How long do marijuana withdrawal symptoms last

[helpneeded]

thank thank thank thank thank you so much for that. its amazing to hear that there is light at the end of the tunnel. i felt like crying when i read your post because i'm so happy to hear that we can get through this.

thanks again. it means to me more than you'll ever know

[Unregistered]

I'm a daily smoker have been since i was introduced to it at 13. I've got a respectable career, been with the company 22 years. I also own a mid-sized business, have 4 kids. I'm just sick of the dependancy, and my mood swings when I'm not high. Today is day 2. wish me luck, I'll need it.

[robinl555]

Dear Guest,
I wish you the best of luck.

[escapist]

Hey there,

I think I've been having the same thing as you, but I've been smoking steadily for about 8 months (school year). Sometimes I'd go without smoking during the weekends. about a few weeks ago I would be high constantly. I quit a couple days ago and started feeling the exact same things as you; loss of appetite, anxiety, panic attacks. I just tried keeping myself busy, learning new songs on guitar, running and walking, reading, movies, TV. It gets better though, my appetite is coming back, my anxiety is very mild. Just try to remember that it will all be over soon.

Hope this helps!

Sam

Thanks for the reply man.
Yea its been just over two weeks since my last j and it's a nice feeling.
Still getting a bit of mild anxiety now and again but the only real thing now is a sort of lump feeling in my throat which is maybe caused by the anxiety but don't know might get it checked out.

Like you said it's all about keeping the mind occupied, doing a bit of light exercise is good, i found heavy exercise lead to some of the things i associated with panic attacks and that made me a bit uncomfortable. Going for a nice walk is sometimes the best idea I found.

Also, it might be difficult but stay away from mates that you used to smoke with for a while, can cause massive cravings when you're with them.

Cranberry juice is so good as well. When you don't have an appetite it gives you nutrition and energy as well as detoxing so it's been vital. Someone early on in this thread said something about avoiding eating to get rid of the fat the chemicals are stored in but you need to eat as much as you can i think. A lack of food will leave you feeling faint i found and that can just lead to more anxiety.

You're doing well just have to hang in there for a bit get through the worst and it's definitely worth it. I've got a bit of my personality back, still feeling a bit distant but I'm more friendly, talkative and can hold conversations. It's just a good feeling. Still getting dreams about weed. The dreams can be mental sometimes in a bad way but also sometimes in a bizarre and hilarious way so they're a mixed blessing.

Also it's good to remember that there is help out there if it is getting a bit too much, the first solution isn't to smoke a joint when the panic creeps up op you. I'm in the UK and when I was in a bit of a bad way, I was able to get in touch with an out of hours doctor at around 3 in the morning on a Saturday and be prescribed a short supply of 2mg diazepam tablets that I could pick up at a 24 hour NHS clinic there and then and they were a god send. I was about to lose my mind and they just took the edge off.

Good luck to everyone that's going through it at the minute, keep at it and keep strong.

[escapist]

thank thank thank thank thank you so much for that. its amazing to hear that there is light at the end of the tunnel. i felt like crying when i read your post because i'm so happy to hear that we can get through this.

thanks again. it means to me more than you'll ever know

I know how you feel. This forum is so important. I've seen medically trained people who just dismiss cannabis withdrawal as non-existent. It's only went I found this forum and read people's stories that I felt the same emotions of you. There needs to be some sort of awareness out there that weed isn't the same as it was 10 maybe 20 years ago, it's increased dramatically in strength and what was true about it 10 years ago isn't necessarily true about it now. It does get better my friend, the darkness lifts and you'll feel so much better for it.

[Unregistered]

Well, i'm a 20 year old guy who's been smoking for the past year and a half, i'd say i've been smoking a lot around 3-4 (best bud) j's a day, I recently quit and it's day 5, i've been experiencing most of the symptoms (stomach pain/nausea/loss of apetite being the worst), I went to the ER i didn't know what was wrong with me until I googled this forum, they dismissed me in the hospital and disregarded marijuana withdrawl as they didn't think it had withdrawl symptoms(idiots), I've been through the worst (I hope lol). In the first 2 days I kept on constantly puking then it got better I only wake up with stomach cramps and some nausea now. I was wondering how long this would last?


PS: i'm so glad I found this forum it has taken my mind off these crappy feelings.

[Unregistered]

Well, i'm a 20 year old guy who's been smoking for the past year and a half, i'd say i've been smoking a lot around 3-4 (best bud) j's a day, I recently quit and it's day 5, i've been experiencing most of the symptoms (stomach pain/nausea/loss of apetite being the worst), I went to the ER i didn't know what was wrong with me until I googled this forum, they dismissed me in the hospital and disregarded marijuana withdrawl as they didn't think it had withdrawl symptoms(idiots), I've been through the worst (I hope lol). In the first 2 days I kept on constantly puking then it got better I only wake up with stomach cramps and some nausea now. I was wondering how long this would last?


