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Anyone ever experienced a panic attack as a result of cannabis use?
- Thread starter jd4083
- Start date
Sbit i e been dealing with anxiety real bad lately.i had to jump on the xanax train.im trying to wean my self off of it.im only taking .5 mg though.not a hole danm 2 mg bar. Now you all got my hypochondria kicking in(which is alway a problem i have, that induce's even more anxiety.
JD4083 whats the name of that medication you got.im in the process of wean8ng myself of the bars so i dont catch seizures or nothing.and looking for alternative ways to deal with stress
JD4083 whats the name of that medication you got.im in the process of wean8ng myself of the bars so i dont catch seizures or nothing.and looking for alternative ways to deal with stress
Green Squall
Well-known member
Good post and you made some solid points. I'm definitely going to take a few weeks off at least, but I was planning to do that anyways as busy as work and school is. I've been slacking off on my exercise and diet but that's going to change as soon as I can get out of this hellish snowscape that they call the mountains and get back to town...this ice storm fucking sucks.
They can wreck your life in a variety of ways if you're not careful, but they are are one of only three classes of drugs that can actually kill you from the withdrawals (alcohol and barbiturates being the other two). I just personally know I don't do well with them, your mileage may vary...but as with painkillers, if you can avoid ever taking one, I'd try to do that.
The stuff I have is called Hydroxizine, goes by the brand names of Atarax and something else I don't recall. It's technically an anti-histamine but has indications for a variety of issues including anxiety. It's something that my doctor (who I trust very much and who knows about my cannabis usage but shares my thoughts on avoiding "real drugs" if at all possible) says is safe to take as needed without being habit-forming, and I believe her. I've only had one before tonight, but I started feeling that tightness in my chest again out of nowhere so I took one a few minutes ago to try to see if the issue is psychosomatic or actually something physically out of whack.
Please be careful man. My dad was on xanax for years and decided to stop taking it altogether (on his own, without his doctor's knowledge) after being on a maintenance dose of 2-4mg daily and almost died from the seizures.
"So I guess my question is, have you guys ever experienced an episode as described above, and can you directly correlate it to your cannabis use if so?"
My son has them quite often. When he first started getting them he went to ER several times, they put a monitor on his heart, it was beating through the roof! Well, they diagnosed the panic attacks and prescribed several medicines which he said turned him into a zombie and quit taking them.
Not long after, I brought some weed when visiting and after a very short time his attacks dissipated tremendously. He can now tell when an attack is coming on and vapes some of my grow and it almost immediately calms him down.
I will say that one of the first times I smoked with him I had brought some very good FLO I had grown. It was the first weed I can actually say I smoked that was trippy. Anyways we got really baked and one minute he's standing saying something about can't breathe and then next thing he's on the floor! It took about an hour for him to regain complete control, scared the hell out of me!
We have found out that he does really well in preventing/stopping the attacks with Indica dominant strains and Sativa dominant he can't handle.
Also, he is more likely to have an attack when he's drinking and smoking than when he's just drinking. That was the case the night he blacked out while smoking FLO..........he was pretty well buzzed from beer.
My son has them quite often. When he first started getting them he went to ER several times, they put a monitor on his heart, it was beating through the roof! Well, they diagnosed the panic attacks and prescribed several medicines which he said turned him into a zombie and quit taking them.
Not long after, I brought some weed when visiting and after a very short time his attacks dissipated tremendously. He can now tell when an attack is coming on and vapes some of my grow and it almost immediately calms him down.
I will say that one of the first times I smoked with him I had brought some very good FLO I had grown. It was the first weed I can actually say I smoked that was trippy. Anyways we got really baked and one minute he's standing saying something about can't breathe and then next thing he's on the floor! It took about an hour for him to regain complete control, scared the hell out of me!
We have found out that he does really well in preventing/stopping the attacks with Indica dominant strains and Sativa dominant he can't handle.
Also, he is more likely to have an attack when he's drinking and smoking than when he's just drinking. That was the case the night he blacked out while smoking FLO..........he was pretty well buzzed from beer.
