I am on Effexor Xr 37.5 mg which i just
recently started taking. I occasionally
smoke marijuana, usually at parties when i
dont want to drink. The first time i
tried to smoke on this drug everything was
fine, until i had a cigarette. By my
second puff off the cig, my hands became
very sweaty, my heartrate accelerated and
i got something like an electrical shock
in my brain and all through the nerves in
my body (lasting approx. 5-10 seconds). I
soon calmed down and in about ten minutes
i was fine. I just figured I shouldn't be
high on the drug and have a cigarette at
the same time.
Then the second time i got high on this
drug, the same thing happened, only milder
this time. The only difference was that
it was without the cigarette.
I have narrowed this down to two
possibilities.
1. Effexor is an SNRI, inhibiting the
uptake of serotonin and norepinephrine. I
have read elswhere that properties of the
norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor can also
inhibit the uptake of dopamine to a lesser
degree. THC, the main active chemical in
marijuana, also causes a release of
Dopamine, as does nicotine. In this first
scenario i thought that perhaps i had a
surge of dopamine that sent my nervous
system into shock.
2. Something my sister brought up.
Possibly CO2 levels in my blood just
raised too high and my brain, thinking it
was starving for oxygen, sent me into a
panic mode until the CO2 levels fell.
I have read reports of people smoking
marijuana and being fine with Effexor on
doses way higher than mine. I have also
come across two accounts of this
combination inducing a seizure.
Just wondering what anyone who has
knowledge on this has to think.
Joined: 30 Dec 2007 Posts: 11 Location: Mississauga, ON Canada
Posted: 12-30-07 21:08pm
Or perhaps you should have told your doc
the truth when they asked you if you drink
or do any drugs? 37.5mg is a VERY low
dose. The lowest. You will probably have
to increase that dose a few times, so if
you're having problems now, I'm sure you
can expect worse if you keep smoking weed
while taking the meds. They are barely
even in your system yet and you are having
problems. And it states right on the
bottle not to consume alcohol while on
this medication. I've been on my fair
share of meds and trust me, they aren't
kidding when they say not to mix alcohol
with the meds. Downer + Downer = Major
Downer
I'd knock off the substances if you expect
to feel any better, assuming you are on
the Effexor for depression. It won't help
unless you help yourself.
