Hello all, just wanted to introduce myself and say thanks for a great message board.
I came across this site a week ago while searching for advice and help on how to quit pot. I read through just about every post on this board and was quite inspired to see some people really do manage to quit after such a long time. I smoked my last joint while reading and now i've been seven days clean.
Although it's been fairly easy so far i expect it will get harder as time goes on. I'm not sure how well i will cope with my emotions without the dope to numb them down - especially when it comes to pmt or anything stressful happening. My temper has already flared a couple of times.
I've been smoking every day for over 12 years now, about an oz per month, and was fairly happy living in that little carefree bubble. Facing reality on a permanent basis is pretty scary but i owe it to myself to try my best. I'm just taking it one day at a time and looking at trying some new hobbies and being a bit more sociable to take my mind off things.
Anyhow thanks all for the initial inspiration - and hopefully this won't be the last post you see from me :)
Good luck to all you who are trying!!
Hey Trying, welcome to the board! Let me know if I can help. Allow me to suggest an acronym that might be helpful to you as you adjust to living without the pot in your system: HALT. Try to avoid getting too:
Hungry;
Angry;
Lonely; or
Tired
Whenever we find ourselves in one of these states, the natural impulse is to seek relief through pot. If we can avoid these conditions, it increases the odds of our seeing through with our initial commitment.
Good luck, let us know how you are doing.
August
Hungry;
Angry;
Lonely; or
Tired
Whenever we find ourselves in one of these states, the natural impulse is to seek relief through pot. If we can avoid these conditions, it increases the odds of our seeing through with our initial commitment.
Good luck, let us know how you are doing.
August
thanks August for your advice, i will certainly bear it in mind. I'm making extra effort to look after myself and am hoping this will help :)
i haven't smoked again today and have to say that dealing with clients was almost enjoyable, rather than the usual horrible mess of trying to hold my act together and pretend to be professional..
the more unpleasant side of things is nausea, headaches and a sore neck which i think are down to me being less relaxed than usual. i'm hoping that will settle down in time - is this fairly common?
the other thing is i have a question. it's probably one with no easy or correct answer but any comments from anyone would be appreciated. i've suffered from bouts of depression over the years (surely not helped by pot smoking!) and am currently on antidepressants. i have a fairly good relationship with my doctor and am considering admitting my pot smoking history to her. Partly this would be to help me face up to it, and partly because it might give her a better insight into my situation and how to help me get past the depression. Pot has been a major coping method for me over the years and I need to find some new and healthier ones.
i have two concerns. the first is that employers may in future ask to see my medical history (i'm in the UK and though it's not overly common it's certainly possible). I'm fairly prepared to take this risk. The second concern is the one that's bothering me. I don't know whether she's just going to say "well what do you expect if you smoked pot like that?!" and take away the antidepressants now that i'm off pot. In honesty i don't think i could cope without them right now - they've stabilised my moods and given me the freedom to think about my future. In fact without them i probably wouldn't even have considered quitting.
has anyone admitted this to their doctor? and what kind of response did you get? or any other thoughts on the idea would be welcome.
thanks in advance and best wishes to all x.
i haven't smoked again today and have to say that dealing with clients was almost enjoyable, rather than the usual horrible mess of trying to hold my act together and pretend to be professional..
the more unpleasant side of things is nausea, headaches and a sore neck which i think are down to me being less relaxed than usual. i'm hoping that will settle down in time - is this fairly common?
the other thing is i have a question. it's probably one with no easy or correct answer but any comments from anyone would be appreciated. i've suffered from bouts of depression over the years (surely not helped by pot smoking!) and am currently on antidepressants. i have a fairly good relationship with my doctor and am considering admitting my pot smoking history to her. Partly this would be to help me face up to it, and partly because it might give her a better insight into my situation and how to help me get past the depression. Pot has been a major coping method for me over the years and I need to find some new and healthier ones.
i have two concerns. the first is that employers may in future ask to see my medical history (i'm in the UK and though it's not overly common it's certainly possible). I'm fairly prepared to take this risk. The second concern is the one that's bothering me. I don't know whether she's just going to say "well what do you expect if you smoked pot like that?!" and take away the antidepressants now that i'm off pot. In honesty i don't think i could cope without them right now - they've stabilised my moods and given me the freedom to think about my future. In fact without them i probably wouldn't even have considered quitting.
has anyone admitted this to their doctor? and what kind of response did you get? or any other thoughts on the idea would be welcome.
thanks in advance and best wishes to all x.
