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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Can Alcohol Intake Or K2 Cause Hard Heart Pounding, Anxiety, Paranoia, Etc.?

I smoked some type of K2 in 2011 one night. I think I might have done way too much and started feeling the increased heart rate , shallow breathing , etc. almost to the point where I almost called 911. The next morning, I just felt out of it and felt a little fogged. Anyway, I didnt smoke it for 8 months and then I smoked 3-5 other times when I was drinking, but I didnt take big hits and didnt feel any symptoms besides the high. Anyway, during Christmas break, I drank every night heavily for a month straight while I was dealing with relationship issues. When I went back to college, I started to feel my heart beating through my chest numerous times a day and I would focus on it all day long. I thought something was wrong with me so I went to campus health and got an EKG , chest x rays, blood tests, TB tests and everything came back normal. After a month or two, I still kept feeling my heart beat and I felt like it was irregular. It would beat a couple times at the same rate, then it would drop and start beating very slow. My resting BPM is about 52-60. So I went to my family doctor to get another opinion and he did another EKG which came back completley normal. Anyway, Im scared that this Spice might have done something to my heart. But now I also feel like it could be the fact that I dont play sports (used to be a Division 1 athlete) and drink more heavily and frequently. Im wondering if the alcohol intake is causing the hard pounding, anxiety , paranoia , etc. or if the K2 is to blame?
Mon, 1 Jul 2013
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Addiction Medicine Specialist 's  Response
Hi,

K2 or spice contain synthetic cannabis (marijuana) in potent form. I would like you to know that cannabis is well-known to cause both anxiety and paranoia. Anxiety is often accompanied with symptoms like irregular heart beat, breathlessness, sweating, chest pain, tremors etc. At the same time, alcohol also is associated with anxiety disorders, and less commonly with paranoid symptoms. Hence in your case, both cannabis and alcohol might have contributed to your problem. I would advise you to completely abstain from cannabis and to cut down alcohol intake significantly. If you still feel unwell after that and your tests continue to remain normal, please consult a psychiatrist so that a proper assessment can be made and medications started, if deemed necessary.

Hope this has been of help. Best wishes.
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Can Alcohol Intake Or K2 Cause Hard Heart Pounding, Anxiety, Paranoia, Etc.?

Hi, K2 or spice contain synthetic cannabis (marijuana) in potent form. I would like you to know that cannabis is well-known to cause both anxiety and paranoia. Anxiety is often accompanied with symptoms like irregular heart beat, breathlessness, sweating, chest pain, tremors etc. At the same time, alcohol also is associated with anxiety disorders, and less commonly with paranoid symptoms. Hence in your case, both cannabis and alcohol might have contributed to your problem. I would advise you to completely abstain from cannabis and to cut down alcohol intake significantly. If you still feel unwell after that and your tests continue to remain normal, please consult a psychiatrist so that a proper assessment can be made and medications started, if deemed necessary. Hope this has been of help. Best wishes.