DOSE: T+ 0:00	37.5 mg	oral	Pharms - Venlafaxine
T+ 0:00	10 mg	oral	Cannabis	(edible / food)
T+ 24:00	37.5 mg	oral	Pharms - Venlafaxine

BODY WEIGHT:

190 lb

Effexor and Pot - Not Ok Together

I had just been prescribed Effexor XR for long, ongoing anxiety. I had issues with Zoloft zombifying me, so my doctor thought I should try an SNRI. I took the Effexor in the morning and didn’t feel much of anything (as to be expected with the first dose). I went up to the mountains with a friend, did some hiking, then came home that night.

I decided to relax with a marijuana edible, and instead of my normal 15 mg dose, decided to only take 10 mg in case the Effexor Intensified the effects (a warning on the bottle). My doctor said pot was safe to take with Effexor, but it might affect the effectiveness of the Effexor, so I assumed there was no risk.

The first thing I noticed was how fast the edible hit me. Normally it would take around an hour and a half to two hours to start feeling anything but this time I started feeling it within half an hour. I layed down and put in my headphones to prepare for some good music feels. Normally when I get high and listen to music, I have nice mental visuals, sort of like a movie playing that I have no input with its creation. It’s fun and enjoyable. But this time the mental “video” got chaotic. It felt like my thoughts were changing every second to something new. Eventually I went from confused to terrified.

My stomach was full of a feeling of absolute terror, like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I turned on the lights, turned off the music and trembled in my bed. I wanted to text my roommates to ask field, but decided against it since, well, no one’s ever died from pot, right? Somehow the 10 mg was waaaaay too much with the Effexor (thank goodness I didn’t take my regular 15 mg). I lay there in bed for a while, trying to calm myself down, until I eventually was able to fall asleep.

The next morning, I felt off. Like I had a pot hangover (which has never happened to me). My roommates and I went out to brunch and I had no appetite. I’d taken my daily (at this point, second total) dose of Effexor, and gradually felt that same feeling of terror in my gut, though not as bad. For days after, everything felt off. I was crying uncontrollably, my anxiety even worse. On Monday I called my doctor and told her what was happening, and she said to stop taking the Effexor and come in.

They took my blood pressure and it was higher than its ever been (165/95). As a precaution, they took an EKG, which revealed an elongated QT interval. They sent me to the ER to get bloodwork done, and thankfully there was no evidence of any heart attack or other heart issues, aside from the QT issue (additional EKGs showed the same thing).

I monitored my blood pressure for several weeks after, and it stayed elevated. A couple weeks later I went in for another EKG, and my QT interval was back to normal. The only thing I can think of is that I had a really bad reaction to the Effexor with pot. Even the doctor was baffled. I have since switched back to Zoloft and thankfully it’s working better than the first time. I have no issues taking edibles while on it, though I notice my high is different.

Exp Year: 2018	ExpID: 113209
Gender: Female
Age at time of experience: 33
Published: May 20, 2019	Views: 1,292
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Pharms - Venlafaxine (191), Cannabis (1) : Difficult Experiences (5), Medical Use (47), Hangover / Days After (46), Combinations (3), Not Applicable (38)