If you have used marijuana extensively for a long period of time, you are going to experience some withdrawal symptoms. For some individuals the withdrawals are more severe than for others. It depends on body chemistry, degree of abuse, and other factors like whether you were using the drug to cover up some other problem.
For people that use marijuana to make themselves more comfortable in social situations, they may experience extreme discomfort and anxiety coming off the drug. Similarly individuals that used it for other reasons like appetite boost or to help with insomnia generally will experience some sort of a crash while their physiology changes to adapt to life without the drug.
Factors that influence marijuana withdrawal include:
1. Time Span
Did you smoke marijuana for a week? A few months? A year? 5 years? 10 years?
2. Frequency
How often did you smoke marijuana? Was it daily? Twice a day? Thrice a day? All day everyday?
If you smoked marijuana heavily for the past decade and used it at a high frequency (i.e. 3x per day), chances are that your withdrawal symptoms are going to be more severe than someone who has only used this substance for a few months a couple times per week. In fact the person who only used the drug a couple times a week may not experience any withdrawal whatsoever, while the individual that was addicted for 10 years may not be able to cope without the drug.
Marijuana Withdrawal Symptoms:
- Anxiety – You may feel more anxious in social situations and develop some sort of generalized anxiety. This is the exact opposite of how relaxed you felt while using the drug – your brain is trying to compensate for the chemicals it received while you used marijuana.
- Appetite changes – If marijuana helped boost your appetite, you may not feel hungry at all while coming off of the drug. In some cases, people actually feel hungrier coming off marijuana – it totally depends on the case.
- Cramps – Some people notice stomach cramps and digestion problems. Others may feel achy.
- Cravings (for marijuana) – At some point in time, most people will experience a craving to use marijuana again. This is because you stimulated your brains pleasure center and kept feeding it chemicals to make you feel good. It wants its fix, and knows marijuana makes you feel good, so you will likely crave the drug.
- Depersonalization – You may feel like you are not the same person or are going crazy. This is usually a result of intense anxiety. You may have never felt this way before; your brain chemistry has been thrown out of whack.
- Depression – Many people experience some sort of depressive symptoms when coming off of the drug. You may feel sad and as though you have lost all zest for life.
- Dizziness – Some individuals report feeling dizzy. Try not to lose your cool if this is happening, just accept it as a symptom.
- Headaches – Another common withdrawal symptom is that of headaches.
- Insomnia – Not being able to sleep at night is a problem, but one that you need to tackle head on. Try learning some relaxation techniques or getting more exercise during the day to help tire yourself out at night.
- Irritability – You may experience anger or frustration with the world when coming off of the drug. No one wants to get mad at little things, but this will eventually pass with enough time.
- Mood swings – Some people experience extreme changes in mood when trying to quit this drug. You may feel alright one minute and then raging mad or depressed the next.
- Nausea – Feeling nauseated, especially before, during, or after eating is common.
- Sleep disturbances – You may experience crazy vivid dreams or have disrupted sleep where you wake up in the middle of the night.
- Sweating – Some people end up sweating more than they normally would during withdrawal.
Note: It is known that marijuana stays in your system along with cannabinoid metabolites for between 4 to 21 days after your final ingestion. Some speculate that once the THC and cannabinoids are fully excreted, discontinuation symptoms become more prominent.
When will the marijuana withdrawal symptoms subside?
Depending on the length of time and frequency that you used marijuana, time period for withdrawal varies from person to person. Most people will notice that they are completely symptom free after 90 days. It also depends if you tapered off slowly or just quit one day randomly in “cold turkey” fashion. I think cold turkey is the best way to quit, but probably the toughest for your body and brain to re-adjust to normalcy.
Don’t freak out if you don’t return to normal after 3 months of withdrawal. Keep pushing forward and accept all of the symptoms that you experience without freaking out. Engaging in healthy activities like socializing, exercising, eating healthy foods, and staying busy will help you make it through this difficult time.
Fortunately marijuana withdrawal is easier than many other drugs – so consider yourself lucky. If you aren’t able to withdraw on your own or deal with symptoms, you should consider consulting a professional. If symptoms are still too extreme to manage, you may want to look into a rehab facility. Most people can quit with the help of family and a good social network.
I am glad I found this site. I have smoked for 38 years about 1/2 oz a week give or take. I ran out of weed and can’t find a connection to get more so here I am day 2 and the withdrawal is real. I feel like I am going to jump out of my skin and I am sad and bored, I slept 3 hours last night. I decided that I would not look for more weed and try to kick this. I am going to try Valerian root for sleep and it’s supposed to help with anxiety as well. Wish me luck and good luck to all of you.
Hi guys, so I’m from the uk and I have been smoking cannabis for 16 years everyday and have been experiencing the most awful withdrawal symptoms after 14 days of being weed free. Before associating these symptoms with cannabis withdrawal I actually thought I was having a heart attack or stroke so took myself to the hospital only to be told I’m fine, which then made me think I had some kind of brain tumor as my head feels as if it’s about to explode! I feel constantly dizzy as if I’m drunk and I’m about to be sick also I’m finding it difficult to sleep or eat.
It was my mum who found this site and I cannot tell you how much this has helped me, to know it’s not just me going through, what I can only describe as hell as the moment. I am so determined to push through this and reading comments on here has made me feel even more determined. I am so proud of us all for kicking the habit and the thought of knowing this will not last forever and I’m not the only one just makes it that bit easier. ❤️
I recently had a summation of events that landed me in the hospital, and I have since taken the path of cutting all illicit drugs from my life. I am 18 and jumped into smoking quickly and heavily, having smoked at least a gram daily for the last 5 years and can definitely contest to symptoms of headaches, dizziness, irritability, anxiety, insomnia, fear, night sweating, and lust for pot going cold turkey.
Although I am young, I feel that I am in the same boat as many of you. I am on 45 days since my initial decision and have fallen to pressure 3 times, regretting the resulting high each time. I guess this is similar to an online AA meeting, but has been more alleviating than anyone I’ve spoken to. Its been said before, but moderation is truly a powerful practice.
Hey everyone just read a fair few comments on here and wanted to give some advice which you can use if you feel like it and I strongly advise you do if your withdrawal symptoms are severe. This method also means you can start smoking again in the mean time so listen up. I’ve been smoking weed and tobacco heavily for the past 10 years. I had tried quitting ‘cold turkey’ several times only to suffer these sh*tty withdrawal symptoms as described below.
I’ve now stopped smoking both weed and fags for the past 3 years and not only that, but I’ve been a happy non-smoker from the moment I smoked my last spliff and never looked back. Why was this attempt so much easier than the last few? I read a book. Don’t write me off as crazy just yet, please hear me out because I genuinely want to help. The book is called ‘Allen Carr – The Only Way To Stop Smoking’. You can buy it for like 1p second hand off of Amazon.
Now granted this book is aimed at cigarette smokers mainly. But Allen Carr himself (who by the way is not the gay comedian) says that his method is equally effective for any type of addiction, and the beauty is not only do you quit your addiction, but you are happy to stop! I know these symptoms you are experiencing are real, but if you break down the mental barriers before tackling the physical withdrawal its so much f*cking easier!
Save yourself some mental and physical anguish and read this book.. If you are reading it for a drug addiction including alcohol and weed, I suggest you turn to chapter 41 (I think), called ‘Alcohol, Heroin and other drugs’ and read that chapter before starting from the beginning. Good luck and if you fancy letting me know how it goes or have any questions email me because I know the struggle is real and I want to help. ([email protected])
Day 3 of quitting cold turkey. Not because I wanted to, but because I wanted to keep my job. Random drug tests are my nightmare for the next three months. Night sweats are the worst. And all the chatter in my brain. Reading up on breathing techniques to help with the sleep. Cramps suck. Loss of appetite blows. But I just have too. The worst is that I’d convinced myself I could stop at any time. Turns out I was wrong :(
After 18 years of heavy smoking I stopped. The withdrawal symptoms sucked and the people on here saying they ain’t real are fools. Weed eats away at you, I used to be pro weed but after my experiences I believe it should stay illegal, it’s too easy to slip into. My motivation hit rock bottom, it deteriorates many things within you. Seeing your stories and this forum have given me insight and mental strength. Stay strong my brothers we can do this.
