My Kambo Frog Medicine Experience

Recently Tod Sampson from the show Body Hack did an episode on Kambo which aired on TV. It seems to have popularised it just as I had my first Kambo experience. But this was not the reason why I chose to take the medicine.

I am soon approaching 40 which has triggered in me to ponder my life as a whole. Deep! I know. Youth has finally escaped me and the sentence “you are still young” no longer applies to me. I am single, with no kids and with no prospect of either changing status any time soon.

I’m worried to say the least. Since I was 23 I’ve wanted to get married and have kids. Family is a big thing for me. The years have flown past and it has got me wondering. Is this really what life is for me?

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t feel like a failure. I have a very good job and have built a pretty good portfolio of assets. AlI the while having travelled the world and having life changing experiences. But something within me is telling me that something isn’t quite right. I have felt this for the last 12 years.

This yearning for clarity has led me on this quest to find myself; with the aid of Kambo.

Kambo is the venomous secretion from an Amazonian tree frog. Sharman's capture this frog and using a wooden splinter scrape this waxy substance from their skin. Don’t worry, the frogs do not get hurt in this process. The shamans believe they are sacred and the frogs get treated as such.

The secretion is swabbed from the frog after it is strung up. Naturally the frog being stressed will secret this venom and this is removed using a piece of wood.

During the ceremony the poison is applied to a person by small skin burns where the poison is applied directly to the burns. One drop of the poison is placed on one of the burns to test the reaction to the medicine. The quantity of the medicine applied will be determined by the Sharman.

The effects of this take hold on your body within minutes and can last for about 20 minutes if not more. All dependent on how it reacts with the person and whether the secretion is from a male or female frog. The female secretion being the stronger one.

Speaking from my personal experience there was a small amount of pre-ceremony reading for preparation.

Health screening questions are also addressed to ensure you can be administered the Kambo medicine. Conditions such as stroke, heart bypass surgery, enlarged heart, implanted defibrillators, heart disease, fluid in heart, heart valve replacement, organ transplant, blood clots, serious mental conditions, chemotherapy, pregnancy, and seriously low blood pressure will exclude you from having Kambo administered.

Heart conditions is especially sensitive because when Kambo is administered there’s huge fluctuations in your heart rate. I felt this and it freaked me the F out.

The other aspect to pre ceremony is to fast a minimum of 8 hours before the ceremony. Additional to this, it is encouraged to keep up electrolyte intake throughout the day. I was drinking hydralyte all day. It is strongly recommended that a diet free of sugar, gluten and dairy be adhered to, to get the most of the experience.

There was quite the list of inventory to bring to the ceremony. Blanket, yoga mat, pillow, and good intentions. In my case, they failed to suggest bringing a change of clothes. More on that later.

Good intentions is a must! Having spoken to my friend whom put me on the path to explore Kambo. I was told to continually focus on the intentions of having the medicine. My intention was to beat depression and get clarity. I meditated on this the week preceding the ceremony.

I guess people come with various intentions; within our circle purging negative thoughts and energy was the main one.

As I was one of two members new to Kambo we were made to go first. I was nervous to beginning with but when it came time I was gripped with fear. My legs were trembling and I was doing my best to keep my cool. Other veterans of the Kambo experience were filled with support but it didn’t ease my anxiety.

I chose to have the medicine administered on my foot. Six burn marks were made above my left ankle. I had to drink 2 liters of water in approximately a 5 to 10 minute window which I found super difficult. I thought I was going to throw up consuming all that water. My shaman joked “I have a feeling it won’t take you long to purge”.

When it was time to administer the medicine a small dot of medicine was placed on one of my burn marks. No affect. But then within 5 minutes the remaining 5 dots were covered.

Within minutes the medicine took hold and I felt my body temperature drop. About 10 minutes of feeling light headed I started to feel my heart racing, I started sweating and felt my whole face fill with blood. The pressure was immense. My throat felt like it was swelling and I found it hard to swallow.

It was at this time I started panicking. I thought I was having a heart attack but I was reassured that this was normal. Within minutes of that I passed out.

I woke up dazed; I was helped back up and was told to sit up and purge, another term for just throw up. I was struggling and found it very hard. My shaman then instructed me that I need to purge either manually or using ha-peh (a sacred tobacco). I’ve never made myself throw up. Ever! So I chose the ha-peh.

The ha-peh was blow in my nose with a wooden pipe. First in my left nostril which I reacted in disgust and started dry reaching. Then secondly in my right. This brought me to throw up ever so slightly. Not enough apparently. At this point in the ceremony I just wanted to throw up and be done with it.

But the shaman instructed me to manually induce vomiting. So I put my fingers down my throat and I threw up multiple times. All over myself too. Note to self, if I am ever crazy enough to do this again I will bring a change of clothes.

After profusely throwing up this black fluid I felt spent. I was prompted by the shaman to keep purging as there was more left. But she saw that I was physically spent and sent me to the recovery area, where I was told I will have to purge further. But get some rest.

Whilst I was in the recovery area feeling like I have gone twelve rounds with Floyd Mayweather, a complete stranger in the group brought me their blanket and covered me. Another fetched me my water and rubbed my back. Strangers! I just couldn’t believe it. I was too weak and out of sorts to thank them.

I spent the next 20 to 30 minutes in recovery until I was asked to make way for the next group. As soon as I picked myself up and moved near the heater the last bit of purging exited my body. This was a full exorcist puke that saw my shirt covered.

Feeling exhausted I sat against the wall and took a nap. All the while wondering why I did something like this. I sat in that spot for about an hour and a half. Eventually I started picking up; it’s amazing what a bowl of soup and a tea does for you. Served by members of the group. Again, strangers to the rescue.

At ceremonies end we came together in the circle and discussed our experience. My shaman did mention that I took the medicine the hardest out of the group. No one would dispute that at all. But as I am writing this article a week on I can tell you, I really feel different. I can’t tell you what it is. I feel better.

There was a moment right in the thick of purging when I had two connective moments. Call them spiritual if you will. When I was in complete suffering I thought of two people. Firstly my ex girlfriend and secondly my mother; that experience I will keep to myself. It’s something I want to savour for myself.

The first moment, when I thought about my ex girlfriend it only lasted a couple of seconds. The thought came to mind and in a flash it was gone. At that moment when my head was looking down at the bottom of the bucket something escaped my heart.

We can all joke about how my ex makes me sick. Sick enough to throw up! But this was a very real moment. A week on, I can articulate what that moment was.

My ex broke up with me six month ago and we have still been seeing each other. In cases having romantic affiliations. But recently it hasn’t been great. Toxic, with mixed emotions being the way of my relationship with her. But at the ceremony, with that one thought and the purge. What love I had left for her, was gone.

GONE! In one quick moment. I can now tell you. I no longer have feelings for her. Profound, I know, but I have this clarity in my life. I’m ready to move on. It’s incredible that I went with a different intent but Kambo corrected a course that needed to be addressed.

Ask me now if I would do Kambo again. I’d give you a big yes; but maybe in 6 to 12 months time.

PS. I do have to make it clear that I do not harbour ill feelings towards my ex girlfriend nor have I ever. I do wish her the very best and in a platonic sense, care for her. I guess this experience with Kambo I had, can set the corrective path for two lives.