Anxiety, hypertension, THC & CBD

So after a lifetime of smugly low blood pressure I suddenly developed high BP together with copious sweating (sexy!) and palpitations. And fatigue, but that was probably due to the 24/7 palpitations.

3 weeks of blood tests etc later and the doctors don't seem to know what's wrong with me. The BP has stabilised somewhat but it's still a lot higher than it used to be, the sweating has gone away but I'm still overreacting physically to minor stress (e.g. kids screaming, unpleasant emails causing palpitations ffs like I'm the heroine of a Victorian novel).

Prior to developing high bp, I'd been a nightly bud vaper for 5-6 months (for chronic insomnia linked to PTSD). I'd been tapering for about a week (from 2 vapes to 1) due to dwindling supply, and initially I wondered if that was what had caused the suddenly high bp and sweats (according to google, it's not unheard of, but I'd never experienced any negative effects from tapering or tolerance breaks in the past).

So my first question: can tapering/ quitting after 6 months of daily vaping cause high bp and extreme anxiety, and if so is it normal for it to still be present after 3 weeks? If so, does this mean that I shouldn't vape unless I have a lifetime supply??!!

[There was a study carried out by someone called Barbara Yankey alleging that long-term cannabis use leads to 3x the risk of death from high bp, but all other studies seem to point to the opposite, and I'd appreciate all and any input on this subject btw]

Second question: if the high bp and anxiety is nothing to do with tapering, and everything to do with current stress in my life, my instincts are pointing towards CBD oil during the day and vaping at night (assuming that the CBD oil would cancel the potential anxiety-inducing effects of the THC).

Has anyone got any experience in treating/ managing extreme anxiety with CBD oil and/or vaping an indica strain?

Hi tigr, palpitations = panic attack; I get them once in a while.

Are you approaching/going through menopause? If not, I wonder what changed in your life. It could all be symptomatic of the PTSD as well. But I wonder if something changed around the time the palps and hbp started.

I incorporated CBD into my life in December, and I think it's one of the factors that have lowered my anxiety tremendously. I can't remember ever in my adult life feeling as chill all the time as I do now. I bought some CBD slab from CBDistillery and mixed it in with some high THC tinctures I made, and things began changing: it was like a broad, open space opened up in my consciousness that allows me to stay calm instead of immediate reaction to stressors. I don't get defensive, either.

I have kept a journal including my recipes and the process of titration with the tinctures, which have become my favorite way of taking medicine.

tigrrboxer said:

So after a lifetime of smugly low blood pressure I suddenly developed high BP together with copious sweating (sexy!) and palpitations. And fatigue, but that was probably due to the 24/7 palpitations.

3 weeks of blood tests etc later and the doctors don't seem to know what's wrong with me. The BP has stabilised somewhat but it's still a lot higher than it used to be, the sweating has gone away but I'm still overreacting physically to minor stress (e.g. kids screaming, unpleasant emails causing palpitations ffs like I'm the heroine of a Victorian novel).

Prior to developing high bp, I'd been a nightly bud vaper for 5-6 months (for chronic insomnia linked to PTSD). I'd been tapering for about a week (from 2 vapes to 1) due to dwindling supply, and initially I wondered if that was what had caused the suddenly high bp and sweats (according to google, it's not unheard of, but I'd never experienced any negative effects from tapering or tolerance breaks in the past).

So my first question: can tapering/ quitting after 6 months of daily vaping cause high bp and extreme anxiety, and if so is it normal for it to still be present after 3 weeks? If so, does this mean that I shouldn't vape unless I have a lifetime supply??!!

[There was a study carried out by someone called Barbara Yankey alleging that long-term cannabis use leads to 3x the risk of death from high bp, but all other studies seem to point to the opposite, and I'd appreciate all and any input on this subject btw]

Second question: if the high bp and anxiety is nothing to do with tapering, and everything to do with current stress in my life, my instincts are pointing towards CBD oil during the day and vaping at night (assuming that the CBD oil would cancel the potential anxiety-inducing effects of the THC).

Has anyone got any experience in treating/ managing extreme anxiety with CBD oil and/or vaping an indica strain?

Click to expand...

The sweating could definatly be a side affect of stopping vaping as Myself and quite a few friends have experienced this, normally more so in the evening and worst at night time when trying to sleep.

I would be surprised if the anxiety was from stopping unless you was already getting the anxiousness while you were still smoking it towards the end as in my experience the anxiety builds from smoking too much.

Th BP I wouldn’t like to chime in on as I don’t really have the knowledge but I know there are companies out there such as bud-utopia that sell oils from different strains with different THC/CBD levels and claim they are good for different things, you may find something to suits your needs there.

alltatup said:

Hi tigr, palpitations = panic attack; I get them once in a while.

