# Lexapro + Marijuana = Ambulance to Emergency Room



## AlexO (Mar 4, 2008)

I was a fairly heavy marijuana user for about a year, ending ~ 6 months ago. I was on Paxil during that time, and the combination didn't seem to lead to any problems. I stopped taking the Paxil several months ago due to side effects and was put on Lexapro 4 weeks ago by my Pdoc.

A few nights ago I tried smoking cannabis for the first time in about two months. I only took one hit (off a "gravity bong", so it's about 2-3 normal hits), and I thought I'd wait to see what that did for me.

The person who's house I was at had to go, so I walked out to my car. When I got in, I started feeling a little confused and I noticed my heart was beating pretty fast. I thought I'd listen to music for a bit then head home. Things quickly got worse.

Soon I had a very hard time breathing, and my heart was beating extremely rapidly. I checked my pulse, three times, and realized my heart rate was 208 beats per minute (it's normally 70). I was on the verge of passing out, my entire body was numb and tingling, and all my muscles were clenching up. I managed to grab my cell phone, but my muscles were so tight I could barely open it and dial 911.

When the ambulance got there they measured a heart rate of 196 bpm, put me on an IV and injected me with adenosine. By the time we got to the hospital it had slowed down to 165 beats per minute and they gave me a series of EKG's, blood tests, etc. The doctor said I had all the symptoms of serotonin syndrome (tachycardia, sweating, twitching, etc).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin_syndrome


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## tednugent2007 (Oct 28, 2007)

Sounds like a panic attack. About 2 months ago I had to go to the Dr because I thought I was having a heart attack. I had similar symptoms as you. Racing heart, chest pain, and my arms were numb and tingling. At one point I ate some salty chips and I became very dizzy and almost passed out. I was scared as hell! Maybe the weed you are smoking is causing more anxiety?


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## ThirdEyeGrind (Feb 7, 2006)

I doubt it was from weed. I use to be on Paxil/Lexapro/Cymbalta (not all at once of course) and never had problems with weed. And I smoked 2 or 3 times a day. Glad I got out of that, its such a waste of money.


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## scotthallkevinnash (Dec 19, 2006)

It was probably the reefer inducing a panic attack. She probably took you by surprise because of the faster heart beat. 

This probably made you think you were dying or something which turned into a panic attack. 

This almost happened to me one time but I recognized it as the symptoms of a panic attack and I calmed myself down. 

Weed is unpredictable but good. Sometimes you end up in the ER and sometimes you laugh your *** of for hours and eat a ****load of food.


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## quat (Sep 27, 2006)

Ya I was thinking it might have been an induced panic attack, chemically I don't think weed interacts like that with any med.


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## AlexO (Mar 4, 2008)

I suppose it could've been an induced panic attack. Though, I've smoked weed hundreds of times and I've never had one before or even come close. (This stuff is from the same person I always buy it from)

My Pdoc did warn me specifically about serotonin syndrome from mixing the two (he said the same thing about Paxil though and it wasn't a problem), but I've never had a panic attack before either so I guess I wouldn't know the difference ;o


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## FairleighCalm (May 20, 2007)

At least you got a free ride out of it, hehe. The only time my heartrate was 200plus/minus was when I was taking amino acids which was causing insomnia, high blood-pressure and irratability. I was on Paxil too. I kept exercising and felt ILL. I couldn't even count how fast my HR was. Scared the crap out of me. I really thought back then I'd NEVER recover. I'm glad you okay.


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## CopadoMexicano (Aug 21, 2004)

yeah, it sounds like a panic attack. I have had a few strong enough to send me to the hospital but because I stopped taking my medication and the other because I lost touch with reality and was in need of medication to bring me back to reality.


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## hulkamaniak (Mar 21, 2008)

In my experience it could of very well of been the marijuana, when i first had it, i was doing fine, it was fun, i sat there watching a funny movie on tv and felt really high, then after about 2 minutes my heart starting getting faster and faster, and i got all the symptoms you got and my dad called the ambulance, havent touched it since!


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## orangepeel (May 31, 2008)

Yeah I smoked weed for 9 years and can honestly say that it can send you into a panix attack. I remember towards the end being so paranoid that it was ridiculous. I also got plenty of reports from friends about panic attacks from weed. If you have GAD or SAD, I strongly suggest staying away from pot. 

If you smoke it every day, then its not a big deal. I mean, it usually wont give you panix attacks. But if you do it every now and then, it has a high chance of sending you into a panic attack.

As for the serotonin, that is also a possibility. I dont know what it does to your heart rate, but I know that weed and other street drugs release serotonin in the brain, and that the SSRIs you take are reuptake inhibitors. What this means is that the weed fire off all those neurons, releasing all that serotonin, then the reuptake (reabsorbsion) is inhibited (doesnt work as well) by the SSRI. 

