Morning glory seed ingestion?

[Mr. Freeze]

Does anyone have any experience with patients that have taken morning glory seeds as a recreational drug?

It is starting to become quite a problem in my locale and not a whole lot can be done; they aren't exactly illegal...

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[ISU_Steve]

I was under the impression that morning glory seeds had to be treated with chemical that made them "unpleasant" to eat (i.e., emetic) in order to be sold, but I could be wrong.

I've only seen one person who has taken them, and he was puking his brains out (it happened to be my friend TJ) and when I asked an ER doctor about this he told me that the vomiting was an effect from the stuff that's put on the seeds.

According to Ellenhorn's Medical Toxicology (p. 1867), the treatment for morning glory seed ingestion (and by the way, it takes something on the order of 200-300 seeds to produce an effect), the treatment consists of supportive care and diazepam as the sedative of choice with most symptoms resolving within 8 hrs.

 

[fuegorama]

Agree w/ Steve on the store bought coating=emetic.
However, in my experience the typical source of these little beuts are post-plow combine chaff chutes. The seeds get churned up from soil when new ground is plowed. I spent a short career in soil science on an experimental farm. The old guys (50s-60s) would start their weekends cleaning out the trays, mashing up a slurry and washing this down with a tall boy. When queried this one guy told me "it gives my beer just a little kick".

It was pretty kooky seeing old farm hands ingesting a poor-boy psychedelic while listening to Hank standards.

The worst outcome was a self-limited drug-induced anxiety. I only recognized this later. It seemed very similar to a the s/s reported by a poor hippy chick I cared for while doing stand-by at music festival. Her high was coming from 'shrooms'. Benzos were still the ticket.

If you have someone admitting ingestion, it would be prudent to call poison control after IDing the substance. It would be kinda silly to miss another, more serious, agrarian cheap high...like jimson weed.

 

[ISU_Steve]

Eh...I wouldn't think you'd mistake Jimson weed toxicity for morning glory toxicity.....I've seen one case (with 4 patients) of Jimson weed use and I will never forget that toxidrome.

 

[fuegorama]

Eh...I wouldn't think you'd mistake Jimson weed toxicity for morning glory toxicity.....I've seen one case (with 4 patients) of Jimson weed use and I will never forget that toxidrome.

You're right, but the 'Mad as a Hatter' bit might be mistaken for early anxiety induced by mg seeds (albeit a stretch). I was referring more to the import of IDing substances when available.
Let's take those guys I was talking about.

Tachy, anxious, probably hot (but probably wet ) 50 year old male presents w/hx. of "eatin' some stuff on the farm 'bout an hour ago".
DDX?
I reckon this is why we follow toxidromes.

 

[I Am Wondering]

Sorry

 

[joeDO2]

Hi,
I realize this is an old thread, but I stumbled upon it in my attempt to do some research about something that has been on my mind. I am not a medical student but I have immense respect for the profession. I thought one of you might be able to provide some insight. Well, it is worth trying. About ten years ago, I made an unfortunate and unwise decision to ingest ground up morning glory seeds. Yes, the ones with the warning on the package. I didn't get terribly sick, at least physically (mentally is another story), I just threw up. However, years later, in 2009 I was diagnosed with and treated for Hodgkin's Disease. I have been in remission ever since. I have more than once wondered if the poison that was probably on those seeds had anything to do with my getting cancer. More recently, fertility has been a concern and I am wondering the stupid decision I made as a teenager could have permanently affected my ability to conceive. The reason I wonder about this is that in both cases, cancer and fertility issues, I have read that exposure to pesticides could be a factor. Which makes me wonder...did I expose myself to these chemicals, enough so then, that these consequences could still be visiting me now. If anyone has any insight, I would greatly appreciate it.

I see you are new to sdn- it is not for medical advice, sorry.