Need to make 1 of 2 decisions

Lately I've noticed an effect from pot that is not really pleasurable - my heart beats really really fast.
I can't remember if I experienced it to this intensity when I first started smoking pot or if it's something that's new, but I think my birth control is causing a problem with it. (I know pot ups the heart rate, but I think my birth control is making it more intense) It's a well-known fact that smoking while on the pill is unhealthy and may cause heart problems. I'm guessing that means smoking anything. My birth control is likely the culprit of other issues, like depression and anxiety. I haven't been happy about being on it, but I take it for health reasons, not just contraceptive.

I need to either quit smoking pot, or quit taking the pill. I don't want to stop taking the pill for fear my evil cramps will come back, but the thing is, pot helps with those too. So if I quit the pills I'd still have some medicine for my pain (but it doesn't work as well).

I'm afraid I'm going to have a heart attack, so I need to do something.
I think it's obvious what I'm gonna do, but any thoughts?
I don't smoke an awful lot, but I smoke more than I want to because our weed isn't that good. Maybe I need to smoke better weed so I don't have to smoke as much.

 

This is really up to you. It seems to me that you've observed all of the pros and cons... and it really is a hard decision to make. I would maybe take a break from pot for three weeks to a month, maybe smoking once a week at most. Then if you still have problems, I think you should choose one or the other.

You could also stop taking your BC for three weeks to a month and only smoke weed, see which way you like better.

 

Thank you Ebene. I think that's some really good advice and I'm going to take it.

 

Let me know your final decision! :cheers2:

 

idk my girlfriend smokes and drinks and stuff and she is on the pill and i dont think she has ever had any heart issues, try maybe stopping for a few weaks and see if you notice if it was the marijuana or not, by stopping you will have such a low tolerance so you can look forward to that

the world is green some places, but not in the united states

 

That used to happen to me, but not because of birth control. lol

Your heart is fine. You're just concentrating on it more and maybe worrying about it too much, which makes it beat faster, because of panic. You're just having mild panic attacks. It used to happen to me so bad that I would freak out, which made my heart beat faster, and I ended up having fuckin seizures because it was beating so fast. If you don't worry about it and if you keep your mind off of it, then it won't matter, because worrying about it just makes it beat faster. An elevated heartrate is part of the effects from smoking weed, as you know, and you just have to learn not to worry about it. That is all.

 

I figured for a long time that's all it was. But I dunno, it keeps getting worse. I need some valium or something.

 

Yeah I was the same way. It never happened when i first started smoking, no matter how much I smoked. Then, at some point, I could smoke one bowl and start freakin out because my heart was beating so fast, because I had started paying too much attention to my heartrate. After I realized that it was just my mind making too much out of the elevated heartrate, and realized that it's normal for your heart to beat faster when you're stoned, it never happened again. My heart still beats fast when I smoke, but nothing bad happens, because i just don't worry about it. Xanax and valium does help, but after you realize it's just a panic reaction, you don't really need benzos or anything. Just know that it's normal, keep your mind off of it, and it won't bother you anymore.

One thing about the panic though.....it makes the experience really deep, or at least it did for me. When I was having my little panic episodes, music sounded amazing and even though i experiencing panic and even seizures, it still caused some of the most meaningful highs I've ever had and I actually miss it, in a sense. It's weird.

 

It might just be in my head, but this is what happened to me today after I wrote this thread. I smoked part of a fat bowl. Then I started noticing my heart rate. It felt like it was beating faster than ever. I had to get off the computer and lie down. I swear my left arm was going numb and hurting. It might just be in my head though, I don't know. I'm about to quit one or the other. I don't like this.

 

Well, like stella said in your other thread......anxiety can cause real physical symptoms. I don't want you to do anything that's gonna hurt you, but I still think it's just your run-of-the-mill panic attack. It sounds almost identical to what used to happen to me, so that's pretty much what I'm basing it on. It happens to lots of people, actually, and there have been lots of threads about it on here. One of the things I did to get over it was to take just one good hit ever so often and get high very gradually. This way, you can stop smoking when you start to notice you heartrate, but still have a buzz. Sooner or later, you'll become comfortable with getting absolutely stoned again, and you'll have no problems. I'm about 99.3 percent that it's just anxiety/panic getting the best of you. Even when it used to happen to me, when I stayed busy, it didn't bother me. It only became a problem when I sat still and had time to notice it. Like I said, try to keep your mind off of it, or be very gradual and slow about getting stoned, and the problems should go away.

 

That's what I've noticed too.
Thanks everyone for all your help.

 

Good luck. Even if you stop smoking for a while, you can always start back, so don't worry about that shit:sifone:

 

I'll try not to.

 

hi wandering soul- i've had all 3 of your problems, but not at the same time. I once took the pill for cramps, and it helped, but at the time it didn't mess my up emotionally. (I had really evil cramps - first they started making me puke, it was when I started passing out from the pain that I bit the bullet & tried the pill, so I can really relate to your desire to stay on it. You know, your body changes all the time vis a vis your cycle - maybe even if you quit the pill, you won't have the cramps any more)

I've also had really bad anxiety, and felt my heart racing from smoking. I cut way back and used the opportunity to examine myself & try to find out why I was having anxiety, and then to address the issues. I've really changed my smoking habits, & its helped. I've cut way back (from sev. time a day to 1ce or 2ce a week!)

I *think* but I'm not sure, that the thing that conflicts with the pill is nicotine, but check on that.

I think your best bet is to take a good break, let your body and yourself come back in line. Also, see about getting a different prescription for the pill, there are SO many formulae - I think the newer formulae are the ones that mess with your mood, coz when I was taking it 10 years ago, I think it didn't affect my mood noticibly.

 

Talk to a doctor about it, it may seem wierd, telling them that you smoke pot and all, but they aren't aloud to say anything about it, they can't hold anything against you. If they think its the combination of the two that's messing you up, then follow their advice. Life > Pot

 

Alright, just to let everyone know, I quit pot and birth control pills BOTH. I felt so bad last night we had to call an ambulance. They said I was just having a panic attack, but my symptoms were real.
This anxiety isn't worth it.

 

good job quitting both. if you start to hav cramps again then mabey try a diff type of bc. and mabey if u feel your ready for pot again take tnstoners idea and get high very gradualy, but ya id keep away from both for 2 weeks or so. get ur body back to normal.