any advice wud be nice

[locster]

sup everyone im new here and need some help or advice about some shit that has been worrying me/ pissing me off lately hahah..... sorry its kinda long but any advice would be very much appreciated haha

well ive been smokin ganja and ciggerets for a year and a half now, but for the last couple months quit weed but want to start again. i quit cuz everytime i wud be high... my heart starts pounding and racing and all the sudden im worrying about death or a heart attacc trippin balls. now usualy i wouldnt even trip about anything but im startin to get a lil worried and this is why.... everyday for the last couple weeks i wud constantly find myself feeling my chest checcing my heart and worried about a heart attacc and im not even high... now im starting to have chest pains that arent going away and sometimes it hurts when i take a deep breath. ill be out with all my friends but instead of having a good time, i wud have this feeling that something is wrong when i already know theres nothing to worry about and if i feel those chest pains then my heart speeds up fast...

and another reason why im getting pissed/worried... now when i drink brew or liquor, all the sudden ill be worried that im gonna have a heart attak when i know that i shudnt be worried... i really really want to burn the weed again hahaha but when i do im jus gonna trip out and expect my heart to race.

is my mind playing games with me??? or do i really have something to be worried about like some mental illness.. any advice from anyone would be appreciated because i want to drink and smoke with no worries again like the old days

[fikusroot]

See a doctor and make sure you dont have any major problems. It's probably nothing. How old are you? If you're say, 50, I'd definately recommend going to see a doctor. If you're 15, I'd say a heart attack is not in your near future. I'd reccomend running and getting some exercise. you're probably just out of shape.

[locster]

well im turning 18 next month and i forgot to mention that i hit my head in a pretty bad car accident about 2 months ago, and my doctor sed if i become depressed then to visit him right away, which i didnt do because i wasnt sure if i was depressed or not, and thats why i was thinking it cud be my mind playing triks on me hahah... but what about the smoking??? everytime im high im always gonna be paranoid and trippin balls about my heart for some reason... but im really hoping that i cud have fun with it again soon hahah

[fikusroot]

You need to realize how much your mood going into smoking affects the trip. There's no real easy way to get over paranoia than to smoke somewhere that you know is safe and feel comfortable in. If you're 18 and have a heart attack, you will at least be known as the youngest person to die from a heart attack. Heart failure is a different story but unless you've been deathly ill for a long time I wouldn't worry. My perscription would be to get more exercise.

[birdgirl73]

Hey, Locster. Sorry to hear you're feeling worried and uneasy in the chest. I always think it's a good idea for people who have any questions at all to visit their doctor for a checkup. Young people have heart trouble occasionally, and you might as well rule that out.

My hunch from what you wrote, though, is that you're having anxiety. Weed smoking can provoke that in plenty of people, and Sativa-heavy strains in particular can leave you feeling jittery and anxious, sometimes setting off full-blown panic attacks. You've also had some circumstantial things recently, like that car wreck, which would make it perfectly understandable for you to be experiencing some anxiety or depression after. (They often travel together, anxiety and depression.)

Here's the other thing, though, and it's back to the heart itself. For the first hour after weed smoking, your heart does experience stress in precisely the same way that someone who's had a strong vasoconstrictor medicine like epinephrine does. It's this soon-after-smoking adrenaline rush (adrenaline is your body's own epinephrine) that also causes the panic in many people, making your heart race and making you feel uneasy. Sometimes arrhythmias can show up during that time, and the sad truth is that within the first hour of smoking, people's heart attack risk is five times that of what it normally is. No one yet knows why that is, whether it's the smoking itself, the THC, other cannabinoids, or the tar and other irritants in the smoke, but it's been proven in several studies. Google "marijuana and heart attack" and you can read about this phenomenon.

Anyway, like I said, a visit to the doctor is probably in order just to be safe, and you might think about taking a weed break and seeing if that doesn't relieve your symptoms, too, and help you feel better. Take care, Locster!

