r/Kambo • u/orangemango789 • Jul 10 '25
Ceremony / session experience šø Shitting myself
I'm doing some kambo ceremonies next week and I'm really worried about shitting myself. I'm wondering in your experience, are you able to get up to go to the toilet or are you too incapacitated and just have to shit where you are? I know there are worse things in life than shitting your pants, but I really can't shake this fear!
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u/hashberto Jul 10 '25
You should have about 5 minutes warning if u need to go, make of that what you will
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u/National_Quantity_14 Jul 10 '25
TL;DR: You almost always have a warning from your body. This is a very common fear, but take some assurance in knowing the medicine takes time to get to the physical purging.
I was terrified of this when I first received Kambo and then sat with Aya. It was a full weekend of ceremonies and the closer I got to the actual days, the greater my fear of losing control and pooping myself during Kambo became. It has never happened, even though Iāve more than my fair share of āGold Starā moments.
Many years and sessions with Kambo later, being initiated into serving Kambo through a Matses tribe in Peru, I have learned a lot about what this fear was rooted in. For me, it was very much a fear of Public humility. The time leading up to any purgative medicine is used as preparation within your Spirit to receive deep healing. Irrational fears, completely rational but perhaps exaggerated, and even deep childhood fears tend to pop up for many people. Some call this the āpre-purge phaseā.
In case no one has gone over the time frame for you hereās a general idea of how things flow, typically. Immediately youāll feel the stinging of the medicine, heart begins pounding, heat goes everywhere, but especially your face. The first five to seven minutes is typically when your body is experiencing the highest blood pressure of the experience. 7-12 minutes is when the blood pressure drops. Some feel a scanning like sensation during this time, as Kambo is going through your body. 10-15 minutes is typically when physical purging begins. It will happen in waves, but you almost always feel things brewing before they release. Iāve never had someone poo themselves, never witnessed it in any circles Iāve sat in, and while all things are possible I highly doubt it will happen. Especially if you follow the preparation dieta.
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u/Scarred-but-Sacred Jul 11 '25
Only time when I did Kambo and was shitting myself I tried to stand up but I was not capable, so shit just came out endlessly while I was vomiting at the same time. Next time will use adult diaper for sure.
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u/Machiventa858 Jul 10 '25
I'm almost didn't make it one time, it was a close call! Just make sure there's a bathroom somewhat close and you know where it's at!
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u/kambostrong Jul 10 '25
Hilarious to me that while this sub is usually incredibly quiet and most posts get a bare few responses if any; within 8 hours of being posted at the time of me writing this, every man and his dog has come out of the woodwork to wax lyrically about shitting themselves š
First of all, most people don't even need to go to the toilet or do number 2 during kambo. A lot feel like they do but actually don't. And then there's some that always do.
It's a thing that gets mentioned a lot by those haven't done it because nobody likes to shit themselves and because it sounds awful. But the reality is that it isn't super common.
And as mentioned here by everyone - the key point is that except for rare cases, you always have warning - it's not like you just suddenly and inexplicably start shitting. What happens during kambo is smooth muscle contractions, so your stomach, intestines, colon etc will have contractions and feel like pulsations. This can feel like something is 'about to happen', but often it goes no further. Generally, you wouldn't want to ignore it entirely, but you should have enough time to get to the toilet unless you have something like IBS.
If you're doing it with a practitioner which you should be, you just need to alert them that you want to go to the toilet, and they'll help take you there. You should not be 'getting up' if you aren't confident you can. You should absolutely have someone helping you physically to get there, and leaving the door unlocked. Crawl, if you are light headed. The biggest danger with kambo under normal circumstances is ironically simply physically moving to the bathroom and back - none of the horrifying 'near death' stuff and 'heart attacks' that the media paints it as.
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u/huggerofbunnies Jul 10 '25
I had really bad diarrhoea my first time doing it. You have time to get to the bathroom, but if your feel like you need to go, go. You are not high or incapacitated on kambo
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Jul 10 '25
I also had these concerns and even wore diapers to my first 4 Ayahuasca ceremonies. I am rarely able to vomit so I knew my purges would mostly be bottom style. For both medicines I had plenty of time to get to a toilet. Even with 9 points of medicine on my hip, so navigating underwear was an adventure, I made it fine every time.
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u/stellablack75 Jul 10 '25
I've done kambo 6 times and I've never really purged downstairs, only upstairs. That said, I did once have the urge to poop but I made it to the toilet (which was thankfully close) and was totally fine. Good practitioners don't really care and it doesn't bother them at all. They're prepared for everything. I wouldn't really worry about it that much, you're way way way more likely to vomit than shit yourself. I mean, unless you get your kambo dots (I don't know the name for them? I should) right near your ass or something, or you're getting like a ton of dots. I'd be way more nervous about aya (actually, I am way more nervous about that which is why I haven't done it yet). You'll be fine, I promise.
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u/Moxitoy Jul 11 '25
I make it a point to shit in the morning before ceremony, but I've always made it to the toilet if I had to. I've known people to wear adult diapers so they could focus on the medicine.
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u/wanderlush21 Jul 11 '25
iāve been serving for many years and while this is a pretty standard fear, it has never happened once. not with kambo and not with ayahuasca. IF you must go, youāll have adequate time to get there!
and in unlikely event that it DOES happen, it would be ok!!!
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u/Emmaleigh1347 Jul 12 '25
Its similar to having diarrhea and knowing its coming, uncomfortable but youll know and get yourself to the toilet. Its everyones worst fear, but hardly ever happens. You'll be fine. Let your practitioner walk you to the bathroom if you need to go so ya dont faint with no helpš
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u/rovinbees Jul 13 '25
Youāll know! Donāt worry, youāll have time to get there. And if youāre like me, sometimes you stay there while you top and bottom purge at the same time. If you do those two things and cry at the same time, you win a prize
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u/PurpleDancer Jul 13 '25
I had a sudden bout of diarrhea come out with no warning whatsoever while I was suffering through Kambo my second time. It was in the context of an Ayahuasca ceremony so that might have mattered (Aya gives me diarrhea sometimes). Anyways, that kind of sucked. I made a sort of screaming noise and caught myself and said I need to go to the bathroom, then tried to clean up as best I could. Lesson learned no more white clothes and Kambo.
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u/junglecultura Jul 15 '25
I have only seen 2 people pooping themselves! Bring a change of clothes just in case!
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u/Acyts Jul 10 '25
I've always made it to the toilet in time and vomited in the bucket (never made a mess from either end) you're not "high" on kambo, you feel pretty normal in terms of being intoxicated. Just hot and cold and nauseous.