Anxiety after mj

[slowmo77]

well as many of you know i had to stop smoking due to a few legal issues. since i've stopped smoking i've been having anxiety problems. i've been to my family doctor a couple of time and was told i have
GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) and have been place on 4 different perscription drugs. now i think this is crazy that it takes 4 meds to do the same thing that mj did as by its self. on top of that im spending 3x the amount of money on meds a month as i was on growing my own smoke. it just really makes me mad to know that because narrow minded people i have to spend money on things made to keep me down when i could feel better and have none of the side effects for a fraction of the cost. it just pisses me off. anyway thanks for lettin me rant for a minute.

 

[SmokinMom]

That does suck slowmo. Sorry you're having to deal with that.

 

[kaotik]

yup. rediculous society.. pump you full of chemical drugs, when there is a perfect simple organic alternative.
i have the same anxiety problem when i don't smoke.

i'd actually recommend to maybe look into alternative/herbal remedies.. i'm sure there's something for anxiety (besides MJ) i prefer to try to find them before using the perscribed meds (just need to find a reputable herbologist, and be sure it's nothing that could mess up your probation.)

 

[ThickKaliKush]

Thats a lots :**: !!!

:cop: 's Suck....wow that really sucks, i wouldnt take the meds tho.. im sooo anit-medication... r u in cali... cuz its legal here in cali.... if not then hmmm... i think u should try yoga or meditation instead of meds.... peace &:heart:

 

[stone hands]

yea im with the no meds thing, they just not for me. it is pretty crappy the way our leaders look at mj( yes its the powers that be not the whole society). i feel so for the people who live around me if i ever have to stop. my mom told me when i was growing up that i needed to go to the docand get a perscription, said i was bipolar or some junk. i became my own md and smoke my meds daily as needed to stop the mood swings.

 

[slowmo77]

well the thing is that its not a simple thing. it gets so bad when i try to leave my house i have panic attacks. i don't do well around people or in stores. its even hard to go to the doctors office. i think it stems from many years of hard drug addiction. when i smoke im more relaxed and don't really think about things that freak me out. now that im clean from mj i tend to focus more on the negative. i really don't think meditation or yoga can deal with the thoughts i have. i've looked into herbal remedies and mj is the only thing i've ever found that worked.

i wish i lived in a mmj state, i would have a doc write me out a script in a heart beat. but sadly i live in the bible belt so it might be a while.

it is sad that we are all suppose to be treated equal in this great nation but based on geographical location we can only have the meds our leaders see fit. oh well maybe it will change someday soon

 

[4u2sm0ke]

:ciao: my friend..I wish you the best. Be sure you know what is in those meds they perscribe..im praying 4U slowmo

 

[Alistair]

Maybe once you've adjusted to not smoking the anxiety might go away naturally? Those drugs that the doctors give people for anxiety are a last resort in my opinion. I hope you work your problem out without the help of those meds. I suffer from anxiety, and drinking too much coffee is a major contributor. I've tried those pills you spoke of, and they're not for me. Good luck, slowmo.

 

[HippyInEngland]

Sorry to hear the effects your experiencing Slow

Have a read of this.

hXXp://altmedicine.about.com/cs/conditionsatod/a/Anxiety.htm

eace:

 

[PencilHead]

All sympathy out to you--I've had experience with what you're experiencing. Good luck and watch those pharmaceuticals--they've got some really nasty habits.

 

[Kupunakane]

Hey there Slowmo,

Yeah, I know what your feelin. Kinda like between a rock and a hardplace, and you start seeking a viable solution.

Along time ago I felt just like you describe. I would find myself sliding down into some pretty deep depressions along with the being uncomfortable out in that big world of wall to wall people and beauracracies...

One day while enjoying a hoober, I got to thinking that it really is my decision, and I decided right then and there that I was going to change a bad habit. I went out of my way to seek out a friend of mine that I knew could get me to laughing real good, and he smoked too.

