Is my heart failing?

[Cobain192]

Well where to begin...I just turned 24 this month and I had been smoking since I was 17. I just quit pot a week ago because unfortunately it's no longer enjoyable. Every time I smoke now my heart starts beating hard and I feel like I'm about to have a heart attack. When I sleep at night i occasionally hear my heart beat. I wanted to see a heart doctor but my parents say "you know what they are going to tell you, they are just going to say stop smoking, which you already know." My parents want me to stop smoking for at least 2 months and if the problems persist then go to a doctor.

Other than not smoking (which I don't plan to) what else can I really do? I'm trying to run on the exercise bike for 30 min everyday and eat better. Do you think my heart can go back to normal? Some people are saying it's all in my head since I'm young. However if you look at me I really don't look like a 24 yr old. People think I'm 18 cause I'm skinny and have a young face. I fear I'm just not healthy and my heart is going to fail in the not so distant future.

Also this is not my first time posting bout a health problem. Maybe a year ago I was on here telling everyone how I was coughing up gray spit which I still do (but not as much since i got a job that required me to do a lot of walking). To be honest if I could do it all over again I wouldn't have smoked at all. I think some people just can't handle it and I'm one of them. I had always tried to eat well and now I think it was all for nothing. Boy i will miss the days of getting high =(

I should note that I was having heart palpilations on a frequent basis (which i dont get as much anymore but still do) 3 months ago and so i went to see a doctor and he said i was fine and i should just stop taking any sort of caffeine. Once i did this i didnt get them as much. I still was optomistic though since i continued to hear my heart beat when i slept but at the same time i was continuing to smoke. I think its obvious the smoking was/is causing me the heart problems.

So i go to another doctor and they say maybe your hearing your heart beat because of fluid build up in your ears...I guess maybe but thats seems far fetched. But what do I know, I'm not a doctor. Anyways do you think I should just wait for 2 months (of course not smoking-im done for good btw) and then see a doctor? Part of me is afraid what if something happens to me in these 2 months when I could have done something about it immediately and seen a heart doctor. But at the same time I don't think I can even see a heart doctor as money is really tight right now.

Also I should note back in the day i dabbled in a little coke, adderal and xtc and fear that has fucked up my heart. I didn't do much of any of them though but maybe a little is all it takes in some people =/

Well that's about it. I just want to live a long healthy life and fear I've messed it all up. Any comments you think would help my situation would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[thcbound]

You know exactly what the problem is, yet you refuse to do anything about it. You need to quit smoking, period. Nothing else is going to help you if you continue to smoke cigarettes.

 

[Cobain192]

Your absolutely right. Its just all around me and looking at the past it's those smoking "friends" that pulled me back in. Guess it's time to cut some people out of my life and start hanging around non smokers. Thought I could do it by not having to resort to that but it's impossible for me it seems. Thanks for the post.

edit: Oh and btw I was talking about pot not cigs.

 

[thcbound]

I also had a problem with smoking herb, I smoked everyday in heavy amounts for years and I was coughing up black globs of tar from my lungs every morning. Then I switched to only vaporizing and the health benefits I've realized are amazing. I no longer cough up tar, my lung capacity has greatly increased and I feel much better overall. Not to mention I go through much less herb now and I love the taste of vapor over smoke by far.

Exercise and eating healthy also make a huge impact on your life, I'm no expert on heart conditions though so like your parents said try not smoking for a couple months and if your symptoms persist then go see a doctor.

 

[Mr Celsius]

Have you had a physical? If so, and you have a good doctor and he/she says you're ok, then you're probably ok.

Anxiety can cause numbness of the arm and accelerated heart beat, sometimes even palpitations. Mj can also cause anxiety... this may have been linked. Also what you may think are chest pains, maybe your lung muscles hurting from coughing.

Smoking is one of the worst things you could do if you actually do have a heart disease. What is even worse then anything, is thinking you have a problem with you don't. Stress is one of the worst things you can do to your heart. I really hope that you aren't freaked out or stressed about this... I mean its totally understandable if you are. The key is to relax and find something that will help you keep the peace within yourself.

Many things that you are doing will relieve stress as well: exercise, eating well, getting a good amount of sleep, taking vitamins, doing things you enjoy & keeping your personal affairs in order are all ways to extend the length of your life.

If you feel your life is in danger, go to a doctor, get a physical, get some thorough tests done. Is your life worth the $100 that it would cost? Is your life worth the $100 it would cost your parents? I know if you were my son, I would spend on the money in the world to keep you alive.

Please take what I have to say, to heart, it will truly help you to relax as much as possible.