Trying, I made a long post to Rubie just yesterday about depression and its relationship to our pot smoking. If you care to wade through that post, you can get an idea of the potential connections there.
I am writing from the US, and we have different laws here. Also there may be some different cultural issues at play.
I am downright paranoid that my addiciton issues could be documented by insurance companies. Nonetheless, I have always been extremely forthright with my doctors. I tell them straight up that I consider myself to be a recovering drug addict and that I am extremely concerned about how all medications impact my addictive issues This was huge when I was diagnosed with cancer, and I even went so far as to recount an inventory of all the drugs I had taken in my life to give the oncologist a full picture of my drug history.
I always request that my doctors not include this information in my medical records because I am concerned that it could have professional repercussions for me. No doctor has ever violated this request. In the US doctors and patients often seem to view the insurance companies as the common enemy :-)
All of my doctors have cooperated with me fully and have bent over backwards to help me whenever they could. I think they like having an honest patient. My experience is that they will do what they can to help you, unless it involves something that violates their ethics (like prescribing pain pills to an addict).
I have nothing specific to offer as to the use of anti depressants because luckily, I have managed to address my depression in other ways. I wrote about that a bit in my note to rubie.
Good luck, keep up the good work!
August
I am writing from the US, and we have different laws here. Also there may be some different cultural issues at play.
I am downright paranoid that my addiciton issues could be documented by insurance companies. Nonetheless, I have always been extremely forthright with my doctors. I tell them straight up that I consider myself to be a recovering drug addict and that I am extremely concerned about how all medications impact my addictive issues This was huge when I was diagnosed with cancer, and I even went so far as to recount an inventory of all the drugs I had taken in my life to give the oncologist a full picture of my drug history.
I always request that my doctors not include this information in my medical records because I am concerned that it could have professional repercussions for me. No doctor has ever violated this request. In the US doctors and patients often seem to view the insurance companies as the common enemy :-)
All of my doctors have cooperated with me fully and have bent over backwards to help me whenever they could. I think they like having an honest patient. My experience is that they will do what they can to help you, unless it involves something that violates their ethics (like prescribing pain pills to an addict).
I have nothing specific to offer as to the use of anti depressants because luckily, I have managed to address my depression in other ways. I wrote about that a bit in my note to rubie.
Good luck, keep up the good work!
August
hey all, just wanted to say i'm still clean!! and i've even managed to sort out a major life problem that's been haunting me for months, almost by mistake.
it seems to be that though some things are much harder when sober, some things are also much much easier :)
anyway i just wanted to put it down in black and white that i'm still clean, 14 days now.. just so i can see it written down for real!
Best wishes to all x.
it seems to be that though some things are much harder when sober, some things are also much much easier :)
anyway i just wanted to put it down in black and white that i'm still clean, 14 days now.. just so i can see it written down for real!
Best wishes to all x.
Hey, trying, keep up the good work!
August
August
Still not smoked but having a very annoying evening here. I don't really anticipate people will have much advice for me on this one but this is what's happening..
I think i must be a bit tense or something, this touching/tapping/blinking thing has started up that i don't remember doing since i was a kid. I can't explain it much other than every time i notice a part of my body touch something i have to touch it with the opposite body part (ie the other hand/foot/arm etc). Then i have to touch them both again to make it an even number, and if i haven't touched them both in EXACTLY the same manner i have to try and balance it by doing it again more perfectly. Then i have to continue till i hit an even number that feels right, like four, ten, twenty, twenty-four etc.
unfortunately it's impossible not to touch things, and it's even happening if i brush one part of my body against another.. ie thumb against finger/arm against torso! It feels like my mind has just got stuck on it and is winding itself up.
this is something i did quite a lot as a child but haven't even thought about in my adult life. i'm not sure if this is my mind getting bored or anxious and playing tricks on me or whether it's some sort of compulsion that's been masked by marijuana.
i guess i'll just have to wait and see how it plays out, if i don't drive myself crazy meanwhile..
does this sound like marijuana cravings going into overdrive or am i just being weird?!?
