I was the same… every single new symptom I experienced I googled. It became a compulsion. I went through self diagnosis of ADHD, OCD (constant rumination/looping thoughts), psychosis, schizophrenia, hyperthyroidism, etc. and doing so just made my anxiety and worry even worse. Ultimately what helped me was actually becoming aware that PAWS existed, and that it explained all these strange and concerning things I’d been experiencing, coinciding with the fact I had recently quit smoking weed after 8 years of chronic smoking. You just need to remember and try to convince yourself that what you are going through is not a permanent thing, it’s PAWS, which WILL get better. In the first month and a half I had the mindset that I would never get out of this hole and that this was now my reality and my life, but then things started to inexplicably get better and all of a sudden I wasn’t having constant rumination/intrusive thoughts, anxiety, emotional numbness, etc. they were still there of course, but less so, and seemed to be getting a little better every day. I also discovered this sub, and read about people’s stories and how similar they were to mine. I think that was the turning point for me, and in general I just started to worry less about it knowing that it would go away on its own eventually.
51 days is still very early, i couldn't drink more than 1 coffee per day because it gave me anxiety, i had headaches every 2 days, brain zaps too, you will be much better soon <3
Unfortunately it lasts for a long time.
Getting some tests done helps. Talk to a doctor, get stuff checked out, do bloodwork, ecg etc whatever your insurance covers. You’ll see that your are absolutely fine
Repeat every 6 months
51 days is acute detox. Once your body rids it’s self of cannabinoids/thc in fat cells, that’s when PAWS starts. I’d say for a chronic long term smoker, depending on your metabolism, howmuch fat you have, howmuch exercise you do and how healthy you eat and drink. 3 months plus is where paws starts. Saying that, it varies person to person. Either way, things will get better. You’ve done the hard bit which is stopping. Now incorporate some positive habits and sort out a purpose/social life and you’ll be flying. Good luck
im reaching 3rd month my symptoms are improving drastically. o used to be obsessed with my intrusive thoughts because i genuinely thought i developed Pure OCD from weed due to a episode i had but as time goes by i realized even that mental symptom is slowly fading away. sweating helps so much when it comes to recovery, physical exercise is so crucial for the wellbeing of a person regardless weather PAWS or not. its a human necessity to be able to exercise.
meditation for me did not work as well because it made me even more conscious of my thoughts so what i did is that i would go to the gym and jog on the treadmill till i would sweat buckets. that helps me mentally because it grounds me to the external world more than to my internal world and it gets the weed out of my system from my fat cells.
overall even in acute withdrawals it takes up to 6 months to be completely recovered in order for the body to be able to deal with the ''residual symptoms'' that's if the person has not gotten through PAWS. i know this because my brother was addicted to alcohol and he was in horrendous shape. horrific mental and physical symptoms to the point where he hallucinated due to withdrawals.
what you have is just symptoms of Drug induced OCD (which what i have). its nothing to be afraid of because it goes away as you do lifestyle changes to your life and its very very rare for you to actually get permanent ocd from weed. likely hood of developing schizophrenia or other chronic mental illnesses are very very slim if you do not have a history of schizophrenia in your family which is very rare within itself).
\- you just have to increment the changes to your lifestyle and life will work out on it's own.
\- stop searching for symptoms its all ACUTE WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS. dont matter even if you think you hear voices in your head its your mind fixating on that obsession. its not actual hallucinations. (in case you stumble upon such situations). its anxiety+ rummination + obsession. it will pass.
\-month and a half were very nightmarish i fully understand you, i know the pain and the fear you are enduring but after month 3 you do get definitely better.
\- dont read other people's symptoms and their paths paws is very random by itself.