Thanks man.im only been taking a half a mg a day (whe. I feel that shit coming on).thanks for your concerns.im trying over hear.and tbe tightness in you chest is anxiety.trust me. It's a psycho semantic hypochondriac affect. It's like wtf is this normal? I don't think this is normalit's a psycho semantic hypochondriac affect. It's like wtf is this normal? I don't think this is normal,oh shit i think im dying. Its a mental game called circle.
I hate this sbit.but i dont work out,i eat like shit.i just got to do a 360 on life while i can.
Bei g over weight contributes to stress. Cortisol is stored in your fat cells mosty in you belly.shit is crazy,i wish yall the best.im going to curl up in the shower now.lol
I hate this sbit.but i dont work out,i eat like shit.i just got to do a 360 on life while i can.
Bei g over weight contributes to stress. Cortisol is stored in your fat cells mosty in you belly.shit is crazy,i wish yall the best.im going to curl up in the shower now.lol
I have seen that happen to people, sorry to hear you went through that. Stress can linger and accelerate a panic attack.
Trainwreck and crosses of can sure do that. I had somewhat younger lady friend over one night, we were having a few beers and then she wanted to smoke one. I rolled up some Casey Jones (love it !) and warned her. She laughed at me and said I was a lightweight... warned again about the creeper effect, she laughed some more and hit it several more times than me... about 20 minutes later, she was having a sudden panic attack, wanted to go to the emergency room... I talked her out of it with a lot of work and she finally mellowed out .... and enjoyed herself finally. Ummm... this is not your Daddys boring indica young lady lol
Trainwreck and crosses of can sure do that. I had somewhat younger lady friend over one night, we were having a few beers and then she wanted to smoke one. I rolled up some Casey Jones (love it !) and warned her. She laughed at me and said I was a lightweight... warned again about the creeper effect, she laughed some more and hit it several more times than me... about 20 minutes later, she was having a sudden panic attack, wanted to go to the emergency room... I talked her out of it with a lot of work and she finally mellowed out .... and enjoyed herself finally. Ummm... this is not your Daddys boring indica young lady lol
Yeah that advice is only good after the fact hehe. First ones always a kicker. I was seconds away from heading to the hospital, but it started slowing down. Spoke with my sister (RN) later, she explained a bit and I remembered that everyone else in the family is highly susceptible but that I had shluffed them off as whiners...
Phamaceuticals may be helpful, but it's a band-aid. If it's all mental, you can track down what triggers it and deal with it. In theory. Still stuck in the riding it out phase, but they aren't that often.
Sounds like some panic but also some stuff undiagnosed with the heart or lungs maybe. I am blessed with both panic attacks with or without weed and some screwy lungs. Some strains of pot do affect my breathing badly and some do induce some anxiety.
That trainwreck sounds rightly named. I would toss it and get some GDP, MLI, or other laidback strain. The doctors saying that pot will only relax you have not smoked some of the intense stuff out there.
That trainwreck sounds rightly named. I would toss it and get some GDP, MLI, or other laidback strain. The doctors saying that pot will only relax you have not smoked some of the intense stuff out there.
Lil' Brodhi
Member
Probably mountain lapis indica
You must've been REALLY concerned.. lol
(All in good fun)
You must've been REALLY concerned.. lol
(All in good fun)
jd4083
I know exactly what you mean. I had the same thing happening to me a year ago. Still dealing with the dust of it/ trying to find out exactly was the underlying problem is and solving it. I went through counselling for like 8 months or so. Let me tell you what I learned.
The theory is that your, normally low, stress level is already increased by something( work, relationship, general stress, sleeping problems etc., or ALL of them).
Now anything that puts some on top stress wise, makes you cross the line over to panic unwillingly. This can be Cannabis, especially sativa dom strains. Your body is the result of a long time of evolution and there's some ancient mechanisms hidden even in us "modern" men. A good hit can just be the drop that's too much and your stress level crosses over to pure panic without an apparent reason.
What we involuntarly trigger here is called the fight or flight syndrom. It's still stored in our brains from when we were threatened by Tigers and Lions and shit and had to run / or fight for our lives an a daily base ;-)
Now the problem here is, there is no real danger, it's modern life that has us flooded with stress. BUT: That ancient part of our brains doesn't know the difference, therefore the reaction is the same. And what you felt, with your tight chest, heart pounding, sweat- that's your body getting fired up and ready to run for your very life from some deadly predator.
