Struggling With 5-MeO-DMT Breakthroughs Despite Very High Plugged Doses

[Enizeo]

I've reached a point in my spiritual journey where I'm sincerely questioning what the fuck is wrong.

I’ve been seriously trying to break through for a long time, and I want to give you the full picture so you can see my situation clearly.

Substance & ROA:
– 5-MeO-DMT freebase, dissolved in vinegar
– Plugged, following Leo’s plugging protocol exactly
– Same batch and method used by two of my close friends — both broke through easily
– Onset is fast (1–3 min), peak hits hard, and the entire experience fades after ~20 min
– Body load is intense, especially dry heaving, but no nausea (empty stomach)

Doses attempted:
– Past: up to 30 mg
– Current streak: 20 → 35 → 40 → 45 → 53(!) mg plugged
At these levels, I assume a breakthrough should be happening, given my friends’ results.

Phenomenology:
– Extremely heavy body load
– Very intense sensations
– Strong alteration of state
– But “I” remain coherent and do not “break through”
– After ~20 min the peak is over, then the experience fades over the next hour.

My mind during the peak:
– There is still a sense of agency
– I catch myself subtly monitoring the experience (“is it happening?”)
– When I notice this, I relax it
– No major fear during the peak (just pre-trip anxiety because high doses are uncomfortable)
– Experience is mostly abstract/intense, not visionary

My psychedelic background:
– Extensive LSD use (many trips, though not always serious)
– Mushrooms, ketamine, ayahuasca, MDMA, DXM
– I’ve had one LSD breakthrough 3 months ago that felt meaningful, although I can see that it goes a lot deeper. I became conscious of the distinction between actuality and imagination, unity, and that time/people/places are imagined — but there was a subtle sense of I throughout.
– Basically: I have never had a full ego death on any psychedelic, despite many attempts

My spiritual practice background:
– Started 10 years ago, at the age of ~18 when I found Leo
– Meditation, self-inquiry, Hatha Yoga, Kriya Yoga
– Two 10-day Vipassana retreats
– I've had many distracted periods and some periods of 1–3 months with daily practice (30–60 min)
– Read and listened to quite a lot of spiritual stuff (Ralston etc.)
– Watched all of Leo’s videos at least once
– Plenty of breathwork
– No major nondual breakthroughs outside psychedelics

My mind’s baseline nature:
– Highly conceptual, analytical, active
– I’m intelligent and curious, easily pulled into thought
– Concentration meditation has always been difficult
– My mind tracks things automatically, even when I try to relax it

My emotional orientation:
– I don’t fear the breakthrough
– My real fear is: “What if it never happens for me?”
– After 10 years of trying, I don’t know what else to do
– There’s a deep longing for Truth / God / direct realization
– I feel confused why I’m not progressing despite consistent effort and very high doses
– At this point, I'm really longing for guidance because I can't seem to proceed on my own

My question:
Given this entire picture —
why am I not breaking through, even at 45–53 mg plugged?
Is this purely psychological resistance?
Epistemic resistance?
Energetic block?
Something about my baseline consciousness?
Or something about how my mind “grips” experience even at high doses?

Any insights would be massively appreciated.

Edited November 29 by Enizeo

[Leo Gura]

So, this is purely genetic.

I suggest trying other chemicals like salvia, THCA, DMT, etc.

You need some other chem.

You seem to have a pretty high tolerance. This means you need to look for chems that have low body load so you can take them in higher dose.

If LSD works for you, higher dose there might be your best bet.

Edited November 29 by Leo Gura

[OBEler]

@Enizeo unfortunately you are not sensitive. My girlfriend needs 10 mg  5 Meo plugged to have a breakthrough.

I would consider to combine substances.

 

[Verg0]

Have you tried vaping the 5-MeO-DMT? 

