Drug induced heart disease

[《Plasticity》]

To save time, my relevant history consists of alot of psychedelic and empathogenic use, sometimes irresponsably mixed. Hard to give an exact amount, but on and off use for maybe 7 years with a 2 year period of heavy experimentation, 1 of those years almost weekly use. Ex kratom addict, ex etizolam addict (very small habit, though led to 3 months of withdrawal).

It all started with shortness of breath that would come and go... even when lying down. These episodes started about a month and a half ago giv or take and were fairly mild, I shrugged em off as anxiety which in hindsight was incredibly stupid. These bouts eventually subsided for a while. Well, about 3 weeks ago, or at the end of that symptom free week I decided it would be fine to take a modest dose of 6-apdb and 5-apb (MDA analogues). I went through about 250mgs of material in total, not of each. This was pretty usual, nothing crazy, for me at least.

Ever since then things went south. I fucked my heart up... don't have a diagnosis yet so I don't know exactly in which way but I've been palpitating essentially 24/7... hearts always pounding and feels "congested" which is the best adjective to describe it, not saying this is congestive heart failure or anything, occasional "thumping", on and off bouts of nasty breathlessness, sometimes accompanied by chest pressure, mild chest pains, headaches, as well as persisting mild fatigue that's been around for a while (which I previously attributed to etizolam withdrawal).

I've been to the emergency room twice and my GP once, still no answers. In the hospital my bp was 147/90, I'm a 140lb 21yo male with a prior bp of around 120/70... Both times they ran an EKG which came out normal, but the test only measures my heart activity for 30 seconds and I wasn't having any symptoms at the time besides increased perhaps an increased HR/BP. Chest X-ray also came out clear so I was released with nothing to go on, but a reccomendation to see a cardiologist. Of course, I'm not satisfied so I've got an appt for the cardiologist on the 13th.

Though it's obviously a bit silly to "call" my diagnosis, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if I'm diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension caused by excessive exposure to 5-ht2b agonism. Lot's of psychedelics and essentially all serotonergic empathogens are 5-ht2b agonists which over time cause stiffening of heart valves and increase in arterial blood pressure with chronic exposure for those who are unaware, think phen-fen and other diet pill recalls. Sad thing is there is no cure for pulmonary hypertension and the prognosis is not so great. Obviously I'm jumping the gun a bit on that diagnosis but with my history it's a genuine concern.

I'm honestly scared for what my future may hold, I mean I'm 21yo and I'm already having what I can only assume as a heart problem (I know, I know, I haven't even been diagnosed yet but my symptoms are very real and alot worse than they already sound like on paper). Anyways, this is just my story which I'll tl;dr.

TL/DR: I've abused alot of vasocontrictive psychedelics and empathogens and it's quite obvious I've now done some heart damage. Anybody else here with drug induced heart problems? How do you cope and how has this affected your life?

 

[Maya]

I have not experienced a drug induced heart problem, but I do know someone who has abused a research chemical and has had somewhat a similar problem you are facing. He was fine after a few months as I have not heard from him complain about his symptoms. I know it's hard to not over think but I would wait until your appointment with the cardiologist and see the diagnosis and what medication he/she will suggest to you. Sorry if this is not much of help but from my understanding, most of these are not permanent as long as you have stopped abusing the drugs you have mentioned.

 

[Foreigner]

Stop doing stimulants. Long time stimulant abuse fucks with node regulation in the heart and causes voltage gate problems in the nervous system as a whole.

Take mineral combos like calcium, magnesium, and zinc -- always take these with a full meal. Take CoQ10.

Consider heart alterants (restorative herbs) like hawthorn tincture. Take low doses long term (at least a couple months) to regulate heart health. Take it consistently or it won't work.

Be willing to accept any heart related emotions that come up during recovery. Some people take stims for years and their hearts are just fine, while others can't get away with it for long. Some people it's genetics and others they have unresolved heart shit to sort out. People who want to be on happy uppers are usually unhappy for one reason or another -- unresolved grief, insecurity, lack of direction, the world around them is not feeding them, etc. If you take hawthorn then be prepared to look at that.