I’m 35, had been using MJ since I was about 24. I never believed marijuana was addictive until I went through a bout of unemployment recently, forcing me to prioritize my budget (no more MJ). I went cold turkey. Well, the reality has hit me stone cold in the face. I have two young sons and must say I’m glad to be realizing this part of marijuana today, so I can warn my children about it when they are older. Everything in moderation, EVERYTHING.
I’m going on three weeks of sobriety and thus far have experienced every single withdrawal symptom listed in this blog post. Anxiety and irritability are the most prevalent, followed by loss of appetite (and weight) and insomnia. I have to take Benadryl to fall asleep, then I have very vivid dreams, sometimes nightmares. My wife says I talk in my sleep now. The dreams are crazy.
I was in major denial about my chemical dependency, and I’m normally not one to deny anything. I should’ve realized I had a problem when we couldn’t go on road trips without Mary. Sad, so sad. I’d like to believe I can still use marijuana in a recreational way in the long-term future as I do enjoy the recreational aspect, but I’ve committed myself to a 90-day sobriety period first.
As of today, my appetite is still very weak and my emotions are still not under control. I’m hoping I haven’t been masking an underlying mental condition during my long-term use, but only time will tell. Time to cope with life. Lift those blinds and let the sunshine in. Great blog post and comment thread! Thank you!
33 year user. Started at 12. Now 45. Day 15 of cold turkey. I have not slept properly. Same as my friends out there. Anxiety (big time), insomnia, moody, irritable, irrational thoughts. This is the downside. Bring it on MJ. You ain’t going to beat me. Upside. Everyday moving towards being chemically independent. Starting to realize I used to be funny and had an uplifting personality. It’s coming back. I don’t eat sh*t.
Dare I say it starting to feel normal. Quite happy to just learn how to small talk. No secret life. Don’t have to pretend. Not looking for anything part from simple life. Not lazy. Starting to think about actually getting a hobby. Feel my view might be based on balanced sober thoughts. Not a stoner’s view anymore. Could go on guys!
I’m still young with energy returning. Even dressing differently. We can do this together. We are not going to be chemically dependent. We are going to be true to ourselves. We are going to take our lives back. We are not going to judge but support. Lots of love you crazy dudes. -P
Thank you everyone for sharing your stories. I just turned 34 and have been smoking since I was 16. The longest I have gone without smoking during that period was 2 weeks and for the past 8 years or so I have been an all day/everyday smoker. During that time I have gotten my Associates degree of Fine Arts and started my own business, so I wouldn’t consider myself a POS because of smoking but lately I’ve felt like I have just been treading water.
Working for myself has not helped the addiction because I have no one to answer to, but a couple months ago I decided that I was going to stop taking weed to work so that helped me cut back (I was smoking about a 1/2 oz a month regularly, then it jumped to a full ounce). I started mountain biking and I realized my lung capacity was shit, so I started going to the gym to get in better shape. I really feel that healthy activities helped me finally WANT to reduce my smoking. I am in London with my fiancee, we left last Tuesday so I am now on my fifth day of quitting cold turkey.
I did get hit with a bit of anxiety in the airport knowing that I was not going to have access to weed at all (I feel bad for people who have anxiety regularly because that sucked). As for my symptoms I guess I’m pretty lucky, my appetite is not really there as I’m only eating 1-2 times a day and I’m having some pretty crazy dreams, I guess I’m a bit irritable too. I really think the change of scenery has helped me not crave it as much, even when I’ve smelled it walking around. All I can offer is this; change your scenery, start some healthy activities, and just hang in there!
It gets better folks, so hang in there. I’m male, 40 years old, I smoked-up on rare occasions in high school and in college, but I started smoking daily about 7 or 8 years ago. Over the course of that time, I regularly over-consumed, sometimes putting away four or five joints a day, and burning thru about 1.5 to 2 ounces of primo weed each month. Aside from the spare tire I was developing around my mid section, I downplayed weed’s effects on me, which I had convinced myself were all entirely positive (it was relaxing, it stoked creativity, it helped me sleep, it was numbing).
Although marijuana isn’t illegal where I live in DC, I really just wanted to quit — it seemed like time to kick the habit, and with the prospects of drug screenings for a potential new job, and the added wrinkle of my sister getting serious with a federal agent, I didn’t have much choice. On Day 1 of withdrawal I was just fidgety and bored. By Day 2 I was pretty crabby and suffering from some pretty intense anxiety. I was hardly sleeping. Day 3 was marked by the same anxiety, irritability and sleep deprivation, but I was becoming physically sick as well, with cramping and diarrhea.
This went on for a couple of days. By Day 4 or 5, I had decided to take half an Ambien, which knocked me out finally, but then, like others, I had a series of bizarre dreams. That first week was one of the hardest things I had ever done, as embarrassed as I am to admit it. By the second week, things were better, but still not great. My stomach had settled, I was less irritable, but still suffering from bouts of panic. The Ambien was helping break the cycle of insomnia, and I found this website and began applying some of the advice others gave here.
I started jogging again and the exercise seemed to help burn away some of the panic. I decided to use the new-found spare time to get back into shape. I was eating better, drinking more fluids, and maintaining an exercise regimen, but I still wasn’t sleeping well on my own and I still felt anxious and rather irritable on occasions, seemingly out of nowhere. By Week 3, I was feeling much better. Not on top of the world, but better. Then one night after dinner out with a couple of pals, I had a hit off of a joint the three of us shared.
I felt higher than I’ve been in a long time — and off of a single hit! I didn’t enjoy the high at all. The next morning I was in a fog. I awoke with a bit of a headache, the worst dry mouth I’ve ever had, and an overall sluggish feeling. I was frustrated with myself for giving in and smoking, but equally impressed that I didn’t smoke more. That was 11 days ago, and I haven’t smoked since. The past month has been rough, but I can honestly say I feel better now than I have in a very long time. I’m thinking clearly, I’ve lost weight (almost 20 pounds!) and my pals describe this “glow” about me now. My lungs have cleared up mostly, and my smokers’ cough is gone.
The insomnia has subsided and the wacky dreams are no more. I’m also waking up with pretty intense erections again and my libido is in overdrive! In reading this site and in talking with friends who’ve gone through this, I’ve come to understand that we’re all different, and while some of our withdrawal experiences bear similarities, they vary in intensity and duration. There’s a lot of good advice here, and speaking from my personal experience, the cardio and healthy eating habits I employed were pretty helpful. So, too, was taking a sleep aid to break the cycle of insomnia.
I do wonder whether I’ll be able to enjoy the occasional bowl or joint again. When I quit, that was the goal: to get back to a place where I could light up occasionally and kick back. I worry about occasional use being a slippery slope and finding myself back in the doldrums of daily use. But as I write, after a long and sometimes hellish month of withdrawal, I’m honestly much happier and healthier without weed in my life than with it.
Weed is awesome, and not. I’ve smoked it on and off for 17 years. Never thought quitting it could make you feel so crappy. I literally smoked 6-7 yrs straight and quit cold turkey. I instantly experienced withdrawals hours later. Now I’m almost 30, I bought an OZ to smoke last month because I’ve just been stressed out and just smoking for a month straight again and quitting has given me the same horrible symptoms I had when I quit after smoking 6 years straight.
My attitude is horrible, I feel like an ass for snapping at my girlfriend for the dumbest reasons and never want this to happen again. I love weed but I can’t find a balance. I either need to smoke the hell out of it or I can’t smoke at all. That puff here and puff there sh*t don’t cut it for me. My girl even tells me I’m just more carefree and happier on it. But I’m a monster without it so I just need it out of my system and out of mind again. Once you get over that 1st week it gets a lot better.
I have smoked for about 30 years 1-2 joints a day. Got tired of coughing all the time. I have had most of the symptoms. No appetite, dizziness, weird dreams, different body odor (to me), sweating at night. Been 10 days. No cravings this time, so that is a bonus. I will be happy when the symptoms decline. They come and go, which is pretty much expected, but I do enjoy being able to breath easier. I have an understanding partner which is making the biggest difference.
Hi, I’m from Scotland and I’ve been a user from age 15 and I’m now 28 pushing on 29. This is day 12 of quitting weed. The people who describe the withdrawal symptoms as going through hell, is who I can mostly relate with. I am experiencing extreme nightmares which feel as clear as reality itself, also, waking up in sweats from these nightmares to coincide. Furthermore, my appetite is poor even though my hunger is great at times.
