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Palpitations triggered by cocaine
Hi to all, I explain my problem. I’m a 24 year old male and I had a very occasional use of cocaine for the past two years (I used it every 4-6 months). But the last time I used it (a month ago) I had chest pain and a sensation of tingling/electric shock in the arms. From that episode I already performed 3 EKGs that resulted normal but I started suffering of heart palpitations: now I can feel my pulse in parts of my body where I didn’t feel it before. For example if I join my thumb and my index, I can feel the pulse between the two fingers, or I can feel it in the fingers if I cross my hands, or I can feel it between my feet if I touch them with each other. Obviously I don’t want to touch that stuff again! I just wanna know if I will have these sensations for the rest of my life or if they will go away sooner or later. Does anybody had a similar experience? Thanks in advance for your replies and sorry for my bad english.
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@caden – I'm so glad you trusted the community with this information. We want to support you. I echo the advice that @hopeful33250 gave you, that it really is vital that you have a doctor evaluate you for the symptoms you are having. I would also recommend that you talk to your parents about what you are experiencing. I would definitely want my son to trust me enough to tell me (and I have had that difficult conversation with my son at age 14). If you don’t feel it is safe for you to talk to your parents, know that at age 16 your doctor cannot share any medical information with your parents unless you give him/her permission to do so.
If you want to talk to someone, you can also call TeenTalk at 203-661-1911 or Covenant House Teen Hotline (NineLine) 1 (800) 999-9999. They have a 24 Hour Helpline and counselors are specifically trained to talk about teen substance use struggles and stress.
Can you write back to us and let us know how you are doing and whether you are able to see or call a physician?
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2 Reactionsof course, and i unknowingly left out the the part that i did actually talk to my mom about going to the doctor, but being literally so frightened to tell her it was resulted from cocaine, i just told her i woke up in my sleep having heart palpitations and problems, but 2 days after the incident actually happened i went to the ER, and they gave me an EKG and said everything was fine, a day later i had a bunch of symptoms again and went back and they put me on an EKG for longer but unfortunately i had no palpitation attacks during any of the EKG’s they gave me. they told me it was most likely just me having anxiety attacks, which i am 99 percent sure it wasn’t because i never really get anxiety for my health, and the attacks would just happen randomly, when i was sleeping, or just watching TV. anyways, about a month later i went to a cardiologist because everything was still just as bad then, and they gave me an EKG which turned out fine, gave my heart an X-ray, basically did some basic tests and determined my heart was okay from those, but they said to be sure, they gave me this heart monitor to wear on my chest for a month to detect any attacks, i would wear the monitor at times, and i did actually press the buttons on it when i had a few attacks, and they never called back saying they saw anything unusual (the device gave them feedback immediately). which really got me confused about the situation at hand for me, there was some faults i had for this, and one being that i might have not worn the monitor enough, and another being that i haven’t told a single person that’s able to aid me that the cause of my problems is cocaine, i’ve been trying to build up enough confidence to tell my mom, i honestly am not scared about her getting mad or disappointed, because my older brother who’s 26 made my mom go through hell with what he was doing at my age, he was a heroin addict and did twice the things i’ve done, he’s basically clean now and runs a great life as a father. and another thing is my mother actually knew i’ve been abusing substances for months before my incident happened, she would drug test me and tell me it would come up positive for cocaine or anything other then weed, but i would convince her to let me get away with it because of how good i was at soccer at the time and my future in it, which i was foolish for doing because i stopped my mom from being a good mom, and sounded like an ignorant kid who just wanted to party and take drugs, which is what cocaine turned me into at the time, i’m honestly so glad i don’t do anything anymore, and don’t have the will to relapse or anything since i wasn’t addicted to cocaine ever, i just did it because it made me get my mind off things while enjoying time partying or being with friends on it, as was the reason i did all the drugs i’ve done, and the reason i did so much that night and have always been the idiotic person to go all out on drugs is because at the times i didn’t care if died, but i think half of the suicidal thoughts or depression was coming from me constantly doing some sort of drug, because being sober now i rarely get depressed in any ways, but either way, i’m really happy with the person i am now being 4 months sober from all hard drugs, just ingesting marijuana very occasionally, maybe once or twice a month, and same for drinking, but i almost have my life 100 percent back on track. i just need to get to the bottom of my heart problem and try everything i can to resolve it so i can play sports and live a normal life again, i’ll try and talk to my mom about it soon, thank you for the responses 🙂
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3 ReactionsIt sounds like this has been an experience that has made you grow up and mature very fast. Congratulations on being 4 months clean…except for the marijuana. I think now your mother would be relieved to know that although you were on hard drugs (like your brother), you are 4 months past that and have learned your lesson the hard way…and that you will never go that route again. That would be the best news ever!