But since you can't see why suddenly you should feel so strange, the spiral starts... instead of running like hell or fighting for your life, you start worrying about your health, dying,a heartattack, a stroke, losing control, losing yourself and/ or mental sanity which itself of course intensifies the symptoms aka your uncomfort. At some point you are convinced you're dying and call the ambulance.
it's called positive feedback( yeah it's not positive at all but it basically means "more makes more").
I now the feeling of impending death and losing your mind at the same time too well. I never felt somthing so devastating, futureless and frightening.
The good news is there is no physical danger attached to it.
Once you REALLY believe that again( not knowing it but believing it is the difference) the panic loses it's horror and that my friend is the best feeling in the world.
After that point it takes time to forget and heal up, but really once you're past that point all is going to be good.
PM me if you want to talk about it more, I know it helped me heaps.
In the end the only way out of it, is the way through it.
Once you know you're physicall fit, fucking challenge those attacks. Go there ! repeatedly ! until you learn that you will NOT DIE from these attackes, it's the fastest cure for the acute problem. Once you see that, the terror really goes away and without the terror these attacks are not much more than an increased heartbeet and MAYBE a little sweat and you smile when you feel one and just let it pass. The panic attack only feels so serious because your mind takes it that serious with all the pondering and "what if..." thinking.
Of course you should also change the underlying problems. ...Less stress, eat better, take your time, exercise( your body is meant to be used!!), don't let minor shit stress you out... it's also a attitude kind of thing... don't get devoured by crap.
Start thinking "what's it going to do for me" ... I never did that, now I paid the price...
all the best man and let me know how you're doing!
c
I know exactly what you mean. I had the same thing happening to me a year ago. Still dealing with the dust of it/ trying to find out exactly was the underlying problem is and solving it. I went through counselling for like 8 months or so. Let me tell you what I learned.
The theory is that your, normally low, stress level is already increased by something( work, relationship, general stress, sleeping problems etc., or ALL of them).
Now anything that puts some on top stress wise, makes you cross the line over to panic unwillingly. This can be Cannabis, especially sativa dom strains. Your body is the result of a long time of evolution and there's some ancient mechanisms hidden even in us "modern" men. A good hit can just be the drop that's too much and your stress level crosses over to pure panic without an apparent reason.
What we involuntarly trigger here is called the fight or flight syndrom. It's still stored in our brains from when we were threatened by Tigers and Lions and shit and had to run / or fight for our lives an a daily base ;-)
Now the problem here is, there is no real danger, it's modern life that has us flooded with stress. BUT: That ancient part of our brains doesn't know the difference, therefore the reaction is the same. And what you felt, with your tight chest, heart pounding, sweat- that's your body getting fired up and ready to run for your very life from some deadly predator.
But since you can't see why suddenly you should feel so strange, the spiral starts... instead of running like hell or fighting for your life, you start worrying about your health, dying,a heartattack, a stroke, losing control, losing yourself and/ or mental sanity which itself of course intensifies the symptoms aka your uncomfort. At some point you are convinced you're dying and call the ambulance.
it's called positive feedback( yeah it's not positive at all but it basically means "more makes more").
I now the feeling of impending death and losing your mind at the same time too well. I never felt somthing so devastating, futureless and frightening.
The good news is there is no physical danger attached to it.
Once you REALLY believe that again( not knowing it but believing it is the difference) the panic loses it's horror and that my friend is the best feeling in the world.
After that point it takes time to forget and heal up, but really once you're past that point all is going to be good.
PM me if you want to talk about it more, I know it helped me heaps.
In the end the only way out of it, is the way through it.
Once you know you're physicall fit, fucking challenge those attacks. Go there ! repeatedly ! until you learn that you will NOT DIE from these attackes, it's the fastest cure for the acute problem. Once you see that, the terror really goes away and without the terror these attacks are not much more than an increased heartbeet and MAYBE a little sweat and you smile when you feel one and just let it pass. The panic attack only feels so serious because your mind takes it that serious with all the pondering and "what if..." thinking.
