It's not a given that your drug habits have anything to do with your panic attacks. You can try quitting and seeing if it makes a difference. It may not. Panic attacks can be dangerous if extreme. You may want to get a check-up. BTW I'm no M.D.

Call a doctor and get into rehab. Smoking marijuana will ruin your brain and destroy your lungs.

Simply quit. Although there is nothing saying pot does anything bad to you, some say its gonna produce many a fried brain in people in 20 years. Stop now cause you sound like you're gettign that way. Shock tactics gonna help you stop there?

If it really bothers you that much, why do it? I mean, if you're doing it for pleasure and it's giving you none, don't do it! Simple.. Move away from the pot. Your body obviously doesnt like it. Be more adventurous and try something new.

YOU HAVE TO FIND SOMTHIN THAT TOU CAN THINK OF JUST BEFORE YOU KNOW THE PANIC IS COMING. ... THIS WILL DESTRACT YOU AND THE PACIC WILL GO. ... IF YOU FIND THE WRIGHT THING TO THINK OF YOU CAN STOP THE ATTACK WELL BEFORE IT STARTS. .. TRUST ME IT WORKS . ... DONT THINK MY ATTAKS HAD ANY CONECTION WITH WEED, I DID SMOKE ALOT IN THE PAST BUT DONT TUCH IT NOW. .. IT WILL FRY YOUR BRAIN IF UESD WRONG

fyi, i pulled this off of the webmd site: "It is not clear what causes Panic Disorder. In many people, its symptoms develop in association with major life changes (such as getting married, having a child, starting a first job, etc.) and major lifestyle stressors. There is also some evidence that suggests that the tendency to develop Panic Disorder may run in families. People who suffer from Panic Disorder are also more likely than others to suffer from depression, attempt suicide, or to abuse alcohol or drugs. Luckily for sufferers of frequent panic attacks, Panic Disorder is a treatable condition. Psychotherapy and medications have both been used, either singly or in combination, for successful treatment of Panic Disorder. If medication is necessary, your doctor may prescribe anti-anxiety medications, antidepressants, or a class of heart medications known as beta blockers to help control the episodes in Panic Disorder." my opinion: it's hard to know whether or not marijuana is contributing to this. if i were you, i would try quitting long enough so that it is completely out of your system and see if you notice a difference. in the meanwhile, i'd go to a doctor though. there are some very good medications for this disorder. meditation, yoga, relaxation techniches, and exercise can also be quite helpful with this condition. however, you some fast-acting anti-anxiety medication may help you manage your attacks while you work on a long term solution. those drugs can be addictive and generally aren't recommended for long-term use. another think to think about: when you have a panic attack, although it may feel like you are dying, realize you are not. some people suggest coming up with a mantra that you can repeat over and over in the event of an attack. for example, "i am safe. i am secure. this will pass." you may not beleive it at first, but as you keep repeating it (and basically arguing with your brain), it can really help. in my experience, if a panic attack starts when you are in public, it is good to go somewhere where you can be alone where there is less stimulation from the outside world (since your over-sensitive to all your surroundings at that point). however, i would caution you not to avoid public places due to fear of a panic attack; we don't want you to end up never leaving your house. last of all, some people start to hyperventilate during a panic attack (sometimes even if they are trying to breathe deeply). if you start having numb body parts, that's why. breathing using a paper bag is supposed to help, so you might consider having one on hand if you feel anxious. good luck!

You are right about "putting yourself in one". Panic attacks are very curable, in fact, the reason why you get them is because you are THINKING of them! Once you "get" one of them, it's just the "thought" of gettting another that brings it on. Just focus on something else, something pleasant. YOU are in control, they can't hurt you. Oh, and get off the drugs, they don't help anything. (All of this is through my personal expierence with panic attacks and drugs also.)

