So you've ingested a toxic mushroom, what's happening inside your body?
Debra Hultgren
There is a wide range of toxic mushrooms out there just waiting to do bad things to your body. Whether they're psilocybin mushrooms, which have psychoactive effects similar to LSD, or they're what is widely considered as the deadliest mushroom - Amanita phalloides; the bottom line is that each mushroom will have a similar detriment to your overall health. These effects can range from gastrointestinal irritants to...well, death. Interestingly enough, toxic mushrooms also yield “trips” similar to those produced by psilocybin. However, these trips are not pleasant and occur commonly by mistake in people who seek to get high. All in all, they shouldn’t even be called “trips” because they generally involve hospitalization rather than the sought after hallucinogenic effect.
While your body may conceal the adverse effects, you’re not completely out of the water. While in some circumstances the most obvious symptoms may appear in 6 hours or less, on not-so-rare occasions, they may not even appear for 6 weeks or so! That’s right, 6 weeks. Your body would be deteriorating over that period of time, slowly wasting away...and you wouldn’t even realize it until it had gotten far worse. That’s the true danger of these toxic mushrooms. The slow, brooding process that takes place once ingested. It’s not quick, and it certainly isn’t painless.
These elapsed effects are linked to orellanine - speaking to the cases with GI onset greater than 24 hours and up to 21 days. Your liver, as well as your kidneys, are the most vulnerable organs to this toxin. The primary result of ingesting orellanine is delayed kidney damage. One example of a mushroom you may come across that contains this toxin is Cortinarius orellanosus.
Gyromitrin contains a highly toxic, carcinogenic compound known as monomethylhydrazine. This compound is used by NASA as rocket fuel, which really speaks for itself, doesn’t it? As for the effects Gyromitrin has on our bodies, symptoms start within 2 to 24 hours after ingestion and they include headaches and abdominal distress. In severe cases, liver, kidney and red blood cell damage may occur - which in turn may cause death. As mentioned earlier, gyromitrin is a known carcinogen so if taken at a non-destructive dose, the ingestion of the toxin may lead to cancerous trouble down the line.
Amanitin is arguably the most dangerous of toxins mentioned in this article - due to how the victim may appear to recover fully about 2-3 days after ingestion. Amatoxins work in stages that include minor to worsening stages which lead to death. The effects of this particular toxin aren’t concrete - see they vary depending on the situation as well as the individual. For more information, please visit the attached links.
http://www.cmsweb.org/articles/poisonings_in_NA.htm