A few months ago I experienced what I thought was a heart attack after combining MDMA+Cannabis (Roughly 1.5g MDMA) An ambulance was called and my heart rate was measured to be 170bpm. They were very polite, took me to hospital and gave me some beta blockers to calm down and I slept it off. I believe it to have just been a severe panic attack however they were not very clear to me about what had happened and discharged me. If I had done any real damage would I have been informed? Before this experience I had a fair few trips under my belt and never even had a bad trip, even at high doses. Now however, whenever I trip I feel as though I have a pain in my chest and have constant thoughts about a heart attack and dying, all though both times it has not happened and I've slept it off and been fine. I have also since visited a walk in center, explained that I was concerned about my heart, and after checking I was informed my blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen levels were all normal. After tripping again the same thing occurred and I tried to rationalize it in my head much to my dismay and this fear/pain went on until the trip ended. I am 18 years old, with no history of a heart disease or any physical problems. All signs point towards it being anxiety/panic as the more I try to feel my heart rate or think about it the scarier it gets. It often feels as if its rapidly speeding up and feeling like it will just stop. Is there anyway way to pin point the cause? I now have an obsession with my heart.
Heart troubles while tripping?
- Thread starter 25i/10
- Start date
EntheoDjinn
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2005
- Messages
- 1,129
Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your intentions) some substances are significant "imprinters" - LSD being one of the best in my opinion. You could have a total cardiac check up (free here in UK but if you're in USA or other country it may well be very expensive) to reassure you before embarking on an exercise whereby you practice desensitising yourself to the anxiety whilst tripping. Having a good friend or sitter to guide you through relaxation exercises would be a cool idea. You might then re-learn how to be relaxed while tripping. You only mention MDMA and cannabis so that's a bit different to what I would call "tripping" - "rolling" used to be the term for enjoying the MDMA experience.
Might MDMA on its own not help you to retrain yourself? Although cannabis for many people is a pleasant experience there are many who find it anxiogenic.
Mind you, 1.5 grammes MDMA, if taken all at once (or even over a single session) is a dangerous amount. Perhaps you were rightly panicking as your body felt it was being poisoned! And it may not have been pure MDMA or MDMA at all (unless you tested).
But it sounds like you maybe just need to re-train yourself (given an all clear as to cardiac disease/disorder)
Might MDMA on its own not help you to retrain yourself? Although cannabis for many people is a pleasant experience there are many who find it anxiogenic.
Mind you, 1.5 grammes MDMA, if taken all at once (or even over a single session) is a dangerous amount. Perhaps you were rightly panicking as your body felt it was being poisoned! And it may not have been pure MDMA or MDMA at all (unless you tested).
But it sounds like you maybe just need to re-train yourself (given an all clear as to cardiac disease/disorder)
Sorry I should have been more clear, I have tripped on tasteless (and tested) LSD maybe more than a dozen times before the incident. But since the experience with the MDMA I have been very focused on my heart and been unable to comfortably trip since. I am based in the UK also and did have a check up at a walk in where she attached one of those 'things' to my finger and informed me my heart rate was steady, and blood pressure and oxygen levels were all normal. Is that level of analysis enough to detect any problems or would I need something more? I now avoid MDMA, but would like to continue psychedelic usage. I suppose it is a possibility it could have caused heart issues but surely the hospital would have warned me of such a thing? They didn't even advise me against drugs, they just said I was free to go.
EntheoDjinn
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2005
- Messages
- 1,129
Well it is possible to have a cardiac scan - although as you will be aware the NHS is pretty strapped for cash and the docs may decide they are sure enough that you didn't do any harm that it not worth the cost to do a more in-depth investigation.
I've found GPs in Scotland to be quite open-minded and not judgmental about substance use - if you feel OK then you could just fess up and tell your GP you are very worried. MDMA is still not well researched (almost all the research was to try to find dangers which could bolster our noble politicians' hard line anti-drugs policies). As a GP would not necessarily have a deep understanding of idiosyncratic reactions he/she may refer you to a Cardiologist (they can link you up to a radio-controlled instrument for 24 hours and analyse your heart over this period to see if there are any signs of damage/disorders).
I've found GPs in Scotland to be quite open-minded and not judgmental about substance use - if you feel OK then you could just fess up and tell your GP you are very worried. MDMA is still not well researched (almost all the research was to try to find dangers which could bolster our noble politicians' hard line anti-drugs policies). As a GP would not necessarily have a deep understanding of idiosyncratic reactions he/she may refer you to a Cardiologist (they can link you up to a radio-controlled instrument for 24 hours and analyse your heart over this period to see if there are any signs of damage/disorders).
ShroomySatori
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2015
- Messages
- 2,935
I am sorry that you are experiencing symptoms of anxiety and panic disorder. Anxiety often manifests in physical form. I would venture to say that the traumatic Mdma experience played a huge part in this. I doubt there would be heart damage if you were checked out but make sure you're comfortable about that. You might have triggered anxiety, and it could be long lasting - I'd definitely be looking into seeing someone about that. Just keep the fuck off the benzos and go for like cognitive behavioural therapy or something, I mean there's so much you could be doing (and me too, I have panic disorder... I like my yin yoga)
Man at least put the drugs down for a while eh? What are you even thinking about tripping on psychedelics for after that incident. The life lesson is practically slapping you in the face and you're still looking to get something more out of tripping... you need to be taking it really, really easy man. Pick up yoga or something, I mean whatever helps you chill out. There are so many ways to keep on the path of spirituality and self discovery without taking psychedelics.
Can you still smoke weed without exacerbating your anxiety? I feel like you might get panic symptoms from it after that.
Man at least put the drugs down for a while eh? What are you even thinking about tripping on psychedelics for after that incident. The life lesson is practically slapping you in the face and you're still looking to get something more out of tripping... you need to be taking it really, really easy man. Pick up yoga or something, I mean whatever helps you chill out. There are so many ways to keep on the path of spirituality and self discovery without taking psychedelics.
Can you still smoke weed without exacerbating your anxiety? I feel like you might get panic symptoms from it after that.
Last edited: