Interesting story...5months no weed.

In 2014 I was still smoking - and most of the symptoms of PAWs kind of dissappear when you are in your stoned bliss. However, my first quit in 2015 after 8 years of smoking were as follows:

Completely dysfunctional. Unable to socialise or communicate in any proper fashion despite previously being a fairly upbeat - conversational style person. Inability to think quickly or when I was able to - it wasn't in a clear linear fashion - it was all squashed and jumbled and I use to describe it as having some kind of blockade between my brain neurons or synapses. I guess the term 'fried egg' may have came from that kind of feeling of being completely inoperable.

- Speech was slow and things I said were deemed 'out there' or not based on topic/with flow of the conversation. This made me generally avoid conversation as I felt I did not have the ability to keep up especially with quick wit or banter.

- I had depersonalisation in the sense that I was never really there, I was just inside of myself operating this human vehicle as best as I could. I was fired within a month for every job I had and my human interaction was crap. I too would sometimes forget where I was or who I was. Sometimes I could close my eyes for a minute and while they were closed have no idea where I would be if I'd opened them.

Long term memory was fine - but short term memory wasn't great. I could easily forget very important dates, meetings or events that required attention. Everyone forgets things but this was beyond the scope of normal as instead of merely forgetting....it would be out of my mind completely as if i'd never knew about it in the first place, which was scary.

My first quit lasted 1.5 years and this second quit is about to enter the 10th month. All of the aforementioned symptoms have disappeared now with some introvert-like traits still lingering which I believe I have developed - in part due to this humbling experience - but also due to my experiences with people and human interactions which has led me to focus more inward than outward, which I am actually content with. I have found people find that trait about me different and interesting.

However, lack of concentration or an inability to focus is something that lingers around. I remember in my high school/college days being a bit all over the place and very energetic..but if it came down to a task i could focus that energy immensely and could completely zone in on what needed to be done. I am currently working and studying and I have to write alot of essays and revise alot. I end up writing a sentence then going on google to find a reference then end up on an unrelated website and spend 20 minutes on it completely forgetting I have an essay to write; this happens for revision also. It's a bit of a nightmare but when I think to the plethora of shitty symptoms I had..its hardly something to moan about. Some people have mentioned that it can take up to 2 years to fully recover entirely. So i believe concerntration - for me - could just be one of those things that comes back around and hones itself back into my psyche after not using MJ for 1.5 years or more and training myself to concerntrate better. Medication like adderall or something would be the last thing on planet earth i would take. F all that.

Any other Q's let me know bro

Peace

month 10 - still suffer from heart palpitations and odd bouts of physical anxiety (rarely accompanied by mental anxiety such as worrisome thoughts)
The most irritating PAWs symptom that lingers is heart palpitations that have lingered ever since my first panic attack. Being in a constant state of 'panic' which increases cortisol and adrenaline levels effects the hearts rhythm. When i stopped smoking cigarettes for 2 weeks (i just started again smh) they disappeared almost completely. I don't feel like I am in a constant sake of panic nor am I mentally troubled, I am still fairly chilled calm and collected but my body does feel anxious and panicky. This is signalled by heart palpitations, heavy breathing...and just a generaly bodily feeling of unease. I thought this stemmed from heart problems but I've had it checked and there isn't an issue...despite me believing there was.
I wish for higher mental sharpness which i believe can be trained and honed in on.

Hope every is well, message me if you have any questions

peace

i don't know much about cigarettes during PAWS but I do know that smoking hookah/sisha did set off a wave of PAWS just like alcohol and coffee does. the wave is different and not that obvious with hookah/sisha but very much there. So since cigs and hookah have a lot of common ingredients, they could be responsible for the PAWS symptoms being aggravated.

I’m 9 months clean and have heart palps all day every day since my first panic attacks cardiologist and drs say my hearts normal plz can you tell me if they ever will go away did your it’s the only symptom that is eating me up I used to get big ones now there medium and small but still bother me all through the day

In the same boat brother, still get heart palpitations almost everyday 2 years on from my first panic attack. I have been to multiple doctors and done multiple ECGs but of course as you know its all normal. I can say stay away from alcohol and anything that triggers ur palps. Lifting weights and playing sports helped my palps go away, especially gym. Actually a scientific study proved that lifting weights for less than an hour a week may reduce your risk for a heart attack or stroke by 40 to 70 percent, so really is good for the heart. I think there are so many CBD and THC receptors in the body that we have messed up with something to do with the way adrenaline is administered in the body, so we get these sudden or gradual prolonged secretions of adrenaline that give us the constant feeling of palpitations. They will disappear over time and are not permanent, you just have to deal with them for now. I spoke to a guy I knew from Berlin who is on the frontline of advancements in heart surgery and he told me, "trust me, dont worry about them, there is so many nerves around the heart, you'll know when there is a problem". Then he told he was taking some kind of prescription drug kinda like the 80s version of adderall and he had to keep increasing the doses to get the same effect and one day he had a massive panic attack and he heart palpitations for 2 years after then they went away. I can definetly say that 2 years into my quit which was march this year, 80% of the day i am free from palpitations and i usually get some mini episodes before bed which are very small and sometimes unoticeable. So i am almost heart palp free, which would be wonderful.

Thanks brother I love you man I really appreciate the feedback this is what I been trying to hear for a while god bless and thank you again

Interesting.. thanks for sharing! Good read up