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I Thought I Was Dying
Venlafaxine (Effexor) & Cannabis
Citation:   William. "I Thought I Was Dying: An Experience with Venlafaxine (Effexor) & Cannabis (exp77130)". Erowid.org. Jul 15, 2019. erowid.org/exp/77130

 
DOSE:
150 mg oral Pharms - Venlafaxine (daily)
    repeated oral Alcohol (liquid)
BODY WEIGHT: 220 lb
Venlafaxine 'Effexor' XR and Cannabis Use

I have smoked marijuanna off and on since I was thirteen years old.

I was 27 at the time of the incident.It was in October of 2007 in the evening, Me and my girlfriend just got home from work, I had taken my Effexor XR 150mg in the morning time, we decided we would have a few drinks and eat some pot brownies, I had never had one before and about 45 minutes after eating the brownie I started to halucinate and I was having trouble breathing, about a minute later my heart rate started to skyrocket and my girlfriend could hear my heart beating from our kitchen, about 10 feet away, and I knew something was wrong I could not feel my legs and a I started to sweat, I started getting tunnel vision and thought I was dying, I just went limp. after about two minutes I sat up very quickly,

My girlfriend noted that I was not breathing and was mumbling, I had INCREDIBLE energy and then it faded and It felt as if someone was pouring Ice water over the left side of chest and I passed out again. The paramedics came to the house and said they could not tell me what happened. I thought it was best that I go to the hospital anyway. Other than O2 I did not receive treatment at the hospital I was drug tested because I wanted to be sure there was nothing else in my system.

They told me I had a small amount of THC in my system, a week later I went to the cardiologist and I now see that Cardiologist who has diagnosed me with SVT after being on a king of hearts monitor for a week, I see him on a regular basis and currently take atenalol to slow my heart rate when I go to bed. I still sometimes get a rapid pulse and do not know if it was caused by the reaction from the mixing of the Effexor and cannabis. I was also told I was lucky to be alive and was the single worst experience of my life.

I thought I had died. Since then I have stopped taking the Effexor and no longer smoke/eat marijuanna.

Exp Year: 2007ExpID: 77130
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: 27
Published: Jul 15, 2019Views: 2,076
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Cannabis (1), Pharms - Venlafaxine (191) : Various (28), Health Problems (27), Difficult Experiences (5), Combinations (3), First Times (2)

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