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Quitting cannabis

B

blue_cheese

Bluelighter
Joined
Apr 2, 2013
Messages
56
Location
UK
Stopping my daily weed habit today (average 0.5g a day for 5 years)

I know this probably belongs in a more appropriate subforum but thought I'd post here anyway this is my go-to place for stuff like this.

Anyone got any tips on how to cope with the insomnia and general mental discomfort? I have some valerian root and hops tea, which I'll try tonight. In the past I've used small amounts of alcohol to help sleep when ive (tried to) quit in the past (really not a fan of booze so not concerned about swapping habits) however it's just given me an excuse to get stoned by lowering inhibition.

Fed up of weed. Worsens (and was probably the cause of) my anxiety, estranges me from friends n family, costs a bomb, and my memory is rubbish.

Any advice other than just don't smoke it? Also im aware of how easy it is to quit compared to benzos/opiates, and the irony of my username, but help would be appreciated.
 
Well it seems by falling out of love with it you've cleared the first hurdle....insomnia can be a bitch but substituting it with booze isn't gonna help in the long run basically eat well get some exercise e.t.c and in a week or two you should be OK.......failing that and you really are having trouble catching zzz's see if your Dr will give you a weeks worth of sleepers to get into a routine (don't mention its because of weed say your insomnia is from stress/work etc and you've tried everything else except booze and he may help)
 
Got sleeping pills? I avoid the antihistamine-type sleepers in that situation (they don't combine well with the nightmares I get when stopping, almost feels like sleep paralysis). A strip of xanax will probably get you through the worst insomnia.. don't expect too much from the valerian root.
0.5g a day isn't very much so I suspect you will be sleeping fine again after not much longer than a week. I'm guessing that's also roughly the timespan for any mental fog to lift.
 
Thanks. Yeah the hardest part was accepting the fact its affecting my life in more negative ways than positive ones. Now I've just gotta put up with the cravings. A recent friend gave up a very heavy very long term habit and said it took a month or 2 for cravings to pass, so as u said im expecting to be ok in 2 weeks or so considering how comparatively small mine is.

Regarding benzos/other sleepers: not a chance. Have no desire to use them at all anymore apart from acute anxiety n panic attacks. I will use a small amount of diaz if insomnia gets so bad its impractical, but fortunately i have some time off work so won't really be necessary
 
lurching said:
don't expect too much from the valerian root
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Realy? I've heard it can be a godsend and the guy in the shop was really keen. Probably keen for my £2.50 to be fair. Should have got it online


The nightmares are a ball ache! I had poor sleeping habits before the weed use (and lots of lucid dreams/ sleep paralysis (one of the reasons why it got outta hand) so im a bit anxious about sleep.
 
Ime, the worst thing about stopping cannabis use is the nightmares, rather than general insomnia. But do you really need to stop completely? Yes it can exacerbate existing anxiety issues, but on the other hand it can be a fantastic antidepressant. I think the secret is to stop buying ridiculously strong strains of weed and get yerself some hash. Don't smoke with other people, just use it as a sleep aid - for which it is unsurpassed IMO..
 
F.U.B.A.R. said:
Ime, the worst thing about stopping cannabis use is the nightmares, rather than general insomnia. But do you really need to stop completely? Yes it can exacerbate existing anxiety issues, but on the other hand it can be a fantastic antidepressant. I think the secret is to stop buying ridiculously strong strains of weed and get yerself some hash. Don't smoke with other people, just use it as a sleep aid - for which it is unsurpassed IMO..
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I agree. Its really the sativa heavy strains that cause the anxiety, as i have no problems with hash, and actually prefer the taste, smell and high. The problem is finding that regularly. Most of the cannabis round here does not cater for my anxiety issues.

Ultimately though, i need to stop completely. In an ideal world, yes i could just have a one skinner of some nice hash before bed each day, but it just doesnt happen. I still wake up late, foggy, irritable, etc until i have a smoke.

Edit: yes fubar, it is a great anti-depressent. This is something i am a bit worried about with quitting. I'll probably find out how much weed was self medication for mild depression in the next couple of weeks...
 
Im having a break at the moment I haven't smoked for 6 weeks. It is a hard habit to quit if you have got used to smoking every day the first week or two are really bad then it gets easier. You do get weeks after where it gets worse though. Staying active is probably the only advise I can give.

Don't be surprised if you have low motivation for a bit to. I love cannabis but it is quite an insideous drug that can play mind games on you convincing you need it to be normal. Check out the uncommon forum it has loads of information about quitting weed.

My username is more ironic than yours... :-)
 
Agree about the hash thing if/when I start smoking again I think I'm going to have a hash only rule. I'm sure strong weed strains seem more addictive (for want of a better word) than traditional style hash.
 
Here is one idea. Between quitting and smoking weed transition to a high CBD-cannabinoid strain. These usually come as waxes or oils. CBD doesn't get you high, but relieves anxiety and sits right there in your receptors. It's pretty incredible stuff and there are whole threads devoted to it here on BL.
 
Thanks everyone, today's been okay really, had lots of cravings and just general tricks from my brain, usually after tidying up or doing something important - "oh go on, you deserve it" kinda thing, but just have to remind myself of how anxious n annoyed I'll be after smoking. Makes social situations annoying, cos if im stoned they're pretty much a write off.

Yes, cbd - thc levels make all the difference. In fact, if i had a cbd rich strain, i probably wouldn't be stopping. Finding them is hard, and growing isn't possible right at the moment, so I'm gonna stick to sobriety until i at least find a source for an appropriate strain that won't cause me to freak out about simply communicating with another human!
 
