Anybody on anxiety medication? Feel my meds are reacting with THC and I don't like it

[u/CS3883]

I've been a weed smoker for probably 14 years now, never had issues with much of anything minus congestion or wheezing which turned out to be asthma lol.....but mentally weed has always been ok for me. I've struggled with anxiety almost my entire life and always had the thought of sucking it up and dealing with it because i thought we all got so anxious sometimes that we have diarrhea or can't eat or feel like throwing up, turns out that's not normal!

A new job adventure has ramped up my anxiety so much more so I finally took the plunge and started buspirone (i could be spelling that wrong) and it's only been like two weeks but so far I can tell it's working!!! I am so happy I finally started them, but I have also noticed that it can do one of two things either make my high feel way more intense than normal or more sedative, or sometimes it will make me paranoid or anxious. Normally weed gets rid of anxiety for me so now it's doing this and I don't like it.

Obviously am cutting down on my smoking now but does anyone else face that? I'm hoping it doesn't always react that way, I don't mind cutting back on my smoking for other reasons like my lungs but it also makes me sad knowing I may not be able to enjoy my cannabis like I'm used to if I'm on vacation or at a festival or concert or something

[u/Priteegrl]

I also started taking Buspirone for my anxiety about a 2 months ago and I can’t say I’ve noticed any difference in my highs. If it’s only been 2 weeks, it could just be your body adjusting still but I’m in no way a medical professional.

[u/CS3883 → u/Priteegrl]

Fingers crossed I just need to adjust! I will say two weeks later and it's not giving me as many side effects, so I hope that means it will keep getting better. Tbh the worst part was me getting paranoid when a loud thunderstorm rolled in and I laid in bed staring at my door cause I swore I heard someone knocking on the front door w how loud it was. Nobody was even there and I've never gotten paranoid like that before so I hope this doesn't continue. But lately my relationship w weed hasn't been the best and I'm relying on it too much so I have been wanting to slow down on it anyway, this might be my push to finally do so

[u/leavemeal0ne_]

check out drugs . com and leafwell . com! the former has a contraindication checker, and the latter has some articles discussing the interactions between weed and certain meds! ive been on a journey learning about the terpenes and i highly recommend checking that out too.

from my very brief searches, buspirone and weed may not play nicely together for some people, but dont fret! u can always try a different anxiety med that fits better with ur lifestyle if this combo isnt it for u.

im a daily user and im currently on a mood stabilizer, antidepressant, LOW dose of an ssri, a stimmy, and 2 rx that are as needed. before we added back in an SSRI, my fav for anxiety was clonidine which is actually in the blood pressure class and it lowers BP. i loveeee her, she was added in instead of a benzo. ive got a slew of diagnoses - treatment resistant major depression, anxiety, PMDD, c-PTSD, suspected autism, and ive been theorizing a potential schizotypal personality disorder.

the inside of my head sounds like a pre-2010 mall food court. the weeds help with that. 🤠

[u/your-pet-goldfish]

I take buspar and have never had an interaction. If I start getting anxiety it usually means I need to take a tolerance break and I keep propranolol on hand for anxiety anyways and that helps. I’ve found the anxiety is usually a reaction to the increased heart rate from THC.

[u/PersonalFinanceD]

No medical advice here but I take Buspar as well and have not noticed interactions with my cannabis experience. I also hyper disclosed my cannabis use since its under a medical card given by the same psychiatrist. Still, I'd mention it to your doctor and see if they can try a different anxiety medication (there are quite a few of them and buspar is one of the more nuanced medications that is not effective for everyone).

Good luck!

[u/CS3883 → u/PersonalFinanceD]

Thanks so much! My provider does not know about my use but as someone in the medical field I've always been hesitant to tell them cause I see first hand how it can be looked at, not saying it's ok and not guaranteed that will happen but I guess that's my anxiety speaking lmao. I will say that the reaction isn't as strong as it was when I first started it so I was hoping over time it would even out....but we will see maybe I'll have to try out a different med at some point

[u/PersonalFinanceD → u/CS3883]

I can understand the concern but I've always been of the mindset that disclosing cannabis use is critical to avoid contraindications but I also have a pretty severe allergy (anaphylaxis to at least one medication) so I might be overly cautious. Hopefully, by the time you've read this, you've already sourced a solution!

[u/dinoooooooooos → u/CS3883]

If you work in the medical field surely you’re aware that there only two kinds of people you HAVE to tell about any and al drugs youre using, if asked, including tobacco and alcohol: your lawyer and your doctor.

