Help! AFib-like symptoms, possibly from drug use?

[underairpressure]

Hey all. I've been a chronic user for almost 5 years, first taking dissociatives, now muscimol and thc edibles.

Recently, I suddenly started having scary heart symptoms (think really bad AFib), bad enough I went to the hospital. There's still more tests to be done, but so far there is no clear culprit. The AFib symptoms still happen even when I don't use, so I thought there was no way drugs were the cause....... but, as the symptoms are slowly improving overall, I've noticed that taking thc or muscimol actually does make it 10x worse.

Without a clear cause (anxiety unlikely, the symptoms seem to happen even when totally calm, or asleep), it seems likely that my drug use triggered this, or at least made it worse.

Has this happened to anyone else?? With drugs that aren't normally associated with heart problems? (Tho to be fair, there is little to no research on longterm muscimol use, so who even knows there). I've taken ritalin and drank alcohol too, and neither of them make it worse, only thc and muscimol.......

If this has happened to you, how long did it take for it to go away? Did it go away on its own? And if it did go away, were you able to start using again like normal?

(Sorry to be asking this here btw, I am speaking with doctors and they know about the thc. But I wanted to hear from other drug users about their experiences)

 

[JackARoe]

Recently, I suddenly started having scary heart symptoms (think really bad AFib), bad enough I went to the hospital. There's still more tests to be done, but so far there is no clear culprit.

Let the tests complete. Could be PVC. A-fib diagnosed should be treated. I know of no one that has it that takes all the drugs you mentioned except THC. I think that THC is still used by one person I know. No idea on dissociatives but they could contribute possibly if use is heavy. But let all the tests complete. and then keep doing your own research.

This really is an excellent thread on heart rhythms. The end result is different from what was thought AFTER all the tests were done. But good reading until this thread takes off.

Gabapentinoids Thread 'Gabapentin causing PVCs/Heart Arrhythmia / Palpitations????'

May 18, 2024

So, this post is mere speculation.

So I started gabapentin about 3 years ago.
And during the past 3 years, I would have days where after my gabapentin kicked in, I would get funny sensations in my chest/top of my stomach. Kind of felt like my stomach was doing a flip flop or something. It only ever happened like once or twice usually in a 24hr period & then I wouldn't feel it again for weeks or months at a time. So even though I had no idea what it was at the time, it didn't bother me as much since it was super infrequent.

But then in February I had a lung infection & did like 2 weeks on...

• DeathIndustrial88
• Replies: 57
• Forum: Other Drugs

• 
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[underairpressure]

2 major updates.

1, Apparently, this didn't all start in October. I went back through old journal entries, and it turns out, I've been having PVC/palpitations/chest pain/tightness since last January. I just........ completely blacked it out. According to the notes: At first the "episodes" were rare and I wanted to believe it was nothing, but then in April/May/June, I started ALSO having severe stabbing headaches and cognitive symptoms, and I made the decision to not tell anyone, because I figured it MUST be my drug abuse, and therefore it was "my fault" and I deserved to die if it came to that. It was..... very shocking to find out I had forgotten so much.

2, I stopped taking muscimol/ibotenic acid 1 month ago (and now only use THC and alcohol every couple days), but my symptoms are getting worse. And not only that, the stabbing headaches and weird cognitive issues are back, too. I saw a cardiologist and they put me on beta blockers, but after 2 weeks I am still actively getting worse.

I'm........ scared. This is starting to drive me crazy. All tests show my heart is physically healthy. I'm also having issues with my stomach now too and no medication seems to help. There is VERY little research on long term effects of muscimol/ibotenic acid use, but there is one study that suggests ibotenic acid MIGHT cause brain lesions in high doses......... I'm worried that all these heart and stomach issues are just an offshoot of literal brain damage. I want to ask for a brain scan but so, so, SO badly do not want to fess up to what I've been doing. I don't want to be labeled an "addict" and face medical abuse/neglect for the rest of my life. I've already suffered a lot of medical trauma.

Sorry for the rambling, I just. It's getting worse and I'm fuking scared. And also I hate myself because I KNOW I should stop taking drugs/alcohol entirely for a while, see if that leads to improvement, but I.......... I already gave up muscimol (for now), which I love with the intesnity of 1000 suns. I don't know if I can also give up THC/alcohol, as stupid as that might sound.

And I can't help thinking, well, I DID actually stay off everything for about 2 weeks at one point, and my symptoms didn't improve, so CLEARLY the drugs aren't the problem, I should just keep using.......... even though while on them the symptoms sometimes get WAY more severe, so much so I fear that I might not wake up in the morning.

And it still hasn't stopped me. Ha. Ha

 

[underairpressure]

Let the tests complete. Could be PVC. A-fib diagnosed should be treated. I know of no one that has it that takes all the drugs you mentioned except THC. I think that THC is still used by one person I know. No idea on dissociatives but they could contribute possibly if use is heavy. But let all the tests complete. and then keep doing your own research.

This really is an excellent thread on heart rhythms. The end result is different from what was thought AFTER all the tests were done. But good reading until this thread takes off.

https://www.bluelight.org/community...ng-pvcs-heart-arrhythmia-palpitations.9*9445/

Thank you for the thread to read........ it's interesting that I have some very similar symptoms to this person, but, in the end they seem to have found that the source WASN'T gabapentin........... so I don't know. Maybe I've developed some strange reaction to another chemical? I know of someone who developed severe heart palpatations after vaping carts that had food coloring in them........... maybe I've just been chemical bombing my brain/body with too much stuff in general.

