Harm Reduction Adrenergic Drugs and Adrenal Fatigue, Remedies?

[pharma-sutra]

Once was a heavy stimulant user (amps mainly) until I started to experience bad cases of vasoconstriction (cold hands/feet) and urinary retention.

However, I am still a chronic cannabis smoker (was long before I started using stims), but now when I over-indulge the herb, I would also get coldness in the extremities too. On top of that, sometimes anxiety and paranoia ensues. Another odd phenomena that I noticed is when I used to smoke herb for cushioning the crash from stimulants, these aforementioned side effects become more pronounced. In fact, these nasty effects persist long after the comedown if I had used cannabis, which prevents me from having a proper sleep/rest. Which leads me to suspect that cannabis may have a correlation that also taxes the adrenal glands like sympathomimetic drugs?

Given what I had described, is this some sort of a mild case of adrenal insufficiency (fatigue)? Even after a big cup of coffee and when the caffeine starts to wear off, I would have cold hands and feet. When I do muster enough motivation to do anaerobic exercises (jogging/bicycling), my skin starts itch too, especially the around the thigh area. I'm not sure, but it seems like it could be an indication of damage to my cardiovascular health.

On a side note, i should mention that in the past (during health examinations) several MP's have said that I have a mild case of cardiac arrhythmia or irregular heart beat. They never really looked into it, because iirc they told me it shouldn't have an impact on my cardio health. Although it was way before I started using stims and they never really gotten me officially diagnosed. Secondly, I also come from a long family history of heart diseases.

What has gotten my interest is what I read about nitric oxide supplements. Is this a viable remedy? It could prove to be quite useful because I'm also trying to engage on a exercise program and it would be useful as a pre-workout supplement for energy boost.

Nowadays, when I do find myself using amps in recreational doses, pregabalin has been a godsend for me. Oh, garlic extract does wonders too, as well as staying active.

Inputs?? Thoughts?? (And please, we all know the sensible thing to do is to quit EVERYTHING all together. but I choose to take one step at a time, guys.)

 

[DubNaut]

this is just a bump as i really have to analyze for a proper input.

but cannabis for me, in a similar scenarios is not so forgiving as we expect.
it may be part of the the whole situation, i can relate in the over-indulge part.

i no longer smoke cannabis. fact wise pretty sure the cannabinoid receptors are very impact on our bodies balance.

 

[pharma-sutra]

true. some might say this is going a bit too far, but when I used be smoking heavily (3.5g-7g/day) and stopped cold turkey...there were some W/D that ensued. however, it could be my body's predisposition for such symptoms due to genetics. although IME, there were never any hot/cold flushes, migraines, and overall sense of malaise when I stopped smoking tobacco. people should really tread lightly with cannabis, don't overlook the fact that it is indeed a powerful psychedelic. remember the first time you took a hit? felt like you were probably dazed for a couple a days, right? and it felt like you could never retrieve baseline, correct? i believe it was the brain telling you it's chemistry was fucked.

 

[sekio]

Cannabis/THC act as mild antiadrenergics that decrease blood pressure. Maybe that's what tyou're noticing.

remember the first time you took a hit? felt like you were probably dazed for a couple a days, right? and it felt like you could never retrieve baseline, correct? i believe it was the brain telling you it's chemistry was fucked.

The incredibly high fat solubility and potency probably factor more into it than any permanent effects on brain chemistry.

 

[pharma-sutra]

Cannabis/THC act as mild antiadrenergics that decrease blood pressure. Maybe that's what tyou're noticing.

Hmm, you're right. Sometimes if I am sedentary for a while and have been smoking, when I stand up I get nauseous. But can you explain why cannabis seems to be counterintuitive for me when used in concoction with stims (adrenergics)?

 

[sekio]

Not really. Everyone responds to drugs differently, though. It does not suprise me.

 

[pharma-sutra]

How come it doesn't surprise you? I've noticed that only seasoned, long-term cannabis users experience this. And that is the reason many of us are starting to quit it altogether. I've read numerous times that in higher doses, it becomes a mild vasconstrictor rather than having vasodilating effects. I also attribute this to having surfaced anxiogenic properties on higher dosages, thus increasing blood pressure rather than lowering it?

 

[pharma-sutra]

bump.

i'd like to just update on the topic regarding adrenal exhaustion that i think would be useful for the community. after doing some research into it, i've come to a conclusion that the best remedy would be managing your stress appropriately by: proper diet (proteins), exercise, sleep, theraputic relaxation massages, yoga, acupuncture, and dietary supplements.

dietary supplements that promote adrenal health are: vitamin C, magnesium chelate, and 5htp.
dietary supplements that also combat vasoconstriction and promote cardiovascular health : l-arginine, nicotinic acid (niacinamide), garlic extract (allium sativum), and ginseng.
(these happen to be the popular picks and most studied. although, i'm quite interesting in l-dopa. can anyone with experience using l-dopa shed some light?)

 

[tweex]

"Adrenal fatigue" in many cases is somewhat a bullshit condition. Generally speaking though, taking PEA is going to help with adrenaline production. Clonidine (and better yet guanfacine) works well for combatting hypertension from stims. Beta blockers are also alright as long as the doses are very low, but dangerous at high doses if not accompanied by an alpha 1 blocker.