Marijuana induced anxiety (apparently) Please read

[JaredC]

Hello all I am 16 years old and about 5'5 in height 135 lbs. Unfortunately this past Sunday, I made the wrong choice in smoking marijuana with my friends. It was smoked out of a plastic water bottle (ugh). Anyways, the effects it gave me were far from "relaxing" or "cool" as some other teenagers have described it. I hallucinated pretty severely. Everything seemed to go by verryyy slow and I would blank out alot. I was also apparetly screaming for help and wanting medical attention. I was shaking and was very cold. IT SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME! the next day i felt like a zombie, i couldnt pay attention, i felt numb eating, i was a mess! I started getting very dizzy, dazed and very numb at the movies and got so nervous I had to call and confess to my mom. She took my to the E.R. They told me to eat and drink. Next day, I couldnt even get up for school. I had noo energy and could barely think straight. I also had slight memory loss. I still felt numb. Next day comes I couldnt get up for school, same symptons very bad short memory loss no energy, etc.. My mom takes me to a neurologist and I have a EEG done, everything comes back perfect. I also get bloodwork and urine analysis, and two days later (today), i get those results back & that comes back fine aswell. No toxins in my blood, so that means it wasnt laced with harmful substances. I mustve flushed it all out of my system if it wasnt on my urine analysis. My problem is im still feeling very dizzy, i cant focus in school, i seem to blank out alot. My neurologist suggests that I must be suffering from anxiety , and Im manifesting these symptons since I have nothing in my system and my EEG came back fine so theres no problems with my brain. I just want to know if anyone disagrees with my doctor and i should seek other medical attention. OR you agree with him and think im having anxiety, if anyone can suggest why maybe you think im still feeling this way, and if you have ANY advice on things i can do that can get my mind of it, things i can take , or if i should see maybe a therapist or somethin? idk i just need help cause if my doctor is right that im ok and i just have anxiety, then why am i still feeling slightlydizzy, etc?
I would also like to note I notice my symptons (dizzy, dazed, blanking out) get alot worse when I get stressed or I think about it or I get into a situation (like school hah) that I dont want to be in. Whereas, I seem to feel better if I relax and watch television or a movie with the lights out. Relaxing situations.

I am going to get an hour worth of reiki treattment on monday to help me relax.
if anyone else can suggest anything to help me feel better id appreciate it


P.S. it was my first time doing it, and i had atleast 10 hits.


THANKS FOR READIN!
JARED :D

[phishn4842]

i dont know man...I smoked for probably 10 years or so...just recently quit...towards the end of my pot smoking career I definitely started getting really bad anxiety...this is before anxiety really took hold of me, I cant say as I blame pot for my anxiety cuz there are many other factors that went in to that....but it certainly can aggrevate a pre existing condition I think...

Scott

[kevin]

You might be allergic to something in pot, because the first time anyone smokes pot they don't even get high.

[jitters]

Possibly... But whatever happened it has triggered a fear response and now you are having anxiety symptoms. These will feel like real sympotoms because physically they feel identical to phsycally trigger symptoms. Many cannabis smokers suffer from depression and anxiety in later life, but many already have a genetic prediposision to anxious feelings and the pot just pushes them over the edge. In your case the trigger appears to have been your bad experiance. Try to put it out of your mind and accept that there is no physical damage. If you can do this tell us how :).

[alexvig]

Hey man ive smoked pot for about 6 years now and I really just think it comes with the territory. You knew or should have know that pot induces anxiety in the wrong situations. My advice to you is just next time you do smoke be in a comfortable environment. Your surroundings while taking drugs really have a huge effect on how your high is. Im not trying to say you should smoke weed but if your going to do it somewhere your comfortable.

[V for Victor]

Maybe this board should have an officialy statement on the use of alcohol and illegal drugs regarding the "treatment" of anxiety.

Jitters, now that you're a moderator, maybe you could make some sort of sticky thread about that topic?


I'll look into this.

Jitters

[juliana]

Hey Jared. I'm sorry you're going through this. Just stay away from the pot in the future. I know it relaxes some people, but for other people it just causes anxiety and wicked paranoia. Now that you know how it affects you, there's a good reason (in addition to the fact that you're young and it is still illegal) not to use it again. It sounds like it triggered a major fear response in you and just sent your anxiety level out of whack. It might take a while before you start to feel more like yourself again. It's a good thing that you're seeking medical help and going for some reiki to help you relax. Just stay away from the drugs. I've read some pretty scary stuff about mescaline-induced psychosis. I guess it's a good thing that you experimented with something that's not quite so dangerous, but it's safest and wisest to stay away from drugs all together. Pot has never appealed to me -- you don't know what the hell else is mixed in with that stuff and even if it doesn't give you a paranoia attack, it can make you feel hungover the next day. Not worth it for me. You don't need that crap in your system.

[nematode2001]

Plastic when heated gives off many toxic fumes and can kill you its nothing to play with might wanna do some research online about it.

[thechad]

It sounds like you had some pretty thorough medical examination done quickly afterwards which is a good thing. When you say that you are “blanking out”, do you mean blacking out? (passing out or close to)? Because if so, then an MRI scanning could be a good idea, maybe also a heart EKG just to be sure.