What this can do is theoretically send you into a condition known as serotonin storm. It can last a long time, and I believe can be permanent. Not something you wanna deal with; its very unpleasant.

However, I believe that since you took a break from pot and then came back to it, you got a panic attack from it, and thats all. Youre doc is probably tryin to scare you away from smokin pot. But you should be scared--would you ever wanna go through that sort of panic attack again? I have had several; thats why I quit smoking pot. It was a tradeoff; every time I smoked, I got some ahppiness mixed with some paranoia. I played Everquest and smoked pot at night and delivered pizza during the day. Eventually the weed pushed me into a scizoid diagnosis. If you think SA and GAD is bad, try scizophrenia. Trust me--stay away from the pot.


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## quat (Sep 27, 2006)

It's probably best to sugguest for most people on this board smoking marijuana when you have social anxiety is not a good idea.


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

It was the combination of the drugs, guys. Synergistic effect, you know, one plus one equals three. The marijuana (doobies, reefer, weed, grass, dope, pot, it's STILL an illegal substance) played off the Lexapro.

Don't smoke weed! You almost did permanent damage to your body!

I apologize for getting nasty about it, but while this may have been unexpected, the decision was made to take the hit. That is not a good decision, as I am sure there are people around you who would like you to be around as long as possible, including us!


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## Slothrop (Aug 11, 2007)

millenniumman75 said:


> It was the combination of the drugs, guys. Synergistic effect, you know, one plus one equals three. The marijuana (doobies, reefer, weed, grass, dope, pot, it's STILL an illegal substance) played off the Lexapro.
> 
> Don't smoke weed! You almost did permanent damage to your body!


Nonsense.

This sounds like a panic attack and I highly doubt it had anything to do with a lexapro-cannabis reaction. Unless you have some more information to back that claim up, I'd not have posted it. He took a gravity bong hit after months of diminishing tolerance. That's a potent hit, probably not the smartest thing to do. My psychiatrist(s) know I smoke weed regularly and (correctly) have never advised me to stop. I have been told to stop other recreational drugs because they did indeed interact with my meds, but weed was never one of those.

Keep smoking weed if you want, just be more aware of your tolerance. A few hits from a joint would have got you high, even if that normally wouldn't in the past.

PS - Its illegality has nothing to do with its effects, most SSRIs have worse side effects than getting the munchies.


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## DontTrustheGov't (Jun 5, 2008)

millenniumman75 said:


> It was the combination of the drugs, guys. Synergistic effect, you know, one plus one equals three. The marijuana (doobies, reefer, weed, grass, dope, pot, it's STILL an illegal substance) played off the Lexapro.
> 
> Don't smoke weed! You almost did permanent damage to your body!
> 
> I apologize for getting nasty about it, but while this may have been unexpected, the decision was made to take the hit. That is not a good decision, as I am sure there are people around you who would like you to be around as long as possible, including us!


It was the synergy of the drugs. This means that either drug acting alone would not produce the effect.

Doobies, reefer, weed, grass, dope, and pot are all legal in certain places in the USA, Canada, and Europe under certain circumstances.

Mainly for medical reasons it is legal however. Mental illness counts in California, so Social Phobia could potentially be legally treated there.

It is true that under Federal law it is still illegal for any reason. It must also be noted however that the current government has pledged to only waste their money prosecuting the so-called "dispensaries".


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## Sarah Raymondo (Feb 11, 2017)

A few days ago.i started taking legwork and ate a lot brownie (I eat them slot and smoke daily with no issues) well the other night I literally freaked out my whole body got hot and shaky and tingly I could hardly breAthe and thought I was going to pass out. Well next morning went to the hospital and they told me to stop taking the meds. I still don't feel normal it I quite scary.


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## Sarah Raymondo (Feb 11, 2017)

Sarah Raymondo said:


> A few days ago.i started taking lexipro and ate a lot brownie (I eat them a lot and smoke daily with no issues) well the other night I literally freaked out my whole body got hot and shaky and tingly I could hardly breAthe and thought I was going to pass out. Well next morning went to the hospital and they told me to stop taking the meds. I still don't feel normal it I quite scary.


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## Yer Blues (Jul 31, 2013)

It increases serotonin, but I doubt it caused serotonin syndrome. More likely something to do with the Lexapo as most pharmaceuticals are sh1te. Another issue could've been the pesticides they used on the weed. Grow your own if you can.


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## rockyraccoon (Dec 13, 2010)

Like others have said to me it sounds like a panic attack induced from the weed. I have had panic attacks from weed several times before. It effects everyone differently though.


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