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Weed making opiate withdrawal worse, why?

OsamaBinNoddin

Bluelighter
Joined
Jul 4, 2011
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56
Ok i've been an opiate addict for about 3-4 years and im giving it up now due to not having money anymor and my connects getting arrested..its only been about 48 hours and im already feeling like shit..i've looked up alot of at home remedies for opiate withdrawal and they all tend to recommend shit to go buy at the store, and well if i had money right now i wouldnt even be making this post, i'd be nodding out in my comp chair right now. The only thing i have access to right now is a bunch of weed, and with me being an everyday toker for almost 10 years now, i would think weed would be my godsend, boy was i wrong...last night and just about 20 minutes ago i tried relaxing to some good tunes and a fat bowl of hash, and while it seemed to help me calm down and kinda make me all giggly it only lasted while in the process of smoking, the second the bowl was cashed the good relaxing feeling was replaced by anxiety of opiate withdrawal times like ten as well as make my restless, burning legs worse, now i've never had a bad experience with weed until last night and i've had 1000's of weed sessions. Could anyone please explain why the Weed made my withdrawal worse instead of help it?


Sorry about the rambling, i'm just trying to keep my mind off this hellish nightmare i call withdrawal.

edit: and if it makes any kind of difference, i used to smoke my opiates but for the couple months i've started to get into I'Ving and have been iv'ing either a bag of dope or 1 or 2 Roxi's a day.
 
I'm not quite sure if this belongs in CD or here in BDD, as weed is in the title of the thread I am inclined to move it to Cannabis Discussion, but with it being about opiate withdrawal too I am not sure whether it should stay here.

I am going to move it over to CD, but if the mods there feel that I have made the wrong decision, which is entirely possible then I am happy to have it sent back here. I just feel that the people in Cannabis Discussion will have more experience with using weed in these circumstances so may be able to help you out better.


SORRY - Forgot to change the OPs title to make it clear that the weed was making his opiate withdrawal worse.
 
Cannabis can produce anxiety in some people and it can even happen to people who smoke everyday. Coupled with the fact that opiate withdrawal causes anxiety that could possibly be the reason. In some incidents people even have panic attacks from weed. I used to smoke marijuana daily but all of a sudden one day I felt really stressed out and didn't want to be around people. After awhile this no longer happened and now it relaxes me again.
 
^ I can't believe you're still around these days!

Weed can intensify any sort of discomfort, whether it be physical or emotional. Feel worried about something and it could exacerbate your anxieties. Feel pain and it could make it feel more intense for some. The same goes for withdrawal, however some actually find it helps, especially if the WD is mild. If you want something to take the edge off I'd recommend taking benzos, preferrably monitored by a doctor so you don't end up with another addiction to deal with!
 
Hey mugzy, I think it can stay here for a while, I also changed the title to include that it's about opiate withdrawal, and I may send it over to OD depending on the responses here.
 
um because weed intesifies how you feel bro..

Weed sucks for opiate withdrawal... i'd rather not smoke than smoke weed and feel worse
 
last year I tapered off of a 300mg a day oxycodone tolerance. I thought that smoking weed would relax me but it really didn't help much at all..I'm a long time smoker and I smoked during the whole time I was on pain management. Opiate withdrawel in itself is very stressful and if you are the type of person that is prone to a little cannabis paranoia, then it probably only gets worse for you. I personally found alcohol to be more helpful until I had tapered down to a low enough level that I could relax a bit. Then the weed began to sooth me to an extent.

If I understand the OP correctly, you are not tapering but just going full cold turkey. give it a couple of more days to withdraw and then the weed may help with your PAWS symptoms and depression that may soon follow.

good luck and hang in...
 
last year I tapered off of a 300mg a day oxycodone tolerance. I thought that smoking weed would relax me but it really didn't help much at all..I'm a long time smoker and I smoked during the whole time I was on pain management. Opiate withdrawel in itself is very stressful and if you are the type of person that is prone to a little cannabis paranoia, then it probably only gets worse for you. I personally found alcohol to be more helpful until I had tapered down to a low enough level that I could relax a bit. Then the weed began to sooth me to an extent.

If I understand the OP correctly, you are not tapering but just going full cold turkey. give it a couple of more days to withdraw and then the weed may help with your PAWS symptoms and depression that may soon follow.

good luck and hang in...

congrats on the taper papa.
 
I recently (about 4 months now? I stopped keeping track) got off a horrible opiate binge, my habit was upwards 300mg oxy daily - DOC was snorted oxymorphone. While the W/Ds were absolutely hellish (would wish it upon nobody), I found weed helped with the nausia which would keep me up all night in the bathroom. It also gave me some bit of apitite. It was far from a cure.

If possible, I'd see if you can get any suboxone. That shit really helped in the following weeks (did 6 days without sub - worst w/ds ever), and I'd just take a little bit whenever I had cravings.

It's lovely being on just cannabis again. Good luck staying clean and off that shit... it's tough.
 
It's lovely being on just cannabis again.

Hell. Fucking. Yes.