Are you approaching/going through menopause? If not, I wonder what changed in your life. It could all be symptomatic of the PTSD as well. But I wonder if something changed around the time the palps and hbp started.

I incorporated CBD into my life in December, and I think it's one of the factors that have lowered my anxiety tremendously. I can't remember ever in my adult life feeling as chill all the time as I do now. I bought some CBD slab from CBDistillery and mixed it in with some high THC tinctures I made, and things began changing: it was like a broad, open space opened up in my consciousness that allows me to stay calm instead of immediate reaction to stressors. I don't get defensive, either.

I have kept a journal including my recipes and the process of titration with the tinctures, which have become my favorite way of taking medicine.

Click to expand...

Hi alltatup

Just curious as to if you still smoke cannabis or only use the tincture/cbd mix?

Also how do you take it?

tigrrboxer said:

So after a lifetime of smugly low blood pressure I suddenly developed high BP together with copious sweating (sexy!) and palpitations. And fatigue, but that was probably due to the 24/7 palpitations.

3 weeks of blood tests etc later and the doctors don't seem to know what's wrong with me. The BP has stabilised somewhat but it's still a lot higher than it used to be, the sweating has gone away but I'm still overreacting physically to minor stress (e.g. kids screaming, unpleasant emails causing palpitations ffs like I'm the heroine of a Victorian novel).

Prior to developing high bp, I'd been a nightly bud vaper for 5-6 months (for chronic insomnia linked to PTSD). I'd been tapering for about a week (from 2 vapes to 1) due to dwindling supply, and initially I wondered if that was what had caused the suddenly high bp and sweats (according to google, it's not unheard of, but I'd never experienced any negative effects from tapering or tolerance breaks in the past).

So my first question: can tapering/ quitting after 6 months of daily vaping cause high bp and extreme anxiety, and if so is it normal for it to still be present after 3 weeks? If so, does this mean that I shouldn't vape unless I have a lifetime supply??!!

[There was a study carried out by someone called Barbara Yankey alleging that long-term cannabis use leads to 3x the risk of death from high bp, but all other studies seem to point to the opposite, and I'd appreciate all and any input on this subject btw]

Second question: if the high bp and anxiety is nothing to do with tapering, and everything to do with current stress in my life, my instincts are pointing towards CBD oil during the day and vaping at night (assuming that the CBD oil would cancel the potential anxiety-inducing effects of the THC).

Has anyone got any experience in treating/ managing extreme anxiety with CBD oil and/or vaping an indica strain?

Click to expand...

First thing that jumps out at me is your second question, the stresses in your life. I know from experience that work-related stress put my BP sky high and induced enough palpitations to put me on a beta-blocker. Then I laid down the law to the boss, he shit himself because he knew a compensation claim could hit him, and my work environment was changed VERY quickly and my BP, etc, soon came back down. So if you can't lower or eliminate the stresses, you'll still have problems, especially with the dreaded PTSD in the mix.

Next is CBD. An excellent idea as it is excellent as a relaxant, painkiller, anti-inflammatory and, more importantly in your case, a vasodilator which could help lower the BP. Get some decent strength oil and you shouldn't need anything with THC to help you get to sleep, and obviously then you reduce the risk of any issues being exacerbated by the psychoactive effects of THC.

Next one up is something you didn't mention called weight as, obviously, being overweight can help you on the road to high BP and palpitations, and add in a lack of sleep and PTSD and it's no surprise you get crankier than I do. So the obvious is there if you're carrying a few pounds more than you should.

Finally, have they checked your cortisol levels? The reason I ask is because as I read what you describe I wonder about Cushing Syndrome, where there's an over production of the hormone cortisol which can lead to every single thing you have described. If they haven't tested for that, get them to do so because that is something that is generally easy to treat and therefore bring everything back into order.

So go for the CBD, try to avoid the THC, lose weight if you are on the chunky side and if they haven't checked your cortisol then get them to do that to at least rule out something totally unrelated to marijuana use as I used to smoke a hell of a lot more than you but never had anything like you have so do query a link between stopping the weed and the issues you have.

Good luck and hopefully they'll figure out the problem and get everything back under control again.

Fubard said:

First thing that jumps out at me is your second question, the stresses in your life. I know from experience that work-related stress put my BP sky high and induced enough palpitations to put me on a beta-blocker. Then I laid down the law to the boss, he shit himself because he knew a compensation claim could hit him, and my work environment was changed VERY quickly and my BP, etc, soon came back down. So if you can't lower or eliminate the stresses, you'll still have problems, especially with the dreaded PTSD in the mix.

