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First of all, God bless y'all for taking the time to read this. I'm a 27 y.o male. I have been very active all my life and I'm very fit. About 3 years ago I began using marijuana for recreational purposes. I loved it. It was my last two years of college and it helped me focus, helped me be more creative and it helped me with depression after a horrible break up. One night after smoking I had the worse experience of my life. My heart began beating uncontrollably. I freaked out and panicked. I tried to calm down but I found it to be impossible. I then became disoriented, got a weird feeling in my left arm and behind my left ear. I thought I was having a heart attack so I was rushed to the ER. I was in a constant state of "deja-Vu" this whole time. I was told at the hospital that my potassium level was extremely low. They ran a bunch of tests and measured my heart rate twice with an EKG machine. I ran for them for like 15 minutes and they said I was ready for a marathon. I was given a beta blocker which I stopped taking about 2 weeks after the incident. About a month later I tried marijuana again and got a similar attack, very short this time. I panicked once again but I calmed down. Felt like c**p for about an hour and a half. After researching online I found out a lot of people had the same problem and they were told they were having anxiety and panick attacks. Ever since I stopped smoking marijuana. It's been quite a while now since I haven't smoked. Okay now to the part that intrigues me ... This morning I was sleeping. And in the dream itself I was feeling tired. Like I was tired of being asleep and felt like fainting. This woke me up. Later that night/morning I felt the same way and woke up nervous. My heart was raising fast. I lost hearing for about 2 seconds and became disoriented again. This attack felt very similar to the one I had the first time, just very short. Lasted for about 5 seconds. After this incident, I began yawning a lot. I began shaking as if I was freezing and had a weird sensation in my chest. I tried to go back to sleep but all i could feel and focus on was my heart. I had a bit of trouble keeping the rhythm of my breath. This worried me because I haven't smoked and usually it was the marijuana that triggered these type of attacks. Yesterday I had a sharp pain in my chest but only when breathing in. Also I've been having a lot of heartburn the past couple of days, but then again I've been eating horribly lol. I'm not sure what could be causing these attacks. I don't want to have another event where I wake up with this nervous feeling and right after my heart begins raising like crazy. I thought I was gonna die and all I could do was ask God to please don't take me away just yet. Any ideas what could be causing these attacks? I originally thought it was the marijuana so I stopped. But now I'm thinking it might be something else since this is the first time it happens without using it.

This is quite the post! I am also an anxiety sufferer and when I was younger I had horrible panic attacks. Marijuana always caused anxiety in me. That's the main reason I could never really smoke it recreationally. When I didn't have anxiety with it it was great but those times were very few. That said the absolute number ONE side effect of THC is elevated heart rate and secondly extreme anxiety. It doesn't happen to everyone but it does happen and when it does it is very intense. These feelings, once awakened in you, can continue as anxiety is self-sustaining. You worry about it, so it happens and once the cycle is established the fears get worse and worse. 

 

My advice --

Don't smoke any more marijuana. I have nothing against it personally but if you are prone to panic attacks marijuana will do one of two things. Either it will calm you down or you'll be in the ER with the worse panic attack of your life!!

 

Have your potassium level checked again. Both low and high potassium levels effect heart rate and rhythm.

 

Lastly, seek medical and/or behavioral intervention for your feelings. Anxiety is very difficult to overcome without aid and it sounds to me as if all your symptoms are actually just symptoms of an anxiety disorder. Anxiety has over 100 symptoms, most of which people are unaware. I urge you to research it and seek professional advice. 

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DocMan20, I will! Thank you so much for your reply. God bless you! As far as the marijuana use. I have completely stopped. It's just not worth it anymore. The bad time surpass the good times at this point so there's no point lol. Btw, after waking up and throughout the day I felt fine. I would still feel a funny sensation in my chest. Like a warm sensation. Then I tend to focus on my heart rate way too much. I try not to but it's tough. Either way. I am about to go to sleep and I sure hope it doesn't occur again.
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