His nickname is georgie and he is probably one of the funniest friends that I have ever had.
It's true that as soon as I got together with my friend, and started laughing all the crap went away.

Over the years now I have learned that laughter is truly great medicine. So I say if you can't smoke, and your down or feeling anxious, or even paranoid then seek out a bud that can lighten your day with some good laughter. I promise you that you will do so very much better, and you will get back to being able to smoke soon enough.

Be of good cheer, and share it with someone who is hurting like you.


smoke in peace
KingKahuuna

 

[hydrotoker]

The first time I ever had an anxiety attack what right after I smoked up. It was the strangest thing.

 

[Kupunakane]

Yikes and Gadzooks,

Yeah, lots of us have been there done that. Not trying to lessen what you have experienced, just wanting you to know that we certainly can empathize.
I do not care to smoke or be stoned around to many people, as I still get to feeling a touch of tightening up. May I suggest that you
try some careful controls like cut the amount that you smoke in one sitting to half and see how you do. Then if that seems to take off some of the tight then you know all you need to do is control how much you take in; Simple.
Sometimes it's the setting itself that lends to your discomfort and if so alter it.
Many folks are also calling this anxiety, naw!!!! it's just getting to tight, and one needs to learn how to set a better situation. For instance if you were to spark in your car while driving, that might be enough to start to tighten you up especially if suddenly you see the swirling lights and the sirens are blazing, vehicles are moving fast, and as that fire engine goes by you you get the jitters, Ha- Ha that's being too tight. I usually prefer to smoke at home. You see there I can feel safer, I got great eats and drinks. I can entertain if I want, or watch a funny movie, or maybe just chill and space out to some great music.
I say if your gonna get stoned, then at least set the environment up the way that it will best lend itself to your comfort, create your zone, and be at peace. Then just get good smoke; end of story.

smoke in peace
KingKahuuna

 

[BBFan]

Hey Slowmo- Sorry to hear about your troubles (I hadn't heard before seeing this). Hope things are working out for you.

Sorry I can't offer any help. Probably KK's advice is best: seek out a good friend. I wish you the best and hope this passes quickly for you.

 

[blancolighter]

Hey slowmo, I hear ya man. I quit smoking myself a little while ago, and found that I was a very angry person (I thought I was a pretty chill dude before). Like weed had put aside all this stuff I hadn't dealt with for many years, and then without the weed, bam, there's all of this crap coming up all at once.

I can't tell ya how to address you certain problems, and I definately tried the meditation thing and all that, didn't help. Luckily my weed sobriety also let me be clear headed enough to look back at my life and figure out what tick I had in relating to myself and others that was somehow making me angry. Turns out as nice as I thought I was, I always left room in my head to think, now what if this person does this bad thing. After seeing that I realized, in some form or the other, I always expected the worse in people, and had done so my whole life. I think that could have been perhaps why I turned to weed in the first place but I definately couldn't have figured all that out while I was high. Now whenever I find myself getting angry or anxious, I know why its happening, and instead, I try to expect the best out of people around me, and it's done my life a whole lot of good.

I'm not saying any of this applies to you, but now without weed in the way, you can really get introspective on yourself and start figuring yourself out. If you really pay attention to what goin on in your head, and also really think about the way you acted in your past and why, I bet you could really shed some light on your issues, and probably even fix 'em.

Good luck man!

 

[slowmo77]

thanks everyone. its really hard to explain whats goin on in my head. i've always been a laid back person even when i wasn't smoking. its like lately when i go to leave home or get in a crowd i just feel like all eyes are on me. when the wife leaves home i worry about her untill she gets back or untill i can call her and make sure she's fine. same with my kids. i've never been this way before. i've spoke to my doctor about my past drug problems with hard drugs and even let them know i just stopped smoking mj. they said that this could be from the hard drugs and i never really noticed before because the mj kept me calm. something about the type of drugs i had done causes serious inbalance in your brain after long term use. and i had 12 years worth. i was completely honest with my doctor so i hope she's doing whats in my best interest. the meds im on are a long term fix. we're just gonna try them to get me thru for a while and then slowly reduce them so i can work on things myself and try to find a way to deal with it. but as of now i can't stay locked inside. so whatever i gotta do to im willing to try.