[Tristan12]

For me, when vaping 5-MeO-DMT, I have normal sensitivity. But when plugging 5-MeO-DMT HCl, I have largely increased sensitivity. I think 25-30mg of 5-MeO-DMT HCl plugged is a large, breakthrough dose, but for me it is a low dose, same as about 1 full hit of my vape (1 hit is a low dose, 2-3 is medium, 3-5 is large/breakthrough)

[LambdaDelta]

Try it intramuscularly before moving on. I was in a similar situation, the 5-MeO's and base tryptamines simply would not work or at best have some pathetic, short-lasting effect. I've tried vaporized, insufflated, and rectal multiple times with different batches, all a waste. Then I experimented with IM and everything clicked, now these substances are among my most used. 5mg of 5-MeO's could be a breakthrough, 8+ definitely is, and I have a low sensitivity to every psychoactive.  
It is not guaranteed to work, DMT still has zero effect on me, but the others were fixed.  

Do not use freebase for this under any circumstance, pure HCl or another salt is required. 
https://www.reddit.com/r/5MeODMT/comments/1bhtmum/warning_my_experience_with_rapid_onset_cataract/

[Psychonaut]

I am a high dose psychedelics user. For me I would go up to 60 - 65mg before giving up.

I took 5-meo years ago and broke through on 50mg or so. Now the experiences are very different. No purging, no fear, no desires but also nothing really that I would classify as a real breakthrough. I am currently also at about 50mg.

If you have something that can already switch of your mind a little bit. Like some dissociative maybe. That might help.

5-meo-dmt can easily be combined with other psychedelics. You could do a LSD trip and prepare 2-3 syringes of 5-meo-dmt and just take it on the trip. 

Just don't force it. I tried to force it years ago and traumatized myself. Always do everything with self love and care. Maybe you also just need a few more trips to prepare the body. Seeing your friends breakthrough is just your ego wanting that experience. Relax it. You will get there. Relax and just try with love. Eventually it'll work.

[Ramasta9]

What are you truly seeking? Maybe you are going about it the wrong way? Have you ever considered maybe its time to try something else and take a break? Usually when things are not working in the way you want them to work is because there is something there trying to show you: Hey ! (this is not working for you right now), its out of alignment with what you may need. The mind will endlessly chase and seek the next high or peak experience, but its never nourished, only inflated more, leaving you miserable and more empty over time, maybe its time now to apply and live those trips and integrate them, give your nervous system a break and relax a little, try take a different turn in life, see how that goes for a while, you might discover something else entirely, hope this helps my friend

[Enizeo]

Thank you all for your suggestions! I have an interesting update:

tl;dr: I tried smoking it with better equipment than I had on previous attempts, and it works surprisingly better for me in every way.

 

I had tried smoking/vaping it about a year ago, and it didn't really work, very weak trip. At the time, I didn't have access to a lot of 5-MeO, so I moved on quickly to plugging, so I won't waste any.

After reading the comments here, I reconsidered, whether the RoA might actually be suboptimal for me. Thinking about it, I remembered that plugged Ketamine was a lot weaker for me than expected, compared to insufflated. Also, I now have access to a bong that is optimized for dab (cannabis resin), whereas before I tried a regular crack pipe and the Vapor Genie.

So I threw 330 mgin that bong and gave it a shot. I didn't get the technique perfect (too little heat), but immediately I noticed that it's working so much better. I had almost no body load or unpleasant sensations, just the stuff I'm looking or—consciousness. The smoke doesn't burn too much in the lungs, unlike what I know from N,N-DMT. The duration and curve is very similar to plugging for me, so really no downside.

I got excited and tried to see whether it would build tolerance, so I tried to get the rest out of the bong. No noticeable tolerance and my technique was better this time, so I was able to trip quite a bit harder. Not breakthrough territory, but very promising.

I later made another attempt with fresh 30 mg. Again, I didn't manage to get all of it in one hit, but it really hit me hard. I got a little scared and disoriented, but I think that this is a dose that I could break through with if I navigate it more skillfully. I also ordered little glass pearls that you can put in the dab head to increase the surface area. This way, I hope to be able to actually get these kinds of doses and even higher ones in one hit, because going for a second one is really unrealistic. I'm trying that tomorrow morning and will post an update.