Of course you should also change the underlying problems. ...Less stress, eat better, take your time, exercise( your body is meant to be used!!), don't let minor shit stress you out... it's also a attitude kind of thing... don't get devoured by crap.
Start thinking "what's it going to do for me" ... I never did that, now I paid the price...
all the best man and let me know how you're doing!
c
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sutra1
Member
Maple Leaf Indica...........very nice weed!
I never use the term anxiety, that implies the person is causing the problem. With me I had a racing heart my whole life. When I got in my 40's it progressed to the point of being so sick I couldn't function. This was over a 5 year period. Going to sleep was totally impossible, not a chance in a million until I had laid in bed for 9 hrs then out of exhaustion I finally would fall asleep. (Like someone had injected adrenaline into my brain heart and legs).
At the end of the condition I had my heart racing and skipping beats, restless legs which was coming from my brain (horrible feeling), hard to breathe. The last stage was I couldn't digest food so I would have to go into the bathroom and throw up every night. Was loosing about 2 lbs a week..
Finally I went to the ER where they gave me atenolol which is a beta blocker. The atenolol blocks adrenaline. Every symptom went away. Some people have adrenaline problems. Atenolol is a mild drug which lowers blood pressure and slows heart rate….
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Oh and ideal blood pressure is 115 over 75. I keep mine about 125/68 with the atenolol and I feel perfect.
panic attack
panic attack
Years ago ,EASYWIDER,AND MY SELF decided it was time for him to come clean with his wife, and so he would tell her about his pot smoking, So after a few drinks one night ,I pull out some ALCOPOCOGOLD, fired it up and gave her a few good hits,then she tried a POWER HITTER and went nutso on us !
Her being eptilecptic added to the problem ,she convinced that she was having a heart attack or a eptilecptic spell she wanted to call police or ambulance, SCARE THE SHIT OUT OF US !
It took two hrs. to calm her down ,she would not smoke again for 6 yrs.
I feel for you guy, but I really do not think it was the pot, so it musta been all that OVER WORK and school, so lighten up the work load, an fire a good one up , if it ever happens again try the commercial mex you find on the streets. JMO
panic attack
Years ago ,EASYWIDER,AND MY SELF decided it was time for him to come clean with his wife, and so he would tell her about his pot smoking, So after a few drinks one night ,I pull out some ALCOPOCOGOLD, fired it up and gave her a few good hits,then she tried a POWER HITTER and went nutso on us !
Her being eptilecptic added to the problem ,she convinced that she was having a heart attack or a eptilecptic spell she wanted to call police or ambulance, SCARE THE SHIT OUT OF US !
It took two hrs. to calm her down ,she would not smoke again for 6 yrs.
I feel for you guy, but I really do not think it was the pot, so it musta been all that OVER WORK and school, so lighten up the work load, an fire a good one up , if it ever happens again try the commercial mex you find on the streets. JMO
I recently quit drinking and before then, I had never had anxiety before.
One of the effects of quitting drinking is severe anxiety, which is first a physical reaction but it lingers around because your body has to relearn how to handle stress (alcohol causes you to simply not worry about shit, so you forget how to handle it).
Weed made my anxiety worse at first, then I learned to remember that I'm just stoned and acting paranoid like a rookie. Like others said, don't worry about having more; they're just an irrational feeling of fear. There's no present threat to be afraid of, you're just anxious and feel afraid so adrenaline starts pumpin'.
After having lingering anxiety for a bit, I've learned how to deal with it pretty well, and since the anxiety attacks have gotten much more mild. I start to notice that I'm feeling anxious and then I get myself in check, understand that it's just a feeling, it's harmless, and temporary. Not being afraid takes the power away from anxiety. Then it becomes a useful tool, almost like a psychedelic trip, where you can think about the things that are stressing you out and understand what you need (or perhaps don't need) to do.
One of the effects of quitting drinking is severe anxiety, which is first a physical reaction but it lingers around because your body has to relearn how to handle stress (alcohol causes you to simply not worry about shit, so you forget how to handle it).
