80 days clean of weed

[biohack9]

This. You are 100% right.

It's why I think that some people, doctors, etc think there is no withdrawals/PAWS and it's all in our heads, because it IS! The drug metabolites leave the body in 30-90 days at the latest, but it's the effects on the brain and pathways that change that cause so many issues since the brain needs to learn how to do things without exogenous cannabinoids that hijack the ECS/anandamide. This doesn't happen over night, but due to neuroplasticity should hopefull rebalance to a level that is homeostatic.

We disrupted the natural homeostasis of the ECS by constantly bombarding it with THC and slew of other compounds, especially if you combusted/smoked it. It's amazing how much time can fly by when you get addicted to it, and you don't even think that there is anything wrong.

I honestly don't even think i'd enjoy the sensation again, but can't wait until these "mini episodes of being stoned" dissipate, and I start sleeping through the night again. That's the REAL drug and bliss...good healthy sober recovering sleep with proper sleep architecture.

This is also why THC withdrawals mirror other drugs including pharmaceuticals, it all just boils down to brain chemistry.

I don't know about all of you, but I want the BEST life possible, and not throw it away. With me?

[AnnaK]

Amen. I’ve given it up. I have daily opportunities to smoke it and I won’t. I’m looking forward to a natural high of feeling good. That takes work of course.

[SparkleFly12]

The brain takes a long time to readjust, thats fir sure. Its too bad we (humans) dont really understand thr brain yet. And yes sleep is the best medicine for everything in life. for a couple weeks last month I slept great and looked forward to each day. I cant wait to feel that again.

Thanks for your kind words @biohack and @anna. It is a really trying time for me and I should be cogniscent of that.

[biohack9]

The brain takes a long time to readjust, thats fir sure. Its too bad we (humans) dont really understand thr brain yet. And yes sleep is the best medicine for everything in life. for a couple weeks last month I slept great and looked forward to each day. I cant wait to feel that again.

Thanks for your kind words @biohack and @anna. It is a really trying time for me and I should be cogniscent of that.

Not only does nobody understand the brain, but ESPECIALLY in relation to THC/Cannabis, and ESPECIALLY with regards to recovery after long term usage. There is basically zero science as far as i'm concerned.

Just keep looking forward and don't look back. I know it's easy to say and common advise but you've made it SO far, and this is obviously a huge time for growth in your personal life. It's a massive challenge both with PAWS and your family circumstances, and this growth will prepare you for the even greater challenges which may lie ahead. You got this!

[AnnaK]

Thanks for the support biohack! I know one day there will be real warnings about cannabis. They just don’t know about it yet. When my mother was young it was considered cool to smoke cigarettes and they had asbestos in houses and lead in paint. All my doctors said weed is harmless all my friends said weed doesn’t cause withdrawal. It’s crazy what we don’t know.

[biohack9]

Today is a bad day again, after a pretty rough week. Headache, brain fog, low libido, and the depression has returned with a vengeance. Really sad today for no reason. And for the first time feeling depersonalization. This sucks.

So yeah that could be whyi feel so ahitty now.

This might be the reason you feel so shitty too:

But, I did try Kratom (another "safe" drug just like weed) a couple weeks ago; took too much; and got a really bad PAWS wave after it. So I wouldnt be surprised if some drugs do trigger paws waves.

I have a friend recovering from his Kratom use, and he said it's not fun. Stay away from ALL drugs is the best thing you can do, especially since you think CBD isn't wise for PAWS.

[AnnaK]

Kratom hasn’t been studied yet. I wouldn’t trust it or take it. It has caused seizures and psychosis and it binds to opioid receptors so it would be the same as using pharmaceuticals. The side effects can be severe. Yes, it’s a plant. It’s probably more harmful than cannabis. I won’t take a supplement without doing serious research. All these things are drugs and are potentially harmful. I once had my stomach pumped in the ER when I was 8 years old. My friends told me this plant was honeysuckle. It was nicotiana glauca. It causes cardiac arrest.

[SparkleFly12]

9.5 months, 283 days. Cant believe its been that long.

things are still up and down, but overall a lot better. But finally, the headaches have just about gone. They were the worst part of it all; starting day 1 and getting easier every few weeks; and finally FINALLY almost entirely gone. The headache was the single worst part of my long path. it was debilitating for 4 months, painful for another 3, annoying for 2, and finally finally minimal.

Had a new batch of symptoms start 3 weeks ago; caused most likely by very extreme stress. It was really the most stressful month of my life (family stress). Honestly; one reason I decided to quit regular smoking when I did was so I could be there for my family when this happened - I saw it coming a couple years ago and wanted to be able to be there 100% for my family in its time of need. I am so glad I was able to. Now that I have some time to think about it, I am really glad I was able to be there for them; without needing to go home to smoke at night.

