So here's a weird one for you guys. About a week ago I smoked with a friend of mine after a 2-week tolerance break. I've been smoking for a relatively short amount of time-- 8 months, but I've had my fair share of weed, would sometimes run through 3-4g's a day over this summer. So, I know I'm not a massive pothead but its also not something new to me. Okay, back to the story. Shortly after smoking (10 minutes or so) what I was told by my dealer to be Bubba kush I felt a really awful sensation. I'd never had a "bad high" before but it was actually living hell. My heartbeat went through the roof. My extremities felt cold and tingling and I felt like I could pass out at any moment. And since it was the first time that ever happened I started panicking, and it only made it worse. MY chest felt like it had shrunk and became really tight. There was an enormous pressure on my head and neck, as if gravity was 10x stronger in those areas. I was freaking the fk out so I asked my friend to call me an ambulance. He told me something similar had happened to him a while ago and suggested I had some sugar to try and counteract the effects. I had read somewhere before that having low blood sugar before smoking could trigger some of these symptoms so I had him buy me some ice cream. At first I thought it was helping but it didn't last more than a couple of minutes until the symptoms came back and stronger this time around. I freaked tf out even more and had him call me an ambulance. As I'm inside they hooked me up and stuff and checked my vitals. Heart rate was at like 150 and I was having palpitations, where it goes off beat. I'll save you guys the details but I basically ended up being given IV and LORazepam to calm my heart down. The next day and for about a week i felt absolutely fine. They told me the weed was probably laced which is why i experienced all those side effects. Didn't buy that since my buddy was completely fine throughout the whole thing. So I decided that it might have actually been because i had really low blood sugar before smoking so the following friday I decided to try smoking again from the same batch, only thing time i made sure to eat well prior to it. Same freaking thing happened. I got so pissed. This time I didn't freak out and tried calming myself down by watch some anime w my friend but that didn't help so he called me an uber to the ER. This time they had me do an X-ray, an EKG and a blood cloth test. All came back negative. Now it's been 2 days and I'm still feeling on edgy, like I could have another one of those attacks at any moment. My heartbeat is also a lot more noticeable, like I can actually hear it. Whenever I lay down to sleep I start panicking again and it triggers a much less extreme but the sort of attack and I manage to shake it off by controlling my breathing. My appetite is basically non-existent, and the tingling/cold sensation on my extremities come and go. I really have no clue what this could be. I've been doing a lot of research and there's a good chance I've developed some sort of anxiety issue. Either that or that it was indeed laced. Spice was the closest thing in terms of similar reported symptoms. But I'm leaning more towards the anxiety since my friend was completely fine both times. I've never done any other drugs and I barely drink any alcohol, a bear a week if at all. Any ideas? Or did any of you have a similar experience?
You had a marijuana induced panic attack, there's a million other cases of people having the exact experience you had, myself included. It just happens sometimes dude nobody is going to have any answers for you other than drink some water, eat something or have a cold shower. As to what you can do to mitigate it in the future, either quit or realize that it could happen again at any time, but you survived it this time being no worse for wear, you'll survive the next one too. Your buddy was right you didn't need to call an ambulance you would have calmed down in a few hours. Don't waste paramedics resources next time it happens.
right, I do plan on quitting if not indefinitely at least for a couple o months. But what worries me is that I'm still struggling with some of the symptoms and its been a couple of days already. I know this may sound ridiculous but I'm considering seeing a psychiatrist. I've been pretty stressed out lately. Graduating from college this December and have no idea what im gonna do, that and a ton of other problems. Which is why I smoke really. It usually helps me calm down. Plus, Bubba Kush is a heavy indica which make it all the harder to make sense of.
It will pass especially if you choose to sober up for a bit, rest assured dude! I know it can be a jarring experience just trying not to ruminate on the thought of the experience too much. And yes absolutely see a psychotherapist for any personal issues you might be having. I had almost the exact same experience you did when I was 16 years old, hospital trip and everything, although I got my mom to drive me haha. I'm 32 now, and have been smoking my entire life since that bad experience. Most times I have a pleasant experience but every once in a while I overdo it and have the same bad high, but after surviving 10 or more bad trips it ceases to be this all encompassing what does it all mean kind of ordeals. It's more, oh shit bad trip better crawl into bed and sleep it off.
Damn i see, that makes me feel a little better. But yeah if i wasnt panicking so much and if my friend wasnt baked out of his mind we would’ve probably just called an uber to the hospital lol. But this really sucks man, any bad thought i have just makes all the symptoms start to reoccur and I have to calm down. I’m basically on edge all the time from it and cant really enjoy anything. Even turned down the chance to hook up w this chick i met the other day, mainly cuz i dont think i have enough energy for it but i was subconsciously worried it might start something again lol but thats just me being stupid. I’ll update the post as I work through this. Also, this was sort of my first time smoking a heavy indica strain. I’d only ever had sativas or hybrids before so maybe once I’m 100% better i’ll give sativas another chance and see how that goes. Thanks for the help my dude, much appreciated!
It's just weed. Relax. Paranoia/anxiety is a normal side effect. Maybe unfortunate, but completely expected. You are NOT going to be the first person to die from weed nor is it going to cause any long term damage. It's possible that you are predisposed to anxiety/panic. Millions of people are. Try to get sativa or hybrid, rather than indicas. Try higher THC/CBD ratio. CBD definitely helps to counter the anxiety. You can even take a few drops of CBD and then try smoking. Take small hits. Bottom line, what you experienced is normal and you'll be fine. Don't over-think it.
All I can tell you is the anxiety you're feeling is not a result of the weed at this point. You're stuck in a panic loop, where you panic because you think you might start panicking. Just continue on with your life dude and don't pay the paranoid thoughts any mind.