[locster]

thnx u guys for the replies and i was hoping birdgirl would reply cuz her replies to other ppl always sound right and educated hahaha... and what do u think i shud do about the anxiety then.. cuz what if i dont wanna take pills or something. and i already have been taking a weed break for a couple months now, but do i have to take a ciggeret break also?

[birdgirl73]

Well, so since you've begun your weed break you're still feeling enough anxiety to want to "do" something about it?

Cigarettes have some of that same heart-racing effect, too, but to a lesser degree. They're just deadly to your heart, lungs and body no matter what angle you look at them from. Yes, you need to take a break from those, too. Listen to a words of wisdom here. Take a break from cigarettes and never go back to them. Not because I think they're making you anxious but because hearing that you smoke them at your tender young age makes me anxious. They make an entire population of medical professionals anxious because we already know they'll kill you if you keep them up. You know that, too, on some level. Stop now.

Back to the anxiety. Try getting some exercise. Bike riding. Running. Anything cardio-heavy. It'll help calm you down. And if you do visit the doctor and want to tell him/her about your anxiety and depression, he or she may suggest a pill. You might not rule that totally out if you're truly feeling disabled from your anxiety, but it sounds like just taking better care of yourself and getting some exercise would do the trick nicely.

[Abattoir Dream]

hey, from what ive heard ur just sketchin, im with birdgirl on the quitting smoking cigarettes thing, i smoke them myself and have for the past 5 or 6 years, and im 17, -i want to quit and wish i had never started.
if the main reason you started worrying was because your heart races, dont worry, seriously, everybodys blood pressure and heart rate increases when they get stoned, and i often worry a little when i realize my heart is pounding quickly too, but its nothing to worry about, when your heart rate increase your blood pressure goes up and makes you feel dizzy, (which is pretty much how you get stoned amongst other things,) and smoking ciggarettes does the same, it takes 20mins for your blood pressure to revert back to normal after smoking a ciggarette, all i can say is DONT WORRY! GET HIGH! lol and quit the cigarettes, lol they suck,

-peace and good luck,

(blood pressure sucks ass, everytime i get high, i go to stand up and everything goes black and i end up falling over where the blood pressure in my eyeballs is way too much,) - oh, and dont start worrying about your eyes exploding haha...

[DenzComp]

This same thing happened to me...kind of...

I don't get high that often and the other night I was pretty baked...I decided to play some Madden...

I'm just sitting there chilling out and all of a sudden I notice my heart is beating really fast..I wasn't sure if it was really beating that fast or if I was just too baked.

I never thought about it until I read this post.

My Madden 07 name is SinnedDennis if anyone plays by the way.

And I hope you get better and are able to toke again man.




One.

[DenzComp]

By they way...

I also had the same problem before I started to smoke weed..

If I took a deep breath I would have a sharp pain in my chest...I thought it was my heart...this happened several times on many different occasions before I went to the hospital.

Come to find out it was just gas...you might have the same problem but may be making it worse.

I notice that half of people's problems are just in their heads.

[LIP]

Weed has never killed anyone, at all, in its 600 million year history, i doubt it gunna start with you.

[locster]

thnx everyone hahah im gonna try n burn it tonight lol

[Breukelen advocaat]

Birdgirl is very knowlegable about these things - and her advice is excellent.

I have a condition known as Mitral Valve prolapse - it's mild (in my case) but annoying. Many people that have Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome (including me) get "dysautonomia" symptoms. It won't kill you - but smoking and other stimulants (caffeine, etc.) can make the autonomic nervous system go wacko.

A cardiologist should be able to diagnose a prolapsed valve. The majority of cases are not dangerous. Cardio doctors are generally not very concerned with MVP, unless you have to watch certain physically activities . Some people with more serious cases of MVP are not supposed to lift weights, or engage in very strenuous activities for long periods.

