3 year post ablation-insomnia and cannabis "cure"

[adriatico]

It's been almost 3 years since my ablation and I almost forgot that I ever had heart problems. Some of you might remember that my recovery was very hard lasting exactly two months - I couldn't even walk to my kitchen without losing my breath.

Well, something happened 2 weeks ago.

I had "high" heart rate for several days losing my breath during short walks - just like I had during my ablation recovery. Resting rate above 82 and while walking it goes quickly above 105-110. Fatigued like hell. Here is the story now.

I suffer from insomnia - regularly waking up after 3-4 hours of sleep and doctors tried everything - of course Ambien (Zolpidem) was prescribed with warning about addiction and side effects. I tried all herbal remedies for the last 16 years with limited and temporary success.

One "sleep" doctor prescribed Xanax for "occasional" use.

So, I would use larger dose of herbal remedies one day then half the dose of prescribed Ambien the next day followed by herbal and then half of Xanax.

Sometimes I would get one hour of extra sleep - not bad but it was not a solution.

Finally, my Dr prescribes cannabis. Well, I thought, I will try anything at my age (70).

I tried it once in my life in 1974 and remember that everybody was having laughter as a "high" but I did not like the experience because of some pressure in my neck, temples and red eyes.

So, a couple of months ago I tried cannabis that comes as a vape cartridge.

It didn't work because it wears off in 2-3 hours just when I usually wake up.

My doctor then suggested cannabis edibles that usually stay in the system for several hours.

Well, it kind of worked. I got 1 hour of extra sleep. Great I thought!

But, I didn't want to eat my very tasty cannabis cookie every evening because of the high level of sugar in it - (I have slightly elevated glucose) so I decided to take half of Xanax - cookies the next two days then half Zolpidem... you get the idea.

My heart rate went up with fatigue I mentioned above.

I went to my cardiologist and after all possible tests he said that my heart is better than ever before. The punctured chamber wall during ablation healed completely and even my leaky valve was perfect now. He says the heart was a bit enlarged from Afib and is now back to normal size closing the valve opening.

Great news. I was so happy to hear all good news. But, what about fatigue and heart rate? I failed the stress test. We had to stop it after 2 minutes I just could not continue. My cardiologist was puzzled and sends me to neurologist to see possible vagus nerve problem. That was just another clueless doctor.

Then by pure accident I stumbled on one Leafly.com article about some side effects when using either Zolpidem or Xanax. It warned about heart rate and blood pressure problems. Eureka moment! I stopped everything for a day and continued with a cookie for a few days. My heart rate was back to normal 67-68 resting with extra sleep.

Last week I made my own canna chocolate chip cookies without sugar (with chips only as a sweetener). This morning I look at my Fitbit and it says 6 hours of sleep!!! Wow!

My son is having laugh of his lifetime saying: "My dad is so groovie just like in the 70s - the only difference is he is 70 now."

[Dawsonmackay]

You should look into indica as opposed to sativa. Indica cannabis is the relaxing kind whereas sativa is doing jumping jacks kind of activity. Sativa actually makes my heart pump harder while indica just puts me to sleep.

[adriatico in reply to Dawsonmackay]

Thank you. Yes, it took me some time to find out. Doctor never said anything.

It is the combo that is dangerous - Xanax or Zolpidem with cannabis.

It is a no no.

[jennydog in reply to Dawsonmackay]

I have been prescribed Sativex for spasticity. It has no effect on,my AF. I am unsure about what it does do, other than leaving an awful taste in my mouth. I have seen similar products on sale at £169 for 10mls. Would I buy it? NO.

[Dawsonmackay in reply to jennydog]

Seeing that adriatico had already tried two THC products and one bringing relief, I was just saying that whatever THC is in the product, be it flower, oil, or edible, indica's known effects are more subdued.

[goldey]

that was a very interesting story. I just bought some cannabis drops myself from UltimateHealthDrops.com -- a couple friends told me that they really worked to help with stress and also pain. I just started taking the 10x drops a couple days ago, and feel great after excellent sleep. I'll let you know if they have any affect on my afib, but just getting great sleep helps us feel better in every way. <heart>

[Yngerberg in reply to goldey]

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[JacobRavel]

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