Quote Originally Posted by Dave Byrd
Not sure why the long post about Vicodin effects since that's available all over to anyone who can use Google.

I'm here to tell you that cannabis causes sinus tach (racing regular heartbeat) in plenty of folks. We see the "weedbie jeebies" in the ER routinely when we're on call. So can Vicodin especially when people take too much of it or use it recreationally in large doses. Or when they combine it with ethanol or other substances that can do the same thing, like cannabis.

If it happens again to you with a small amount of cannabis, OneQuick, try two things if your heart begins to race. Hold your breath briefly and strain like you're about to cough hard or push out a hard BM. (No need to cough or poop. Just make the straining movement with your abdomen.) Then release the strain and breathe in and out slowly and deeply. Inhale for a 7 to 10 second count through your nose. Exhale for a 7 to 10 second count through your mouth. Repeat that in-out breathing 20 times. It may be hard at first, but concentrate on that slow breathing. Then strain again and repeat the breathing cycle.

Keep doing that till your tachycardia slows down. It will slow down, and even if it doesn't the tach won't kill you. You'll help yourself get more air as it's happening.

That'll save you a $1,750 ER bill next time. Feel free to recommend this to your friends. It's our standard protocol for weedbie jeebie treatment in Plano, Texas, and I haven't yet seen an instance where it hasn't worked unless there are way too many other chemicals involved.

This treatment may come in handy later, too, if you run across a woman--maybe your wife--having a baby the regular way instead of by Cesarean. Only they'll call it Lamaze breathing/pushing in Labor/Delivery. They'll charge you way more than $1,750 to assist with that, so both you and the mama might want to take those breaths together.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the vagus nerve release acetylcholine, thus being responsible for the decrease in heart rate/blood pressure? I think I remember some of the mechanisms in a class I took a while ago...

We had a patient one time who had recurring vasovagal syncope because he was bearing down too hard (he was constipated) and the physicians couldn't understand why he kept passing out during or after he went to the bathroom... I remembered the lecture about vasovagal syncope when I was in high school A&P, and sheepishly suggested it to the doctor, who had one of those epiphonical expressions on his face, and then gave me a big grin