Marijuana addiction-withdrawal

Shaz86 wrote:I have been addicted to weed since i was 17/18 i am now 24, started out a social event but when my mother passed away when i was 18 i found it unbearable to live, my only bit of light at the end of that dark gloomy tunnel was smoking weed,I have tried numerous times to quit but failed miserably

This time i am determined to do it but after 2 weeks i feel no better in fact i feel worse all them painful memories i papered over have returned, I understand it will take time but how long?? will things actually get better or am i wasting my time trying?

wasblazzng420"
Hey guys, I have not smoked green in 3 months and 5 days today.

I don't know why but im having a difficult time dealing with it sometimes I stress out about thinking if I will be able to sleep fine and I know it only makes it worse but I cant help it. I know insomnia is one of the withdraw symptoms but I thought that was only through the early stages of quitting so I thought about asking if anyone has experienced the same issue.

I feel like if I start to smoke again then maybe I wont have this issue anymore I hate it. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

heavilylost wrote:
I still get the feeling that my head is still cloudy, and feel tired maybe because of a days work. After smoking it for 9 years how long should it be to get a clear head again does anybody have any answers. 4-6 weeks??

And what about the brain re-wiring i heard thats 6 months to a year??
How long was it before you felt totally normal again??

biggiesize wrote:Re: Will my brain get better?Getting frustrated after 4 months

Mon Nov 17, 2008 4:03 pm

Hi again everyone.Im sorry to keep going on about this same topic,but its really the biggest obstacle to my recovery.As I stated earlier,I stopped smoking weed on the first of July of this year.Its been 4 and a half months.But what is worrying me is my brain.It seems like its trying to recover.I notice improvements every few weeks but Im terrified that my brain will not totally heal.

Has anyone else taken a very long time for your brain to recover.I notice on some other posts that people experienced a breakthrough after about the 6 month.Is there hope that I will experince it too?Its getting depressing.All I want to do is be normal again.I remember life before weed.I didnt start smoking until I was 26 years old.It was the dumbest decision of my life.So I remember 26 years of how my brain felt without marijuana and I just want to get back to that.

biggiesize wrote:Thanks everyone.You are all aright.No matter how much I wish i would have never went down that path,the fact is that I did and I can change that.But like you all said,I can be glad that it didnt go on so long that it ruined my life.Im going to enjoy the rest of my life.

Im slowly seeing improvement everyday and that is helping alot!If I could just get these dang headaches to stop!lol.But once again,thanks to you all.

biggiesize wrote:Sat Nov 22, 2008 9:01 am

Hey everyone.i just want to Say thanks for all the advice on just enjoying where I am in life now.I was so busy every second of everyday waiting for the smallest change to occur in my head recovering that I wasnt enjoying life.After you all gave me the advice earlier in the week to just enjoy the moment im in now,

I started doing it that day and i swear that its been the best week i have had since I started smoking weed.Thanks to all of you for the help and advice.I saw an immediate difference after I started doing things that I enjoyed again instead of sitting there feeling scared that I had screwed my head up for good!

biggiesize wrote:Mon Dec 01, 2008 9:03 am

Just wanted to update everyone and let them know that My vision has cleared up 100 percent!My brain is almost totally recovered!I started using fish oil pills and it has helped tremendously with my memory.

biggiesize wrote:Re: 8 months clean.My recovery story.

Wed Mar 04, 2009 9:07 am

Hello everyone.Its been awhile since I posted anything but I thought today would be a good time for me to post as I celebrate 8 months clean.I remember the day that I stopped,8 months was one of the milestones that I thought about.I wondered how I would feel after 3 months,after 8 months and after a year.Well,some of you may remember from my earlier posts that the first few months were very difficult for me.I have since learned that marijuana affects everyone differently.Some people can quit and be fine in a month,but some people like myself,have to go through a period of the brain restructuring itself.This can take months or even years depending on the drug used and how long it was used. as for me,after 4 months,I still had distorted vision,I couldnt concentrate,and my cognitive abilities were out of whack.However about 5 months into my recovery,I started noticing improvements.

I took the advice of some awesome people on here and added vitimins,fish oil and exercise to my life and now Im happy to say that after 8 months,its like I never had any issues at all!Some peoples recovery takes alot longer than others.The neurotransmitters in the brain will have to repair themselves and it can be a very frustrating time.But I promise you that if you hang in there,the hazy fog of confusion will lift and your life will be better than you ever imagined.I wish you all the continued success in your journey of a new life and I promise you that you will not regret it."In the world of addiction,being a quitter is a good thing".

biggiesize wrote:Hello spark121,

As I read your entry,I was taken back about 10 months ago now to when my recovery first started.Like i said in some of my threads,My head was in another world.My vision was distorted,I couldnt think straight or reason things out.It was like I was walking around in what seemed like a hazy fog for the first few months and slowly it began to get better.

