Health - Cannabis and Seizures

Hey ya'll!


Has anyone here had, or do you know of anyone who has had a seizure when high?


It's happened to a friend of mine twice now and is freaking me out! I'm wondering how common this is?


Any insight would be realy appreciated.


Thanks,


Goldie

[TokeyMcTokerson]

If your friend is having seizures it's not the weed (unless it's laced). My friend has problems with seizures too but it's usually triggered by being on the computer too long, or in front of anything bright or flashing it's definatly something neurological. I hope this makes sense, I'm pretty toasted right now <img border="0" src= "smileys/smiley16.gif">


~Tokey~

Smoking weed will seriously lower your level of sugar in your blood. (is sugar mirror the correct therm?) If your sugar level gets to low, you will experience a wide variety of symptom amoung which you can have a seizure. Here in The Netherlands this happens a lot with tourists that are not used to the potency of Dutch marihuana. We fix this with a lot of sugar and within 20 minutes the person is fine again. My guess is that this is what has happened to your friend. Unless he has any hidden illness.

[PetRockStealer]

I noticed that some of my friends get really really twitchy after they smoke. They just totally tweak like they're on speed or something. I've never heard of seizures before, try the blood-sugar thing.

If your friend has a family history of seizures they should be very careful about taking any hallucinagen or stimulant. In this case it is an underlying problem that can become easily agitated and since marijuana is classified as a mild hallucinagen and does raise the heart rate by 5 - 10 bpm this could be the problem. I have never heard of the sugar thing although it seems very likely since the metabolism rate does increase. These things combined could be the cause of the problem. I will however add that in 12 years of smoking pot I have never seen anybody have a seizure from smoking alone, generally it is caused by another stimulus of some sort (xtc, meth, videogames, etc.). I have smoked stuff that has put me on my ass, (including some hash from Cannibus Cup that some how made it over here to the US <img border="0" src= "smileys/smiley2.gif">), and I have never come close to feeling like I was going to have a seizure, but if the Dutch have something they think will, then Im on the next plane to Amsterdam andIll have a bag of candy in my hand!


VB

[nosociety]

Whenever its cold out and i get high i sometimes shake uncontrolably to the point that people are asking me if i am ok. Do you know if your friends seizures are related to temperature?

[dangerjoe]

Originally Posted by nosociety

Whenever its cold out and i get high i sometimes shake uncontrolably to the point that people are asking me if i am ok. Do you know if your friends seizures are related to temperature?

This happened to me yesterday, I was pretty high and it was freezing in the car and suddenly I couldn't control my body, almost couldn't move my legs and I was twitching alot. Luckily I was sitting down, but it seemed that: me being high + really cold, made my body do stuff it wouldn't normally do. Not a seizure, but a little scary.. Can it be related to the temperature?

[VIKETIME]

i twitch real bad sometimes when i smoke more than im used too..it never really happened before but one time i was on 20 mg of hydrocodone and i smoke a fat J and my heart was racin and i laid down bc i was freakin out and my legs and even my whole body would sometimes twitch..which was weird bc im almost constantly on vic's and 20 mg is a low dose for me. but anyways i tried to blame it on the vic's bc my gf was there and she could see my heart beating through my chest. then the next night i smoke nugs, lower grade and about the same size J..it happened again. just those two times, do u guys think theres something wrong w/ me? bc i've smoked even after that and been fine.. but it gets weird when your twitchin n shit..did this ever happen to anyone else??????

[IHrtHalucingens]

SWIM gets a few twitches here and there when really stoned. But in no way are they realted to seizures or epilepsy. Anyone who has had a real siezure can tell you theres a huge difference between a few muscle spasms and convulsions.

[serotonin]

i sometimes get fairly jumpy, but nothign to be concerned about.


i'm wondering though, is your friend on any other kind of medication (prescription). that very well may be the cause.

[psyko_tripper]

Lately, while I'm smoking joints I get this pain in my chest and my heart starts beating really hard. Sometimes it even feels like I'm going to have a heart attack...

