Quitting weed after 13 years.

**Posts:** 34 · by **Thracian** » Fri Mar 03, 2017 3:18 am

Hopefully for good this time. Hi everyone . I found out about this forum through google searches struggling through my addiction and withdrawals. I figured I could come in and post here to get advice and support from those who has quit successfully. Reading these forums has helped me so much,so I hope to help someone one day as well.

Here is my story. I first started smoking weed when I was 15. The first time I got stoned I fell in love with weed and thought to myself why isnt this legal and alcohol is? I didnt really start abusing weed until I was about 20-21. I would go through months/weeks of everyday use,stop then go back to using it again. During these years I knew I was addicted to the feeling of smoking weed and I tried to stop many times but I failed. I told myself I can stop anytime.When I did,i would only stop for a few weeks then go back to it again. Each time I went back to smoking weed my habit got strong and stronger. I started buying more,looking for it all the time and thinking of getting stoned all the time. Most of my life has been a blur,I do not have a clear memory of all the years I have been smoking . I have lost very meaningful relationships with loving girfriends because of weed. They saw a good side of me,but they always told me that weed doesnt make me better and it actually makes me more aggresive.

The thing about weed is,you THINK you need it to improve your life and personality.This is the delusion of marijuana.But it is the complete opposite,when you smoke weed you numb your real emotions and it isnt the illusion. So I never learned to cope with my emotions. Here I am at 28 and I feel like a teenager still. Anyway.I have always been athletic throughout my whole life,so I stay in shape throughout the year and eat very healthy. I thought weed would be a part of my life,just like working out and eating healthy. I have attempted to quit weed so many times I've lost count.This is when you KNOW when you are an addict. You know deep inside you want to stop,but you cant.The plant has full control of you and sadly this is the problem millions of stoners are facing but they are in denial. The longest Ive stopped was 9 months,even then I was struggling mentally and emotionally . I gave into eating edibles after 9 months and everything went down hill.I started using everyday again and then I was dumped by my girlfriend of 3 years,which made things worse.

To cut the story short,I've smoked weed everyday for over 2 years since my breakup. I was severely depressed because my girlfriend left me and my habit just picked up from there. I've gone 2 years of smoking everyday,maybe I had a day here and there when I couldnt get it but my life depended on it. I would smoke all day everyday. I did everything stoned. Workout stoned,go to the beach stoned,have sex stoned. I knew I had a problem and I knew I had to quit. Well here I am.3 weeks clean today,I stopped cold Turkey .Here are some Withdrawals Ive noticed.

-Anxiety
-Sleep problems
-Severe mood swings (from happy to angry or sad )
-breakdowns
-severe lash of anger for at people for no reason
-getting mad at strangers in my mind for no reason
-depersonalization (fish bowl effect)
-Hopelessness
-Forgetfulness
-Loss of Libido
-Loss of concentration
-Vivid dreams
-Feel extremely slow
-Slight headaches
-Night sweats

Since Im an athlete and workout everyday,I believe my detox is going well because im sleeping 6-8 hours a night.Third week my sleep started getting better.However Im using 5htp to go to sleep everynight and I believe it is helping me alot. Im suprised my sleep is this well actually,it may be the fact that I have new 9-5 job and I get up early then workout like a horse at night and exhaust myself,combined with 5htp I can get some decent sleep.

Here some pros of quiting.

-Actual enjoyment of doing daily things
-Have more time to do things
-I have days where everything is going great and Im happy
-More clarity of mind
-Enjoying music and working out once again
-Started to engaging in more conversations with random people or strangers
-My face is starting to look better and gaining its glow back.
-Im getting in really good physical shape.

What Im really worried about is the mood swings,I feel like I have caused permanent brain damage. I have days where everything is amazing,then all of a sudden my life is miserable and Im hopeless. Then Some days I wake up angry as **** at the the whole world and hate everyone. I know this is life where not everyday is great,but the hopeless can be pretty freaking bad. Id lash out my mom for no reason. Ive had a few breakdowns where i felt suicidal but they were quick to pass by. Crying actually made me feel better.

