What can you expect if you smoke marijuana and take bipolar medication?

Answer 1

Both my mother and step father work in psychiatry, they know of my exorbitant marijuana use and have advised me that it will result in your serotonin levels being completely effed for about 2 weeks after using. This will result in possible depression, anxiety etc.

If you are planning on doing this you should definitely take some precautions especially if its your first time smoking weed. Zoloft greatly increases the high. My first time smoking marijuana i was on Zoloft and it was honestly an extremely frightening experience. So make sure you are with people you completely trust as you may need someone to talk you down. Your heart will probably beat extremely fast to the point where you will think your having a heart attack this apparently happens to people not on Zoloft so its nothing to worry about unless it becomes too accelerated. it may be a good idea to read up on others experiences on erowid in the cannabis or sertraline combinations sections.

http://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.cgi?A=Search&S1=88&S2=1&S3=-1&C1=-1&S4=-1&GenderSelect=-1&Context=-1&DoseMethodID=-1&Title=&AuthorSearch=&A1=-1&Lang=&Group=-1&Str=&Intensity=&I2=

These may seem frightening but remember that these are but a few experiences and its very subjective, more unstable people may find the experience of combining these two terrible while more stable people may find it bearable or even nice.

My personal experience with this combination has been shaky at best. I really love marijuana but in combination with Zoloft it can take a scary turn. you can have the greatest time of your life or the most unbearable experience that will stick with you. I've found it mostly depends on:

A) your mood going into the experience
B) your environment
C) the people you surround yourself with
D) Your own insecurities

If any of these are negative it can leave you feeling terrible. I would suggest, if you must do it, be in a dimly lit room doing something that you like (Video Games etc) listening to nice music and with at least one person you can really count on. You WILL become quite paranoid but I've found it helps if you just tell yourself you don't care. Most paranoia come from you thinking you are saying something weird or thinking that someone knows you are high. just try not to care about these and you will probably have an alright trip.

I've had people who know i take both tell me they tried it and they cant believe i do them together. So be cautious the experience may not be for you.

Just a warning marijuana while on Zoloft is bad for you, but completely stay away from drugs like ecstasy or drugs that work like ecstasy (cocaine etc) these will cause your serotonin receptors to burst and could seriously fry your brain.

Good luck!

Answer 2

As far as I know, there is not a single drug or medication that is dangerous to take with marijuana. Marijuana is neither a stimulant nor a depressant, but a mild hallucinogen, so it doesn't affect your central nervous system the way most other drugs do. It's definitely not healthy to be smoking pot every day, but using marijuana while on Zoloft is no more harmful than using marijuana alone.

ACTUALLY, marijuana is considered to be a stimulant, depressant, or a hallucinogen, depending on who you're talking to. Due to it having different effects on different people, it is listed as all three in text books. If you're on Zoloft, an anti-depressant, you shouldn't be smoking marijuana anyways. As an extremely anxiety filled depressed person myself, I can tell you through experience that the marijuana only makes it worse. Self medication is stupid and you should really abandon it, especially since you've realized that you have a problem and are taking steps to get help. The best way to help yourself is to lay off the illegal drugs. I know they're a lot of fun, and it's hard to admit that they could be a trigger, but I promise you they are. Weed can give you panic attacks, make you paranoid, become slothful and lethargic, and abandon things that you once found very fun. In fact, you might not even be depressed at all, you might just be addicted.

Marijuana is not a stimulant or a depressant. The fact that some people consider it to be does not make it so. Marijuana can indeed increase your heart rate, or cause you to feel sleepy, but these are psychological effects, not physical ones. Furthermore, a drug can't be a stimulant and a depressant at the same time.

Similar effects exist with other drugs. For example, heroin is a strong central nervous system depressant. It cannot be called a stimulant by any means. And yet, many heroin users report that heroin makes them feel energized and stimulated. Many cocaine users also feel relaxed when they do cocaine, but cocaine is definitely not a depressant. It's a powerful stimulant. Alcohol is also a depressant, NOT a stimulant. Yet, alcohol often has a stimulant effect when you first start drinking. Ever notice how when you're really tired, a couple of drinks makes you feel just as awake as a cup of coffee? But then later on you crash.

Also, while you can be psychologically addicted to marijuana, you cannot be physically addicted to it.

Answer 3

Obviously, substance abuse is never recommended in mentally ill patients;

That said, it depends on the medication.

Commonly prescribed mood stabilizers such as Lithium, carbamazepine (Tegretol) and valproic acid (Depakote and Deapkene) have no known interactions with marijuana.

Nor does it interact with bruproprion (Wellbutrin), a commonly prescribed anti-depressant used in Bipolar patients. Since SSRI's and SDRI's are basically always counter-indicated in the treatment of Bipolar disorder (as they tend to activate manias), they can be ignored.

Commonly prescribed typical anti-psychotics such as haloperidol (Haldol) and atypical anti-psychotics such as risperidone (Risperdal) and olanzapine (Zyprexa) will inhibit the dopaminergic effects of marijuana. Since marijuana is a dirty drug with more than a simple dopaminergic effect, this can get into highly complicated neuro-chemical territory. What it likely means is that some of the more pleasant effects of marijuana will decrease (because dopamine is related to reward/pleasure pathways), while other less desirable effects (paranoia, panic) become more pronounced.

Any other drugs used in the treatment of Bipolar Disorder (more exotic mood stabilizers that are typically only used as anti-convulsants) will have their own baggage.

Answer 4

You will die.

Which might not be a bad thing.