PS: i'm so glad I found this forum it has taken my mind off these crappy feelings.

Hi Guys,

I'm new here. I was smoking pretty much everyday for the past 5-6 months? April 25th was the last day of smoking. I went to the doctors on April 27th and got prescribed a Z pack. The next afternoon my stomach started to feel funny and then everything came tumbling down. extreme nausea lost of energy lost of appetite. I could hardly eat anything. I lost about 10 pounds in 1 week and half. Its been 3 weeks since my last smoking and its been about 2 weeks since my last dose of the Z pack. I'm starting to eat a little bit more now but still have a real bad loss of appetite. and real bad nausea especially in the mornings. I'm definitely feeling the depression and anxiety starting to take its toll on me. I'm really hoping this ends soon!

[HeavyRotation]

Hey Everyone,

New member here, my registration/post was prompted by reading these last few posts regarding anxiety/depression and marijuana usage.

Before smoking, I was a timid/insecure high school student; some might even say that I had social anxiety to some extent. As an undergraduate I started smoking weed with great frequency (at least once a day) and felt like a different person. It sounds cliché, but I really feel I became open minded and mellowed out once I started smoking. As someone who is an obsessive (not compulsive) thinker, weed helped me let things go. Within the first few years I experienced a few weed-induced panic attacks that I categorized as "bugging out" from smoking too much or over-analyzing while stoned, these attacks would shake me for a few days but I would bounce back to normality. The summer after my second year, I quit cold turkey non-voluntarily (I was traveling and working in a location with no access to bud) and definitely experienced levels of anxiety and depression that I attributed to being in new, trying environments rather than withdrawal.

The year after said summer, I started smoking more than ever: 3-6 times a day for about a year. I don't recall experiencing any panic attacks during that period but I will say that I started feeling very depressed and would become very anxious in certain situations (being with a girl I was into, etc.) and, still I deflected these feelings as the result of developments in my life. Smoking was the perfect remedy for symptoms of boredom, depression, anxiety, loneliness; it became my cure-all. I'd also like to point out that after never having problems with acne, I began to break out during this period of increased smoking. I also began to experience temporary digestive problems that would accompany moments of anxiety.

A year after this period of heavy usage, I went off to Grad school and though I wasn't smoking the same amount as in years past I was still lighting up relatively frequently. Feelings of depression and slight mood swings came and went, again I attributed these to my new environment. I was lonely, frustrated, but still optimistic in the long term. Over the semester break I resumed my habit of smoking several times a day. Again, weed was my medicine for any sadness or frustration that I was experiencing, it inexplicably made me feel "at home". I experienced some personal losses heading in to the Spring semester, but retained my optimism. Still though, weed was my answer for loneliness, boredom, any ailment. I wasn't smoking as frequently (maybe 2-3 times a week), but still felt a reliance on it.

And then the symptoms began. I started to experience digestive problems once a week (maybe not so coincidentally after several days between smokes), I started having very strong feelings of depression and anxiety (though at the time, I didn't know what they were). I dealt with these symptoms by smoking. I calmed down, thinking they went away. The digestive issues started occurring with greater frequency, as did the emotional symptoms, until finally culminating in a full blown panic attack (or series of panic attacks) that crippled me for about two weeks. I can't discern if the panic attack was brought on by weed or not, but I can tell you that smoking definitely didn't help relieve them.

It was at this point that I decided to stop smoking marijuana. The decision pained me. Though I don't believe cannabis to be the sole cause for my breakdown, it was definitely a component. I became psychologically (moreso than physically) dependent on marijuana. It made me feel confident in the face on my problems, it made me happy when I was sad, it was my friend when no one was there for me. Marijuana had allowed me to loosen up as an intellectual, a human being, but I couldn't deny I had abused it as a substance.

Five weeks later I am still recovering from these panic attacks and in all likelihood from marijuana dependency at the same time. I no longer have severe panic attacks as much as overwhelming swings of anxiety and/or depression that grip me from time to time and disrupt my sense of reality, but reading this forum has given me great relief. Do I believe marijuana alone can cause anxiety or depression? Maybe, but it seems more likely when combined with the wrong tendencies (in regards to frequency/amount of use, timing of use) and mind state.

I love marijuana, and it pains me to accept it as the cause of such severe emotional damage. However, my advice to any smokers is to accept that EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. Symptoms, recovery time, experiences with marijuana are all going to be different across the board. The most important thing is HOW YOU FEEL, and if you are not feeling well mentally, physically, and/or emotionally then it might be best to reconsider your habits of use.