Im going to remain strong no matter what and never touch that sh** again because it has ruined my life and my full potential of what im capable of . Thanks to a loving family,I am not homeless and I have a decent job now. I would like some feedback on those who has quit weed for good,like a few years. The loss of concentration and mental fog is worrying me,but im not going to hop on meds that pretty much poison and just have numbing effects. I can do this with mental determination and physical exercise.I also seem to stutter and cant put my words together like I used to. I feel retarded at times but I know my mind is rewiring itself and I hope to God it will get better.

Well there is my story,I hope someone can read this and not make the same mistakes as I did. It has cost me thousands of dollars in the courthouse and lost women I loved. Weed is a drug,just like any other drug,it may not kill you but it will steal your life away from you.There is life outside of weed,they are billions of people who do not smoke weed and they are happy. Weed is not God given.If it was God given it wouldnt cause fear or paranoia or delusional thoughts. I have nothing against trying it to expand your mind,that would be a limited use of maybe less than 10 times. We all know what happens when you try to use weed to expand your mind.People like me get hooked and get stop using it. Those who say weed isnt addicting,well it sure hell is.

**Posts:** 101 · by **DaWickerMan777** » Fri Mar 03, 2017 3:45 am

Thracian-

What a struggle, and a great post may I add. I feel you man. It's not until you've lost everything that you gain legitimate perspective on your life.

I used weed because I loved it. Always felt like a vacation, music sounded amazing. Well, that was the beginning. i eventually turned into a numb, emotionless stoned drone.

I'm exactly a month into my quit. This is extremely cliched advice but I always hear one day at a time. I've read many inspiring success stories where people, even at their lowest of the low, didn't give up, and look back on these dark times as a kind of life test.

I firmly believe time will rewire your brain, as it is rewiring mine. i have highs and lows. Some days, I feel like Rocky and believe I can overcome anything.

Today, I could hardly sleep, and when I did, I dreamt about getting stoned. I felt like crap all day. My emotions are still all over the place- last night, I cried myself to a pathetic sleep.

This is extremely difficult but there IS a light at the end of the tunnel, I absolutely believe it, because I've seen others who have quit long term. I have a close friend who did every drug in the book- "too many" according to him- but he successfully quit years ago, and his mental abilities nowadays are astounding.

Don't give up. Even on the darkest days, dig deep. If there's nothing there, dig deeper.

**Posts:** 161 · by **Soberchic** » Fri Mar 03, 2017 4:30 am

Hey i just got 6mo. And im still having sleep disturbances..it takes be awhile to go to sleep..I also belong to AA due to other addictions not just weed. Meetings help with my emotional and mental state. What is 5htp?? I keep hearing about it but i dont eant to get use to anything. I know the body takes a year or more to recover from any substance.keep it in the day..

**Posts:** 248 · by **cleanofgreen** » Fri Mar 03, 2017 9:12 am

Welcome to the forum Thracian,

You seem to be on the right track, I know it is tough but stick with it and the results will amaze you later on.
Good luck on the quit.

**Posts:** 34 · by **Thracian** » Fri Mar 03, 2017 12:46 pm

Soberchic wrote:Hey i just got 6mo. And im still having sleep disturbances..it takes be awhile to go to sleep..I also belong to AA due to other addictions not just weed. Meetings help with my emotional and mental state. What is 5htp?? I keep hearing about it but i dont eant to get use to anything. I know the body takes a year or more to recover from any substance.keep it in the day..

I agree talking with people will help with your emotional state .I highly recommend for you to workout on a regular basis if you don't already .

5-HTP (5-Hydroxytryptophan) is a chemical by-product of the protein building block L-tryptophan. It is also produced commercially from the seeds of an African plant known as Griffonia simplicifolia 5-HTP is used for sleep disorders such as insomnia, depression, anxiety, migraine and tension-type headaches, fibromyalgia, obesity, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), seizure disorder, and Parkinson's disease..

How does it work?

5-HTP works in the brain and central nervous system by increasing the production of the chemical serotonin. Serotonin can affect sleep, appetite, temperature, sexual behavior, and pain sensation. Since 5-HTP increases the synthesis of serotonin, it is used for several diseases where serotonin is believed to play an important role including depression, insomnia, obesity, and many other conditions.

L-tryptophan is a natural occurring substance found in Turkey as well .Thats why there is a saying that eating turkey makes you sleepy because of its high l-Tryptophan content . I don't want to get used to anything either but at this point a little bit of natural help wouldn't hurT.The first time I took it not only did it relax me and make me sleepy but it made me happy too .I only take it before bed .I also red tyrosine helps so I'm going to get my hands on that too .I had a struggle sleeping tonight I woke up at 4 30 and tossed and turned around until 7 30.