Drugs tend to open up the neural "gates" or ganglia, solar plexus and other plexuses. Prior to this happening, since this involves the instincts and removes inhibitory function, enxiety is released; since your ego-body/mind, does not know how much of the instincts will be released in one go and fears going out of control and unable to stop uncontrollable urges or behaviour. Drugs play with the body's chemicals and can make everythig go out of control. The ego structure does not know how to handle going out of control and the release of such potentially large ammount of instinct (perhaps erratic or dangerous),if the gates open without its control or stay open for too long. Panic attack is a larger amount of enxiety, for things we have no control over. That means, your ego structure can not exercise choices and is driven. ....why do you put yourself through this? Get off these substances and stay away. The sudden rushes of loss of control of instict, places your system under horrendous pressure and on your organs which rush to catch up with all this intensity and out of control. This is dangerous to your health and your ego structure knows it and hence it gets you into a panic attack which is letting you know of the danger ahead!!!!!!!!!! Be responsible!!

Weed can do some damage to your brain, especially with prolonged excessive use. But then again, you used other drugs, so those panic attacks can be damage of some sort.

I used to smoke a lot of pot and enjoyed it with no really negative effects. Then I tried another drug, too much of it for my first time, and it caused my heart to slow down, then speed up, and then slow down again. In general, the experience was very undesirable and scary to me. I would never do it again. . I tried smoking pot a few times afterwards and found that every time I either came to close to having, or actually had, panic attacks. This would happen shortly after the weed started taking effect, when I was going from normal into an altered state. There is really no difference in how the pot would affect me, it was just that I was afraid of experiencing those undesirable symptoms I got from the other drug. So every time my heart started to race (as is natural with smoking pot), I would suddenly be afraid that I was going to go into that state again. Also, the fact that pot makes you more paranoid really didn't help. And the more I worried, the more my heart would race, my breathing would become rapid, and the more likely I was to trigger a panic attack. I was also aware of what a panic attack felt like, because I had had one, triggered by caffeine, a few years prior. So this added to my worry. . I came up with one solution for the problem, and it worked great. I quit smoking pot. Now I only get panic attacks when I am overly stressed out and don't take action to remove myself from the situation. I believe that pot can have its positive effects, but it is a mind altering drug, and therefore can have some rather powerful effects over you. I still wish I could smoke it, but I no longer enjoy it, and so it isn't worth it to me.

MY nick name was fillie blunt because i used to smoke so much. however, on day i swollowed some crack because i was about ot go to jail and was dirty. whe i gor bailed out later than night i started to fell hight, i did not think of much of it because i have swollowed it before. this time it was not wraped up propprley and was absorben by my stomach acids. that night was the worst and longest of my life my heart was so fast it was and maricale it did not expplode or i did not go into a seizure. i was afraid of goin to the hospital and gettin it removed because i did not want to get charged with pocession. Any way i think it caused really bad stress on my heart and am 22 and was allways fit and a good athlete. any was one day about a couple months after the incident i was smoing weed like i allways do( i smoke about 10-15 blunt a day). An out of noware i had this feeling come over me and my hear started racing just like when i swollowed the crack. i got so scared i called the ambulance i told them i had not ate all day, which was true but i did not tell them i had just took about 5 hits one a blunt. The perametic thaught i was playin guntil he took my blood pressere and it was off the charts. Went to the hospital and gor checked out and they said i slould eat moe small meals unstead of just one or two huge meals a day. so a couple of days i started to smoke again an the same feeling used to come over me. and every time i have tried to smoke after than day it is just a horrable felling. all the relaxing is gone no more munchies no more deep conversations with you peers on that blunted high. so i came to the conclusion that my heart rate speed up it just now i keep thing about it more and more so the weed makes it speed up more an more i don't know it swollowing the 8 ball trigured the all thing,but all i know is that feeling like i am about to die is not worth being high so i relly wish i could smoke but i no longer get pleasure from it. so i just weaned off in about a weed entirley on the fact that i did not want to feel like that anymore not for any other reasion, not school, not job or anything. i tried it about 6 months ago after being clean fro about a year and a half and the same damn shit happed to me again. i wish i could smoke but i don't think i will ever take another hit of weed again i am still around it i still love the smell(not a lot though). I even still roll up blunts for my girl. but i will never some it again. now i drink from time to time and smoke on a cigar if i get an earge which is usually brung on by drinking boyyom line leave that shit alone you allreay didi it let it yoiu know what feel like to be twisted. plus you would not belive how much money i saved 8,000 a year peace

i wander if there is a way i could smoke pot and still relax like i used to and why it happens

