Comment · Sat, March 26, 2016
Should We Buy the Idea of an “Allergy” to MDMA?
What they were answering
hackpenis · 2 points
I think you can compare it to beeing lactose intolerant and having an actual milk allergy. Beeing lactose sensitive or intolerant means lacking the enzyme that break lactose down. Beeing allergic to milk means having a immune reaction to some of the proteins contained in milk. So beeing a poor CYP2D6 metaboliser would rather mean a person could be called MDMA or methamphetamine etc. sensitive or intolerant.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb
Yep, that is a good analogy.
Lactose intolerance is an interesting subject on its own too. Your body produces the enzyme when you are young, and keeps doing it if exposure to lactose is consistent. However, if you stop consuming lactose, your body stops producing the enzyme. Certain people have genetic mutations to be more or less tolerant of it. However, exposure to it dictates when those expression changes occur. I have the mutations that makes me more likely to be lactose intolerant. However, I was fine my whole life drinking milk, till I stopped one day. I started drinking almond, soy, and flax milk instead. Now I react poorly to any milk. CYP2D6 is also an enzyme that changes expression depending on age. So age might play a role in how well people metabolize MDMA as well.