Also, I am smoking more cigarettes to compensate. I came on to this form because what is most worrying to me is I feel severely depressed. Until the last couple of days have began to relate the depressed thoughts with the withdrawals from weed. Its like darkness has took over, making me feel like I have failed in life and I am a major disappointment to myself and family. Although, I have talents in career areas that prevail over many others in my occupation field, my success in life tells a completely different story and now I feel completely trapped while others are so far ahead.
My main focus now is to get on the right path without weed but I can’t help that think my depression may be more long term and may keep me on the downward spiral that the long term affects of weed has set me on. To be clear on long term effects, I mean that I smoked weed for the first few years and still gained achievements and qualifications but in long term it has broke me down bit by bit and until things just started falling apart around me, i.e. relationships and things I worked hard for.
I really don’t offer any solutions to anyone’s weed problems on here but I thought sharing my experience may help me and people like me understand that they aren’t alone in dealing with this. I hope there is a solutions to our problems. I hope that someone who understands can see our problems and respond in a way that can help our battle for a positive outcome. I wish all the best to all the genuine long-term users on here. Thanks for reading.
I smoked pretty regularly for the last 2 years, (about 5 days a week) and have been slowly smoking less and less over the last 6 months. Since I’ve started smoking less, I started becoming very anxious and depressed. I have been smoking maybe once every 2 weeks but have now decided to go cold turkey altogether.
On Day 5 at the moment and feeling very anxious and having quite a bit of derealization (which is a severe form of anxiety). I’m having some good days and some bad. All I know is the less I smoke the less frequent the bad days are. Finding this site has put me at ease as at least I now know that I’m not going insane.
It just sucks that I will not be able to enjoy weed every now and again anymore and that these feelings are not going to subside for at least another month or so. Never thought weed could be this harmful. Always considered it to be less harmful than Cigarettes and Alcohol (which it is) but that’s not to say it isn’t harmful to your well being at all. Fooled me! Good luck to everyone else out there!
So happy to have found all of you :) have been heavily smoking for about 10 years – became very heavy when I went off work to take care of my husband when he was dying from cancer. Was up to 5g/day. Ran out while on a camping trip and after two days my heart starting racing, I couldn’t eat, hot and cold flashes, panic attacks, didn’t know what was going on. Thought I was having heart or breathing problems or developing an anxiety condition – always was told that you couldn’t get addicted to pot so never even thought it could be that.
Restocked when I got home but when I thought about it and did some research I figured out exactly what was happening and could not believe I had let myself get so dependent without even noticing! Decided then and there I was done. I’m on day two of cold turkey – have had terrible anxiety and panic attacks – really generalized too – no specific triggers, heart racing all day, have had to cut out caffeine and tobacco – heart goes so fast I feel like I’ll pass out, no appetite – have had one piece of toast in 2 days and that felt and tasted disgusting – hot and cold flashes but mostly hot and lots of sweating – have started dreaming again already which I hadn’t even noticed had stopped!
Emotionally very all over the place – a lot of feelings of apathy and depression and anxiety. I wanted to share because reading all of your stories and entries has been so helpful for me that I hope my story will help someone else too. I can’t wait to kick this nasty habit to the curve and get back to the me I was before. Even though I feel like sh*t I keep telling myself that it’s worth it! Wish me luck and good luck to everyone out there going through the same or similar battle. Xo
Today is day 3 of quitting cold turkey, I have no headache or insomnia but my stomach feels so uncomfortable. Like I can’t eat more than a couple of bites of food without feeling really full. Plus I’ve been burping way more than I usually do. Has anyone only had stomach issues while quitting? I feel like crap. :(
Hey, the burping is normal, relax. Everyone is different, everyone is unique, everyone will feel different when quitting, but you are definitely not alone, hang in there. =)
I have been smoking very intensively for over 20 years. I have quit 2 weeks ago today (April 18, 2015). How much I smoked: Approximately 12-15 good size joints daily using 2 papers each. And I mean good quality pot as I do not get off at all unless it is real potent marijuana. By noon on most days, I would have smoked 4-5 joints. That is a hell of a way to start a day, since by noon I was already beginning to feel depleted of energies. Ex: slower mental abilities, even somewhat lost, confusion as well energy levels dropping, interests diminished and performance greatly reduced where mental alertness was required.
Nevertheless I have always kept in good physical shape throughout my life but gradually found that all my dreams became exactly that (dreams that never materialized) evaporated in smoke so to say. Did I enjoy smoking? Are you kidding me, I lived for marijuana. And that was the problem, as everything else took the back burner. Did I function well in society? Yeah, I function alright, but at a much lower level that I know I have the capabilities.
I would not bother to debate or even answer nor reply to people who say they have no side effects or withdrawal problems after smoking heavily for years since I don’t even deemed it worthy of answering. As for those who have no withdrawal effects or problems, it’s probably because you’re from another world or still in it. As for me, in all sincerity, I do indeed have lots of withdrawal symptoms as I firmly believe that all heavy smokers that quit cold turkey do.
Yes, my sleep patterns are very disrupted, my stomach is in turmoil, my head is weary, sometimes sharp and some times not, which I consider quite normal considering my previous intake. As well, I feel most of the other symptoms people are mentioning in this website. Not playing games anymore, since it would defeat the purpose. Had I not experience all this turmoil when I have attempted to quit numerous times in the past, I would have quit a long time ago since I have been aware of how limiting it has been for me and all of those around me that were not in control of their marijuana intake.
Every heavy smoker I know is worst off and his life is diminished and glaringly easy to notice to people who have their act together. In order for me to be able to steady the course is by constant reflections and a raging internal introspection where I relive all the pain I have caused to others that I love, my family, my pets, and finally myself. I say myself last since I made the decision to keep smoking all those years, but my love ones have paid a dear price through no fault of their own.
Right now I mainly feel terrible physically but it pales in comparison with the daily pain that came from being a much smaller me who was mostly unaware of all the chaos I was creating or letting happen in my life and my loved ones. I will pay the price of the withdrawal effects whatever they may be, because I for one can no longer be half the person I know I can be. In Closing: I do not want to ever forget all the opportunities that was unable to grasp while under the influence of pot as I was not able to recognize them until it was too late.
Therefore, I am now firmly and undeniably willing to trade the fun, relaxation, colors, etc. that pot brought to my life in exchange for the awareness of my true abilities and how I will be able to tackle situations knowing that I am addressing them in the proper light. Man coming out the fog, and wishing each and everyone of you the same. You and I will experience difficulty for a while. As a matter of fact you can count on it, we need it, less we forget at what point we had arrived in our lives.
You and I are not bound this low functioning lifestyle less you or I decide to make it so! It’s up to you and me. What will it be for you friend? (A lifelong heavy smoker of high potency pot who thought he had all the answers.) Good luck, most sincerely, Pierre!
45 years old been smoking 30 years both hash and skunk in spliffs. Have gone cold turkey for 2 weeks. Have severe insomnia which is made worse by already having an acquired brain injury. The use of sleeping pills from the doctor helps to break this cycle of no sleep. Getting advice of a drugs therapist in my home town helps me to remain determined and informed on how to break this grip.
I have already told my story in a couple of replies so I won’t bore you with it again. I just wanted to thank everyone for sharing their story. I totally blocked out the correlation with the complete sh*t show I’m going through and quitting. I was so sure that weed didn’t have side effects that it didn’t even occur to me. Your stories have taken away my anxiety that I’m dying of some mysterious ailment and that makes a world of difference. I’m 43 with two kids and very happy that I am gonna make it. Those of you with as much depression and anxiety as I have know what I’m saying. Thanks again.
I’m on day 2 quitting. I started getting tension headaches at work. I came home and all of a sudden I lost my appetite because I felt nauseated. After eating a little bit of dinner I got really bad chills all of a sudden. I started sweating at night when I started smoking 4 yrs ago. My arm pits sweat a lot. This started like 4 months ago. I started getting bad anxiety/panic attacks when I started smoking. It got to a point where half of the time I had a good high or a panic attack. It’s just not for me.