I think i must be a bit tense or something, this touching/tapping/blinking thing has started up that i don't remember doing since i was a kid. I can't explain it much other than every time i notice a part of my body touch something i have to touch it with the opposite body part (ie the other hand/foot/arm etc). Then i have to touch them both again to make it an even number, and if i haven't touched them both in EXACTLY the same manner i have to try and balance it by doing it again more perfectly. Then i have to continue till i hit an even number that feels right, like four, ten, twenty, twenty-four etc.
unfortunately it's impossible not to touch things, and it's even happening if i brush one part of my body against another.. ie thumb against finger/arm against torso! It feels like my mind has just got stuck on it and is winding itself up.
this is something i did quite a lot as a child but haven't even thought about in my adult life. i'm not sure if this is my mind getting bored or anxious and playing tricks on me or whether it's some sort of compulsion that's been masked by marijuana.
i guess i'll just have to wait and see how it plays out, if i don't drive myself crazy meanwhile..
does this sound like marijuana cravings going into overdrive or am i just being weird?!?
Trying, what you are describing sounds fairly intrinsic to your personality makeup. Good for you for recognizing that this may be very old behaviour that has been masked by the pot for a number of years. I am not qualified to address the underlying causes of this issue. As a layman, I wonder if this is not an effort of your inner self to regain some semblance of control over a world that is coming through in an amplified manner now that the drugs are clearing out of your system? If that is the case, your brain may eventually adapt to the new information stream and as this happens the behaviour would then slowly subside.
Another alternative is that you may have a low grade obsessive compulsive thing going on here, and it is coming to the fore now that the drugs are purging out of your system.
The really smart money on this one would be to talk to a mental health professional, ie a psychiatrist or a therapist, who is well versed in addiction issues. They would certainly be able to give you a more accurate read on this than me or anyone else on this board.
Hang in there, stay clean!
August
Another alternative is that you may have a low grade obsessive compulsive thing going on here, and it is coming to the fore now that the drugs are purging out of your system.
The really smart money on this one would be to talk to a mental health professional, ie a psychiatrist or a therapist, who is well versed in addiction issues. They would certainly be able to give you a more accurate read on this than me or anyone else on this board.
Hang in there, stay clean!
August
Trying,
I just wanted to write in and let you know that I experienced the EXACT same thing that you did as a child. I was trying to explain it to my husband before, this weird tick or obsession that I had, but he couldn't quite understand. You explained it perfectly! We were discussiong all the habits we had quit without really thinking about it and I was trying to tell him this one. I started jumpin up and down when I read your post and I had to make him read it because I was so happy someone else did this to. Today is my first day clean and I wonder if its going to come back for me. This is actaully really interesting. I'd love to know how your doing. I'm not sure why but it feels so good to know I'm not alone. Thanks Trying for sharing !
Me
I just wanted to write in and let you know that I experienced the EXACT same thing that you did as a child. I was trying to explain it to my husband before, this weird tick or obsession that I had, but he couldn't quite understand. You explained it perfectly! We were discussiong all the habits we had quit without really thinking about it and I was trying to tell him this one. I started jumpin up and down when I read your post and I had to make him read it because I was so happy someone else did this to. Today is my first day clean and I wonder if its going to come back for me. This is actaully really interesting. I'd love to know how your doing. I'm not sure why but it feels so good to know I'm not alone. Thanks Trying for sharing !
Me
Hey there AndEverythingAfter, good to hear from you..
and good to hear i'm not the only 'weird' one!! i'm just turning in for bed since it's going to be a long day tomorrow (what with it being new year's eve and all) so won't post a long one now..
the tapping/blinking/touching thing did thankfully subside after a few days and hopefully won't bother me too much more. in the end i tried to laugh about it rather than let it annoy me.. not sure if that made any difference to it or not but anyhows it seems to have gone again as swiftly as it came :)
good on you for getting through day one - the first few days were the hardest for me. I'm doing well, thanks for asking :) I'm on day 30 now which is the longest i've been without a smoke in over twelve years!
I think acquiring a kitten has also helped distract me fairly well - she's hard to ignore! and generally am feeling hugely more positive about life. giving up has been the best thing i've ever done for my state of mind. i feel better now than i have done for maybe six years. i wake up in the morning feeling positive and have the energy to get a full day's work done without feeling dead at the end of it. plus i'm really proud of myself for having the strength to fight back against the dope.
hope you carry on the good work (and hope i do too!!)
here's to a good new year for all without the demons following us in.
keep us updated how you're getting on.. and especially if you start up any weird tics again ;)
i look forward to hearing x.
and good to hear i'm not the only 'weird' one!! i'm just turning in for bed since it's going to be a long day tomorrow (what with it being new year's eve and all) so won't post a long one now..
the tapping/blinking/touching thing did thankfully subside after a few days and hopefully won't bother me too much more. in the end i tried to laugh about it rather than let it annoy me.. not sure if that made any difference to it or not but anyhows it seems to have gone again as swiftly as it came :)
good on you for getting through day one - the first few days were the hardest for me. I'm doing well, thanks for asking :) I'm on day 30 now which is the longest i've been without a smoke in over twelve years!