Many people have found that some supplements can help. I take Magnesium (and Calcium), Co-Q10, Fish Oil, and Hawthorne berry Extract. All can be found online or in vitamin stores.

http://www.mvprolapse.com/

http://www.nursing.wright.edu/practice/mvp/default.htm

[birdgirl73]

Hey, Breuk! Thanks for the kind words. You know what? I just read your links to MVP and dysautonomia, and I now wonder if I don't have dysautonomia, myself. I'm going to ask my husband about it when he gets home because my own cardiologist (my husband isn't my doctor) has never even suggested that to me. I have MVP, too, and some regurgitation in one of my other heart valves (I can't remember which one), but not enough to worry about, they said. But the real heart trouble I've had for the last few years is atrial fibrillation, where I have random fluttering/fib in the upper chambers of my heart and have to take blood thinners to prevent clots. The reason I wonder about dysautonomia is that I often have random heart racing in response to caffeine, fatigue, dehydration, etc. Sometimes I get it at strange times when I'm working out, like long after I've finished the most cardio-stressful part of exercise. Now I wonder about dysautonomia. Thanks for teaching me that term. I've picked up a good bit of cardiology just by osmosis from living with my spouse, but it's amazing how many things there stilll are to learn. I've never heard him or my own doctor talk about dysautonomia, and now I want to know why. Because I think that's why I have that racing at strange times. My own doc said it's because with a-fib, my heart's top electrical node has lost its ability to correctly time the beats in the upper chambers, but now I wonder if that's because of dysautonomia. Thanks for teaching me something new!! We don't get into heart physiology in school for another six weeks. I plan to ask about it then, too.

[Breukelen advocaat]

I just read your links to MVP and dysautonomia, and I now wonder if I don't have dysautonomia, myself.

Glad to help. The cardiologists that I've had are not very interested in MVPS/Dysautonomia at this time. The MVPS center in Alabama is supposed to be the best place for diagnosis and treatment.

I thought that all of my problems were due to MVPS, but that was just the tip of the iceberg - and may have been caused, and/or worsened, by Celiac Disease.

I was going to many specialists in NYC for my chronic anemia - and was having the MVPS problems ("IBS", anxiety, heart pains and flutters, other general sicknesses) very badly at the same time. It was my wife that correctly diagnosed me with Celiac disease: the Gastroenterologist(s) and Hematologist(s) that I originally went to failed to find anything. Once I knew what tests to ask for, I was "officially" diagnosed and went on the gluten free diet a year and a half ago. My ferritin level is now 60. In 1999 it was <1. This was due to malabsorbtion because many of my small intestinal villi were "flat" and not absorbing nutrients. I also had chronic teeth problems my whole life, which is another symptom of untreated gluten intolerance.

Now my wife is on the diet. I insisted that she get a gluten-sensitivity and gene test, and she had positive results for both. The reason that I suspected Gluten is her history of fibroid tumors, an ovarian cyst, non-malignant thyroid lump, ADHD (we think), Seasonal Affective Disorder, osteopena, and other disorders. I would strongly advise everyone with colitis and "IBS", and especially Autoimmune disorders such as Diabetes, Lupus, MS, etc., to go gluten free. There are perhaps a half dozen facilities in the U.S. that are qualified to diagnose Celiac disease (gluten intolerance) and gluten sensitivity. There is a place in Texas called Enterolab that does it through the mail - this is how my wife was diagnosed. I had my diagnosis through blood tests, endoscopes, and biopsies.

[locster]

do u guys still burn weed with these problems?

[birdgirl73]

Hey again, Locster. I think Breuk does. At least I'm pretty sure.

I don't currently toke because I'm in medical school and have to have every ounce of brain power I can possibly get at the moment. Weed was so much fun, but for me, it definitely took a toll on my intellectual ability. Also I signed an agreement upon entering school promising I wouldn't use illegal substances.

If those two factors weren't around to prevent me from smoking at the moment, I would still have to hesitate for heart reasons, too. Whatever causes my heart to race at random times was aggravated by weed, especially in that first hour. It also messed with my asthma. That probably simply means it'd be better for me to use it in some way other than smoking if and when I toke again. Maybe I'll try eating it or vaporizing.

I'm still very much pro-cannabis, both medically and recreationally. It's so much safer than alcohol. And it clearly has thousands of untapped medical applications.

