Chronic migraine can greatly affect your life, especially when the pain arrives suddenly and traditional medications don't seem to help. An alternative remedy currently being studied may offer help for many with migraine: psilocybin.
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring chemical inside certain types of mushrooms, sometimes called "magic mushrooms." The chemical has hallucinogenic effects, making sights, sounds, and emotions feel stronger or distorted, among other effects. Psilocybin has a long history of being used during traditional and spiritual ceremonies to promote healing.
Research into psilocybin's effects is currently underway for several health conditions, including mental illnesses, substance use disorders, and migraine. Early research shows psilocybin may help ease chronic pain, perhaps including migraine pain.
Keep in mind that psilocybin is considered a controlled substance at the federal level and remains illegal. But many states have decriminalized psilocybin or made laws that govern its production, sale, or administration.
Make sure you understand your state law before considering psilocybin to treat your chronic migraine. It's also a good idea to talk to your doctor for guidance if you're thinking about taking psilocybin in any form.
How Does Psilocybin Help Migraine Pain?
Researchers believe psilocybin relieves pain by activating certain brain signals, called serotonin receptors. Serotonin receptors help control pain in your body. They can make pain feel stronger or weaker.
Unlike other drugs that turn these receptors on or off, psilocybin acts more like a "dimmer switch" that gently adjusts receptor activity to the right level, according to recent research.
Researchers believe it's this effect on serotonin receptors that enables psilocybin to ease migraine pain. In fact, several traditional medications for headache management are chemically similar to psychedelic compounds, such as psilocybin, and work by affecting your serotonin activity.
But compared with regular medicines, psychedelic compounds have been reported to prevent headache pain for longer periods, even with limited dosing.
What Does the Research Show?
As early as the 1960s, studies suggested that psychedelic substances such as psilocybin may help with headache disorders.
Current research is diving deeper into that link and showing how effective psilocybin may be for people with migraine. In one small study, 10 people received a low dose of oral psilocybin over two treatment sessions. The participants reported fewer migraine attacks during the two weeks after taking psilocybin. The study found that psilocybin made migraine pain and its effects on daily life much less severe.
In another study of 11,251 people, researchers analyzed whether lifetime use of psychedelics, such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or psilocybin, was linked to a lower risk of "frequent bad headaches." People who reported a lifetime use of classic psychedelics were 25% less likely to report frequent bad headaches compared with people who had never used them.
While the study doesn't prove that psychedelics directly prevent headaches, it does add to growing evidence that psychedelics may be a helpful treatment for headache disorders, said Kylie Gagan, registered nurse, director of education for the Association of Migraine Disorders.
Psilocybin also showed promise in an analysis of 170 people with various disorders, including 63 with migraine and 44 with tension headache. People in the study took either a psilocybin microdose, a full dose, or both. Participants reported less pain on the same day after taking psilocybin. Full doses were more effective than microdoses. Microdoses offered better pain relief than conventional migraine medication, according to the study.
What Does the Future Hold for Psilocybin?
Psilocybin may soon be approved for mainstream medical use for some health problems. A synthetic form of psilocybin is currently in the final stages of drug trials for people with treatment-resistant depression.
If successful, manufacturers plan to apply for approval from the U.S. FDA as early as 2026 or 2027. But this type of psilocybin is synthetic, meaning it's a chemical form and not from the mushrooms.
"Since migraine is highly comorbid with depression, it will be interesting to see if a single dose could be beneficial for those living with both conditions in future studies," Gagan says.
The FDA is not currently reviewing psilocybin for use in migraine treatment. More research is needed to learn how it might help and to develop personalized treatments, according to the American Migraine Foundation. Until more research is done and psilocybin receives FDA approval for migraine, it's recommended that psilocybin therapy only be used in a clinical trial setting.
Further migraine research is on the horizon.
Investigators are building upon past research that shows psilocybin is an effective headache treatment. In a recent Canadian survey of adults who used psychedelics for headache treatment, psilocybin and LSD were the top two most beneficial treatments for both migraine and cluster headache. Most people reported using psilocybin as a preventative treatment.
Researchers are now following up on these results with a larger data collection from the 2025 Global Psychedelic Survey (GPS). The global survey includes data on psychedelic use across 109 nations and in 18 different languages. Investigators plan to see if the trends found in the smaller survey continue on a larger scale.
"The future feels promising as we learn more about the potential role of psychedelic use for headache disorders," Gagan says.
Who Might Benefit Most From Psilocybin?
We don't yet know if psilocybin works better for some migraine patients than others.
In a small study of 10 people with migraine who took psilocybin, there were no differences between people with episodic vs. chronic migraine. Researchers didn't find any obvious age or sex differences, although they noted that more studies are needed to "conclusively determine whether any differences between subgroups exist."
What Are Typical Doses and Forms?
Psilocybin can be consumed in several ways, including eating fresh or dried mushrooms containing psilocybin. Some people eat the mushrooms alone, mix them with food, or use them to make tea.
There is no medically recommended dosage for psilocybin for the treatment of migraine or any other condition. In recent migraine studies, a standard oral dose was about 10 milligrams for a 65-kg (143-pound) person, and microdoses were defined as 1/10th to 1/20th of a full dose.
According to researcher Emmanuelle Schindler, MD, PhD, 10 milligrams of pure psilocybin is a "relatively low dose."
When it comes to psychedelics for mental health, "the bigger experience you have during drug dose, the better the outcome," Schindler says in a recent podcast. But this doesn't appear to be the case for migraine treatment.
Patients "don't have to take a high dose. They can get the same effect out of a low dose that has minimal or even no psychedelic effects at all," Schindler says.
Know the Safety Risks of Psilocybin
Psilocybin remains illegal at the federal level as well as in many states. That means you could very well get into trouble with the law and possibly even go to jail for having the substance.
Because psilocybin is unregulated, doses can vary, and the effects may be unpredictable, Gagan says. At whatever dose, it can temporarily have unforeseen effects on your physical and mental state, including challenging psychological experiences, anxiety, and panic. That's why, if you are considering psilocybin, it's important to prepare a safe physical setting and mindset before you begin.
Taking psilocybin can also lead to side effects such as raised blood pressure and heart rate, agitation, confusion, vomiting, and nausea.
Because of its effect on heart rate and blood pressure, psilocybin may be dangerous for people with heart problems.
There's also the risk you could misidentify psilocybin and accidentally take a toxic mushroom instead. Some commercial products advertised to contain psilocybin have been discovered to contain chemicals that are toxic.
Also, be mindful that psilocybin can interact with other medications, including other migraine treatments. It's not a good idea to mix psilocybin with headache medications that affect your serotonin system, such as triptans. Too many drugs that affect serotonin in your body can cause serotonin syndrome, a potentially life-threatening condition where your serotonin levels become too high.
It's also not recommended to use psilocybin at the same time as antidepressants. Simultaneous use of the substances could blunt psilocybin's effect. Psilocybin should also not be used with medications that block UGT enzymes, such as some cancer drugs.
"Patients should never replace prescribed migraine therapies with psilocybin and should consult a health care provider before considering its use," Gagan says.
