Methylphenidate and weed getting my heart rate up

[cbnlinx]

So my doctor recently prescribed me Concerta 56mg, which is almost twice as much as my previous dosage that I started out with. My blood pressure is quite a bit higher than it was before medication (around 145/85 at the moment), and I've noticed that I get very minor pressure on my chest at times when on the meds. It usually goes away pretty quickly and doesn't bother me and I can work normally and everything. The problem is that when I smoke weed (I've always smoked in the evening on days I've taken Concerta in the morning), my heart rate goes way up. Even climbing a flight of stairs gets me a lot more tired than usual and I start feeling a bit uncomfortable in the chest area, which I can't really tell if I should assimilate with the combination of drugs or anxiety.

I've never had problems with smoking weed, it tends to get my heart rate up a bit shortly after smoking, but after that it's always gone back to pretty much normal. With the stimulants bringing my blood pressure and heart rate up I guess the weed just makes the effects even worse, making me overly conscious of my heart beating faster than normal, which results in slight anxiety. I'm just worried that the increased heart rate and blood pressure caused by the combination could be a risk. The weed makes me really relaxed and lazy, although I'm a bit more aware than usual because of the Concerta, so it's not bad at all, but the uncomfortable slight chest pain and my heart beating really fast isn't the best and gets me a bit worried.

I like to smoke weed recreationally now and then, but I don't know what to do - should I just not take my meds on days I plan on smoking on or can the same issues occur even then? I tend to worry about health-related stuff, but I keep hearing both that the aforementioned combination can be really bad for you as well as that it's not a problem at all so I'm a bit confused if this can cause short-term or long-term issues. Maybe I should ask my doctor to lower my dosage or if she could prescribe me some BP medication?

Some insight on this would be much appreciated.

 

[blazed420daze]

Well they both act on the heart through different mechanisms so they will compound on top of each other, ya the worst experience I ever had was a 56mg concerta with no tolerance and then smoked a few joints alone. Stimulants and weed don't mix well for me, never has been a good time so I just avoid them until I come down from the stimulant, sometimes I try to believe it might be different but always regret it. Have you talked to your doctor about finding a way to get slightly lower dose? Doubling your dose doesn't sound very wise, you want to take as little as possible while still getting the therapeutic effect not just blast you up twice as much every once in a while lol.

 

[Kittycat5]

I assume your BP was normal before this combo (correct me if wrong). Perhaps you could do a little test. Stop taking both drugs (if you can, if you need them to function, talk to your doctor about lowering the dose as you said). Give yourself a 2 week washout period where you take neither and measure your BP several times a day and record it. After the 2 weeks, take the Concerta daily for a week or two. Again measure your BP as above. Stop the Concerta and give yourself a week with no drugs. Then, smoke your pot for a week and measure BP. Combine the two again and see how the BP is then.

A BP of 145/85 is,not going to lead to a sudden onset stroke or heart attack, but if it stays that high for long periods, you are at risk for renal and CV disease among others and would need to seek treatment.

 

[cbnlinx]

Yeah, methylphenidate and weed don't seem to mix that well for me either, at least with the current dosage I'm on. Even during the come down from the Concerta weed seems to have a pretty bad effect on top of it. I'm not scheduled for an appointment until January, but I might have to schedule another appointment to see if I should lower my dosage. My doctor was slightly concerned about my BP last time, so toning it down a bit could help.

My BP was perfectly normal before going on stimulants. I took 3x10mg IR (Medikinet) at first per day, and during that period I measured my BP and it was around the same readings as it has been on Concerta, maybe slightly lower. During Concerta, though, I've had the occasional chest pain and even walking too fast can get me quite strained - none of which issues I had with the medication I was taking before Concerta. I'll probably be taking the meds when necessary until the end of the week, after which I could give that a shot and see how my BP reacts.

Weird thing is that when my BP was perfectly normal, I took no stimulants, only recreational weed smoking several times a week. Medikinet did bump my BP up, but smoking weed while on it had no significant effect, just a slight headache in the morning, otherwise it was nothing out of the usual. I'm guessing it could be that the Medikinet could've already worn off, whereas the Concerta, being extended release, isn't really controllable the same way as the IR meds. Or could it just be solely about the dosage? I'm also wondering if just the fact that it's a different medication (even though the active substance is the same) could have that significant of an effect when combined with weed? I could also ask my doctor if there's an alternative XR medication to Concerta, maybe ask for an extended release Medikinet with a similar/slightly lower dose?

Appreciate the replies, I haven't been on stimulants for long so I'm not too knowledgeable when it comes to this stuff.

 

[dopamimetic]

The THC in the weed does actually diminish GABAergic neurotransmission, that's also (one of) the cause why smoking pot can be anxiogenic / panic attack inducing.
A strain with high CBD/THC ratio will have less severe side effects probably.

And MPH itself is a quite strong NRI (or even NRA) which causes some of its not-so-nice effects like increased sympathomimetic tone, raised pulse and BP, anxiety etc.. I hope they will approve isopropylphenidate anytime soon (the patent is there) which is a much calmer phenidate and more selective for dopamine, also it's longer lasting and comes & goes more smoothly..