I was taking 60-80mg hydrocodone daily for pain and 30-40mg valium for muscle spasms for 3-4 months, and I was sick of the hard drugs (especially the benzos, xanax and lyrica as well on the side) "dulling" the weed high. When I tapered to a low dose, I was absolutely blown the fuck away by the intensity of the cannabis high. People seriously underestimate this plant.

I love weed. <3=D
 
I guess its different for everyone cause weed was the only thing which got me through w.d. Granted i didn't feel as if I got the full effect since I was in the middle of w.d but it definitely got rid of the RLS, anxiety, hunger-loss and sleeping

Take some St. Johns wort or valerian...those both helped a lot with my state of mind during w.d (especially when combined with bud)
 
I didn't smoke when I was in light-moderate opiate w/d but when I was withdrawing from a long daily amphetamine binge, weed helped me out a lot by keeping my mind off the shitty feelings and it relaxed me as well
 
Weed almost always helps me when Im in wd. I'm on day 2 right now and I would've probably punched another hole in my wall or got into a fist fight with a co worker cause of the stress if it weren't for weed. I've never gotten much as far as physical symptoms go. Even after my worst binge ever (200mg oxycodone a day for 3 months). Just the shits and the shakes. It makes me really anxious and violent for some reason, but weed almost always takes those away. Indicas especially. Sativas help a lot too, but certain hybrids make the anxiety a lot worse.
 
Weed almost always helps me when Im in wd. I'm on day 2 right now and I would've probably punched another hole in my wall or got into a fist fight with a co worker cause of the stress if it weren't for weed. I've never gotten much as far as physical symptoms go. Even after my worst binge ever (200mg oxycodone a day for 3 months). Just the shits and the shakes. It makes me really anxious and violent for some reason, but weed almost always takes those away. Indicas especially. Sativas help a lot too, but certain hybrids make the anxiety a lot worse.
I completely agree with you, as a grower and user of both opiates and weed for over ten years. I can't believe how many people are talking down on buds.. I guess it just depends on the individual and there mind set. For me personally I prefer Indica dominants like 80\20 and if I'm out with friends or whatever I love a good haze. I don't grow or buy any of the anxiety causing strains but I know some don't have a choice. I know I could never ever go through opioid wd without my medical cannabis. It takes my cravings away and changes my mindset toi positive. To all who dislike weed for wd I'd strongly consider changing strains. Especially mids...man smoking mids to me is like an insult to everything cannabis. Rocklock from DNA is by far the best strain I've found for wd. And if you just smoke but are having anxiety problems I'd reccomend strawberry cough by Dutch passion ( my personal favorite of all time) or rasberry cough from nirvana. Hope this helps%)
 
+1 on the rocklock.

Funny you mention this. I had access to this strain as it was grown by one of my close friends. It seemed like for every WD symptom this bud had an answer. By far, it didn't cure my WD, but while i tried comming off opiates, it: 1) took away the sweats that would plague me in bed at nights 2) the shivers and pins and needles to about 75% 3) the puking was removed completely, i did not throw up once. 4) the RLS and leg pain got better to some degree at least 5) Let me rest in a still position where i would have spend the night tossing and turning and being completely exhausted in the morning.

I just recently heard that this strain had "special" properties in terms of helping people with drug dependencies. My friend can get it for me, and with this stuff, where i would start experiencing WD after 8 - 12 hours of last dose, i can stay really comfortable to up to 24 hours after last dose before the effects of the weed wear off and redoing doesn't help as much.
 
I have used the Rl strain for about 3 years for wds and can say it has some other special property compared to other strains. And try to keep smoking it as much as I can to help with my mental cravings also which get real bad if i don't smoke. The properties of this strain probably contribute to its unique levels of the compounds THC and CBD. Definitely one of my favorite indicas along with my Maple Leaf. I'm very glad to have learned the strain helps others also in those terrible times of opiate withdrawal.
 
I've never gone through full on opiate withdrawal (mild withdrawals, yes) but I compare a lot of this agonizing to a very very severe menstruation that can often last over a week, getting to the point of needing/almost needing hospitalization. Weed doesn't always help with depression but I find that it alleviates some of the physical symptoms. Generally weed helps me with nausea, appetite, settling my stomach, any indigestion I get, etc. However, it does NOT help with menstrual related RLS (I'm so glad that's not constant, I feel bad for anyone that has it always.)

My guess is this is a YMMV thing...the minor withdrawals I had, it helped the physical symptoms. I just think any mental ones were from other bad things going on in my life, and in that deep of a dark depressed miserable hole, I don't think you can drop any lower sometimes --- the w/ds were from hurting my back and using/abusing opiates daily for only about 8 weeks, maybe 10, and I was actually surprised I experienced anything (using on and off for about 3 weeks continuous twice a year but almost never any other time, always reasonably small doses [about 10-20mg hydrocodone per day max then), I even messed around with it for a few days to see if opiates would stop it. Fucking powerful drugs. Starting at 5mg hydrocodone twice a day and at least feeling nice, after that now 20mg seems to steadily do the job 5mg did (pain relief, feeling pleasant, more needed to nod of course), no matter how long a break. Eh.
 
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