Hi there. I've been having some problems
the last few months. I've been in and out
of the emergency room, seen countless
doctors, and I'm starting to feel like I'm
losing my mind or something. I've had
obsessive compulsive disorder my whole
life and been dealing with anxiety for a
long time. I've tried a few different
medications for it, which I stopped
because they wern't helping like I'd
hoped. I've seen at least 3 different
therapists and been to a group for ocd.
Nothing seemed to help until I tried
marijuana with a friend a couple years
back.
So I got addicted to it.
About two years into smoking I started
getting slight chest discomfort in the
left side of my chest with head pressure
that would seem to build up in my ears and
eyes a bit. I kept smoking, thinking
nothing of it, until a few months ago, it
started getting really bad and very
intense. My chest would start feeling
really tight, start burning, cramping,
tingling and feeling like someone was
pushing on my chest. It felt deep in my
chest, under the bone. I could feel my
heart beating and feel palpatations. I
would feel the tingling go down my left
arm into my hand and up into my jaw and
mouth, as well as down into my feet a bit.
I would get stomach cramps as well. One
specific time I felt the right side of my
face go slightly numb with tingling up my
neck into my head.
Since these episodes, I've been having
trouble sleeping. I get endless muscle
spasms all over my body that seem to
tickle more than hurt. My left arm and leg
feel like they don't get enough blood and
fall asleep(pins and needles) pretty
easily it seems. This all makes me very
stressed, anxious, and depressed.
I've had at least 4 ekg's. Been put on
heart monitors, had a 24 hour take home
heart monitor, a CT scan of my head, an
mri of my head, an EEG done on my head,
blood tests, urine tests. All came back
normal. I'm positive the pot wasn't laced
because I've tried 3 differen't types from
different people, which all yield the same
effects on me. I also gave myself an at
home drug test that came back
negative(except for marijuana ) so I know it was
working.
I'm very confused because the doctors have
all told me they think it's anxiety but
I'm not so sure. I've been dealing with
anxiety for my entire life and this has
never happened except while on marijuana.
I have stopped smoking it, but am still
very worried as some of these effects have
persisted since I've quit.
Please someone help me. Could this be
something serious? I'm in pretty good
shape, I don't smoke cigs or drink much.
My blood pressure is very good and I've
played sports for most of my life.
Thanks,
Derek
|
ocdengineer
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Mar 2007 Posts: 48 Location: SA, TX
Mary Jane Posted: 03-21-07 21:38pm
The pot was probably a bad idea now in
retrospect. Pot is what brought my OCD
back! I think you should stop entirely
and give yourself a month to detox.
During that month do some research on
meditation and mindfulness at www.buddhanet.net.
This site has tons of free books for
download. I would also consider seeing an
anxiety disorder specialist in the area to
get a good diagnosis and consider taking a
Benzodiazepene. I am pretty sure the
drugs you have been given have been SSRI's
and antidepressants, right? If so, try an
anti-anxiety drug like Xanax, Klonopin,
Vallium, etc. All work really well for
anxiety and will lessen the effects of
your OCD. Meditation will also help with
the OCD, but it takes time and work to get
your life back in order. If you do
nothing I have said here, quit smoking
pot. It is one of the worst drugs for
someone with OCD and/or anxiety disorder.
Hope this helps,
OE
|
Lost17
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 28 Mar 2007 Posts: 10
Posted: 03-29-07 18:44pm
I have been smoking marijuana for about
seven years now. It helps balance my mood
swings. I know people will tell you its a
drug and thats its bad....but it can be a
medicinal alternative in my opinion. You
should try buying a vaporizer and intaking
the THC without the smoke and tar. This
might help your chest pains. Remember,
marijuana is not a drug. Marijuana is
medicine!! Dont let the closed minds of
others sway you on this. If it helps, do
it. If its not helping, dont do it.
|
ocdengineer
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Mar 2007 Posts: 48 Location: SA, TX
Not True Posted: 03-31-07 09:40am
Hey, I am not against the legalization of
marijuana and I smoked it myself for a
long time, and I can tell you from
personal experience plus some research
that marijuana is just plain not good for
people with OCD and most other
neurological disorders. This is a proven
fact, so if you are hear to advocate an
illegal recreational drug that has only
really been proven to help people with
glaucoma and cancer patients with pain,
then you are doing more harm to people
than good.
