Suchthefool
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2010
- Messages
- 81
I have posted this in cannabis discussion but feel it is also appropriate to post here. If it's against BL rules to post twice in two forums or it should be somewhere else please mods do what you need. Also to all those reading it I apologise if this doesn't all make sense. This is the first time this has ever happened to me and I don't know fully how to project it into words.
Where to start really.... I was a regular smoker at night with the occasional time of smoking all day. I've been smoking regularly for around 2 years and it finally happened, the bad outweighed the good.
On Tuesday night I was having a spliff with the missus and it all felt fine till 15 minutes in I felt I was about to have a heart attack. I basically went mental and had an anxiety attack (though I found out this out much later). I didn't want to alarm my sleeping parents so we ordered a taxi to the local A&E and checked myself in saying I can't breathe properly and thought i'm about to have a heart attack. When they saw me, I mentioned I had spliff and this happened. They checked my vitals and told me I was fine but didn't tell me much else. They put me back in the waiting room for a good while and eventually it went away to an extent but I felt tired and wanted to go home. We asked the nurses if I was ok to go and they said i'll be fine but not to smoke again or I might die (Responsible eh?). At this point I still had no idea what had happened. I felt like no one really wanted to help me and I was just shunned as a no good druggie.
The next day I woke up and felt fine but not myself. I had to get the train back to my uni town and felt awful the entire way up but didn't have too much of a problem with it. I still didn't feel myself. When I got home I just curled up into bed and then rolled a cigarette and suddenly it all started happening again; couldn't breathe, the feeling of the need to escape and not knowing where and just feeling like i'm about to die. I felt I had to see a doctor and book an emergency appointment. When I got seen she checked my vitals and said i'm medically fine but what i'm experiencing is a psychosomatic response to my cannabis use. Although she told me to stop using it she didn't say much else except if it happens again call NHS direct (too all non brits it's a health line run by the national health service). At this point I thought fuck this and quit cigarettes too.
The next day they came back even harder and I was getting really scared and worried that i'm never going to get better. So I thought can't hurt to call the NHS. I spoke to the nurse on the phone who was asking what my symptoms were and what could be causing it. I explained and she told me that I am suffering a series of anxiety attacks caused by my cannabis use but by experiencing the withdrawal from cigarettes (which i've smoked for nearly 8 years and never experienced withdrawal either) told me right now it's not a good idea to quit. Cut down but by going cold turkey, it's only gonnah make it worse. But she also told me what I can do to curb my attacks and they will go away slowly. I have decided to stay on my smoking habit for the moment as it helps me calm down, and as I can't smoke in my girlfriends house it gets me outside and helps me take my mind of things.
So after three medical professionals only the last had made me calm down after a couple of days of sheer terror. They have calmed down now today but still occur at times but never get on top of me. Obviously my days of cannabis use are long gone. But, as fun as the times I had on it were, I don't miss it. Which is what I was afraid of if i ever did quit. It was always there for me after a tough day and I feel this experience will only make me stronger but right now i'm still in a pretty dark place from time to time.
I'm essentially just asking you guys for a bit of advice and support and wondering if anyone has had to deal with this? For the ones who have had to deal with it, how have you dealt with it and how long till it went away?
Also while I will not be indulging in any kind of a drug for a while, would it be a bad idea to use any other drugs in future (including caffeine and alcohol)?
With love,
Your friendly ex - stoner
Suchthefool
Where to start really.... I was a regular smoker at night with the occasional time of smoking all day. I've been smoking regularly for around 2 years and it finally happened, the bad outweighed the good.
On Tuesday night I was having a spliff with the missus and it all felt fine till 15 minutes in I felt I was about to have a heart attack. I basically went mental and had an anxiety attack (though I found out this out much later). I didn't want to alarm my sleeping parents so we ordered a taxi to the local A&E and checked myself in saying I can't breathe properly and thought i'm about to have a heart attack. When they saw me, I mentioned I had spliff and this happened. They checked my vitals and told me I was fine but didn't tell me much else. They put me back in the waiting room for a good while and eventually it went away to an extent but I felt tired and wanted to go home. We asked the nurses if I was ok to go and they said i'll be fine but not to smoke again or I might die (Responsible eh?). At this point I still had no idea what had happened. I felt like no one really wanted to help me and I was just shunned as a no good druggie.
The next day I woke up and felt fine but not myself. I had to get the train back to my uni town and felt awful the entire way up but didn't have too much of a problem with it. I still didn't feel myself. When I got home I just curled up into bed and then rolled a cigarette and suddenly it all started happening again; couldn't breathe, the feeling of the need to escape and not knowing where and just feeling like i'm about to die. I felt I had to see a doctor and book an emergency appointment. When I got seen she checked my vitals and said i'm medically fine but what i'm experiencing is a psychosomatic response to my cannabis use. Although she told me to stop using it she didn't say much else except if it happens again call NHS direct (too all non brits it's a health line run by the national health service). At this point I thought fuck this and quit cigarettes too.
The next day they came back even harder and I was getting really scared and worried that i'm never going to get better. So I thought can't hurt to call the NHS. I spoke to the nurse on the phone who was asking what my symptoms were and what could be causing it. I explained and she told me that I am suffering a series of anxiety attacks caused by my cannabis use but by experiencing the withdrawal from cigarettes (which i've smoked for nearly 8 years and never experienced withdrawal either) told me right now it's not a good idea to quit. Cut down but by going cold turkey, it's only gonnah make it worse. But she also told me what I can do to curb my attacks and they will go away slowly. I have decided to stay on my smoking habit for the moment as it helps me calm down, and as I can't smoke in my girlfriends house it gets me outside and helps me take my mind of things.
So after three medical professionals only the last had made me calm down after a couple of days of sheer terror. They have calmed down now today but still occur at times but never get on top of me. Obviously my days of cannabis use are long gone. But, as fun as the times I had on it were, I don't miss it. Which is what I was afraid of if i ever did quit. It was always there for me after a tough day and I feel this experience will only make me stronger but right now i'm still in a pretty dark place from time to time.
I'm essentially just asking you guys for a bit of advice and support and wondering if anyone has had to deal with this? For the ones who have had to deal with it, how have you dealt with it and how long till it went away?
Also while I will not be indulging in any kind of a drug for a while, would it be a bad idea to use any other drugs in future (including caffeine and alcohol)?
With love,
Your friendly ex - stoner
Suchthefool