I think acquiring a kitten has also helped distract me fairly well - she's hard to ignore! and generally am feeling hugely more positive about life. giving up has been the best thing i've ever done for my state of mind. i feel better now than i have done for maybe six years. i wake up in the morning feeling positive and have the energy to get a full day's work done without feeling dead at the end of it. plus i'm really proud of myself for having the strength to fight back against the dope.
hope you carry on the good work (and hope i do too!!)
here's to a good new year for all without the demons following us in.
keep us updated how you're getting on.. and especially if you start up any weird tics again ;)
i look forward to hearing x.
Trying,
First I have to pat you on the back for doing so well! Next I hope you weren't offended by my earlier post. Don't have alot of time to write now but I'll reply again tommorrow. Things are going good right now cause I'm workin alot but well see how it goes. Thanks for your time,
Me
First I have to pat you on the back for doing so well! Next I hope you weren't offended by my earlier post. Don't have alot of time to write now but I'll reply again tommorrow. Things are going good right now cause I'm workin alot but well see how it goes. Thanks for your time,
Me
Trying,
might be a little obsessive/compulsive settng in or Tourettes manifesting itelf. Might want to search the web for the symptoms and study about the syndromes a bit. Information is readily available and accessible.
Congrats on your sobriety.
might be a little obsessive/compulsive settng in or Tourettes manifesting itelf. Might want to search the web for the symptoms and study about the syndromes a bit. Information is readily available and accessible.
Congrats on your sobriety.
Hello again AEA and bob, thanks for your posts. and no i wasn't offended one bit AEA.. it was good to hear i'm not the only one who does that sort of thing!
i suspect it is a bit of an obsessive compulsive thing and i did have a little look on the web for info on it. the best suggestions seemed to be just to try and distract myself and ignore it where possible, and that seems to have put it to bed for the moment. it's not been anywhere near as compulsive as when i was a kid thankfully.
i'm still sober but the initial euphoria has worn off a bit and i've been dog tired the last couple of days.. and haven't left my house all weekend. i know that smoking again would just make me even more inactive so i'm determined not to. The trouble is after 12 years of solid smoking i have a very small circle of friends and interests.. plus i've stayed away from my friends who smoke as i know it wouldn't be good for me to see them. they're more smoking mates than great friends anyway and they always want to get high on cocaine or booze or ecstacy too which i very easily say yes to :(
so now i'm doing okay on the sober aspect but need to build the rest of my life back up so i don't get bored stupid and go back to it. i think it's going to be a longer road than i'd hoped and wish i had the euphoria back!!
anyway AEA i'm interested to hear how you're going on with things now?
i suspect it is a bit of an obsessive compulsive thing and i did have a little look on the web for info on it. the best suggestions seemed to be just to try and distract myself and ignore it where possible, and that seems to have put it to bed for the moment. it's not been anywhere near as compulsive as when i was a kid thankfully.
i'm still sober but the initial euphoria has worn off a bit and i've been dog tired the last couple of days.. and haven't left my house all weekend. i know that smoking again would just make me even more inactive so i'm determined not to. The trouble is after 12 years of solid smoking i have a very small circle of friends and interests.. plus i've stayed away from my friends who smoke as i know it wouldn't be good for me to see them. they're more smoking mates than great friends anyway and they always want to get high on cocaine or booze or ecstacy too which i very easily say yes to :(
so now i'm doing okay on the sober aspect but need to build the rest of my life back up so i don't get bored stupid and go back to it. i think it's going to be a longer road than i'd hoped and wish i had the euphoria back!!
anyway AEA i'm interested to hear how you're going on with things now?
After one month it seemed to get better. I was on Wellbutrin as well and quit taking that. I am ok so far. I am not worried about either one messing with my ability to think clearly. I am not worried about looking like I am keeping my act together. I am noticing that I am able to retain information better. I did not have the courage to tell my doctor that I was a pot smoker. I don't think she would be that understanding and it could hurt me professionally
