![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 2 of 2. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by WhyandHow on May 1, 2007, at 22:42:57
I thought i would share some info that has taken a lot of misery to learn. It has taken a lot of misery to isolate this knowledge which is hardly documented anywhere and way too unknown. I bet many psychiatrists have been baffled by strange side effects from SSRI's. Marijuana and the older class of anti-depresants (tri-?????)have documented info about a dangerous interaction with marijuana but SSRI's are another story. I am the last person in the world that would have believed that marijuana would have a dangerous interaction with SSRI's but it is true - at least for me. i won't get into the long story about how I have had such horrible side effects from trying anti-depresants and how I was recently hospitalized because I was suicidal from the misery I was feeling - panic - physical anxiety - racing feeling. After a couple days I felat much better, went home and smoked some weed to celebrate. Weed in itself has never caused me any problems and used to help normal anxiety. Within a couple days I was back to the overwhelming panic and doom feeling. the only thing I had done different since hospital was weed. This combination somehow causes a racing and irregular heartbeat in me! I can't get a psychiatrist so I'm glad God blessed me with some brains to figure this out. Seperatly they both help but combined, pot and SSRI's can be very dangerous. I alwasy knew alcohol was dangerous with SSRI's but never suspected marijuana. I just made myself not smoke pot today and the symptoms are geting better. its hard to come to this conclusion because marijuana usually has the oposite effect but it is true. I now realize I have had this combination while having horrible reactions to various anti-depresants over the years - Remeron, Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Effexor, and Lexapro. I never had this reaction when I used to be on Paxil however - don't know how to explain that one. A one or 2 time use of pot does not bother me but regular use builds up in the body. Somehow, I believe the dopimine effects from pot collide with the seritonin effects of SSRI's or sometihng. Here is one of the few articles I found on this.....
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/spotlight/2001-01-24-tyson.htm
Posted by WhyandHow on May 4, 2007, at 20:19:06
In reply to SSRI and marijuana interactions, posted by WhyandHow on May 1, 2007, at 22:42:57
Appearantly thre is almost no documented info on this reaction that I know existed for me. I felt like I was going crazy. The PA I went to see says, its unlikely, and discounted what I said but yet I KNOW it ws real - it was the only variable that made all the difference. As soon as I quit pot for a couple days, the panic went away. Pot in itself would never cause that but when combined with an SSRI it does for some reason. The effect was delayed - I could smoke in the evening and wake up feeling really horrible. I wish I could see a decent pschiatrist - I can't - no money or coverage. The one place I could get funding to go to is a joke. I am beggining to think the whole field is a joke. How can they ignore me or not take my condition seriously?
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Substance Use | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.