You must come clean with the doctors so they know what they are looking for and dealing with.
My neighbour's daughter got into the same scene as you and consequently damaged her heart. She had 3 heart attacks. She died 6 months ago and left her family heartbroken…
You got a big scare and you have learned from it unlike my neighbour's kid. Why not continue in the direction you are on and adopt a very healthy lifestyle with excellent eating habits, clean living, fitness routines, responsible conduct etc.. Dr Phil says that young people don't have the ability to see around corners. But I think this experience has made you mature to be able to see around corners and predict what future you will have as you become a straight arrow.
All the best to you, Caden!
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3 ReactionsHi @caden, I’m relieved to hear that you have seen doctors and are taking this seriously. Congrats on being clean for 4 months and being happy.
You’re smart and you’re right. You need to get to the bottom of your health issues. And I know you know you have to not only come clean from drug use but also be honest with your mom and with the doctors. They can only help if you tell them about the past hard drug use and your current occasional use of alcohol and marijuana. Be sure to also share that things like sports are important and that you want your health so you can reach your goals.
I, for one, am grateful that you posted today again. I look forward to your next message saying that you’ve talked to your mom. Do you think you can do that today?
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2 Reactions@caden, I'm really glad you have taken steps to see a physician. As @afrobin and @colleenyoung mentioned, it is still important to stay on top of the symptoms. Early intervention is the best thing you can do for your heart, and you've started down that road. Please continue to keep us updated.
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1 ReactionHi @caden,
I'm also glad to hear that you have been checked out in the ER as well as with a cardiologist. The reports sound good so far. It is important, however, for these physicians to understand the history of your problems as it relates to drug use. They might want to look further if they understand the origin of the problem.
Can you inform your doctors about this?
Here is some information on the use of illegal drugs and their effect on the heart. This is from the American Heart Association. As you will read, cocaine is considered the "perfect heart attack drug." I'm glad that you are now drug-free for several months. Keep up the good work!
https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/consumer-healthcare/what-is-cardiovascular-disease/illegal-drugs-and-heart-disease
@caden @ronn3 @daxrrr I’m curious to see if there has been any improvements in your situations. I experienced something similar recently but also have had bad insomnia with it. Not sure if this is still an active thread, but thought it would be worth it to ask.
We should be mindful that any recommendations are sound and helpful. Many young people (and older) experiment with drugs. It does not mean they are an addict. Sounds like some info and education is in order to explore. If the relationship with parents is strained , possibly a relative or someone close to the family could assist. I feel blessed that my adult kids feel comfortable talking with my friends about their issues or problems. As a parent it’s such a relieve knowing they will receive sound feedback from someone who has their best interests loved my parents deeply but sometimes I just didn’t want to hear them talk blah blah blah…
Seeking support from peers teachers coaches counselors can also be good to talk with
Sometimes we do things and wonder wtf and we never do it again. Sometimes it goes beyond experimentation It’s good to understand the potential consequences so whatever decision is made Important choices
See a cardiologist to determine the cause and be able to treat. Our mind can be more damaging than any illness.
Keep breathing
Hey Im also going through something very similar, been about 5 months now.