I am 45 years old, smoking since I was 18, once I hit my late 20’s, I was smoking copious amounts: 30’s, 40’s, up until recently I was a 4 grams a day, every day, every night, every week, every year, unless I have a day off, then up to 7g, a quarter ounce daily! The first thing I do on Sat&Sun mornings, I roll a spliff, after 20 min another one, and so on ’til bed time, 1am. What is the first thing I do after work, you guessed it! Hard to believe, but I never smoke before work, and I never carry it with me, regardless where I’m going?!
No wonder I don’t go places and don’t socialize. I used to be a successful world touring musician, but who needs that when you have pot?! My shrink tells me that I have Bipolar 2, manic depression, not sure if only Cannabis is to blame, it does run within the family and I remember noticing symptoms ever since I was 14. Tried to quit more than a few times, but I’d relapse after a couple of months or years?! My last spliff was 10 days ago, it is a living hell. The withdrawal symptoms in my case are: severe depression, VERY SEVERE depression, anxiety and related crap, but I am not nauseous, cramping or craving, just depressed as all hell.
Suicidal thoughts and research on suicide, I see life as pointless illusion, perpetually kicking sh*t up the hill, etc. There could be some of that Bipolar 2 crap kicking in, I don’t know, or care anymore. I will prevail. I don’t drink or smoke tobacco or any other drugs, and I will not be taking Bipolar meds, because after a year of administering, I did not notice not even a slight difference or improvement in my thinking or my behavior. Good luck to all of us, I hope this will help someone else in fighting the monkey.
Yes, Zac X, what you wrote is a help to me, as I also have quit (one and a half months ago), and don’t do any other drugs, though did some many years ago, and quit smoking cigarettes 13 years ago, and am not about to take any bipolar meds or anything. I suffered severe depression at first but it is getting better, especially when I find people like you who I can identify with. So, as you said, good luck to us all, and I hope this helps you and others also. Thanks again.
Now 52 and having smoked heavily since my early teens this will be my second time quitting that sh_t. The first time I made it almost a full year and have to say I enjoyed being off it. The withdrawals are very real, for me the vivid dreams, night sweats and insomnia were the worst. I thought I was loosing it, and I wasn’t sure what was going on because I didn’t believe pot was that addictive like that. After seeing my doctor for what I thought was something more serious, he told me these were the common withdraw symptoms.
He said he could give me something to help ease them, and that I should go to counseling, or at very least do some online research. I opted for the online research, not into counseling or doing any more potentially addictive meds. The research helped me big time, I saw that other people were going through the same withdrawals, and more importantly the withdrawals do go away. It took me about three months to get over them completely. This now being my second time quitting and hopefully for good. Its been 12 days and the exact same withdrawal symptoms are back.
Fortunately they don’t seem to be as severe as the first time, probably because I have experience. Or the fact I know they will eventually go away. Know what else goes away? Your pot buddies. A large group of my friends also smoked heavily, and I learned from the first time that these people will start to distance themselves from you. I guess that’s to be expected.
Just like the old saying “misery loves company” so is the pot smokers love other pot smokers, and your connection friends will most likely become paranoid of you. All I can say about that is don’t worry about those people. You will feel so much better once your clean and the withdrawals are gone. For me getting clean was like a new and different HIGH in itself. I cant wait to be clean again!
I’ve smoked pot about the same amount of time as you, so reading what you have to say was reassuring to me that I have a good chance of feeling better eventually. I started at age of 18 and after many years of smoking off and on, mostly on, have finally decided to quit permanently. Am now age 68. Quit one and a half months ago and am still not feeling too good. Am hoping it’s just withdrawal and my body and mind readjusting. Was glad to find this site where people are talking about how it can take a few months, so at least there’s still hope for me.
Experimented with other drugs many years ago, and quit smoking cigarettes 13 years ago, so am now completely clean and eating healthy. After first quitting pot all I wanted to do was sleep and watch tv, but am slowly becoming more active. Was initially blessed in this life with an exceptionally healthy body, so am now remorseful that I took that for granted. Hopefully I will get to feeling good enough again (if age hasn’t caught up with me too much), not just for myself, but to be an inspiration to someone else as you have been to me. Thank you for sharing.
I have been smoking weed since I was 18, I am now 42 and 3 weeks clean. I have experienced and am still experiencing the insomnia, anxiety, vivid dreams, chest palpitations and excessive night sweats but in the last 2 days I have started itching all over my skin in every area which is driving me insane, has anybody else had this? Is this crazy itching a withdrawal symptom? And when is it likely to stop, it’s hard enough sleeping let alone itching like having the worst case of chicken pox keeping me awake.
Yes. Heart palpitations leading to pressure up my neck into my head.I thought I was having a heart attack. I went to the doctor and had a chest x-ray and blood work done. Headaches, anxiety, depression and anger. I’m 43, been smoking for ever it seems. It has been awful. I’m just happy to know it’s not just me. Honestly I didn’t connect the two until I read this site. As far as the itching, connecting the dots again, the last time I went without smoking for an extended period of time I had a panic attack and was itchy all over. I was fishing in Alaska and out to sea for almost a week at a time. It totally makes sense now. Thanks and good luck.
It is so helpful to read that I am not the only person going through this. The chest palpitations are still happening, but the itching seems to be a lot less than what it was a week ago. I’m still have down days and wondering why I am putting myself through this but of course I know why. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life dependent on this rubbish. Thank you for your reply and to everyone who shares their personal stories on here it really does help.
I’ve smoked for 20 years. I’m on day 7. The insomnia is almost unbearable and I have never dreamed like this. I just awoke in the middle of the nite and decicided to do some reading on symptoms. I came across this site and wanted to say I appreciate everyone posting. It’s helped. Thanks everyone!!
I’m on my #3 day of quitting weed and I smoked for over 10 years. Soon as I woke up in the morning I would smoke. I would smoke all day. When I went to sleep I would wake up and smoke again so I would go back to sleep. This would happen 4 times a night or more to smoke. So the symptoms are real. And like they said everyone’s different, but I hope this passes soon cause I can’t stand it anymore. But I’m pushing through.
I’ve smoked a lot of weed since I was 16 years old. I spent thousands of dollars on the stuff over the years, thinking every time i got high that something different would transpire. The world didn’t change, I was just stoned. I don’t even want to think about how many years of my life I pissed away getting messed up on booze and pot. I really had more of a problem with drinking than weed in my mid to late twenties. I could throw down the better part of a 12 pack on most nights of the week.
Up until early Fall 2013, at the age of 31, I was more or less a drunk who smoked weed almost everyday. My alcoholism brought me to an ultimate low in late September ’13, when I finally made the choice to quit everything- no more substances. October was the hardest month of my life – depression, terrible anxiety, mood swings, energy imbalances, countless sleepless nights, depersonalization, the works… I thought I’d never come out of it. I got better, slowly. I worked out, played in bands, socialized, and re-discovered myself- which was challenging considering I’d been covering most of it up with substances for about 15 years.
When I was about 6 months sober, In March 2014, I tried getting high again and I loved it. I told myself it would be temporary, that I would just do it every once in a while. Yeah, right. I got a pot card and ended up going to the dispensary every day. I’ve been smoking for a year, and I’m over it. I began getting anxiety attacks a couple of months ago. After starting a new job and wearing myself thin, I would often smoke to alleviate the stress. It used to work, now I mostly just get anxious and weird.
I took a break for 5 days recently, not because I wanted to quit smoking pot – but because pot wants to quit me. It doesn’t do what it used to anymore. Extremely small doses (one puff, a tiny portion of low dose edible) is doable for me, but ultimately not worth it. But I do not enjoy being stoned out of my mind anymore, at least not recently. So.. after one year of smoking (haven’t had a drink for a year and four months), I’m trying to put down the weed again.
My friends, only you know your bodies and minds. Life is never black and white, there are always shades of grey and everyone is different. Don’t let anyone tell you what you feel isn’t real because they had/are having different experiences. I don’t toke en masse, but just that little bit at the end of everyday I had for months my body craves. I’ve had trouble sleeping lately and go knows I’ve been tempted to run outside and take just one hit. But, why? So I can run back to my bed, try to sleep, and think of how mary jane wins again.