 

[paulobaca]

Well where to begin...I just turned 24 this month and I had been smoking since I was 17. I just quit pot a week ago because unfortunately it's no longer enjoyable. Every time I smoke now my heart starts beating hard and I feel like I'm about to have a heart attack. When I sleep at night i occasionally hear my heart beat. I wanted to see a heart doctor but my parents say "you know what they are going to tell you, they are just going to say stop smoking, which you already know." My parents want me to stop smoking for at least 2 months and if the problems persist then go to a doctor.

Other than not smoking (which I don't plan to) what else can I really do? I'm trying to run on the exercise bike for 30 min everyday and eat better. Do you think my heart can go back to normal? Some people are saying it's all in my head since I'm young. However if you look at me I really don't look like a 24 yr old. People think I'm 18 cause I'm skinny and have a young face. I fear I'm just not healthy and my heart is going to fail in the not so distant future.

Also this is not my first time posting bout a health problem. Maybe a year ago I was on here telling everyone how I was coughing up gray spit which I still do (but not as much since i got a job that required me to do a lot of walking). To be honest if I could do it all over again I wouldn't have smoked at all. I think some people just can't handle it and I'm one of them. I had always tried to eat well and now I think it was all for nothing. Boy i will miss the days of getting high =(

I should note that I was having heart palpilations on a frequent basis (which i dont get as much anymore but still do) 3 months ago and so i went to see a doctor and he said i was fine and i should just stop taking any sort of caffeine. Once i did this i didnt get them as much. I still was optomistic though since i continued to hear my heart beat when i slept but at the same time i was continuing to smoke. I think its obvious the smoking was/is causing me the heart problems.

So i go to another doctor and they say maybe your hearing your heart beat because of fluid build up in your ears...I guess maybe but thats seems far fetched. But what do I know, I'm not a doctor. Anyways do you think I should just wait for 2 months (of course not smoking-im done for good btw) and then see a doctor? Part of me is afraid what if something happens to me in these 2 months when I could have done something about it immediately and seen a heart doctor. But at the same time I don't think I can even see a heart doctor as money is really tight right now.

Also I should note back in the day i dabbled in a little coke, adderal and xtc and fear that has fucked up my heart. I didn't do much of any of them though but maybe a little is all it takes in some people =/

Well that's about it. I just want to live a long healthy life and fear I've messed it all up. Any comments you think would help my situation would be appreciated. Thanks.

You're actually old enough to have heart disease but if you're skinny it is extremely unlikely at your age. Did your doctor evaluate your vitals, bp, cholesteral, etc?

Cocaine puts enourmous pressure on your heart's blood vessels and people have gotten annurisms/heart attacks years after quitting coke, but this is typically from very heavy usage or congenital defects, lets assume you're not in this category. Of course past coke use is something you shouldn't hide from your doctors, especially if it involved a lot of binge use and drinking (always does).

How often do you smoke herb? Less frequent smokers typically get freaked out by the slight elevation of heart rate soon after smoking. Cannibis increases sensitivity to heart beats so a slight increase in beats per minute may feel like you're having a heart attack to the inexperienced smoker.

Vegan diet and heeps of exercise are basically saved my life. If you are interested in a lifestyle change and you are looking for practical advise from very sensible researchers you may want to look into "Dean Ornish' and "Andrew Weil".

Good luck to remedying your health problem. I hope it's just some sic ass dank making you paranoid and hyper sensitive.

 

[Hazelnuts]

You're actually old enough to have heart disease but if you're skinny it is extremely unlikely at your age. Did your doctor evaluate your vitals, bp, cholesteral, etc?

Cocaine puts enourmous pressure on your heart's blood vessels and people have gotten annurisms/heart attacks years after quitting coke, but this is typically from very heavy usage or congenital defects, lets assume you're not in this category. Of course past coke use is something you shouldn't hide from your doctors, especially if it involved a lot of binge use and drinking (always does).

How often do you smoke herb? Less frequent smokers typically get freaked out by the slight elevation of heart rate soon after smoking. Cannibis increases sensitivity to heart beats so a slight increase in beats per minute may feel like you're having a heart attack to the inexperienced smoker.

Vegan diet and heeps of exercise are basically saved my life. If you are interested in a lifestyle change and you are looking for practical advise from very sensible researchers you may want to look into "Dean Ornish' and "Andrew Weil".

Good luck to remedying your health problem. I hope it's just some sic ass dank making you paranoid and hyper sensitive.

I think there's a slight misunderstanding, nobody was talking about cocaine, what he said was caffeine lol. And I think what he has is an abnormality of the heart since birth, I'd definitely see a doctor, no matter what.

 

[Cobain192]

Thanks for all the replies.

thcbound: Yeah vaporizing is definately the way to go if you want to enjoy the effects of cannabis without the health issues. Wish i went that route when I first started...Thanks for the advice.

