Is weed giving me withdrawals?

[MakaveliTheDon]

A bit of background that might help, I am diagnosed with manic-depressive disorder with bad psychotic episodes and very mild aspergers, both treatment resistant. I have been on every pharmaceutical you can imagine since i was a kid. ritalin, adderall, prozac, xanax, ativan, etc. I have on multiple occasions been to rehab. the first time was for psychosis actually in a psych ward, the second time was for benzo addiction (klonopin), the third was because i committed a violent crime while addicted to opiates. seeing as im treatment resistent, pot became my savior years ago. Pot used to give me very psychedelic effects, but since i have become a 3x a day smoker it now calms me down, and is the only thing keeping me thinking straight. seriously, i remember benzo withdrawals and opiate withdrawals and it feels like im goin through them again in a much less intense way. this doesnt make sense to me since pot isnt addictive, but i am essentially stuck in a psychotic episode without it. a horrible state of dysphoria and irritability , accompanied by paranoia, insomnia, extreme cold touch to air (similair to klonopin WD feeling), and just cant function. i need weed in my life because nothing else can relieve my symptoms other than hard drugs which can actually kill me. Is the bud causing this or like some mental illness?

 

[DrGreenthumb]

It's kind of addictive if you're consuming a lot, but much milder than most other drugs. Irritability, nausea, lack of appetite & insomnia are common. These symptoms only usually come from smoking several grams of high strength cannabis daily for months or years on end & stopping very abruptly, they're mild & easily avoided by not stopping so quickly & instead doing a fast taper.

It sounds like you had problems before you smoked weed & you're experiencing those mental problems again since you stopped.

You could try high CBD cannabis, or CBD oil.

 

[421]

I'd say it's the weed. Plenty of people here have talked about similar experiences quitting, including me. Takes a couple of weeks of sobriety to get your head "normal".

People say it's not addictive because the physical withdrawals are very subtle. But let's not kid ourselves, it's addictive. Well anything can be but... physically addictive too.

 

[MakaveliTheDon]

I'd say it's the weed. Plenty of people here have talked about similar experiences quitting, including me. Takes a couple of weeks of sobriety to get your head "normal".

People say it's not addictive because the physical withdrawals are very subtle. But let's not kid ourselves, it's addictive. Well anything can be but... physically addictive too.

Any drugs i can use as a crutch that are readily available and somewhat safe? i mean i literally cannot be sober without going psychotic anymore, which is what is preventing a break ATM

It's kind of addictive if you're consuming a lot, but much milder than most other drugs. Irritability, nausea, lack of appetite & insomnia are common. These symptoms only usually come from smoking several grams of high strength cannabis daily for months or years on end & stopping very abruptly, they're mild & easily avoided by not stopping so quickly & instead doing a fast taper.

It sounds like you had problems before you smoked weed & you're experiencing those mental problems again since you stopped.

You could try high CBD cannabis, or CBD oil.

Will this stop my cravings? i have heard high CBD strains and oils don't really give you much antidepressant effects like THC but i know they help anxiety

 

[《Plasticity》]

Yeah weed withdrawal is very under discussed and even outright denied by many but it exists. When I quit daily use I get sweaty, restless, have trouble sleeping, vivid dreams etc... I'm not sure what your goal is, tolerance break? Just sick of having to rely on weed and wanna quit? If you have an underlying mental illness you can't expect these issues not to resurface after cessation, weed never "cured" you of anything, just masked it so your issues will be a problem again.

You can still minimize the withdrawals however... sounds kinda silly but you can taper your use like any other drug. What I do is switch to smoking a single bowl a night for a while til I'm at one hit per sesh and just quit. Symptoms are essentially gone within a week and you can use low doses of benzos and other comfort drugs to help. Gabapentin is actually used off label for this purpose.

 

[MakaveliTheDon]

Thanks man. when i say weed cures my mental illness, i mean it helps like medicine should and i just need it to relieve the symptoms, i might try and switch to medibles a lower doses and some Valerian tea to make it last longer and all, hopefully i can take a T break soon

 

[DrGreenthumb]

CBD is the anti-psychotic & anti-anxiety cannabinoid, it's probably that helping your mental illness, it has some opposite effects to THC, it should treat your mental illness & leave you more functional. If you have access to dispensaries or can otherwise get a wide selection of cannabis from a knowledgeable supplier then try to find something high in CBD & low THC, see if that helps. A tolerance break might be a bad idea for you, you'll lose your tolerance to the psychedelic & anxiety inducing effects of THC, it might take a bit of consumption to get the calming effect back, maybe your mental illness will return too.

Edibles might work better, just it can be hard to judge the dose & it lasts longer. Low dose edibles might not do anything, but too high a dose will have you really stoned all day.

You can avoid any withdrawal effects by cutting down over a few days before stopping, rather than going straight from a few grams a day to nothing.

 

[MakaveliTheDon]

CBD is the anti-psychotic & anti-anxiety cannabinoid, it's probably that helping your mental illness, it has some opposite effects to THC, it should treat your mental illness & leave you more functional. If you have access to dispensaries or can otherwise get a wide selection of cannabis from a knowledgeable supplier then try to find something high in CBD & low THC, see if that helps. A tolerance break might be a bad idea for you, you'll lose your tolerance to the psychedelic & anxiety inducing effects of THC, it might take a bit of consumption to get the calming effect back, maybe your mental illness will return too.

Edibles might work better, just it can be hard to judge the dose & it lasts longer. Low dose edibles might not do anything, but too high a dose will have you really stoned all day.

You can avoid any withdrawal effects by cutting down over a few days before stopping, rather than going straight from a few grams a day to nothing.

i really want to switch to that but im sadly addicted beyond repair psychologically to THC. i will always have to have a nightly joint to fly away to a place that is full of love and happiness. I have now found that meditation combined with nice calming music produces the most insightful and intense highs that are rather psychedelic , even with my tolerance.
this hits really deep