Seems like I'm gonna have to quit for a while, cause this is ruining my highs..

[FiLtHy1337]

Originally Posted by VIKETIME

i twitch real bad sometimes when i smoke more than im
used too..it never really happened before but one time i was on 20 mg
of hydrocodone and i smoke a fat J and my heart was racin and i laid
down bc i was freakin out and my legs and even my whole body would
sometimes twitch..which was weird bc im almost constantly on vic's and
20 mg is a low dose for me. but anyways i tried to blame it on the
vic's bc my gf was there and she could see my heart beating through my
chest. then the next night i smoke nugs, lower grade and about the same
size J..it happened again. just those two times, do u guys think theres
something wrong w/ me? bc i've smoked even after that and been fine..
but it gets weird when your twitchin n shit..did
this ever happen to anyone else??????

the same exact thing
happen to swim while on vics and mj maybe this is not o good
combo,....but i do mean exact even down to the two nights in a
row,....but swims friend splashed him with water(bongwater) and he felt
better but im sure it was scary

[forty1]

Its rare, but not completely out of the question..


My friend had a seizure from smoking weed...Though many things could have been a factor of this, it would most likely be because of low blood sugar, as someone mentioned. In my case, my friend had recently gotten neural surgery and taking wasbong rips...not the best idea. I had never heard ofhaving a seizure from smokingbefore this happened, and it really suprised me, since weed is commonly used to treat people who have epileptic seizures.

[Creeping Death]

Your friend might be allergic to weed. Some people are.

[Micklemouse]

You're having panic attacks you fools! One thing weed will almost certainly not be giving you is seizures, either of the cardiac or epileptic flavour!

True - marijuana will raise your heart-rate and blood pressure. This will give your body the impression that it is panicking, your body tells this to your poor confused stoned mind, which then thinks it must have something to panic about. Oh my God I'm having a heart attack! No you're not. You're having a panic attack. Sit down, have a cup of tea, take some deep breaths and see how you feel.

Semi-true - low blood sugar will give you a seizure. Hypoglycaemic seizures are only really a problem if you suffer from diabetes, or your diet is seriously crap, i.e. non existent. Your blood sugar needs to be incredibly, almost life-threateningly low for this to be an issue. Cannabis will not lower your blood sugar to this level, unless the factors mentioned above are also true. Low blood sugar will make you feel hungry, dizzy, irritable, confused, and eventually you may have a whitey and fall over. This is not a seizure. It is a well documented effect of low blood sugar. Eat something sweet, it'll be reet! Better still, fruit or slow release carbs - pasta, bread... Good diet will keep you healthy, sane and a lot less paranoid!

True - some people are allergic to cannabis. Some people are allergic to people. However most cases of 'cannabis allergy' that you'll come across will be a sensitivity issue rather than a true allergy - some people just can't handle the sudden rise in blood pressure and heart rate that occurs immediately after having a toke. Now, if someone comes out in hives, starts swelling up in front of your eyes, starts clutching their throat and turns blue, then you've got a full-blown allergy, and you should really be thinking about calling an ambulance!

A lot of people get the symptoms described in the above posts when they start smoking - a certain Mouse I know certainly did! - but they do seem to pass with time.

[bewilderment]

Is your friend on any medication? I used to be on Paxil and
whenever I would smoke MJ I would shake like a leaf. I've also
had one seizure in my life, but I was on no drugs. Stimulants
still make me twitch though and sometimes have tremors all over my
body. Then again, sometimes they don't. Who knows?



I would suggest getting ahold of some benzo's if possible (either off
the street or he could go to the doctor and have some prescribed since
he's prone to seizures). He could take two of these before
smoking and it may eliminate the seizures.

[CrystalDextro]

I've read about people having seizures but I don't think its likely to happen from pot without another condition interacting with the effects of pot. An earlier post said that they splashed water on his friend have a "seizure" and it subsided that wouldhave to be a panic attack. I personally believe that many people mistake a panic attack to be a "seizure".