Next is CBD. An excellent idea as it is excellent as a relaxant, painkiller, anti-inflammatory and, more importantly in your case, a vasodilator which could help lower the BP. Get some decent strength oil and you shouldn't need anything with THC to help you get to sleep, and obviously then you reduce the risk of any issues being exacerbated by the psychoactive effects of THC.

Next one up is something you didn't mention called weight as, obviously, being overweight can help you on the road to high BP and palpitations, and add in a lack of sleep and PTSD and it's no surprise you get crankier than I do. So the obvious is there if you're carrying a few pounds more than you should.

Finally, have they checked your cortisol levels? The reason I ask is because as I read what you describe I wonder about Cushing Syndrome, where there's an over production of the hormone cortisol which can lead to every single thing you have described. If they haven't tested for that, get them to do so because that is something that is generally easy to treat and therefore bring everything back into order.

So go for the CBD, try to avoid the THC, lose weight if you are on the chunky side and if they haven't checked your cortisol then get them to do that to at least rule out something totally unrelated to marijuana use as I used to smoke a hell of a lot more than you but never had anything like you have so do query a link between stopping the weed and the issues you have.

Good luck and hopefully they'll figure out the problem and get everything back under control again.

Click to expand...

Hey thanks for the detailed response. OK so 6 months later and my BP is perfect again (around 100/70). The doctors found nothing (cortisol levels were normal - they wondered about Cushing Syndrome too). My weight is fine (closer to underweight than overweight tbh - I have a high metabolism - led them to test thyroid levels too but they were also fine). Doctors have written everything off as stress/ panic attacks. They offered anti-depressants because that's all they ever do in this country ugh

So I'm not sure what was wrong, but I think it was probably just elevated anxiety levels after running out of weed, multiplied by existing issues (PTSD-related hypervigilance etc), multiplied by additional stress-inducing factors.

I still have overly high anxiety levels and horrific insomnia, but this has been part of my life since the PTSD started a decade ago.

Generally speaking, weed has helped me massively, but I really struggle to get hold of any in this country so I can't rely on that as a treatment option (unless I find a trustworthy supplier, which is unlikely). When I do happen to have a jar of weed at home, I'll generally vape a small amount just before bed, about an hour after taking a solid dose of CBD oil. The CBD oil seems to reduce the anxiety effects of THC, so I just get mellow & sleepy, which is utterly miraculous. No nightmares, no flashbacks, just sleep.

CBD oil initially impressed me in a way I hadn't expected - events that used to be major PTSD triggers were no longer causing symptoms like hypervigilance/ dissociation. I honestly hadn't expected for CBD to tackle the actual PTSD itself; but it was almost like the CBD was making me immune to triggers. It didn't seem to be helping with the insomnia/ anxiety as much as I'd hoped, though. Only THC was helping with that.

So to sum up - based on my clumsy self-experimenting, it appears that the combination of CBD and THC is ideal for PTSD and related symptoms - CBD by day, THC & CBD at night. Though I think next time I get my hands on some weed, I'll try only vaping on alternate nights (because a decent sleep every other night is still 100% better than no decent sleep ever). Hoping that might reduce the risk of elevated anxiety levels next time my hypothetical supply runs out.

alltatup said:

Hi tigr, palpitations = panic attack; I get them once in a while.

Are you approaching/going through menopause? If not, I wonder what changed in your life. It could all be symptomatic of the PTSD as well. But I wonder if something changed around the time the palps and hbp started.

I incorporated CBD into my life in December, and I think it's one of the factors that have lowered my anxiety tremendously. I can't remember ever in my adult life feeling as chill all the time as I do now. I bought some CBD slab from CBDistillery and mixed it in with some high THC tinctures I made, and things began changing: it was like a broad, open space opened up in my consciousness that allows me to stay calm instead of immediate reaction to stressors. I don't get defensive, either.

I have kept a journal including my recipes and the process of titration with the tinctures, which have become my favorite way of taking medicine.

Click to expand...

Hey! Nope, the menopause is still a way off. THC tinctures sound AMAZING - as soon as marijuana is legalised in this country I'll be asking you for a recipe lol

Scorp27 said:

The sweating could definatly be a side affect of stopping vaping as Myself and quite a few friends have experienced this, normally more so in the evening and worst at night time when trying to sleep.

I would be surprised if the anxiety was from stopping unless you was already getting the anxiousness while you were still smoking it towards the end as in my experience the anxiety builds from smoking too much.

Th BP I wouldn’t like to chime in on as I don’t really have the knowledge but I know there are companies out there such as bud-utopia that sell oils from different strains with different THC/CBD levels and claim they are good for different things, you may find something to suits your needs there.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your input. I don't think we Britishers can buy oils with any THC content at all tbh. Yes, I agree that anxiety from stopping doesn't make much sense based on past experience. Maybe it was something to do with the PTSD.