Quitting pot. Advice on with drawals/Reading Material/Motivational Help To Quit Lit

[lurkerguy]

Ahh well, that's a bit different my friend. I only smoked daily for 5 years.

But I am interested, were these withdrawals physical? I got physical gut pains, and couldn't eat properly for about a week so I forced myself to, and my digestive system seemed pretty dependant on cannabis to have solid shits (hmm, actually that part never fixed itself..), and lost all sex drive for weeks. And also got a few weird painful headaches that didn't last that long... but I was expecting a lot more, as I smoked a bong or three before doing ANYTHING in my life, and I mean anything, even going to check the letterbox.

I got the lack of hunger thing before, I also got sleeplessness, which I didn't see you mention.

Never got headaches.

In general I find physical herb withdrawal mild as hell, alcohol withdrawal is the worse, shaking like a leaf on a tree and vomiting all day.

Mental withdrawal, that is damn near impossible, same with ice cream, I just can't give it up, I like it too much, no matter how long I stop, I remember it is available, and how much I enjoy it.

 

[Splatt]

I don't know how i missed that. Insomnia is the most common side effect of quitting pot.

 

[fuzzysun]

In my experience quitting the MJ is more or less the only drug (that I have made a concerted effort to quit) that gets significantly easier to stay off the longer you stay off it. I suspect this may be partly due to the fact that MJ tends to lower motivation: the longer you stay off it, the more motivated you are to do other things and to stay off the herb. However this could be because i came to actively dislike the apathetic laziness that it induced in me.

This is (again, in my experience) the polar opposite of stopping amphetamines, which are easy enough to stay off for a day or two, but VERY hard to stay off for a long time.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[groova]

^Yeah i'd agree. I've recently quit weed after a good solid 7 yr habit. Luckily i didn't smoke every single day, but definitely 4/5 days a week. The filthy laziness associated with weed was what was really staring to irritate me, and of course those strange deluded thoughts which would creep into my mind on occasions. But yeah, now i'm dreaming again, it's a bit weird at first but i'm getting used to it, i'm even eating better & no more 'bakeover' hangovers. Moodyness is another common side effect from withdrawal, but being around good people helps that and constantly reminding myself to be positive.

Just give him heaps of support, remind him how well his doing and how it only gets easier in time.

 

[giantsquid]

I quit weed after about 5 years of constant use. I just decided that I couldnt think straight and stopped.

It was hard but my life has gotten so much better for it. I dont smoke even when offered some these days as it makes me too paranoid

 

[phase_dancer]

But I am interested, were these withdrawals physical?

You bet. The worst involved extreme hypertension, strange bouts of high BP including numbness and a feeling like my left arm was swelling to the point of bursting. On one occasion the pins and needles in the arm preceded a heavy chest pain. My Doc actually thought it may have been a H attack and ordered that I have a blood protein check and heart stress test. Then there was the terrible lethargy which lasted many months, Doctors said all this, including the extreme anxiety I experienced daily, were common withdrawal symptoms with longer term smokers. One doc said expect it to last up to 2 years!!

Possibly the worst physical reaction was that which occurred after ceasing smoking for about 3 months. I began waking with a strange dry throat, but only on one side. A visit to the Ear Nose and Throat specialist revealed that a vocal cord tumor I'd had removed a few years before had started to grow back. The Doc was at a loss to explain it. Would it have returned if I'd continued smoking? Hard to say, but it's a damn strange coincidence.

There were positives though; all my joint pains (old age) disappeared as did my gastro oesophageal problems. My lungs felt really clear and I experienced a neat sort of natural high that I'd forgotten existed.

 

[Splatt]

Wow.. that's quite some side-effects there. I do wonder also if cannabis was somehow reducing the risk of the tumour growing back since it was in the throat.

Do you take any medication for hypertension now? Or did those symptoms fade.

 

[phase_dancer]

Do you take any medication for hypertension now? Or did those symptoms fade.

I found it's more about relaxation techniques. I didn't want to become someone who regularly takes such medication so instead I worked on relearning -body/mind readjustment - techniques I'd learned years before.

I still suffer anxiety and hypertension although the frequency is much less. After my initial long break, I had a few "return bouts" of smoking but now I find I can take or leave it. I don't think I'll ever become a regular smoker again.

 

[Splatt]

Good to hear. I can't see myself going back to that. Hell I'd even rather be addicted to G. Although I have never taken G every day for years at a time, I have for months at a time, multiple times a day, and the withdrawal is nothing really.