Drug induced anxiety?

[Sloth7]

Hey all, newbie here. Apologies for rambling but I’m very concerned and it’s impacting my life and relationship.

Anyway, just after my 19th birthday I was given a new antidepressant and from one pill it caused serotonin syndrome (taken and diagnosed on the 30th of March) i was smoking cannabis before and after I took the pill until it started to kick in and cause me to develop SS. So I went through that SS and the day I felt I was completely done with SS I decided to smoke a cone (Aussie slang for smoking out of a bong) and all was good, so I smoked like 1-2 cones with a few hours break in between a day for about 3 days straight then one night I decided to have a cone, then another one and that’s when it all turned bad. My heartbeat went up to 160 almost instantly, and to this day I’ve been dealing with different forms of panic attacks (sometimes I have no symptoms other than fast heart rate, other times i experience dissociation) I’ve developed irrational thoughts such as “food and things I’ve touched or ingested are laced with a drug and I’m going to trip and die”. And I’ve also been completely unable to sleep, as soon as I lie down and start to get comfortable and relaxed I get a strong hot flash and have to sit up and wake up a bit so I’m litterally up all night!

I’ve been doing research into cannabis withdrawal and detox and apparently it can last for months? Maybe that’s what wrong? Because I used heavy and daily for years. But I’m scared that night when I smoked that cone I just automatically gave myself a panic or anxiety disorder? Doctors and psychologists don’t know what I’m experiencing or why.

could this just be a severe long lasting form of long time use withdrawals? Or possibly a panic disorder? Can you be “cured” of a panic disorder?

[Lukesydney]

Hey Sloth,

Sorry to hear this happened to you.

Similar thing has happened to me. In my opinion Drug induced anxiety & depression is a real thing. My GP disagrees and a Physiologist I was seeing doesn't have an opinion on it. They tend to think there was an underling issue that the drug brought on. They are the professionals and know more than me, so I do have to take their advice at this point.

I guess regardless how you or I got to where we are at, the treatment options are probably the same.

Again personally I think time and lifestyle changes will help heal the brain. There is a few people in the below thread going through a similar experience to you. Lots of suggestions too on things you can try.

I will keep checking in when I can on these threads to keep everyone up to date on my progress.

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/online-forums/anxiety/drug-induced-daily-anxiety-#qtp1zHHzvGGEbv8AAOnT_A

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Sloth7,

Welcome to the forums and thanks for your post. I'm sorry that you're struggling with this, it sounds like it's really hit you hard with all this anxiety.

I have read that things like cones can trigger anxiety symptoms and disorders - as even though ironically it's supposed to help you relax, it does change the way that the brain works. Fortunately though, it's not permanent so you can learn how to manage the panic and dissociation.

There's another thread here that might be worth looking at or jumping on board with - https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/online-forums/anxiety/drug-induced-daily-anxiety-#qtkCYnHzvGGEbv8AAOnT_A

Hope this helps