Bullsh#t… I am stronger than any placebo – AND SO ARE YOU GUYS… The whole point of me writing this is to say, DO WHAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU. You know when it’s time to make an exit, don’t let anyone or anything tell you otherwise. For me, long runs through the hills, daily trips to the gym, engaging in my favorite hobbies, getting closer to my loved ones are WAY more rewarding than being high. Some people can handle both, I guess.
I’m not one of them. I prioritize getting high over all else, and all that happens is I get stoned and blow off all my plans so I can sit around and be high. If you can handle it, good for you. If you can’t make the changes you need to make. It’s as simple as that. I implore you to make your happiness possible, at any cost. There is no other option. And I promise you, and myself that once you get through the hardest, rainiest, most difficult days, the best days of your life are waiting for you :). With love, -Nitin
To add to the withdrawal symptoms of quitting… I have smoked regularly for 13 year from age 15-28 and have recently stopped using marijuana for job issues. Since quitting almost 1 month, the beginning issues were that is was hard to not want to smoke because it helps relax, but that stopped about a week in or so. Some insomnia trying to get to sleep has happened since quitting and still continues. One symptom that has been hard to get past has been vivid nightmares. I wake up multiple times from these dreams.
I’ve taken small naps and instantly fall into a vivid dream. I don’t use any other drugs. I do drink an occasional beer or two but by no means am I an alcoholic, so I won’t say that has an adverse effect on these symptoms. I am going to hope that these dreams subside within a couple months. Some other small symptoms are headaches and some anxiety. But the anxiety is something you must be cognitive about and try to focus on the positive things and try to calm down and find the reason of the anxiety. Hope this helps anyone reading.
I was a heavy pot smoker for over 10 years, before getting out of bed every morning I would have a smoke to start the day, then smoke the rest of the day. Every time I would inhale I could feel my lungs burn, but a few seconds later it got to my brain and I got the buzz / relief. What got me through my successful quitting (after a few tries) was first I knew that I could not be in the same room or house as pot or I would smoke it, I could not associate with anyone that smoked or I would smoke.
The first 7 – 14 days were not pleasant, and I just kept telling myself to hang on until to cool (in my case) dreams started, while smoking I stopped dreaming (or remembering them). Then I had the cool dreams to hang onto, I had painkillers for headaches etc, and did not try and give up anything else. About 6 months later I knew I was still addicted, because I knew if I was around it I would smoke it. After 9 months I had a dream that I had a bud in my hand, I was looking at it and starting thinking about how I would chop it, mix it and fashion a makeshift water pipe.
Ten (in the dream still) I said out loud “hang on a second I don’t smoke” and bam the dream was gone, it was at this point I knew that I was past the addiction. The biggest key for me was to not be around it in any way, because I would smoke, until one day that desire was gone completely (about 9 months).
I found that by reducing consumption to about a half bowl to a full bowl a day only in the evening will set you up for a successful quit. Once you are comfortable smoking this amount and find that it wouldn’t be a huge deal to go to bed without then you are ready to call it quits. The hard to handle symptoms will last about 4 days and then you’re left with just your basic cravings from time to time. No more anger, mood swings, sleep problems, etc.
I’ve been self-medicating for anxiety with weed for about 10 years…gradually increasing my usage over time. I never smoked a ton…just enough to take the edge off. I’m trying to stop now for a protracted period of time. Its been a little over a month, and I’m probably feeling more depressive thoughts than ever. That said, im sticking to it. I have a blog to help me about anxiety, weed, and sweating (one of my personal issues from anxiety)…this is one post on quitting weed, but the idea sort of pokes its nasty head in throughout the blog.
https://anxioussweatersanonymous.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/a-sweet-illusory-escape-part-ii-the-turnaround/
Hi all! I stopped smoking has 1st of February. 5 years I was smoking every day. I feel like I’m going crazy. I can’t sleep and I have really big health anxiety. Every pain what I have in my body I think I’m going to die. I’m so scared,I dont wanna do anything or go anywhere. I have this sharp pain behind my eye and in the middle of the head ,I’m scared that it’s some kind of tumor :-( I feel dizzy time to time and when I eat I feel nauseous. Is this all normal? And is there anybody who can relate to this-I need to talk to someone!!! Please help.
I’m in the same boat. We are gonna make it.
It’s not that hard you just have to find something worth keeping more then the bud. I’ve been smoking for about 8 year maybe 4 to 5 blunts daily at school. At work I’ll go outside puff and spray some smell good to cover up the smell. I’m working on becoming an EMT tech, so it is for my benefit I stop smoking. I just stopped smoking cold turkey four days ago the withdraws are real. I sweat a lot while I sleep, I have crazy dreams, my eating patterns are off, but I won’t allow myself to move backwards. I see it as if it makes me feel like this it is no good for me!!!!
Totally true. You actually start noticing how bad this is for your health after a couple of days of quitting it. Last week I wasn’t convinced of what I was doing but I’m starting to feel its been one of the best decisions I ever took. I’m on my second week of quitting cold turkey and still feeling the withdrawal effects. I want to think that the last couple of days have been better than the first ones, but I’m not sure that’s the reality. It helps to not drink any sort of caffeine or stimulating drinks and eating and exercising healthy. Come on guys, you can make this work.
Hi, smoked heavily for 20 years – something that seems worse admitting as I write it! Am on day 8 of going cold turkey and the clarity of beginning to dream again is scary and my sleeping pattern has become more of a scribble. I have noticed waking up far more alert but with the inability to go back to sleep – useful but unfortunate at 4am! Also elements of depression and anxiety but being honest they were present whilst smoking.
New driving laws in the UK were the deciding factor in quitting – I’m concerned as to THC being stored in fat cells for so long after quitting and how that can relate to testing – does anyone have any experience/insight on that? Also how long withdrawal symptoms last? On the plus side I have managed to repair some relationships with friends and family that were damaged by regular smoking. Good luck to everyone.
I’m on day 4 of my break up with weed. I thought I was going crazy until I found this forum. It’s really hard but I have realized that I depended on weed to comfort me. Reading everyone’s posts here has definitely brought me some comfort when it comes to withdrawals. I thought I was going crazy. I smoked everyday for the past 8 years, but I think it’s time to grow up and deal with my problems head on.
Hi everyone, I haven’t read all the comments, but but I’ve spent the last hour reading some (a lot) of them, until my conscience told me that I have to move out of the couch and start doing my stuff. If I was still a weed smoker I know I would have pushed whatever else I have to do and spent the rest of the day reading all the comments (most likely on another website, and not the one for quitting weed symptoms). I smoked weed everyday for 13 years and although sometimes I had the thought of quitting I never wanted to. I’ve been off of weed for about a month now (don’t know exactly the number of days because, in fairness, I never planned to quit).
My boyfriend and I have lived together for two years now and he was, as me, already a smoker when we got together. Lately we were smoking about half an ounce every two weeks. He used to, sometimes, blame weed for the things he was unhappy with (lack of motivation, lack of money, lack of social life, etc) and I never thought he was wrong, but always felt that there’s no point in complaining if we were going to keep smoking. Every time he said he wanted to quit I said I’d do it with him, but we’d always end up buying another bag.
A month ago I was about to go on holidays for a week, but he had to stay because of work, and although I didn’t share these thoughts with him, my brain was going crazy, thinking how I’d to to take some weed with me on the plane. Although, our last bag finished just a few days from that holiday and he said he’d decided not to smoke while I was away. I didn’t want to confess that I wanted to take some weed with me so we just didn’t get any (I couldn’t even remember the last time I hadn’t smoked so it made me anxious). After that, still before the holidays, he said he wanted to quit and I said “OK” (even though I was very afraid of what I was about to go through without it, I didn’t want to be the person who would keep him from quitting and, as far as I knew, the fact he was saying he wanted to quit, didn’t mean he was really going to do it).
This was about a month ago and I haven’t smoked since then, I never planned to quit and I think that made it easier. I didn’t research the withdrawal symptoms by then because I thought I was only taking a break. When I was on holidays my boyfriend had some friends over who had weed and he smoked. When we talked on the phone he told me and I didn’t feel upset or disappointed, instead I felt lucky because I hadn’t been exposed to it. I was now feeling full of energy, and yes, falling asleep was not an easy task, but on the other hand getting up had become so easy (something I used to struggle with so much since I was a teenager).
