Observations placeholder
Mrs Cartwright goes out of body on sodium pentothol at the dentists
Identifier
012201
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
Sodium thiopental, also known as Sodium Pentothal, thiopental, thiopentone, or Trapanal (also a trademark), is a rapid-onset short-acting barbiturate general anesthetic that is an analogue of thiobarbital. Sodium thiopental is a core medicine in the World Health Organization's "Essential Drugs List", which is a list of minimum medical needs for a basic healthcare system. It was previously the first of three drugs administered during most lethal injections in the United States, but the US manufacturer Hospira stopped manufacturing the drug and the EU banned the export of the drug for this purpose.
A description of the experience
The enigma of out of body travel – Susy Smith
Mrs Cartwright of Preston, Lancashire, England took sodium pentothol in a dentist’s office in 1959 and suddenly her mind seemed completely detached from her body. She says
‘I couldn’t tell you how I got up there but the thinking part of me was up in the air…. In space …. It seemed to be higher than the ceiling’
She looked back down and saws herself sitting in the chair; but although she knew what was going on there, she could not actually see the dentist filling her tooth.
Joan was particularly impressed with ‘the enormous feeling of aloneness’ she had up there, which was mentally very disturbing. Later she realised all at once that she was back again in the dentist’s chair; and since that time she does not recall the episode if she can help it.
‘The feeling never has left me whenever I think about it’ she says ‘To tell the truth, it wasn’t a very nice experience, I can’t say that I enjoyed it’