i have always been against perscription drugs, still am. they get paid to treat a problem not fix one. theres no money in a cure. trust me as soon as i can get off the pills i am. thanks again everyone for your support

 

[leafminer]

"it gets so bad when i try to leave my house i have panic attacks"
Slomo, going by what you have written in your posts, one word comes immediately to mind: agoraphobia. Your symptoms are an exact match.
If it is agoraphobia, it will probably get worse, until you will spend your entire life locked in your house with the blinds drawn.
I suggest you get some expert help, like a shrink. Look for someone who specialises in that. Get a proper diagnosis! Your doc isn't the one, he probably has little or no training in psychological disorders. He's just giving you anti-anxiety meds to keep the lid on it, but if my suspicion is correct, the meds will get more and more and still won't do it. Get diagnosed! The earlier you can tackle the underlying reasons the faster you will shake it off.
Hope you get a solution to your problem, man.

 

[slowmo77]

thanks leafminer, my doctor has actually talked to me about talking with a shrink. the only probelm is i don't have insurance or the cash laying around to cover it. somedays are worse than others and it really got bad when all my court stuff came up. now that thats starting to level off things are a bit better but not totaly. i tend to dwell on things from my past and issues i may or may not have in the future. i worry about my family when i leave home or when they leave home. im constintly thinking about what might happen instead of be happy with the moment im in.

what sucks is when i smoke im happy go lucky 24/7 even when im not high.

im gonna stick with it being stress due to all my recent legal issues, and learning to deal with life clean. im gonna stick with my meds for a while untill all my legal stuff settles down and i get acustom to being back on probation and having to report after all these years. i really think that i'll get back to normal soon. then i'll slowly cut down on my meds untill i don't take them anymore. i hope..

i will say that one of the meds gives me the worst dreams i've ever had and they are so real i wake up mad of upset or whatever. im waiting to hear back from my doctor to see if this will go away or what. if they don't i can promise those will be stopped asap. not cool

I MISS MY WEED!!!!!!!!

 

[leafminer]

I understand where you're coming from. Let's see if I can find something that may be of help:
Such as:

1. Tai chi. Kind of meditation in movement. Requires a depth of concentration such that other worries vanish. Improves equilibrium in every sense. I've tried this. Recommended.

2. Meditation. There's a good book on this, simply called "How to Meditate" or you might see if you can find any kind of meditation group in your area.

3. Martial Arts. Pretty much any martial art practice will give you self esteem along with generating betaendorphins that make you happy. I recommend this but it does cost a bit. And I had to stop doing it when I got too old.

4. Exercise. Free of charge! Works to generate a 'feel good' factor and beta-endorphins make you happy. Definitely works.

5. Chocolate. The dark type. Only in moderation.

6. Acupuncture. But it costs.

7. Stop drinking coffee. Sometimes people, usually smokers, get involved in a C-A-N syndrome: caffeine to get started, to keep going, alcohol to crash down after work, nicotine goes along with the alcohol. Break the cycle by tapering off coffee.

 

[Kupunakane]

Yo Ho Guys,

I have to say that I agree with what you guys are suggesting. Getting a grip on your own physiology is brilliant. Certainly I agree with cutting way back on things that have a tendency to tighten you up like coffee that's John Wayne style. Hey even many of those teas can get you wired up pretty good.

What I was proposing, was that when you get to feeling down, or like everyone is staring at you, and maybe you find yourself starting to slip into being depressed when that wasn't according to your plans, then you need to seek out an answer.

You need a friend, a bud, a mate, that can understand you, and deal out an amount of fun and laughter, which in turn helps you to relax, chill, see the funny side of life, and basically get over yourself to the point that you can take a load off.

You can't do better than to have a bud that cares, and is there to be with you through the rough if need be, ya know ?

smoke in peace
KingKahuuna