My eating patterns just turned to normal – when I used to smoke I never used to eat breakfast, sometimes not even lunch but just a snack, and then a huge dinner and munchies (a lot of sweets) all evening long. Without even realizing I had stopped eating all that junk after dinner, I was feeling hungry every morning, and started having normal meals at lunch. I also started having headaches but I thought my eyesight had gone worse because I’m the kind of person who easily has headaches (and if I was having such a healthy life, my headaches “had to be” from worse eyesight). When my holidays finished, the night before I got the flight back home (just over a week off of weed) I spent the night sweating and having a crazy dream about missing the flight.
I got up twice and told myself out loud it was just a dream, but when I got back to sleep I was back in the dream of missing my flight (never ever before had fallen asleep back to the same dream). I thought this had been a consequence to the behavior of the people I was with in the evening previous to the flight, who had spent dinner stressing about getting to the airport on time. When I got back my boyfriend and I were the happiest we’d ever been with each other. After my holidays I lacked motivation to go back to the routine and the bad weather but he gave me all the strength I needed. We were happy with ourselves (feeling light, motivated, always in a good mood, eating well and exercising) and that made us happy with life.
I kept having crazy and chaotic dreams, vivid dreams, sometimes nightmares, waking up, getting up, telling myself it was just a dream, just to fall asleep and go back in to the same dream. He told me then that he had read about the withdrawal symptoms and the type of dreams I was having were often described. I never read about withdrawal symptoms myself because I was feeling so well with myself and the world, besides the dreams and headaches (which were a small part compared to the positivity I was feeling), that I believed if I read about the quitting effects I could start feeling them by suggestion.
At the moment I work freelance at home (after having worked full time in a shop for a while just to have more money but feeling extremely unhappy), and sometimes I don’t have enough work, so at the moment I’m not providing for the two of us as much as my boyfriend is (although all my income is also always used on our necessities and not just mine). But not smoking weed gave me the motivation to apply again for a full time job in my area (video editing), which I had applied for several times before without any success, as I didn’t get any answers at all from the employers, I suppose because I still don’t have a significant and extensive portfolio to show. Even though, my fear of trying again was gone.
A week ago, during the weekend my boyfriend asked me what were my thoughts on buying only enough weed for one evening, and I told him I’d rather not, because if we hadn’t stopped talking about how good it was not to smoke, then why doing it. He agreed, we didn’t buy and I felt good about being able to say no. All these things I described above were so strong and positive, until two days ago. For the first time after quitting I woke up not in the most joyful mood, and my boyfriend was probably not very relaxed because it was Sunday and as he works a lot, he was already seeing the Monday arriving too soon, and wanted to make the most of his Sunday.
I didn’t know why I was feeling that way (I’m a foreigner living in Ireland and I woke up missing my family and friends so much), I was very slow moving that morning and made him wait for me more than he wanted (10 minutes) for the plans we had arranged for the morning. He only reacted badly when I got in the car and nothing could be done about (in my head). I got even more cranky because I felt it was unfair he was reacting like that when it couldn’t be changed anymore, only realizing much later that day that he was just waiting for an apology that he didn’t hear from me, which I didn’t feel I needed to give as I couldn’t understand how 10 minutes could change his day.
All this didn’t make me feel happier than I was when I woke up, and made him feel worse and worse, and probably with the early Monday always in the back of his mind. It led us to a big fight, where a lot of nasty things were said. He told me how big of an effort he was making for us, unlike me, the things he couldn’t do because of all the money he was spending and I didn’t have, that I wasn’t doing anything for us or for myself. That all the meals I had prepared for us, to make sure that from the moment he gets home he can just relax, don’t mean anything… And so on. I’m sure I said nasty things too, but in these angry moments our brain usually remembers better what was said to us than what we said ourselves.
We got better since then, but the duality of the words (before the fight I felt I was good to him, and suddenly I felt I was this burden in his life) broke my motivation, lightness and good eating patterns. And although he tells me that things were said in a moment of frustration and don’t reflect what he feels everyday, they definitely lowered my self confidence. I keep doing my work, and working on my portfolio, but I’m not looking forward to doing it, as I felt before the fight. If I have had any weed on me I would definitely have smoked it, to unconsciously numb all these thoughts and feeling, because a month off doesn’t mean I’m not addicted anymore.
I’m glad though I don’t have it, because I know it will be easier to achieve my goals if I don’t smoke. I admit I miss listening to music while smoking, watching movies high and falling asleep as a fall in bed, but I want so badly to go back to where I was before these last two days that that’s enough for me to keep fighting for it. And I know that even a few drags could spoil that fight, at this stage. I finally decided to read about the withdrawal symptoms today, that I woke up crying and not feeling so well anymore.
I didn’t know why I had woken up in a bad mood that day, or why we fought, but I can definitely relate those feelings with what’s written on this post and on the comments to it. I’m almost sure my boyfriend would relate his feelings to what’s written all over here too. When big fights happen people have to work on trust again and that’s what we’re doing now. We both know that our love for each other is bigger than the feelings we had when we were fighting. I realize now that it was so easy to quit because I have him in my life, and it became more difficult when our support for each other weakened.
For those who are still reading my comment, either if you are struggling yourself, or know someone who is struggling after quitting weed, my recent experience has showed me that it’s extremely easier to stay off, to be strong and positive if we have love and affection in our lives, if we feel that someone loves us even in the bad days. If we feel we’re enough. Everyone is enough and worthy of love so, if you’re struggling yourself, try to find who’s willing to help, to show you love and support and give you strength.
If you know someone who’s struggling, try to be patient and show them love, support and affection (people can still have their boundaries and at the same time be loving, supportive and affectionate). Be positive, do not give up on you, and do not give up on your loved ones, be patient and kind to yourself and others! (If there are bad days, it also means that something better is around the corner).
Been smoking for around 6 years, on day 5 of quitting and all I can think about is smoking another J. However I have found that kalms tablets are helping with withdrawal a lot. I stopped smoking because I am scared of growing old and being full of regret and wonder of what my life would be like if I gave up my habit. Highly recommend Kalms and nytol herbal to sleep. I also think that weed is getting way too strong for me and is just making me live inside my own head. I heard full cognition returns after 90 days, just wondering if anyone’s life is different now that they have quit?
Am so glad for this page! Been smoking for nearly 3 years now. I quit cold turkey-4 days. The first 2 days were a breeze (kind of) but day 3 was awful. I had insomnia (still do), really irritable and the internal struggle is torture. The sneaky thought of, it’s really not that bad, I could just keep on smoking until am forced to quit (job, relocating, etc.) and you really should be able to live without it are basically the only things I can think about. The really scary part to be honest is, a couple of people I have talked to said this goes on for almost 2 months! It sounds like a really long time to feel like this. This thread is really helpful because if people who smoked for 20 years plus can do this, so can I. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
I quit three weeks ago after smoking from the time I woke up to the time I went to sleep, every day (with the exception of one or two days randomly if I couldn’t get on) for 9 years. For the first two weeks I felt good, I had more energy, was motivated to exercise and wasn’t so paranoid in social situations. Then the dreams started a couple of days ago, not nightmares but strange vivid plots that feel so real when I wake up it takes me half an hour to realise they’re not real at all. Does anyone else have this symptom? BTW does anyone know if the type of cannabis you smoked makes a difference or how you ingested it?
I’m on day 5 of cold turkey after smoking all day everyday for 16 years. It has been really tough. I’m writing this at 6 AM because I didn’t sleep at all. I know what you mean about the dreams. My dreams have been so vivid and so bizarre that the imagery will stay with me throughout the day.
I have the sweats, either too hot or shivering. And last night I was vomiting quite intensely. The dreams are very troubling but the nausea is the worst symptom. I am really hoping that these symptoms will go away. Thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts. It’s helping me to read these posts.
I have smoked since the age of 16 *(I am now 55) to cope with ongoing PTSD (ex serviceman) symptoms as prescribed. Antidepressants caused me to be sick. I have gone cold turkey 7 days now (due to lack of supply) and symptoms are: sweating, insomnia, anxiety & headaches. It is a matter of choice and I do not look down upon those who quit.
I choose to cope with my PTSD by using cannabis instead of prescribed medication, even though it is illegal to use and face being arrested and jailed for this humble plant. For those of you who are quitting good for you. For those who cannot or won’t, well it’s up to you to decide how you cope with every day life and its ups and downs. I would rather smoke cannabis than drink alcohol in my case. So as soon as the supply is back on track again, I will continue to medicate myself with cannabis and function normally in society.