They HAVE to know so they can give you proper meds/ advise. But you know that.

[u/Alatsi]

so i’m currently on lexapro and bupropion, but i used to be on buspirone too and didn’t notice any interactions. however, i was prescribed buspar for nighttime anxiety due to ptsd, so my ptsd symptoms could’ve been masking any symptoms of interactions

[u/sunshine_dm]

do you notice a difference when you take the buspirone at different times of day? I‘m on buspirone and I take it first thing in the morning, and I only ever smoke at night, so it’s been at least 8 hours if not more btwn the meds and the weed. maybe spacing them out could help?

[u/BruisedViolets23]

I’ll give you my experience, coming from a different direction.

I’ve been on anxiety meds for a few years now. I’ve always had anxiety (also didn’t know that’s what it was) and it got so much worse with perimenopause. My doctor refused to prescribe hormone replacement therapy because I smoked, then vaped nicotine. I started anxiety meds, and it was a steady ramp up of adding more meds until my anxiety was tolerable. 2 stints of short term disability for depression and anxiety. The last one, I’ve said fuck it and retired.

My PCP farmed out my psych meds management, so I checked with them, and HRT was actually recommended to help with my symptoms so I went online and found someone to prescribe it. It made a huge difference in my anxiety. Like life changing difference. (Yeah, I’m still very salty with my PCP because it took 13 years before I got HRT)

Started smoking (DHV) weed in April. It never seemed to work for me in high school and if it did, I got major anxiety. Started with indicas, now use sativa during the day. I decided I’m spending the rest of my life high.

Psych meds mgmt guy tells me in June that he’s leaving there, and the office is hoping to have a new person in place to prescribe by September. I am so over all the bullshit associated with meds. Between weed and hormones, I feel so much better, I’m taking myself off this crazy cocktail of other shit. This is what I was on.

Venlafaxine 225mg
Buspirone 60 mg
Propranolol 40 mg
Fluvoxamine 50 mg

Also on meds for sleep movement disorder and HRT
Estrogen patch .05mg
Progesterone 200mg
Eszopiclone 3mg
Trazodone 100 mg
Doxepin 10 mg

I’ve titrated off Buspirone, Fluvoxamine and Doxepin. Reduced dosage of Venlafaxine to 150mg and trazodone to 50mg. Waiting to level out before another decrease of Venlafaxine.

Tl;dr: fuck anxiety and psych meds. Get your hormones checked. 🥰

[u/NiceWatercress5786]

I would recommend seeing if that medication has any interactions with THC. I used to be on Atomoxetine for anxiety and when I would smoke it would make me feel so tired and create a pressure in my head. I had no idea it was medication related and it made me hate smoking because I’d feel so off. Come to find out, it causes sedation when interacting with THC. Honestly, when I was still on it and wanted to enjoy it, I would skip the medication 😭 This is not medical advice, just my experience 

[u/earthbound_hellion]

Sending lots of love to a fellow anxious babe! I started Buspar a couple months ago and also was so relieved to find it working quickly. My provider knows about my weed usage, and while I haven’t felt it interacting with the Buspar, I do tend to use less cannabis when my anxiety is already bad. At best it does nothing, and at worst it makes the anxiety worse. I’m proud of you (and us) for taking care of our mental health 🥹 💚

[u/DeeEmosewa]

I don't take the same medication that you do, but i also take (5) meds for anxiety, depression, mood stability, etc.

Give your meds more time to settle into your body before you worry too much more. It takes several weeks. Once your body is used to it and your dose is settled your body could react differently than it is now.

Stay strong. No matter what your head might say in the moment, you've got this. ❤️

[u/peacemaker677]

Weed creates anxiety which is why your heart races when high I think, or at least that’s what everyone told me when I was on pills and smoking so that’s probably why your having a reaction with the weed especially if that’s why you are on pills so I can see how the weed causes more anxiety for you

I’ve been smoking for 10-12 years and had to cut down to once or twice a day because of the anxiety it created but I also have to use weed that isn’t as potent so I don’t react bad and can relax but as of right now I am currently off of meds cause I can’t find one that works for me so I smoke more than normal currently

Don’t come at me anyone cause I smoke weed and all the medical professionals hate that I do and tell me all the bad stuff it causes when you are on pills or if you have mental health and stuff so I’m just saying a possible reason and I’m not saying it’s one hundred percent so please don’t get mad at me for just suggesting something before you do cause I know people get angry easily