Yes—SN has side effects, and if you're not prepared for them, they can absolutely interfere with the outcome.
The primary effect is methemoglobinemia, where your blood loses its ability to carry oxygen. This leads to lightheadedness, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, cyanosis (bluish skin), rapid heart rate, and eventually loss of consciousness—
if the dose is sufficient and retained.
The biggest risk factor in failure is vomiting before enough SN is absorbed. This is why antiemetics like metoclopramide or ondansetron are strongly recommended. They reduce nausea and increase gastric motility, allowing absorption to happen faster and more completely.
If you can't access antiemetics, you still need to do the following to reduce the risk of vomiting:
- Fast for at least 6 hours before ingestion. An empty stomach reduces nausea.
- Avoid large volumes of water or fluid immediately before or after SN.
- Use split dosing only if you know what you're doing; some people tolerate multiple smaller glasses better than one large one.
- Avoid physical or emotional stress before taking the dose. Panic can trigger nausea.
- Test your stomach with a small SN dose beforehand (some do 1g in water) to check sensitivity—but be aware this can backfire psychologically.
Even with all precautions, vomiting is still a possibility. Some people vomit and still pass. Others vomit and fail. It's unpredictable without antiemetics.
If you're considering this method without full access to preparation, I would urge caution. Partial preparation = high risk of failure and hospitalisation—and from there, the method becomes widely known, and often more restricted.
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