[rsmo]

Whenever Im smoked out and in a cold place I have seizure

[Micklemouse]

Originally Posted by rsmo

Whenever Im smoked out and in a cold place I have seizure

Please give us a list of SWiYour 'seizure' symptoms.

[rsmo]

whenever SWIMJ smokes weed and is in a cold place SWIM starts to shake.
Its almost more of a periodic shake attacks than a constant shake. But the breaks betwen the "shakes" are very small. Maybe close to a couple of hart beat oscilation. Or beter breath inhaleing measured. And thats about it. Its not like SwIM gets paranoid and starts to shake but SWIm starts to shake and then maybe paranoid because it is not a good feeling. SwIM has smoked weed for about a year before this happen first time. When SwIM gets high in a crib and the walks outside on cold weather instantly thats when the thing occurs. BAsicly SWIM thinks its temerature related. Dont know

[Micklemouse]

Originally Posted by rsmo

whenever SWIMJ smokes weed and is in a cold place SWIM starts to shake.
Its almost more of a periodic shake attacks than a constant shake. But the breaks betwen the "shakes" are very small. Maybe close to a couple of hart beat oscilation. Or beter breath inhaleing measured. And thats about it. Its not like SwIM gets paranoid and starts to shake but SWIm starts to shake and then maybe paranoid because it is not a good feeling. SwIM has smoked weed for about a year before this happen first time. When SwIM gets high in a crib and the walks outside on cold weather instantly thats when the thing occurs. BAsicly SWIM thinks its temerature related. Dont know

It is called shivering, and is indeed temperature related, possibly heightened by poor circulation from smoking. I would be very surprised if this was in any way related to anything vaguely approaching seizure-like activity, but if it worries SWiYou, then either a) talk to a doctor, or b) don't get stoned if you have to go outside in the winter. Stay at home & watch t.v. instead.

[rsmo]

yes I avoid suden change of temperatures
basicly from worm in to cold


its like a lot more then a few spasms

more like hundret spasmas. SwiMs conxcious all the time but no control over the shivering


Its under conrol more or less

[IHrtHalucingens]

Today SWIM woke up, did a few things around the house, then took a kief hit from the bong. SWIM took 3 or 4 deep breaths before the hit and took a pretty large hit. After he exhaled he stood up and put his arms over his head as he does after all large hits, so he can get some oxygen.

But this time SWIM stood up and got a head rush, which was a somewhat frequent happening after sitting for a while. SWIM has even blacked out for a few seconds from these head rushes in the past.

But this time instead of blacking out he fell to the ground convulsing uncontrollably, SWIM was concious and trying very hard to control his body but he couldnt. This only lasted for maybe 5-10 seconds then everything was normal.

SWIM had childhood epilepsy and knows this was a seizure, but swim hasnt had a seizure in over 10 years, he was supposed to have grown out of it. So this scares SWIM.

SWIM hadnt eaten yet, so his blood sugar was most likely very low, but he shouldnt have had a seizure like that unless he was diabetic right? What about the hyperventilating? that cant be it i have hyperentilated much longer and harder than that before and been perfectly fine.

Anybody have any ideas?

Haha 2 posts ago i was dismissing the possiblity, now i dont know what to think.

[imyourlittlebare]

Weed can cause seizures people. I hate to burst your bubble but I just was looking at this assortment of literature of negative aspects of THC is neuroscience. Glutamate and dopamine are excitatory neurotransmitters. Both are effected by THC. that is they are inhibited. However, when thc leaves the body, there is an influx. Also, GABA is effected by THC. It causes GABA tolerance which means it lowers your seizure threshhold with an inability to inhibit action potenials. here are the articles. sorry pot heads. Its bad news bears. Ignore the messages in between the stories they were for other people