Mr Celsius: Yeah I had a physical and he said I was healthy. I didn't tell him about my past coke, adderal and x usage though. Yeah the mj could be causing anxiety. I think I'll take your advice and find something mellow to do. I enjoy playing chess so maybe I'll just start studying the game or take up some yoga. Only $100 huh? Your right I'm going to save right now and just see a heart doctor. You just convinced me, thanks for your input.


paulobaca: My vitals were normal, bp fine. I really do eat right. I was bodybuilding a year ago and got really into it, so I know what I should and shouldnt eat. However as many know a bodybuilding diet consists of a lot of meat and maybe that hurt my health a little bit. Since I stopped i dont eat as much of it anymore.

I know I shoulda told the doctor about my past drug usage (cocaine, adderal, and x) but I had read this may make my insurance go up. I think I'll just be straight with the heart doctor and let him know everything.

Back in the day (17-21) I was a really heavy cannabis smoker (regs sadly). It got to the point where I was then coughin up gray stuff. Thats when I drastically lowered my intake but I still smoked. Even when i started gettin heart palpilations i smoked but even less. Now its at the point where i dont even enjoy the high so ive stopped.

Vegan diet huh? I think I'll have to look into that. Ive been really wanting to get off meat but didn't even know where to begin. Thanks for your input and for those researchers, I'll definately look into them.


Hazelnuts - Eeek actually i was talking bout cocaine =/ Sorry if i wasnt clear about that. I was drinking a lot of caffeine which i mentioned to the doctor and he said this could be bothering my chest which in a sense he was correct. After i stopped the caffeine i didnt get the palpilations as much and theyve pretty much gone away. Now i think (or pretty sure) the smoking is affecting my heart. Regardless i just have to stop smoking which i think i can.

I dont think ive had a abnormality of the heart since birth. I think it was just from my lifestyle of being at the computer a lot with no exercise for about 6 yrs of my life. Add on a bunch of smoking to the mix and I was just setting myself up for health problems. Like many people I thought I was just young and nothing could happen to me. Hopefully all this is just in my head but as you recommend I'm going to be seeing a doctor.

 

[sativo]

Were you mixing your weed with tobacco leaf? like blunts? Pipes are much better imo. I say, take it easy, smoke your weed if you must but don't overdo it. Have you thought of smoking a different strain? Are/were you growing your own? Smoking street weed? That shit can be really bad for you, only god knows the crap they put in it. Were you smoking inside your house?That is one of the worst things a person could possibly do. It could just be anxiety, the thing about anxiety is people have a hard time believeing it is not physical, how is an anxious/paranoid person supposed to believe it's all in their minds? lol If your read up on it you will encounter stories of people who just go from doctor to doctor looking for a second opinion only to find nothing. I used to take benzos wich are for panic attacks and the only thing that helped me get off of them was cannabis. I think ultimatley you have to do what is best for you but that doesn't mean you can't have your cake and eat it too. Take it easy. Best wishes to ya. Oh and another thing, listen to Bob Marley, I'm not kidding, his songs are really relaxing they can help you stop thinking about so-called 'heart palpitations. Peace.

 

[Cobain192]

sativo: Sometimes I was, but mostly out of the pipe. I stopped on New Years and went 18 days without smoking. Then on the 19th day I was over at this girl's house and she wanted me to smoke. The bong was there and it looked like some good weed. I got a nice buzz and binged for like a week. Note that before New Years and even on that day that I smoked my heart didn't race like I was having a heart attack.

It's been just recently where the last (no joke) 10 times ive smoked ive had bad experiences with my heart racing and just plain old not enjoying it. I was never growing my own. It's always been street weed. Sometimes regs, sometimes kb. I'll try listenin to Bob Marley, good idea =D

 

[mangled]

your fine..... just anxiety/panic attacks associated with the weed...
this trainwreck I'm smoking makes my heart pound...can really feel it in my chest
even with indicas your heart rate will rise...nothing really to worry about unless your really fat and out of shape...and even then i wouldnt worry

 

[MoeBudz^420]

Hey, do you get winded easily? ie) a short run, or climbing stairs? If your heart is bad you will lose breath/get really exhausted with minimal exertion. I had an older friend who died from CHF, and he could not climb a flight of stairs without having to stop and rest.

Unless you have symptoms like these, I imagine your heart is okay. Cannabis is known to drop blood pressure/increase heart rates. I have felt a racing heart & what I thought were chest pains before from some smoke types - until it happened on the right side as well. I think you just have some racy bud, don't let it freak you out...

But a checkup couldn't hurt just in case...