[fikusroot]

I sometimes get so stoned I gain consious control of my heart. I've also been known to become telekenetic.

[Breukelen advocaat]

do u guys still burn weed with these problems?

Not too much, lately. Because of neurological problems from these conditions, it's better to take an occasional anti-anxiety Rx remedy before vaping or smoking, unless, of course, there is Indica or, indica-based hash - which are better for "medicinal" purposes. I haven't had much luck getting any of these, though, for years. The vast majority of the time, I'm not doing anything head-wise, and it's OK. I've got plenty of catching-up in other areas of my life so it's not really necessary right now. Since I've started getting healthy, it also seems like sections of my brain are coming alive that were not working most, or all, of my life. :dance:

[birdgirl73]

Interesting to hear that you don't partake much these days, Breuk. Makes sense, though. Indica is what benefited my sister the most, and it was hard to find down here, too.

[Breukelen advocaat]

Interesting to hear that you don't partake much these days, Breuk. Makes sense, though. Indica is what benefited my sister the most, and it was hard to find down here, too.

If people like your sister could get it, I'd gladly go without it to help them - but that's not in the cards.

I'm so sorry about her illness. I'm no stranger to the ramifications of having a loved one with terminal cancer. The first time for me was almost 40 years ago, it was my mother, and my life was changed from then on.

I never thought I'd make 30 years old. Frankly, I don't know how I made it this far, but it's sometimes possible to overcome many things if you put your mind to it. I'm more concerned with my wife's heath - but she's doing well after a few scary things. Today is the 12th anniversary of her (partial) hysterectomy.

[locster]

tried to burn it last night... but started trippin out again so im gonna quit... for now =(

[birdgirl73]

If people like your sister could get it, I'd gladly go without it to help them - but that's not in the cards.

I'm so sorry about her illness. I'm no stranger to the ramifications of having a loved one with terminal cancer. The first time for me was almost 40 years ago, it was my mother, and my life was changed from then on.

I never thought I'd make 30 years old. Frankly, I don't know how I made it this far, but it's sometimes possible to overcome many things if you put your mind to it. I'm more concerned with my wife's heath - but she's doing well after a few scary things. Today is the 12th anniversary of her (partial) hysterectomy.
Thanks, Breuk. I'm so sorry you lost your mother. That's awful. And thanks for your sentiments regarding my sister. I was trying to find my way back to this thread earlier but couldn't find it.

This has been a rough day. My sister's vision is quickly diminishing with the cancer metastasis to her brain. Four days ago it was still enough she could see to get around. Today she cannot. This means that things are advancing quickly now. She had four and a half weeks of fairly bearable life. Then this week the downhill slide is so obvious again. It kills me. Today's my 45th birthday, a fact I've been lamenting all day long. Not so much because of aging, which I don't like but can tolerate. But because she's been here for every birthday I can remember since the beginning of time. She won't be here for my next one.

Thanks for indulging me. Sorry to be a downer.

[Breukelen advocaat]

Thanks for indulging me. Sorry to be a downer.

We just lost my father-in-law, this past August. Until this, death is a part of of life that my wife hasn't had to deal with as closely as I have.

You're never prepared when it happens to a loved one, even when the signs are evident.

I can't say much now as I'm out the door to work, but happy birthday anyway.

[ziRomE]

LOCSTER : ciggaretes and weed are a bad combo. i chain smoke (6 years) so my heart rate is high for 27yrs old, weed (11 years) makes it faster but u just notice your insides more when your stoned, so could be an issue, could be in your head, i reccomend stayin with the dank (in moderation) , lay off the smokes, they will kill you first, i need to stop my damn self, excersize is always good.........and listen to birdgirl73, ive been on here for just a day and shes kicks alot of knowledge in every thread, and your not a downer birdgirl, lifes a blessing and a bitch at the same time, ive lost a few loved ones that i was very close to, and it is the most painful thing there is but i just keep them in my heart, i still talk to them on occasion and believe they can hear me, and know i'll see them again when its my time. not religous but believe theres more than just life as we know it. :)