Title: Opposing actions of chronic Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabinoid antagonists on hippocampal long-term potentiation.
Author: Hoffman, Alexander F; Oz, Murat; Yang, Ruiqin; Lichtman, Aron H; Lupica, Carl R
Institution: United States Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, Cellular Neurobiology Branch, Electrophysiology Research Unit, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA.
Appears In: Learning & memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.). vol. 14, no. 1-2 (2007): 63-74.
Journal Info: Abbreviation: Learn Mem. Journal Subset: IM.. Country of Publication: United States.
Abstract: Memory deficits produced by marijuana arise partly via interaction of the psychoactive component, Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta(9)-THC), with cannabinoid receptors in the hippocampus. Although cannabinoids acutely reduce glutamate release and block hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), a potential substrate for learning and memory, the consequences of prolonged exposure to Delta(9)-THC for hippocampal function are poorly understood. Rats were injected with Delta(9)-THC (10 mg/kg, i.p., q.d.) for 1, 3, or 7 d, and electrophysiological recordings were performed in hippocampal slices 1d after the final injection. At this time, Delta(9)-THC was undetectable in hippocampus using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Hippocampal LTP generated using high-frequency (HFS) or theta burst stimulation was not observed in brain slices from the 7-d Delta(9)-THC-treated animals. Delta(9)-THC also blocked HFS-LTP after 3 d, but not 1 d of treatment. The complete blockade of LTP persisted for 3 d after the last Delta(9)-THC injection, and full reversal of the LTP deficit was not observed up to 14 d following Delta(9)-THC withdrawal. The cannabinoid antagonist AM251 (2 mg/kg), administered before each Delta(9)-THC injection prevented the blockade of LTP, and 7-d treatment with AM251 alone significantly increased the level of LTP. Chronic Delta(9)-THC also produced tolerance to the inhibition of synaptic GABA, but not glutamate release by the agonist WIN55,212-2. These data define consequences of repeated Delta(9)-THC exposure for synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus that may help explain memory impairments in humans following chronic marijuana use.

this article is alot of what im talking about. glutamate inhibition= influx with discontinuation=anxiety and risk of getting mood disorder. produces tolerance to GABA. Key to anxiety disorders.

Title: Modulation of fear and anxiety by the endogenous cannabinoid system.
Author: Chhatwal, Jasmeer P; Ressler, Kerry J
Institution: Department of Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Appears In: CNS spectrums. vol. 12, no. 3 (2007 Mar): 211-20.
Journal Info: Abbreviation: CNS Spectr. Journal Subset: IM.. Country of Publication: United States.
Abstract: The last decade has witnessed remarkable progress in the understanding of the mammalian cannabinoid system, from the cloning of the endogenous cannabinoid receptor to the discovery of new pharmacologic compounds acting on this receptor. Current and planned studies in humans include compounds with effects ranging from direct antagonists to inhibitors of reuptake and breakdown. This progress has been accompanied by a much greater understanding of the role of the cannabinoid system in modulating the neural circuitry that mediates anxiety and fear responses. This review focuses on the neural circuitry and pharmacology of the cannabinoid system as it relates to the acquisition, expression, and extinction of conditioned fear as a model of human anxiety. Preclinical studies suggest that these may provide important emerging targets for new treatments of anxiety disorders.

heres an article that has to do with endogenous systems involved with fear and anxiety. Agonizing those systems could also be a cause why so many people develop cannabis withdrawal symptom (as stated in earlier research not true withdrawal but a period of extreme anxiety and insomnia that resembles anxiety disorder).