As of today,I feel as normal as anyone could feel.There will be a time of restructuring for your brain.It will get frustrating,but I encourage you to hang in there because it will get better.Life is so much better when you arent looking through the fog of marijuana or any other substance of abuse.I hope that you will hang in there and give your brain time to heal. Sometimes,the days and minutes will go by so slowly.but after the fog lifts and all of the thc is out of your system,you will be glad that you broke the addiction of marijuana.

Good luck to you.

biggiesize wrote:Hi there B.I just wanted to tell you that it is very possible that the parts of your brain that control emotions could still be repairing itself.You see,marijuana maniuplates the pleasure sensors in the brain over time and they become inactive or weakened.thus when you stop using drugs,these sensors have nothing to stimulate them and it could be the cause of your depression.

I am living proof that the brain can heal itself the longer that you go without polluting your brain with drugs.i celebrate one year clean next week and my brain had finally recovered.It will take time for you brain to rewire itself and form new connections but it will happen.Hang in there.

biggiesize wrote:Re: One year weed free!Happy anniversary to me!

Well everyone.Tomorrow is my one year clean.I laid down weed and never looked back.I found an old cell phone a few weeks ago with pictures of my former stoner friends and myself doing what we did best.Some people look back on those times and feel reminiscent of days gone by. I,however, felt a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.I couldnt believe what my life had become.I was living in a tuna can sized trailer that really needed some cleaning.In these pictures I saw a person that thought he was having the time of his life.Now As I view life without marijuana clouding my mind,

I realize that im only beginning to have the time of my life.It was not easy to get here.I had struggles with my brain restructuring itself,but here I am.Set time frames for yourself on the road to recovery.When you reach one,give yourself a pat on the back.Or better yet,take the money that you have saved from not buying weed and buy yourself something.You will feel great.Good luck to everyone whos journey is just beginning and whos journey has already started.

biggiesize wrote:
Thu Jul 02, 2009 7:39 am

Hello all.

Thanks to you all for your kind words and congratulations.It was a long road but i finally got here.Flylots you were aking me to expound on the brain restructuring itself.I will explain it in the best terms I can as i am no Doctor.After the withdrawals subsided i thought it would be smooth sailing from there.I soon learned that I had months still ahead of me.I soon noticed that my vision was distorted,and my depth perception was out of whack.I couldnt reason things out and there were many cognitive issues that i had to deal with.

I began to panic thinking that I had fried my brain for good.I began to search the effects of thc on the brain.I learned that it affects the neorutransmitters in the brain and overstimulates them.Sometimes this can lead to them becoming inactive.It affects the memory area of the brain known as the hippocampus.It affects the cognitive area of the brain known as the cerebral cortex.

I soon learned that if given time the brain will rewire itself around the areas of the brain that connections had been lost.But it would take time.I had to be patient.I had severe headaches at times, pressure behind my eyes.It was terrible.But i was determined not to go back to weed.I just gave it time and soon notice that my brain was beginning to heal itself.It took about 8-9 months for me to begin to feel happiness again.You see the transmitters that sense pleasure in the brain had been dulled and needed time to heal.But after time,they started working again.So just hang in there and it will all work out.

biggiesize wrote:I noticed in your last response that you said that you had read some of my posts.I hope in some way that those gave you hope.It can be a scary thing wondering if you will ever be normal again.I know that you are at the 7 month mark,but I strongly urge you to hang in there.Marijuana affects everones brain wiring in a different way.It takes some alot longer to recover for some people that it does for others.You will eventually be 100 percent.Try adding some omega 3 to your diet.Its good for the brain.Most of all,dont spend every moment worrying yourself.Enjoy life and all it has to offer and eventually,you will find that the cloud has lifted and all is well.

biggiesize wrote:Re: almost 2 years quit! What a ride.

The end of next month will be 2 years since I divorced the evil weed that eventually chokes all enjoyment and pleasure out of life.Oh yes,its fun at first,and even for a few years after that.For some people its even fun for decades. I finally came to the realization that the fun had ended for me and all the joy had been sucked out of my life by this plant that slowly smothers and takes over your life.

At first quitting was a horrible nightmare for me.You can read some of my old posts and see that It took my brain quite awhile to recover.But now,almost 2 years later,I realize that the determination I had that monday morning to quit smoking and never look back was an overpowering force that kept driving me and telling me that life can be better than what I was living through a foggy haze.Im happy to report to you that life is a million times clearer and all the joy and happiness has returned to living.for everyone struggling,fight the good fight.

Reach down inside of yourself and find the determination that we all have to want whats best for ourselves and our loved ones.If you focus on your determination,you will beat it.Each minute will turn into a day,each day to a week,and each week into a year.Beat it one craving at a time and eventually as the time passes,you will be a better clear headed person.Good luck my friends. .