Alcohol gets rid of social anxiety as
well, but you don't see people being
prescribed alcohol for social anxiety
because of the side effects. Taking in
any psychotropic substance is a really bad
idea for anyone with anxiety disorder. It
has been shown to initialize latent
psychosis and neurosis in many cases.
Your previous post was dangerous and
misguided. I suggest you do some research
before you start telling people who have
serious illnesses to smoke dope.
Later,
OE
|
Lost17
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 28 Mar 2007 Posts: 10
Posted: 04-22-07 00:34am
No I am not here to legalize marijuana. I
am simply stating that it helps me with my
mood swings and it could posilby help you.
Monitor your moods. If it helps..... hey
ride on, its a good alternative. If it
doesnt work, dont do it. Its as simple as
that. I'm not saying its the best way to
deal with mental illness, but its
definitely not the worst. Again, all that
I am suggesting is that smoking marijuana
works for me. I would rather smoke
something natural than put chemicals into
my body.
It was merely a suggestion.
|
Ninjight
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 08 May 2007 Posts: 10
Re: Strange Situation Posted: 05-08-07 06:46am
stop smoking pot now and dont ever smoke
it again, dont eat junk, dont smoke, dont
drink. Focus on things that relax you and
make you feel good mentally. Dont stop
trying until you succeed. outline what
happens before you feel anxiety, find the
cause and then you can begin working on a
solution.
quincyb
wrote:
Hi there. I've been having
some problems the last few months. I've
been in and out of the emergency room,
seen countless doctors, and I'm starting
to feel like I'm losing my mind or
something. I've had obsessive compulsive
disorder my whole life and been dealing
with anxiety for a long time. I've tried a
few different medications for it, which I
stopped because they wern't helping like
I'd hoped. I've seen at least 3 different
therapists and been to a group for ocd.
Nothing seemed to help until I tried
marijuana with a friend a couple years
back.
So I got addicted to it.
About two years into smoking I started
getting slight chest discomfort in the
left side of my chest with head pressure
that would seem to build up in my ears and
eyes a bit. I kept smoking, thinking
nothing of it, until a few months ago, it
started getting really bad and very
intense. My chest would start feeling
really tight, start burning, cramping,
tingling and feeling like someone was
pushing on my chest. It felt deep in my
chest, under the bone. I could feel my
heart beating and feel palpatations. I
would feel the tingling go down my left
arm into my hand and up into my jaw and
mouth, as well as down into my feet a bit.
I would get stomach cramps as well. One
specific time I felt the right side of my
face go slightly numb with tingling up my
neck into my head.
Since these episodes, I've been having
trouble sleeping. I get endless muscle
spasms all over my body that seem to
tickle more than hurt. My left arm and leg
feel like they don't get enough blood and
fall asleep(pins and needles) pretty
easily it seems. This all makes me very
stressed, anxious, and depressed.
I've had at least 4 ekg's. Been put on
heart monitors, had a 24 hour take home
heart monitor, a CT scan of my head, an
mri of my head, an EEG done on my head,
blood tests, urine tests. All came back
normal. I'm positive the pot wasn't laced
because I've tried 3 differen't types from
different people, which all yield the same
effects on me. I also gave myself an at
home drug test that came back
negative(except for marijuana ) so I know it was
working.
I'm very confused because the doctors have
all told me they think it's anxiety but
I'm not so sure. I've been dealing with
anxiety for my entire life and this has
never happened except while on marijuana.
I have stopped smoking it, but am still
very worried as some of these effects have
persisted since I've quit.
Please someone help me. Could this be
something serious? I'm in pretty good
shape, I don't smoke cigs or drink much.
My blood pressure is very good and I've
played sports for most of my life.