**Posts:** 1 · by **jodie0396** » Fri Mar 03, 2017 1:45 pm

your post has just made me feel less alone . Thankyou

**Posts:** 161 · by **Soberchic** » Fri Mar 03, 2017 2:24 pm

Thank you Thracian i struggle with alot of the symptoms you mentioned...i think im gonna get myself some

**Posts:** 2 · by **Jeuwnah** » Fri Mar 03, 2017 5:18 pm

You should also take L-tyrosine, which is the precursor to dopamine, if you use 5-htp. .

When your 5-htp intake is too high, the surplus of serotonin will be disposed off. Unfortunately serotonin is tied to dopamine.
Your body makes no distinction between the two. This means that taking too much 5-htp will result in a shortage of dopamine.

For every 50 mg 5-htp you take, you should take 500 mg l-tyrosine. Also dont take both at the same time, only so much can pass the brain-blood barrier. Taking them at the same means you might still get an uneven amount to your brain.

**Posts:** 34 · by **Thracian** » Fri Mar 03, 2017 6:47 pm

Hmm I've been taking 300-400 mg 5htp a night .Should I lower the dose ? Is the morning time good time to take the tyrosine ?

**Posts:** 208 · by **Bagobones** » Fri Mar 03, 2017 6:50 pm

Jeuwnah wrote:For every 50 mg 5-htp you take, you should take 500 mg l-tyrosine.

Very interesting post Jeuwnah. I have l-tyrosine 500 mg pills, and 5-htp 100 mg pills off ebay, on order..
Where have you come across this information? I have also read that its best to start 5-htp with 50 mg and go up to 100 mg? Do you know anything about that?

**Posts:** 47 · by **bluey105** » Fri Mar 03, 2017 9:22 pm

I've stopped smoking after about 17 years and am at the 3 week stage as well. I'm going through the same as you and my moods are a bit up and down, one minute very up and the next day very low. I can't sleep at all and it is getting a bit too much.

**Posts:** 34 · by **Thracian** » Sat Mar 04, 2017 3:52 pm

bluey105 wrote:I've stopped smoking after about 17 years and am at the 3 week stage as well. I'm going through the same as you and my moods are a bit up and down, one minute very up and the next day very low. I can't sleep at all and it is getting a bit too much.

After the third week mark I've seen to struggle with deep sleep as well .Im tossing and turning all night .But I do not feel tired when I wake up .

**Posts:** 47 · by **bluey105** » Sat Mar 04, 2017 7:53 pm

Last night I kept waking up every couple of hours but felt a lot more rested than I have done recently. I lifted weights in the gym for 2 hours today and got up at 7am.

One positive that I have noticed so far is that my libido has actually increased and i am beginning to feel a little more confident. I've also been spending the money I would normally spend on weed on myself...it is so much better!

**Posts:** 47 · by **bluey105** » Sat Mar 04, 2017 7:55 pm

I've been using the app Headspace and it is slowly helping.

**Posts:** 2 · by **Jeuwnah** » Wed Mar 08, 2017 1:22 pm

Bagobones wrote:
Jeuwnah wrote:For every 50 mg 5-htp you take, you should take 500 mg l-tyrosine.

Very interesting post Jeuwnah. I have l-tyrosine 500 mg pills, and 5-htp 100 mg pills off ebay, on order..
Where have you come across this information? I have also read that its best to start 5-htp with 50 mg and go up to 100 mg? Do you know anything about that?[/quote

Unfortunately the acticle that i read about it is in dutch( my native language). If you search "5htp l-tyrosine" in google, you wil come across an article on criticalmas . com
(I cant posts links)

The reason that i know i because i used to go to a lot of rave parties, i used 5htp to refill my serotonin afterwards. I didnt take l-tyrosine at the time. I started to notice that despite using 5htp, i still felt pretty bad, but in a different way even when i used 150 mg. When i looked up why it didnt work as well anymore i came across an article by chance that explained that you might suffer from dopamine shortage if you overuse 5htp.

My situation quickly normalized after started taking l-tyrosine aswell

Quitting weed after 13 years.

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