And also, proper diet, exercise, etc. Your body sounds spent and needs rejuvenating on a deep level.

 

[《Plasticity》]

Obviously my drug use has been put on hold, likely forever in the case of empathogens. I'm actually quite happy in my life and have been for some time with the exception of the period of withdrawal due to etizolam use, which I've barely recovered from and obviously this recent event. Self medication isn't what drove me to my abuse, at least for most of drug use... I was just addicted to the emotional and spiritual bonding that these two classes of drugs brought to me and my girlfriend of many years and our relationship has been built to that of which I would imagine would be near impossible without the use of said substances.

As for the psychedelic use, which is probably the lesser contributor to my health issues, I just got attatched to the rapid shift in perception which thus effectively allowed introspection with a different point of view, which in turn lead to alot of mental growth. Anyways this probably sounds like a justification for abuse, which it is not so I'll leave this be as what's been done is done.

While I'm glad to hear your friend made a recovery Maya, and I hope my outcome will be similar, it looks like my problems aren't gonna go away without medical intervention and maintenance of certain lifestyle changes which have already been put into place for quite some time. Even though your friends symptoms have gone away it would probably be a good idea to give him a nudge to get that checked out, at least if his symptoms were anywhere near as bad as mine appear to be.

My diet is rather phenomenal and I've actually been on all of the suplements you've reccomended with the exception of the hawthorne tincture foreigner, which I'll now be looking into. it's a clear cut issue IMO that my body is as you put it... "spent".

I should mention that prior to this incident I've cut my drug use dramatically with maybe 2 psychedelic trips and 1-2 rolls during this whole year as well a droppink a 4 year kratom habit. Even moreso lately, as I've been clean of all drugs for months excluding prescription proton pump inhibitors (which I'm now off. Ironically, these have now been shown to cause heart disease by constricting heart valves? I believe, while also preventing the production of nitric oxide), cannabis, and sporadic neurontin use to combat my etizolam withdrawal.

Anyways, hopefully I can get the cardiologist to run an echocardiogram and view what structural damage I may have foolishly brought upon myself and deal with the consequences, which I'm afraid won't be pretty. I'm still curious to hear others stories. Thanks for the responses, they're appreciated in this difficult time . Sorry for rambling...

 

[swimmingencouraged]

I thought I was going to die when I overdosed on AB CHIMACA (I think). My heart has never beat so fast in my entire life. All my veins were popping out a quarter inch above the surface of my skin. Even 5 minutes after the first irregularities it was beating too fast to get a reading. I had chest pains and an accompanying pain moving up my left arm. Afterwards I felt like something was not right in my chest so I went to the cardiologist and somehow the rhythm of my heart had been made irregular by this. Had to do electro therapy to restore it and had a pacemaker for a couple weeks. No permanent damage but ny cardiologist said whatever happened was not something to repeat if I was interested in living a long life. I've never had any issues since but have really cut down on everything, especially noids as whenever I touch them I end up in the fucking hospital. I'll see if I can find the papers he gave me about what was actually abnormal about my cardiac function.

 

[ForEverAfter]

Plasticity, can you please describe your usage habits at the peak of your drug consumption?
What drugs were you consuming, specifically, and in what quantities?
How long did this go on for?

Hard to give an exact amount, but on and off use for maybe 7 years with a 2 year period of heavy experimentation, 1 of those years almost weekly use.

I realize it's difficult to paint an accurate picture of your usage habits, but I'd like a little more information if possible.
The peak, I assume, was the 2 year period of heavy experimentation... Yet you only consumed drugs weekly?
You were never a daily user for prolonged periods of time?

From what you've described, I've consumed way more drugs than you.
And I know people who've consumed way more.
So, perhaps you're over-reacting to the palpitations?
Is there a history of heart problems in the family?

I have palpitations sometimes, but I think it's mostly due to cannabis, anxiety or both (depending on the situation).
I'm not particularly concerned about it... But, I would be if it was 24/7.

What are the top 10 (or so) most frequent drugs that you've consumed, in order of frequency?
(If you don't mind me asking.)

 

[Mycophile]

I'm curious to know if you ever got that echocardiogram and if so what it said.

Hope you are feeling better.