Preparation & Aftercare
At Colorado Kambo Clinic, your safety and individual needs are central to our approach.
During your consultation, we’ll discuss your health history, intentions, and any potential contraindications to help determine whether Kambo is an appropriate fit for you. Following your consultation call, you’ll receive personalized preparation and aftercare instructions tailored to your needs before your session. The guidelines below provide a general overview and do not replace the specific guidance provided to you.
Prior to Kambo Session
Hydration:
Stay well-hydrated in the days leading up to your Kambo session. We generally recommend around 8–11 glasses of water per day, adjusting for your individual needs and activity level. Avoid forcing yourself to drink excessive amounts of water, as overhydration can cause dangerous electrolyte imbalances. Follow any personalized hydration guidance provided by your practitioner.
Diet:
We recommend a whole-food, plant-based diet, preferably organic, in the days leading up to your Kambo session. If you choose to eat meat, chicken is preferred; please limit seafood and beef, and avoid all pork.
We also recommend limiting fried foods, highly processed and packaged foods, preservatives, and added sugars (honey, sugar, corn syrup). For sweeteners, fresh fruit, stevia, and monk fruit without erythritol are preferred.
Important: Please do not follow the restrictive Ayahuasca diet in preparation for Kambo. Adequate sodium intake is important, and unnecessarily restricting salt may increase the risk of electrolyte imbalance. Maintain a balanced diet and follow any individualized preparation guidance provided to you.
Intention Setting:
An intention is a personal focus that guides your Kambo experience—something you hope to explore, invite into your life, or create space for. It may relate to physical or mental well-being, emotional clarity, spiritual growth, or reconnecting with yourself. An intention is not an expectation or a guaranteed outcome, but a way to approach the experience with purpose and openness.
Before your ceremony, take time to reflect on your intention through journaling, meditation, walks in nature, or conversation with a loved one. During your ceremony, you’ll have the opportunity to acknowledge your intention, either silently or aloud.
Things to Avoid:
Leading up to your Kambo session, please avoid alcohol, recreational drugs (whether legal or illegal), supplements unless approved by your practitioner, sleep aids including melatonin, diet pills, food fasting for longer than 24 hours, water fasting, colonics, enemas, liver flushes, and other water-based detoxes.
Your practitioner will provide specific timeframes and individualized guidance on what to avoid based on your consultation and personal needs.
Day of Kambo Session
Fasting:
Fast from all food for a minimum of 7 hours and up to 12 hours before your session. This usually means nothing to eat from the evening before if your session is in the morning, nothing after an early breakfast for an afternoon session, and nothing after an early lunch for an evening session. Your Practitioner will give you specific instructions following your consultation call.
Water Intake:
Prior to the Session: For a morning session, upon waking you may have absolutely no more than 8 measured ounces of water to sip on and prevent dry mouth. For an afternoon or evening session, you may have 8 ounces of water every hour up to two hours before your session; at two hours before, you must remain fasted from all fluids. You may swish and spit water if your mouth is dry.
Follow the individualized hydration instructions provided by your practitioner. Your fluid intake before the session is an important part of preparation, and both insufficient and excessive water intake can pose health risks.
It is essential to communicate honestly with your practitioner about your fluid intake and follow the preparation instructions provided to you. If you have questions about your hydration protocol or are unable to follow it, please contact your practitioner before your appointment. Your session may need to be postponed if the preparation requirements cannot be safely met.
After Kambo Session
Hydration and Diet:
Continue to prioritize hydration and nourishing foods in the days following your session. Drink water regularly according to your individual needs. Follow any personalized hydration guidance provided by your practitioner.
We recommend focusing on whole, minimally processed foods and limiting refined sugars for three days after your session. Mineral water, low-sugar coconut water, or electrolyte drinks are appropriate.
Give your digestive system time to settle, and consider starting with simple, easily digestible foods for the first 24 hours. We recommend avoiding pork products for three days following your session. If you choose to eat animal products during this time, you may prefer options such as chicken or low-mercury fish.
Rest, Activities and Integration:
Give yourself time to rest and recover after your Kambo session. Avoid strenuous exercise, heavy lifting, and other physically demanding activities for at least 24 hours. Do not drive or operate machinery if you feel weak, dizzy, or lightheaded.
The days following your ceremony can be an opportunity to slow down and make space for reflection. Be patient with yourself and your process, allowing time to explore any thoughts, emotions, or shifts you notice without feeling pressured to interpret them or reach a particular outcome. Journaling, meditation, and gentle walks in nature can offer meaningful ways to reflect and reconnect with yourself. Grounding practices, such as spending quiet time outdoors, may also support this process.
Be intentional with your technology use and consider limiting screen time, distressing media, and doom scrolling for at least 24 hours to create space for rest and integration as your neuroplasticity is increased during this period.
Continue to follow the substance-related guidance provided by your practitioner for abstinence periods. Kambo has the tendency to reset your tolerance levels to substances. If or when you do use substances, start with a much lower dose.
Integration is a personal process, and there is no need to rush it. Give yourself permission to move at your own pace and allow your experience to unfold naturally.