Otherwise, try to relax (of course, easier said than done) and take the time it takes to recover. Smoking pot often causes anxiety attacks in people, so you might still be recovering from a period of heavy anxiety.

Just tell yourself that you’ve at least gained knowledge from the experience: and now you won’t do it again.

[chloeluver]

I have had the same reaction with smoking pot. I gave it up when I was 19, but smoked again on my 29 birthday thinking it would be okay. It wasn't, and I will never smoke it again.

I was diagnosed with OCD when I was about 20 and have learned to deal with it over the years. I don't think smoking pot had anything to do with it; i think it's just how my brain is. I've experienced panic attacks as a result of OCD, but currently, I'm experiencing my first long-term anxiety attack. It started yesterday around 2, and I'm still feeling it. My doctor prescribed lorazepam, and I took half a pill this afternoon. I took half a pill because I'm terribly afraid of taking medication or anything "mind-altering" (which is largely the result of my reaction to pot).

Anyway, it hasn't helped. I feel very tired, but that could be because I've been crying and haven't been able to eat.

I'm glad there is this forum because I've read some posts describing similar feelings as mine.

[JaredC]

It sounds like you had some pretty thorough medical examination done quickly afterwards which is a good thing. When you say that you are “blanking out”, do you mean blacking out? (passing out or close to)? Because if so, then an MRI scanning could be a good idea, maybe also a heart EKG just to be sure.

Otherwise, try to relax (of course, easier said than done) and take the time it takes to recover. Smoking pot often causes anxiety attacks in people, so you might still be recovering from a period of heavy anxiety.

Just tell yourself that you’ve at least gained knowledge from the experience: and now you won’t do it again.

Hey everyone thanks for your responses, but to answer your question, thechad, when I say "blanking out" I mean I just lose my train of thought for long periods of time , probably because Im thinking about it so much, almost like I'm in a "fog" or "daze". So as a result, when I think back on a certain time when I was in that "daze", everything seems like a blur, yknow?

[juliana]

So, are you finding that you're feeling better than you were before, Jared? You might be having an anxiety reaction to what was a traumatic experience for you. That's normal. You went through something very frightening and upsetting.

[JaredC]

Ya, Im noticing a change. Every once in awhile Ill have an "attack" that can last anything froom a few minutes, to a few hours, or could even last a days length. But, Im feeling a bit better.

[Mark1886]

Yeah man, that's called a bad hit. Shmokin' doobies can do that to ya, yeah man, yeah. lol.

This has never happened to myself though, although one of my friends decribed the same types of feelings when he smoked the roots/twigs instead of the drug itself. Ok, i have had my word on this subject, only two more to say: Yeah man!

[Angel]

I dont know man, that doesnt sound like pot to me.

Maybe you were smoking crack, or something....and even crack isnt a hallucinagen,

or maybe your pot was laced.

I got anxiety from pot also, so i quit, but that was only kause i snorted too much cocaine.

But i havent smoked in about.....two years this may.

But...i think you just freaked out, man. There isnt anything wrong.
Just relax.

The first time i wigged out on coke i got the same way, but it goes away.

So i havent done that in a while either.


I just drink a whole lot.

And i even gave that up for a year and three months, so i kould get my life on track and learn to help myself out mentally before allowing ANY type of foreign substance in my body (alcohol, ANY type of medication...im very anti-medication).

So now i think i got through all that, i started drinking before one of my gigs.



bad idea kause i had a hang over...and im the vokillest, so there was no hiding it...haha.

[myra]

This is pretty much what I'm going through right now.

I noticed the blankness and dizziness a few weeks ago, but it seems to have cleared up on its own. I started doing more yoga and that helps!

Let me know how the Reiki worked for you.

[kdanielle]

I KNOW WHAT U MEAN..SAME THING HAPPENED WITH ME..I SMOKED WEED AND IT WAS LACED WITH COCAINE WHICH AT THE TIME I HAD NO IDEA..EVERYSINCE THEN I BEEN HAVIN ANXIETY ATTACKS..SOMETHIN BAD HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE WHERE YOU ARENT SUPPOSED TO BE!! OR DO SOMETHIN YOUR NOT SUPPOSED TO HAHA..

[Angel]

Shoe is laced. Ask e'm.

[FallenAnx]

My first anxiety attack that I didnt even no it was an anxiety was after a nite of smoking, smoking pot, and massive drinking. I woke up from passing out thinking I was having a heartattack my heart was racing and thumping in my chest. Had chest pains since then and had a real anxiety attack that following november while working out. The times I had smoked pot it always made me trip and gave me severe anxiety. The highs would always last through the next day so I know what you mean, I think my anxiety might have been sparked form smoking pot and just continued to grow with my thought process, finally getting it to go down so it takes time but god i hate the feeling.... theres my rant

[Worriedmummy]

Jared,
I agree about smoking out of a plastic bottle its very bad for you to breath in the vapors of plastic and the things they coat it with. Also My husband is allergic to Pot and it causes a lot of the same reactions you were describing although he doesn't have the anxiety stuff but thats because its not already there. Which is what I think is happening with you. You had it inside already and going through what you went through brought it out. There are other ways to stay calm and I wouldn't suggest smoking again since you don't know whats going to happen. Oh and don't worry about what your friends think about you for not smoking with them just find something better to do with them