Peace

 

[Cobain192]

MoeBudz^420: I actually just got done with my 30 min run on the bike and it said my heart rate was at 130. Not sure if that is too high or not...I need to check. The run on the bike wasn't that tough to me and i didn't lose breath or get exhausted. I dont think it's the racy bud because the last time I smoked was with a friend and I only two like 3 hits from the bowl and I asked my friend if his heart was racing and he's like no im just mellow. Me on the other hand was experiencing pressure around my chest area and my heart beating rapidly.

Also I'll add something else. When I smoke i break out on my face but as soon as i stop it clears up. It's like my body has so many toxins inside that it's coming out through my face.

 

[tenfeetofganja]

I guess cannabis does make some people paranoid... Take a deep breath. You will be fine.

 

[Cobain192]

*breathes in*breathes out* Thanks for all the replies.

 

[Mr Celsius]

From wikipedia.org Cannabis (drug)

More recently, the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study published research showing an increased risk of psychosis for cannabis users with a certain genetic predisposition, held by 25% of the population.

You may be suffering from metal effects, like anxiety that will mess with your head.

Look if weed isn't fun, why smoke it? I know a lot of your social circle is centered around weed. Trust me, I am you. I have gone through the whole heart problem thing. My friend died from a heart attack at age 17, big guy, but it freaked me out. I stopped smoking and went through some psychosis, thinking I was gonna die. I went to a doctor, felt better but couldn't go back to weed for years. Only within the last couple years have I been ok... even then my smoking is infrequent at best. O, did I mention that I'm a huge (not literal huge) computer enthusiast too?

I smoked cigarettes for years, did other drugs and now I have my life at a stage that I'm happy with. I don't have as many friends as I used to... but I realized that they weren't really friends, they were just people that I did drugs with... drugs were the only thing we had in common. Its not going to be easy, but you're doing the right thing. Go to the doctor. I'm in my mid 20's, and it has taken a while to get used to.

 

[Harry Gypsna]

thats study has been discredited...... ill find a link and come back with it
realunbiased scientists not paid for by the variius vested interests in keeping our herb down have shown all the smoking nutcase gene bollocks to be exactly that....a load of bollocks.....
having said that there are definately some ppl who it doesnt suit... i have said several tiomes about the guy i know who every single time he has some ganj, and i mean every time without exception... even 2 tokes on a joint and he ends up in the secure unit.....theres just something about his brain and ganj that dont mix......
Id point out to the thread starter that you are having classic signs of anxiety.... maybe try indicas instead if you dont want to quit..... either way one of the effects pf cannabis is heightened perception of sound, feeling and such and you notice the heart beating more than you would otherwise, they you start thinking about it, and it gets worse. then you worry and it gets worse.....
a lot of ppl smoke before bed, but if you smoke the wrong weed before bedtime then sleep is not gonna be easy with ur brain racing, turbo charged on thc with all these thoughts coming in, trying ot to thin, trying to relax...

 

[og dmc]

You need to have an ECG. You never know. I am not much older then you and had an abnormal ECG.

 

[Pops]

Harry is right about trying indicas. Sativas can,in some cases cause Tachycardia, as can Addarall.

 

[CityKnightz]

I know the Feeling

I know the Feeling

Had the exact same thing happen to me when I was 24 (26 now). I am/was very very healthy and in great shape, gym 3 or 4 times a week plus playing basketball on the weekends, ate very well, light social drinker, no hard drugs besides shrooms and extc twice.

I smoked a pretty normal amount id say, at the most two joints a day of whatever I was growing at the time. No probs getting high at all. Then one day I smoked some C99 scissor hash out of a pipe and BAMMM, straight to the fucking ER. Really thought I was gonna die that day.... had two extremely sever heart palpitations that made me grab my chest a gasp, then the left side of my body started going numb, got light headed, breathing became very difficult, and sharp pains started shooting through my left foot. No doubt i thought i was having a heart attack!!!

Well after spending a full 5 hours at the ER hooked up to all sorts of machines everything came back normal. They did a ECG on my heart, ran blood work, x ray'd my heart/lungs, etc... Found nothing. I remember drifting into a short, deep sleep on the hospital bed and waking up like, "what the fuck am I doing here?" Doc just told me that its highly likely the marijuana I had smoke had been laced (not possible) and maybe I should stop puffing the "refers". Never really got a credible professional opinion on the problem.

For a while smoking became very uncomfortable. Always felt like my heart was racing and gonna explode when I smoked, so i stopped for a while. In the end, I attribute the problem to stress and anxiety. Mentally I was at a very difficult point in my life and I believe that is what caused the problems. I suggest you stop smoking completly for a little while and make sure everything in your life is in order. Anxiety is very powerful, so if there are any major things in your life that are unresolved try to get the together, sober. Also, start taking vitamins ASAP. A good multi vitamin coupled with some vitamin C pills (500+ mg per day) should help you out alot.