I have never had an outburst of anger when using or currently going through my current detoxification symptoms. I tell myself I am in control of my emotions. Cannabis helps me to think out of the box in my job. No one around me in the work place detects that I am on cannabis in my daily interactions with them, so Pauline go suck an egg!
Smoking community ain’t a problem, it’s only about your attitude. The day you decide is “the last” for sure must be exactly “the last.” However it simply won’t work that way if the perception of this step isn’t well understood. More precisely, you must have some good reason to make such conscious choice in life if you are pot-smoker: whether it would be newly arisen disturbing cough, obesity, anger, distraction or academic failure.
I’m on my fourth month of withdrawal after 2 year day to day MJ smoking plus 7 years of tobacco smoking and what I’d like to say is that my withdrawal symptoms have only started diminishing a few weeks ago. I still have depression and problems with sleep. Also don’t be deluded that quitting this sh*t will enforce your studies from the very start…hell no. Your attention will be too damn low at times. So before you start, make sure you have obtained a new perception of this world, are absolutely ready to live your life with no consciousness alteration.
Whenever you are into it, be ready to put up with that completely new level of quality of life, coherency, and intelligence of speech… and an incremental improvement in your academic capabilities. All this mass green smoking as I think is the result of our consumption modus of life, we’re trying to consume as much good as we would are able to take, and this has nothing to do with the notion of ‘being’.
I didn’t started smoking pot until I was in my mid thirties, socially at first, then on my own every once and a while, and eventually own my own every day. When I was forty-nine I quit for 3 years. I had minor withdrawal symptoms. My dreams came back, I was sleeping 8 to 10 hours and felt I had put it all behind me. Then I started hanging out with a friend who smoked and thought I could have just a little. WRONG !
I gradually went back to smoking all day long. I’m fifty-five now, and on day 5 of quitting. The withdrawal is way worse now than the first time. I came to this site tonight because honestly today I thought I was going to lose my mind! I wasn’t even sure what all the withdrawal symptoms were until I read these posts.
It’s hard to eat or sleep, the anxiety is like nothing I have ever experienced, and the sweats soak my sheets. I know I will get through this more easily knowing what to expect. I created this monster and I will own up to that. But I also know that it can be beaten and buried, but not forgotten. Hang in there everyone. I know it’s worth it.
I’ve been a smoker for 10yrs…I grew up somewhat sheltered…had no clue what pot smelled like til I was 19. I had smoked with my brother twice before meeting my now wife. My wife smoked couple times a week…so I started haha. My father always told you “you can’t miss what you haven’t tried.” Great quote…kept me away from a lot of the BS out there. He also told me if you HAVE to do something, just smoke alittle weed or have a few beers.
Never in a million years would I have ever thought I’d become the addict I am :/. I’ve had a relatively successful life, probably because I didn’t start smoking until I already had a career choice in the works. The main reasons for me wanting to quit were to be more engaged with my family. I have a 3 year old boy who’s very active. I just had a newborn baby girl. I also run my own business… 2.5 yrs ago I lost one of the greatest women in my life – my grandma.
She cared for me more than anyone on this planet (until I met my wife of course). It was extremely heartbreaking to lose her. My addiction grew stronger. The first time I tried to quit was when my son was born. I successfully quit for 5 months. Not only did I stop using pot, I also quit using the 1000 mg vicodin 8+ times a day and the pack of cigarettes I was smoking a day. The doctor kept giving me vicodin like it was candy for a severe knee injury that required reconstruction surgery
Only problem was he prescribed them for almost 8 years. Nice doc right haha. Anyways I started using again after the passing of my grandmother (just pot this time around) and boy did I use it. I neglected many things around me without even realizing it. I could be sitting in a room full of people without being there (if that makes an sense). I started working with my father… GREATEST decision I’ve made in my life. What a great man he was, and what an even greater man he would make me with his wealth of knowledge and experience.
We worked together everyday for over 2 years. Mt dad suddenly, and without warning, passed away in his sleep. That was a little over a year ago :(… Kills me even to this day, it hurts everyday. Addiction flew to a whole new height. I just wanted to give a little background to people about the severity of my addiction. It might give them strength to overcome the situations they find themselves in. This time I knew I needed to quit, not so much because my life was spiraling out of control or I ruined my life, it’s because I’m going though it like a zombie (without even knowing it).
I smoked all day everyday, but not like that. I smoked enough to have a mild buzz (during work or family events) but not enough for anyone to notice. I hid it VERY WELL :/. Now I’m almost a week into quitting again. I’m not gonna say I’m a week sober, because the detox symptoms have been so intense :(. I’ve ONLY been using pot, but the detox seems worse than last time. My symptoms have included: Cold sweats with BAD chills, like can’t sit still for the life of me chills, extreme stomach pain and the inability to eat or drink a lot of fluid, cramping and diarrhea, headaches galore, anxiety like nobody’s business, mood swings and irritability to say the least, and that all too familiar feeling of hopelessness and depression.
The crazy thing about it is that I KNOW what’s happening and it makes it alittle easier vs. The first time I quit and had a major mental breakdown. This time has definitely been more physical than mental. Looking back I now realize how much more time I could have spent with the people I love and miss rather than get high and just be there :/. I don’t want to be on my death bed and have nobody to remember or love because I smoked my whole life away. Anyone who “professionally” smokes knows they can’t remember a damn thing :/. I want to remember my kids lives.
The life I’ve built and shared with my wife…I want to remember these days, and the rest of my days. My symptoms have been so intense that I’ve lost 20 lbs in the 6 days I haven’t been smoking. I’ve had small sessions to try and get something down…2 to be exact. I quit on Tuesday night…Wednesday night I though I was gonna die and shared a small joint with a friend, which we only smoked half of. Come Friday night, I started REALLY feeling the detox. That’s when the sweats and chills kicked in. Saturday night I hadn’t eaten in days.
I finished the last of the joint and immediately felt relief (how sad). I still was barely able to eat due to the little amount I smoked, but it wasn’t about that, it was about getting A LITTLE relief. I couldn’t do this a week ago, not in my mind. For sure I couldn’t, but here I am 6 days in. I may not have 6 days sober, but I have 6 days of not wanting to live like this anymore, and I’m proud of that. My symptoms are starting to roller coaster now.
Sometimes I feel great, others my stomach feels like Mike Tyson just went to town on it. The mental symptoms I’ve pretty much been talking myself through. I KNOW I’m having an issue, hide it as well as you’ve hid your addiction (at least that’s my strength haha). There’s always hope and life to live. Don’t let pot steal your life away from you, cause it will when you least expect it. It’s not an overnight addiction and I don’t expect it to be an overnight recovery, you shouldn’t either.
I’ve spent years “enjoying” my addiction, now I’m gonna take a couple weeks/months of pain to get over it. If this helps even one person, then taking my time to write my story was worth it :). If you’re gonna quit, do your research and be prepared. Although my symptoms have been extreme, my addiction was worse. It WILL get better, I promise. BTW…leaning on the man upstairs doesn’t hurt either, gives you a great mental strength knowing someone’s always in your corner. Love life, enjoy it, and live it to the fullest…and remember what you did on your journey.
I am 44 years old. I have been a daily user since I was 20 (with the exception of the odd day off for short trips outside of Canada). One thing everyone on here needs to remember: We all used the drug as a coping mechanism in some form. Whether it was to curb anxiety, depression, ease physical pain etc. or just to have that beautiful euphoric feeling.
But when you mask a problem with any drug long enough and then stop. You’re body says “Whoa! WTF man!” So if you were depressed, anxious, experienced physical or emotional pain before using. Then yeah. When you stop masking that. It will come back. And quite strongly as your body was trained to accept marijuana to cope with those things. You just need to remind your brain this is all a process.
Some take longer and some just don’t recognize they are experiencing withdrawal. Anyhow, I am on day four of quitting. I quit because I felt my ambition was in the toilet and I need to make some changes. So far it’s headaches and a messy sleep pattern. Press on people! There’s plenty of cool, funky things in life that can get you high without taking a toke! Live! Love! Travel!