You've probably got a chemical imbalance in your brain that leads to the panic attacks. It could have been caused by the drugs or could simply be a hereditary thing. I'd suggest going off the weed and seeing if it helps. At least, you'd be saving yourself some money too.

that's really weird, a woman I work with said the exact same thing at work last week... turns out she's bipolar, stopped taking her meds, she'd feel an attack cming on, and as long as she smoked asap, she was like a whole new person. If she didn't get to smoke soon enough, she'd turn UGLY, as in CRAZY tempered. She said her boyfriend didn't even know who she was when she got that way. Do you have any history in your family of bipolarity? Maybe worth a look. Good luck.

No. I got them twice. They usually last a week, start to subside, and only occur after smoking. It's like a flashback of being high, right? It's really trippy. I used to get scared but now I ride it.. If you like pot, don't stop! But take a couple of months' breather to forget the feeling. NO. not a week or a month. I tried that.. take a solid 5.

I smoked pot all through college and it never did anything for me...then on my honeymoon, I did some with my new wife on the beach in northern California at night and I was blasted onto the roof of the universe. It was terrifying. Like acid. My heart started beating 200x a minute and it took the entire night to eat myself down. Scary stuff. Anyhow, because of my anxiety/panic disorder, it'd be foolish of me to do any mood/mind-altering substances. Other things help and you can control. But no more shrooms, acid, disassociatives for me.

Yes. It happens to most people. Unfortunately, the fact that marijuana causes anxiety disorders and panic attacks doesn't get discussed very frequently in anti-drug campaigns. They just tell you its "bad for your lungs" or "makes you lose interest in school." That's the least marijuana does. I'm surprised there isn't more literature and research on these anxiety issues. I've had them too. One time after smoking I had mini panic attacks and anxiety for a week. I'm never picking it up again in my life. And there are also other illnesses, like derealization disorder, that people get from smoking weed. People should be more aware of this. Why are teens so anxious and moody these days? Pot? Maybe.

good points, everyone. i used to smoke pot about once or twice a week, got somewhat of an anxiety attack, continued smoking. then i got another one. and after that i stopped completely. haven't touched it in over 2 months. the point is that if you're getting feelings or sensations that were similar to those of being stoned, STOP. you obviously don't want them. i would have feelings of disconnection with reality, which i noticed in my anxiety attack. I STOPPED. i still get nervous in crowded places, but it's not as bad. within a week of stopping pot, the crux of it was gone. although i miss listening to pink Floyd while stoned, i have sacrificed that for my better mental well being. i stick to alcohol now. although some of my friends can still smoke and not have any negative side effects, i don't know if i can. and i've learned to accept that. =]

it's a cannibis induced psychiatric disorder...it actually has a DSM diagnostic code...if i could locate my DSM at the moment, i've give you the code...but anyway, it's the result of brain damage from the drug use...residential care facilities are full of people that can't take care of themelves because of it...

EVERYBODY at some point is affected by anxeity no matter what the scale. An anxeity 'disorder' is just your bodys way of saying 'calm down i cant cope!'. A panic attack is a very natural defence mechanism which people have had since the stone age - the blood rushes from the vital organs and into the arms and legs so we can run faster/fight better (fight or flight affect)this is why your stomach gets that wierd feeling right before an attack, its the blood draining from it to your arms and legs so you can run or fight a bear or something. In modern day life with constant physical and emotional stress it causes our body to over produce adrenalin causing this same extreme reaction in really silly (not serious life threatening) situations. I have never taken drugs but i partied very hard with no sleep and lots of alcohol and stressful work, I was exactly the same, so worried about having a panic attack that i would cause one, i was a nervous reck in most situations - no matter how small or silly. I found what my doctor said helped, he said a panic attack only lasts for about 5 minutes before you calm down, its impossible to have a half an hour long panic attack. I found i could deal with that and i stopped worrying as much :) It probably is the drugs etc which have brought this on, but by looking after yourself the panic attacks will eventually go away, mine did anyway