Well, that's just speculation though. Still no concrete answers on my end, sadly.

 

[Stephy]

Hey all. I've been a chronic user for almost 5 years, first taking dissociatives, now muscimol and thc edibles.

Recently, I suddenly started having scary heart symptoms (think really bad AFib), bad enough I went to the hospital. There's still more tests to be done, but so far there is no clear culprit. The AFib symptoms still happen even when I don't use, so I thought there was no way drugs were the cause....... but, as the symptoms are slowly improving overall, I've noticed that taking thc or muscimol actually does make it 10x worse.

Without a clear cause (anxiety unlikely, the symptoms seem to happen even when totally calm, or asleep), it seems likely that my drug use triggered this, or at least made it worse.

Has this happened to anyone else?? With drugs that aren't normally associated with heart problems? (Tho to be fair, there is little to no research on longterm muscimol use, so who even knows there). I've taken ritalin and drank alcohol too, and neither of them make it worse, only thc and muscimol.......

If this has happened to you, how long did it take for it to go away? Did it go away on its own? And if it did go away, were you able to start using again like normal?

(Sorry to be asking this here btw, I am speaking with doctors and they know about the thc. But I wanted to hear from other drug users about their experiences)

what part of the world are you from? never heard of this muscimol stuff, but it sounds interesting. would love to try it

 

[kris66]

You say your heart is physically healthy. What tests have you had done? Was it an echocardiogram? Have you had a stress test?

I had an echocardiogram that showed my heart was fine but I continued to have symptoms. Thankfully my daughter insisted I go back to the Dr and ask for a stress test. I failed the stress test and ended up having to have surgery due to Coronary Artery Disease.

If they haven't done a stress test yet I would request one. We have to advocate for ourselves sometimes.

 

[underairpressure]

what part of the world are you from? never heard of this muscimol stuff, but it sounds interesting. would love to try it

My whole reply got erased after I posted it, somehow, so whatever. Here's a brief version

I'm in the USA, where muscimol is basically legal and completely unregulated

Most people do not end up Loving muscimol like I do, and just use it to microdose or whatever, so you'll probably be fine, but, IF you do try it and end up In Love with it, try not to use it CONSTANTLY like I did, because you will be making yourself a guinea pig for a substance that has extremely little research on it. There are no known side effects of long-term use, but that's because very few people abuse it long term and there's no interest in studies. That doesn't mean there's no consequences, as I might be learning right now.

Not saying don't try it, you'll almost certainly be fine. Just a word of warning in case you do end up feeling like I do about it

 

[underairpressure]

You say your heart is physically healthy. What tests have you had done? Was it an echocardiogram? Have you had a stress test?

I had an echocardiogram that showed my heart was fine but I continued to have symptoms. Thankfully my daughter insisted I go back to the Dr and ask for a stress test. I failed the stress test and ended up having to have surgery due to Coronary Artery Disease.

If they haven't done a stress test yet I would request one. We have to advocate for ourselves sometimes.

I've had an echocardiogram, a stress test, had a heart monitor for a month, and some labs done to see if there's any heart damage.

The monitor and stress test showed that I absolutely am having PVCs and other heart abnormalities, like ventricular tachycardia and sudden BPM fluctuations, even while doing nothing. But, supposedly, there appears to be no actual damage to my heart, and I was told it's exceptionally healthy, an "athlete's heart". I still have a cardiac MRI to schedule, but for now that's what we currently know.

The theory is that something else is causing my heart to freak out. Could be my stomach, my vagus nerve, my autonomic system, my brain......... so many things could be the culprit. Considering I'm also having these stabbing headaches and cognitive issues, I definitely fear I've gotten brain lesions or something, since that's the only possible 'side effect' ever found for what I'm taking. But I'm not sure what to do about it, I so badly don't want to be "caught", labeled an addict officially and be discriminated against for the rest of my life.

Still trying to figure out how to proceed. Or if I'm just going to accept that whatever if wrong, I probably did it to myself, so I just have to suck it up and suffer. Idk

 

[negrogesic]

My whole reply got erased after I posted it, somehow, so whatever. Here's a brief version

I'm in the USA, where muscimol is basically legal and completely unregulated

Most people do not end up Loving muscimol like I do, and just use it to microdose or whatever, so you'll probably be fine, but, IF you do try it and end up In Love with it, try not to use it CONSTANTLY like I did, because you will be making yourself a guinea pig for a substance that has extremely little research on it. There are no known side effects of long-term use, but that's because very few people abuse it long term and there's no interest in studies. That doesn't mean there's no consequences, as I might be learning right now.

Not saying don't try it, you'll almost certainly be fine. Just a word of warning in case you do end up feeling like I do about it

What kind of doses of muscimol were you taking?

 

[underairpressure]

What kind of doses of muscimol were you taking?

Hard to answer, as the intensity of the dose depends on the batch I receive. And...... I don't even truly know, with 100% percent certainty, WHAT I'm receiving, y'know? I'm TOLD it's muscimol/ibotenic acid, and I've been given "lab results", but whose to say that's real, y'know?

I've thought about having what i take tested , a million times, and I want to, but I've been told testing for muscimol/ibotenic acid is "notoriously difficult". Do any of you know a good place to send what I take for testing? I don't care to know the exact amount, really.... even just knowing for sure what's really in it........... if they can just verify that it's muscimol/ibotenic acid and/or something else would be enough. I want to know for sure what I've actually been taking.