After reading all these comments, I agree that the symptoms, and severity are different for most folks. I’ve just turned 65, have two children in their forties, and five teenage grandchildren, and have smoked pot (2 joints) daily for 45 years. I stopped cold turkey 3 weeks ago, and can honestly report that the only symptom I’ve experienced was one sleepless night.
My mood has always been upbeat and positive, and that hasn’t changed. That’s not to say I won’t have any negative experiences in the future, but living with a positive attitude can help. I started my business (freight broker) back in 98 after my wife of 30 years passed away from cancer, and really did it to change careers, and to have something more challenging to do. It has exceeded all my expectations and I have no intentions of retiring.
I operate from my residence, and have smoked during business hours without any repercussions. I think I have done well as a result of truly living in the moment, for all we really have is THIS moment, and This moment is good. We have no guarantees in life and once realized, can really open one up to enjoy the absolute wonders of nature, and the delight of interacting with those that are of like mind, and those that aren’t.
I’ve never experienced paranoia, but perhaps that’s from living in Canada where most folks, including law enforcement are a little more liberal. Like everyone else, I have experienced the munchies, and have always been able to resist the urge for instant but short lived gratification. At this juncture, all I can do is wish everyone here good luck and offer my best wishes and encouragement.
I’m 45 and have smoked dubes socially for 20yrs. 2 years ago I witnessed something horrendous and stupidly I’ve smoked heavily every day since to cope… until 5 days ago. I can assure you that withdrawals are very real. I’m suffering awful anxiety and panicking. This afternoon I have had a headache. I had to tell my mum today that I’m an addict and having withdrawals and I’m so gutted that I’ve put this upon her. I have had Chamomile tea which appears to have lessened the anxiety for now. I’m really scared of whats ahead for me but it’s my own fault. Reading all your stories is a help to me so thanks for sharing.
I’m 52 Y.O. and been smoking up to an oz a week since I was 19 – that’s 33 years of being in an altered state. I start the day with a J and continue every hour and a half until I go to bed. I love that stoned feeling, I really do! I’ve managed to run my own small but successful business, traveled the world (often smuggling my supply to ‘dry’ countries) and raised, mostly single handed, a well balanced, thoughtful, happy son who is now 16 y.o.
But something has not been quite right – the tight grip of addiction and the consequent loss of free will, the hours chasing supplies, the time spent toking instead of engaging with non smokers, the money, etc. (You all know what I mean). It’s now 7 days since I stopped and I’ve been suffering most of the withdrawal symptoms mentioned by the good people on this site – anxiety, bad insomnia, loss of appetite, intermittent nausea, mild headaches, irritability, crazy frightening dreams, boredom, lack of motivation, mood swings and an overwhelming feeling of empty hollowness.
Apparently this could go on for months! Friends say my eyes are clearer, but otherwise I look tired and I’m losing weight from an already slim body. Life was much brighter and lighthearted, food tastier, music more involving, people more interesting, boring chores less onerous, and ‘time to smell the roses’ easier to come by when I was smoking. My mind is now consumed with coping with the drug free situation I’ve put myself in. This is difficult. And the pay off is weeks or months away. Ho hum!
Right now the only upside to quitting seems to be that I can’t be busted, and the resultant reduction in paranoia and constant watchfulness has freed my mind quite considerably – I live in deepest Hicksville and the overpaid under-worked police/judiciary here are majorly over excited by any drug use or criminality. Any words of support or encouragement from anybody would be much appreciated right now.
Congrats on quitting after this long. I am in my 2nd/3rd day of quitting after 2 years (1 almost heavy). Really one of my best choiches by far. I whish you best of luck and soldier on – as someone was saying earlier.
I found this site today after searching “cannabis withdrawal depression”. I have read a large number of comments, but the sheer volume is just too much. But I am now realizing that I am just the same as many of the other sufferers here. Here is my story… I started smoking weed about 3 years ago to try cope with a difficult situation I was in at the time. I enjoyed it so much and decided every few weeks I would get high. Every few weeks turned into a few times a week, and after 8-9 months I found myself smoking on a daily basis (around 0.5g per day) on the bong.
I have never increased my usage, but no longer feel that I am getting high on this small amount, now it feels like I smoke to feel ‘normal’ just to relieve my symptoms of social anxiety. I would probably need a much higher dose, at much higher cost, so I tend to stick to what I feel is an adequate amount. A few times I’ve decided to take a tolerance break, but they don’t last more than 2 weeks at most before I crave that high feeling again.
Many times during my smoking I’ve thought to myself: I must have weed in my life to survive. My family have not been supportive of my usage and I thought I was doing the sensible thing by using a recreational drug which has caused no deaths. Its been nearly 3 weeks since my last smoke and I am suffering from such severe insomnia, depression, anxiety, and loss of appetite. Up until reading this page and many of the comments, I have always been in denial about feeling these symptoms during a tolerance break. I don’t know what to do. Half my mind is telling me to go out, buy some weed and get high. The other half is telling me to quit or return to the moderate usage I had before.
Reading some of your comments is really helping me through this tough time. Congratulations and keep up the good work to those that are sober, and I wish you all the best to those who are struggling – this is such a difficult time and realizing your problem is a huge huge huge step to recovery. I’ve smoked cannabis for 6 years, every night, and often every day. I am 22 years of age and realized I’ve wasted some of my best years on this drug.
I’m also blessed to be realizing how much of a problem I have at such a young age — I’m excited for the future and all of its opportunities. This is my 72nd hour without a joint. Before this I couldn’t go 8 maybe 10 hours. I didn’t think I had the will power in me, but sadly I’m finding it hard to be proud of myself. I started using cannabis to block out my depression, anxiety and insomnia so many years ago. I guess that’s why my symptoms right now are so unbearable.
Last night I got off to sleep at 6am and forced myself up at 8 as not to disrupt my sleep pattern. Today has been the real first day of withdrawal symptoms. I’m in complete agony — I ache all over and my stomach cramps are getting worse. My mental mind is going crazy. I honestly don’t know who I am, I am depersonalized. But knowing that a lot of you are going through the same just gives me that tiny glimmer of hope. We’ve all gotta be strong for each other at this time.
One minute I’m the happiest person alive, ready to challenge anything the world throws my way. The next I am in a hopelessly dark abyss full of negative and suicidal thoughts. I can’t keep up with my brain, it’s going ten to the dozen. I don’t even know why I decided to comment on this particular website — I’ve read them all up to now! But the more I type, the more I feel a sense of release. I don’t really have anyone to truly open up to about how I feel, so this is helping.
My main concern now is getting off tonight as I have a long shift tomorrow and I’ve already missed two days of work because of it. I took a herbal sleeping tablet half an hour ago and apparently it takes 1-2 hours to kick in. Right now I’m going to switch off laptop and get under the duvet in blissful silence. I hope to god I drift off… This is only day 3 and I feel like a corpse. I wish you all the best of luck with your journey into recovery. And just keep remembering what the article says – count yourself lucky you aren’t addicted to any other substance, as cannabis is the easiest to get off.
I have smoked for 15 years from sun up to sun down. I’m on week 2 of quitting and the sweating, headaches, loss of appetite, mood swings, anxiety, depression and cravings for it are all so real. I’m trying to move forward in careers, but this is one the hardest things I have done. Hope these feelings pass soon. 3am’s been my bed time for a week now… Fucking sucks a bag of d#cks!
The struggle is real. I am a weed addict. This is a fact! 2 days off THC. Feel like I’m gonna punch someone in the face. I notice I’m replacing weed with alcohol though. Damn it! Unfortunately, weed has been my lover, my BFF, my exit out of emotional situations since I was 14. Recently, I had a health scare. I am a 32 year dude. I gave myself a lung infection cause I can not stop smoking. Even smoking while I am sick. Hello, crazy person! They found a spot on my right lung because I inhale massive amounts of smoke.
I live in LA where weed is more available then water. Excited to get clean but annoyed and edgy. This site has saved me. Hearing other people going through this makes me feel like I’m not crazy and alone. We are all so powerful. We can do this. Screw weed. Let’s live our lives. We all are self aware now. Let’s do this! Exercise like a maniac and surround yourself with non smokers. Day by day. Don’t think I can never smoke again. It will piss you off. Nothing but love my fellow pot heads. Good luck! It’s only life. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable for a bit!!!