happened. A weak or missing trip almost always has a cause, and usually it’s one you can fix. Here are the most common ones.

First, check which truffle you chose. We rate our truffles from 1 to 5, from the mild Mexicana to the strong Galindoi. A light type in less than the recommended dose may do very little. That isn’t a bad batch. For a clearer experience, go a step up the scale.

The most common cause is tolerance. After one trip, the same dose works noticeably less well for one to two weeks, and recent use of LSD or other psychedelics has the same effect. Leave at least two weeks between sessions.

Antidepressants matter a lot. SSRIs and SNRIs can weaken the trip, sometimes almost completely, even weeks or months after stopping. Never stop your medication without talking to your doctor, and never combine truffles with lithium.

A full stomach slows absorption, so the effects come on later and feel weaker. Take them on an empty stomach and chew well. Many users find that soaking chopped truffles in lemon juice for 15 minutes, known as “lemon tek”, makes the trip stronger.

Sugar is often used to soften a trip that feels too intense, and some customers say their trip faded after something sweet. Science hasn’t tested this yet, but if you want the full experience, avoid sugary food and drinks before and during your trip.

Cannabis may play a role too. Some regular smokers say truffles affect them less, but this hasn’t been properly researched. Smoking during a trip often makes the effects stronger.

Personal sensitivity varies a lot. Body weight, metabolism and brain chemistry differ, so 10 grams is plenty for some and light for others. Potency also differs between batches, so store your truffles in the fridge and use them before the expiry date.

Then there’s set and setting. If you’re tense or nervous, your mind can partly hold back the effects. A trip can also start so subtly that you only notice it when you go outside or put on music. Psilocybin doesn’t always mean strong visuals. Sometimes it shows up as a change in mood or in how sounds feel.

Your personality may also play a part. A large Swiss study combined the results of 409 psilocybin sessions. Dose was by far the biggest factor in how intense a trip felt, but a personality trait called absorption came next. People who easily lose themselves in music, a film or a daydream tend to have stronger trips with more visuals. People with a more grounded or analytical mindset often have a calmer experience, and some barely see any visuals at all. That has nothing to do with having a strong or weak mind. Brains simply work differently, and research suggests this is partly linked to your genes.

Your body on the day counts as well. Stress, poor sleep, feeling ill or a hangover can all change how a trip feels, although science hasn’t studied this properly yet. Researchers are also starting to look at gut bacteria, since psilocybin becomes active in your gut, but that research is still very new. Alcohol makes a trip unpredictable and raises the chance of nausea and a bad time, so it’s best to skip it.

A few people are naturally very insensitive to psilocybin and feel little even from a full dose, while others feel a lot from a small amount. Both are rare, so one of the reasons above is far more likely.

Science is still learning why the same dose affects people so differently. If your truffles didn’t work, don’t take a second dose right away, because a late start can turn a top-up into a much stronger trip than planned. Next time, we strongly recommend 10 grams, or at least 7. Wait two weeks after your last trip, take them on an empty stomach, chew well, sleep well the night before and choose a place where you feel at ease. If it still feels too weak, a stronger type may suit you better, and our team is happy to help you choose