Title: The effects of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol physical dependence on brain cannabinoid receptors.
Author: Breivogel, Christopher S; Scates, Susan M; Beletskaya, Irina O; Lowery, Olivia B; Aceto, Mario D; Martin, Billy R
Institution: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Campbell University School of Pharmacy, P.O. Box 1090, Buies Creek, NC 27506, USA. breivogel@mailcenter.campbell.edu
Appears In: European journal of pharmacology. vol. 459, no. 2-3 (2003 Jan 17): 139-50.
Journal Info: Abbreviation: Eur J Pharmacol. Journal Subset: IM.. Country of Publication: Netherlands.
Date Revised: 20061115
Abstract: The effects of chronic Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol on cannabinoid receptor levels and receptor-G-protein coupling were investigated. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were infused continuously with low or high dose regimens of Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol or vehicle for 4 days. Following treatment, rats were sacrificed for cannabinoid CB(1) receptor binding analysis or challenged with the cannabinoid CB(1) receptor antagonist, N-(piperidin-1-yl)-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide HCl (SR141716A). The rats receiving Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol exhibited antagonist-precipitated withdrawal signs. Each brain region (cerebellum, cortex, hippocampus and basal ganglia) from high-dose rats showed 30-70% decreases in [3H] (-)-cis-3-[2-hydroxy-4-(1,1-dimethylheptyl)phenyl]-trans-4-(3-hydroxyphenyl)cyclohexanol (WIN55212-2) B(max) values, indicating receptor down-regulation. Most regions showed decreased WIN55212-2-stimulated [35S]guanosine-5'-O-3-thiotriphosphate (GTPgammaS) binding, indicating desensitization of cannabinoid CB(1) receptors. Additional receptor binding assays in cerebellar membranes showed a significantly greater decrease in agonist than in antagonist B(max) values, indicating a lower fraction of coupled receptors after treatment. Concentration-effect analysis of five agonists revealed that the treatment resulted in greater decreases in the efficacy of low-efficacy agonists.

well isnt this interesting?

Title: Neuropsychological performance in long-term cannabis users.
Author: Pope, H G Jr; Gruber, A J; Hudson, J I; Huestis, M A; Yurgelun-Todd, D
Institution: McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 115 Mill St, Belmont, MA 02478, USA.
Appears In: Archives of general psychiatry. vol. 58, no. 10 (2001 Oct): 909-15.
Journal Info: Abbreviation: Arch Gen Psychiatry. Journal Subset: AIM. IM.. Country of Publication: United States.
Date Revised: 20061115
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Although cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States, its long-term cognitive effects remain inadequately studied. METHODS: We recruited individuals aged 30 to 55 years in 3 groups: (1) 63 current heavy users who had smoked cannabis at least 5000 times in their lives and who were smoking daily at study entry; (2) 45 former heavy users who had also smoked at least 5000 times but fewer than 12 times in the last 3 months; and (3) 72 control subjects who had smoked no more than 50 times in their lives. Subjects underwent a 28-day washout from cannabis use, monitored by observed urine samples. On days 0, 1, 7, and 28, we administered a neuropsychological test battery to assess general intellectual function, abstraction ability, sustained attention, verbal fluency, and ability to learn and recall new verbal and visuospatial information. Test results were analyzed by repeated-measures regression analysis, adjusting for potentially confounding variables. RESULTS: At days 0, 1, and 7, current heavy users scored significantly below control subjects on recall of word lists, and this deficit was associated with users' urinary 11-nor-9-carboxy-Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentrations at study entry. By day 28, however, there were virtually no significant differences among the groups on any of the test results, and no significant associations between cumulative lifetime cannabis use and test scores. CONCLUSION: Some cognitive deficits appear detectable at least 7 days after heavy cannabis use but appear reversible and related to recent cannabis exposure rather than irreversible and related to cumulative lifetime use.

and here is the bread and butter

^ Johansson E, Halldin MM, Agurell S, Hollister LE, Gillespie HK. (1989). "Terminal elimination plasma half-life of delta 1-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta 1-THC) in heavy users of marijuana.". European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 37 (3): 273-7. PMID 2558889. Retrieved on 2007-10-27.

this study shows that the half life of marijuana, which is plasma peak of the drug is anywhere from 3 to 12 days. So if it doesnt reach its half life till then it means that it still exherts a psychoactive effect. game set and match.
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Reputation Comments on this post:

great info on cannabis and seizures :)

[nikkib0i]

SWIM said,

"hi im epileptic, i never use to be till i had heaps of codeine and overdosed ive had 4 seizures since then and ive been smokin pot on a daily basis for bout 7 years"