I mentioned I did get a new batch of symptoms, they were headaches for a few days; and brain fog, bad dreams, poor sleep, night sweats, low libido, swolen lymph nofrd. I havent had some of these since month 3; although they were less intense now than they were initially. They are going away faster than they did initially; and so I think they are brought on by this stressful situation and not other things. I have turned to other crutches during this time thoguh so I cant be 100% positive its purely from stress (eating poorly and drinking on occasion; although drinking doesnt seem to affect paws for me). I also had some painful health problems (back injury) during this time that got me prescribed some muscle relaxants that may have had some sort of effect; they are not narcotic but are psycoactive; and also used Kratom once to see if it would help with the pain. Lots of variables but I think the biggest factor was the stress.

The new batch of symptoms are going away and I hope they will be gone soon. If these do go away...I will feel just about normal. And dear lord, I never thought I would be saying that over the past year. Ive been going through paws for over a year now; quit weed in August 2018; and smoked again in Feb 18 for 10 days straight which completely reset my paws back to day 1. Been clean since then except for a couple one-off occasions, 9.5 months. Its been one long, miserable 1 1/4 years.

Cheers all. Hope all is well in your lives

[AnnaK]

I’m glad you’re feeling better Sparkle. I am two weeks behind you in quitting that awful habit/addiction. I am feeling better at almost nine months clean. It’s time to have this baby and move on. I am NOT pregnant that was a joke! Over Thanksgiving I witnessed some friends trying to smoke weed, find weed, fiend for weed and they annoyed me. I hate the former me I was probably like that too. Ugh!
I enjoyed the holiday sober. They have weed candy trucks that drive around nyc delivering and it says they sell gummies by the pound. When I went to the grocery store the smell of cannabis overtook me in the parking lot. I’m glad I’m free from it. I don’t miss it at all. My memory and iq are returning. I find stoned people to be red eyed idiots haha! I’m having less headaches and I’m looking forward to next year being a better year for me without withdrawals. This year was pure crap and it was all my own fault. Don’t smoke pot kids, it doesn’t do anything good for you.

[SparkleFly12]

Glad yo hear it @Anna. haha I had the same thought about a baby, I feel like this was like pregnancy in reverse (terrible at the beginning and getting better as it goes). I probably put on as much weight as a pregnant woman, to be honest... Im just waiting to be symptom free too...its been a long wait but its getting close. I can taste it. I am feeling like my sleep problems at this point may be unrelated to PAWS. I did have sleep problems before I started smoking; its why I started in the first place many years ago. going to wait paws out a bit longer before seeing a doctor about it.

Had a sober thanksgiving here as well; as I usually do with my family. Just had a couple drinks last night with friends; but smoking weed hasnt even crossed my mind as a possibility; even though a lot of weed shops were open. I may even have some in my closet, I dont even bother checking.

[AnnaK]

Yes, it’s quite interesting that it took a human gestation period for me to heal. I also put on weight. I did it when I had PAWS because I’d get the shakes or I’d get hungry or bored or depressed or whatever and some days I didn’t do a lot. I’m active now and I also started smoking because of problems too. It wasn’t worth it. I have to work on health at this point and eating right and getting exercise. Hiding with a bong toke just wasn’t the right answer.

[akidual]

Hey @SparkleFly12 I'm glad you're doing better and that the headaches subsided.
So your swollen lymph nodes went away?
I've just recently had another one pop up under my right jaw and it sent me into a bad wave of symptoms, anxiety and panic. I was just having a couple of good days too and then bam I feel that swollen lymph node and I freak out. Thank you for the posts and updates, reading your journey is the only hope I have that maybe the lymph nodes will go down in swelling as more time goes by. It's been really hard trying to stay hopeful.

[SparkleFly12]

Hi @akidual, my lymph nodes are still swolen but very slightly. They had almost gone away, but i had a wave of symptoms come back recently, swolen lymph nkdes were one of them. They have since gotten betterand are not very noticeable now. It seems to be worse when I dont sleep well, and I havent the past cpuple weeks too.

Hope they do feel better, when I first quit they were really swollen

[leavepawsbehind]

I had swollen lymph nodes on and off between months 6 and 12. They were in my neck, but some in my arm pits were also swollen a couple of times. Haven't experienced them again since last year. They were really worrisome as I've never experienced swollen lymph nodes before.

[SparkleFly12]

just over 9.5 months, it seems most symptoms are gone!

I still have low libido; swollen lymph nodes; but both of these are decreasing in intensity, and some days nonexistent.

The strange thing is that since I went through a stressful time last month (which brought back a lot of PAWS symptoms) I have not been able to sleep well. All the other symptoms that came back have gone away; but I now have trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep. I also have moderate anxiety; not sure if it is caused by the lack of sleep or if it is causing the lack of sleep.

Just glad the headaches are gone though. That was seriously the worst part for me.

Cheers all.