I gave it up for much the same reasons as you've mentioned, I was smoking 3g of good bud every day at one point and it just wasn't worth it anymore. Anxiety / social paranoia and I was just withdrawing from life & people around me. The first couple of weeks were hard going but after that it just gets easier, although it did take about a year until I felt completely over it. (after around 6 years daily smoking). Don't fall into the trap of substituting alcohol for it, that can be even worse.
 
exercise daily, eat as much fruit/veg/healthy natural foods as possible, drink lots of water and avoid caffeine. Valerian should help a bit with sleep but it tends to give me pretty weird dreams as does quitting weed in the first place. I usually enjoy the night mares, sort of a cheap thrill I guess once you wake up and realise "it was all just a dream!"

the hardest part is keeping yourself busy and out of "the loop" so the speak for the first couple weeks. once u get past the first few weeks and realise your potential without weed it should hopefully motivate you to stay off weed.

For me quitting cannabis is fairly easy. (iv smoked pretty much daily for near 10 years now apart from a couple 3 week breaks here n there.) I find after a week or so my sleep actually improves and i start to feel fresher in the mornings and the haze starts to clear, my apetite comes back, anxiety is decreased and I tend to be more involved and outgoing with all sorts of ongoing creative projects etc.

Best of luck on quitting weed, its very doable, not easy for some but definitely achievable if you have a strong mind set and intention. :)
 
Ceres u pretty much nailed it. I love weed and always will but the high is just not worth the anxiet and seclusion. I hope I'll be able to smoke it again one day, perhaps if (when) it's regulated and i can choose my own strain.

Dreams were strange as last night (the late saddam nuked the uk, so drove to germany in a hijacked jaguar where burzum was playing in holland and barratt.) Hardly proper nightmares though and got 6 hours sleep or so, so i reckon the v root tea helped.

Feel fresher already today but defo lost that spark that used to get me outta bed asap. Feels weird starin at the day without the thought of a smoke at the start of it. Nice one headfuck, u still not smokin it? I wanna junp off the wagon now so i don't end up 20+ years stoned. Would be a nightmare stoppin

On the plus side, i watched some stand up comedy last night and I've not laughed so much in years! They say weed gives ya the giggles but daily use just turns me so stupid i either don't get the jokes or cba laughing
 
You shouldn't have any trouble quitting off 0.5g/day. If you were smoking more I'd say quickly taper down to about that amount. You'll probably have some bizarre dreams for a few days, especially if you used to smoke before bed. Just don't replace the weed with something worse like drinking, sleeping pills or anything. Maybe find something more productive to do with the time you'd usually spend getting stoned.

Valerian is similar to a benzo, don't start relying on that or it'll be worse than weed. If you're taking other drugs to help you get over weed that's missing the whole point, since every other drug is worse.

I find vaporizing is a more energetic high, my weed goes twice as far, I don't have a cough & it doesn't make me so lazy as smoking did.
 
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Can I ask why you couldn't socialize while you were smoking? You touched upon it briefly but you haven't actually explained the reasoning behind it. I am actually really jealous of you - I'm coming off of a year long heroin addiction tomorrow, and I'd give anything to just be stopping weed instead! So maybe if it gets tough think of me and grit your teeth and bear it and be thankful that your vice doesn't put you through physical and mental torture when you try to stop.
 
F.U.B.A.R. said:
Ime, the worst thing about stopping cannabis use is the nightmares, rather than general insomnia. But do you really need to stop completely? Yes it can exacerbate existing anxiety issues, but on the other hand it can be a fantastic antidepressant. I think the secret is to stop buying ridiculously strong strains of weed and get yerself some hash. Don't smoke with other people, just use it as a sleep aid - for which it is unsurpassed IMO..
Click to expand...

It's an amazing anti depressant i quit weed for 9 months in 2009 cos of anxiety attacks and depersonalization and ended up subbing it with drink, ended up depressed for a couple of months later in the year and then started smoking again and it killed the depression. I will never stop smoking it

Anyway in order to help sleep just exercise, it was the same when i had problems sleeping cos of vals you have to exhaust your body physically, most pot heads don't move off their arse. I tend to get a weeks worth of night sweats and terrible sleep if I stop. I might wash my bedding numerous times cos it reeks of stale sweat
 
I have months smoking and months not nowadays. Used smoke too much pot.


Now I smoke just enough. Use, not abuse.

Weed shifts my perspectives, and that can be both a good thing and a bad thing in terms of my priorities; some big deals seem not so big after a toke, sometimes small shit can become very difficult.

The first week is tricky with regard to dreams surfacing after being suppressed for so long, as others have said you should tire yourself out before bed, don't go to bed until you are falling asleep. Perhaps take a 5mg diaz every other night,if available, for a week or so.

Give it 12 weeks before having a toke again and then just have a little sip, it's like the reset button has been pushed for me, happy days.
 
Ceres said:
I gave it up for much the same reasons as you've mentioned, I was smoking 3g of good bud every day at one point and it just wasn't worth it anymore. Anxiety / social paranoia
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Likewise. Proper headfuck, makes me so anxious and uncomfortable now. Glad i gave it up, haven't touched it for years
 
When people say they would prefer a bit of hash over weed, thing is I smoke moroccan and I was smoking Ketama gold for a while and that makes you just as paranoid as any super strength sativa strain. The hash is just as bad as the weed for paranoia. 8(
 
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