Anyways, I think I've probably ranted for too long. It's comforting to discover that one is not alone in facing these problems. The human mind is an incredibly powerful machine, but at the end of the day it is still an organ affected by chemicals. Mental health is not an isolated matter of thought process and is affected by several pathways, in the end recovery takes time and I wish everyone experiencing similar feelings the best.

[ridextreme]

Hello everyone who is still suffering. I am back on here after 4 months to tell everyone that I am fine and I have started to enjoy life again (without smoking). I wanted to come back on here because the one thing I was looking for when I was suffering was someone to come back after they got better to tell me it it gets better. So I wanted to come back on to this post that saved me to say I am fine now. Hang in there everyone I know what you are going through because I went through it myself.

I quit on December 29th 2011 (today is May 27th). In case you didn't read my posts from back then, I smoked weed every day for about 12 years with a break of 2 years about 5 years ago (no withdrawal then but I think it has to do with the crazy strong weed that I smoked recently). I had panic attacks that hurt me so bad I didn't know how I could deal with them, but I did, and I got through it. You need to keep telling yourself it is the withdrawal and it will get better in time.

I also had the insomnia but for me it got better after about 3 months, but for the first 15 days it was hard to sleep at all, then I would wake up every hour for an hour, then sleep two hours at a time, then three, but it slowly got better.

I can remember back when I was suffering the panic attacks and anxiety that I might have permanently screwed up my brain with pot and I might never get better, which scared me even more. But I am happy to report that was not the case.

So for me I got Truly better after about 60 to 90 days, although the first 10 days were the absloute worst. After 10 days is when i started to notice it getter progressively better, but you are going to have some good days and some bad days. You are going to feel much better for a few days in a row, then all of a sudden you are back to feeling the worst again for another few days, etc. This is called the Post Acute Withdrawal Symtoms (PAWS). I just want to tell you this so you will know what is happening to you when you start feeling it again, and I am talking about the anxiety and panic attacks because for me it was the absolute worst. But there are medications you can take such as xanax, which I was so affraid of taking becuase I was scared to be hooked on another drug and suffer the withdrawals all over again but if you are really sufferning, take one and you will feel better, but only use it as a last resort. I also used inositol powder which also is pretty amazing stuff (its classified as a vitamin in the B family). I sent away for so many bottles of it I still have a lot left because that is when I started to feel better.

For sleeping, there is a few things you can try. The things that I loved was drinking camamile tea before going to bed, and I took seroquel from my doctor which totally put me to sleep after 45 minutes, but you will feel tired when you wake up. Seroquel is also good for anxiety - I am not a doctor so discuss these things with your doctor - he also gave me Trazadone which is an older antidepresant that is mostly used for insomina that I only took a few times.

The things that helped me get through my withdrawal was trying to keep myself busy, even if it included walking for hours at a time, or reading this thread a million times. I can remember while I was reading it, sometimes at 3 in the morning, I was trying to figure out first if the panic attacks and anxiety were from the withdrawal and second how long is this hell was going to last. Everyone reading this thread is at a huge advantage then the people who don't know what is happening to them. And don't listen to your doctor if he tries to tell you there is no withdrawal and this is a true story: While in the emergency room, I was told that the reason I was having panic attacks was from bad weed which must have been laced with something, and there is nothing wrong with a little weed to relax you every now and then. He told me I was suffering from a panic attack and gave me a script for xanax. The medical community has no clue what is happening to us.

I know what you are feeling, I had the worst panic attacks in the world, I know how bad you are feeling. Hang in there because it gets better.

If anyone has any questions please send me an email through this site and I will answer them and do anything I can to help you. I know what you are going through, and I thank God that I got through it and so will you!!!!! I promise!!!!

Peace and Love <3

[Earthmama]

I smoked weed for half my life. I'm 35 and was forced to quit when I got pregnant. I found that after breastfeeding and being smoke free for nearly 3 yrs I began craving again, especially since my mate was still chronic. (but totally functionally). I started again and now want to quit again. Life was so much better without it! I found this amazing natural remedy for the horrible insomnia that I get from quiting, it's called Passion Flower. It comes in several forms but I use the liquid and it's really quite amazing. It's made quiting easier than ever. I still suffer from wanting to put something to my lips and smoke it (insert joke here :-). I even bought herbal Smokes to help with that urge to inhale something, but they are so gross and if I'm really meant to quit I have toget past that feeling without aid. It does pass, I've done it before. Working out and eating super healthy seems to also help a lot. Good luck to everyone, remember how lucky we all are to be alive and healthy. 40,000 children die every day in this world from starvation.... And all we need to do is quit weed. Having some Perspective can sometimes make how we deal with our problems a lot easier.. Peace and blessings <3