Weed made my anxiety worse at first, then I learned to remember that I'm just stoned and acting paranoid like a rookie. Like others said, don't worry about having more; they're just an irrational feeling of fear. There's no present threat to be afraid of, you're just anxious and feel afraid so adrenaline starts pumpin'.
After having lingering anxiety for a bit, I've learned how to deal with it pretty well, and since the anxiety attacks have gotten much more mild. I start to notice that I'm feeling anxious and then I get myself in check, understand that it's just a feeling, it's harmless, and temporary. Not being afraid takes the power away from anxiety. Then it becomes a useful tool, almost like a psychedelic trip, where you can think about the things that are stressing you out and understand what you need (or perhaps don't need) to do.
You have to find the trigger man...what activity or what thought process happened right before the attack??
The panic attack in question was clearly due to the fear of death, as most are.
Thinking you were having a harsh allergic reaction to cannabis, while high on a psychoactive cultivar is just perfect recipe for a first panic attack.
Don't worry though, you can master the issue, but taking some time off the herb for now is a good idea, even if it is for a few days or however long you feel like it. Just keep in mind that it is important that when you feel like smoking again, take it real slow, one hit, and wait, if you feel physical discomfort, anxiety and thoughts concerning your well being, you are not ready yet, and use that time for introspection and consider our condition as mortal beings, you need to find your way to deal with that.
In '98 I arrived at this dude's house who was the son of an ex-boss of mine, he was with a few other guys, one of the guys had this awesome haze, I had not smoked in several weeks, but was super happy they invited me to toke up, so I did, and I smoked way too much lol...I ended up thinking these guys were aliens (they were tripping out on the haze as well) and as my initial thoughts of them being aliens started to appear more and more ridiculous to me, I noticed my heart was pounding like crazy, and when I considered that I may be dying, boom! panic attack son lol my very first one too, but fuck it, I was not gonna say shit to those aliens lol so I got up and told them I was gonna get something from my car, so I went outside and just took off. All I did while driving was to breath and calm myself down, then I parked because I thought if I were to die driving I could cause an accident, so I pulled into a gas station...I got out of the car and walked inside, it was midnight or so, and the guy at the store was listening to a radio interview, I started to listen to it and grabbed some orange juice, drank it and then felt better, went home (lived alone) and just laid on the couch with the tv on and eventually went to sleep.
Never had a full blown panic attack like that though, had some anxiety here and there, but never developed into an attack as I had learned to deal with them.
I just surrender to the impending doom and since nothing really happens, then the doom looses its appeal lol...
Peace!
Thinking you were having a harsh allergic reaction to cannabis, while high on a psychoactive cultivar is just perfect recipe for a first panic attack.
Don't worry though, you can master the issue, but taking some time off the herb for now is a good idea, even if it is for a few days or however long you feel like it. Just keep in mind that it is important that when you feel like smoking again, take it real slow, one hit, and wait, if you feel physical discomfort, anxiety and thoughts concerning your well being, you are not ready yet, and use that time for introspection and consider our condition as mortal beings, you need to find your way to deal with that.
In '98 I arrived at this dude's house who was the son of an ex-boss of mine, he was with a few other guys, one of the guys had this awesome haze, I had not smoked in several weeks, but was super happy they invited me to toke up, so I did, and I smoked way too much lol...I ended up thinking these guys were aliens (they were tripping out on the haze as well) and as my initial thoughts of them being aliens started to appear more and more ridiculous to me, I noticed my heart was pounding like crazy, and when I considered that I may be dying, boom! panic attack son lol my very first one too, but fuck it, I was not gonna say shit to those aliens lol so I got up and told them I was gonna get something from my car, so I went outside and just took off. All I did while driving was to breath and calm myself down, then I parked because I thought if I were to die driving I could cause an accident, so I pulled into a gas station...I got out of the car and walked inside, it was midnight or so, and the guy at the store was listening to a radio interview, I started to listen to it and grabbed some orange juice, drank it and then felt better, went home (lived alone) and just laid on the couch with the tv on and eventually went to sleep.
Never had a full blown panic attack like that though, had some anxiety here and there, but never developed into an attack as I had learned to deal with them.
I just surrender to the impending doom and since nothing really happens, then the doom looses its appeal lol...
Peace!