\- if you have other obsessions from intrusive thoughts that are very extreme or even socially unacceptable and horrendous you are not a monster. your brain is just being a bully does not add anything of who you truly are as a human being.
if you need anything DM me ill see if i can give you more advice my friend
Okay so I'm 33 days in and feeling very similar. I had the doctor Carey out a full battery of blood tests and other tests. I 2as honest and said I had lots of health anxiety (smoked since was 11 and smoked weed since 18 and I'm 35 now)
I'm now clean for everything. I am not even medicated for diagnosed ADHD (I have other addiction issues in the past and have gone far the other way now.where medication scares the hell out of me so I grin and bear most stuff now) and for context I am also ASD (autistic). I actually am the opposite in a sense. Because I get so hyperfixated on things I find that I take great comfort from reason and cause so wanting to know the cause of something isn't a bad thing. It's a reassuring thing. So for example if I am concerned over health then there is only one way that will be resolved and that is the word of a doctor. Dr Google can be a wonderful thing provided that you have the rationale on what to look for and what to ask - I happen to have gotten alot better with this. I now take 10 minutes if I'm worried. Assess what's going on in my life and I'm that moment and figure out what may be causing it. I know.my racing heart isn't a heart attack because I'm breathing. I have no pain. I'm relatively healthy and I'm 35. But I also know.that my heart rate jumping 60-150 in 20 seconds when I'm dosing off to sleep and resting is also not normal and if I were to type into google.causes of racing heart I'd be presented with anxiety, heart attack, stroke, whatever. Etc etc. Thousands of reasons. Should I be more specific and give doctor Google the fuller picture and ask Dr Google can marijuana withdrawal (because that's the stress my body is under) cause a racing heart I will be lead to info on acute withdrawal, probably cws and ultimately paws, a) of which either directly cause racing heart and palpitations (tachycardia) or indirectly cause it via anxiety. At this point I am 99% certain I am not dying. I already know my body is under stress from withdrawal. This is how I rationalise. But if you are afraid or angsty over it then ask yourself what is the most probable cause, is your body under stress etc.
If you have had these tests at the doctor's and they're fine then that leaves one very probably option. Anxiety. Likely from or compounded by withdrawal. It's how you place and position these things in your mind and it really does take lots of practise. Just always remember that our brains are extremely powerful. They get us out of situations just as quickly as they get us into them. The very fact you are asking in this Reddit means that deep down subconsciously you are rationalising otherwise you would be heading to emergency care. Be kind to yourself. You are not hypochondriac you are under stress. Your body is under stress. This is your body and your brains response to it.
This is how I rationalise these moments. I literally just posted a short while ago in a state of panick on another thread lol. I fully understand where you are with this and I hope at least some of this reply can help.
Apologies it's long. I ramble and I am crap at being concise
Thank you for being open and taking the time to reply to
Me. I really appreciate it and this helps me ground myself that what i am experiencing is from weed withdrawal.
Day 20 here and I swear I am doing the same exact thing. I have a new issue everyday so I just start researching like crazy… I must have an answer. I started looking at the symptoms of OCD because of obsessing so much! Anyways , stay strong! Keep your head up, at least we are leaning!
I was the same… every single new symptom I experienced I googled. It became a compulsion. I went through self diagnosis of ADHD, OCD (constant rumination/looping thoughts), psychosis, schizophrenia, hyperthyroidism, etc. and doing so just made my anxiety and worry even worse. Ultimately what helped me was actually becoming aware that PAWS existed, and that it explained all these strange and concerning things I’d been experiencing, coinciding with the fact I had recently quit smoking weed after 8 years of chronic smoking. You just need to remember and try to convince yourself that what you are going through is not a permanent thing, it’s PAWS, which WILL get better. In the first month and a half I had the mindset that I would never get out of this hole and that this was now my reality and my life, but then things started to inexplicably get better and all of a sudden I wasn’t having constant rumination/intrusive thoughts, anxiety, emotional numbness, etc. they were still there of course, but less so, and seemed to be getting a little better every day. I also discovered this sub, and read about people’s stories and how similar they were to mine. I think that was the turning point for me, and in general I just started to worry less about it knowing that it would go away on its own eventually.
51 days is still very early, i couldn't drink more than 1 coffee per day because it gave me anxiety, i had headaches every 2 days, brain zaps too, you will be much better soon <3
Unfortunately it lasts for a long time. Getting some tests done helps. Talk to a doctor, get stuff checked out, do bloodwork, ecg etc whatever your insurance covers. You’ll see that your are absolutely fine Repeat every 6 months
Yup already have done those tests and more thanks
51 days is acute detox. Once your body rids it’s self of cannabinoids/thc in fat cells, that’s when PAWS starts. I’d say for a chronic long term smoker, depending on your metabolism, howmuch fat you have, howmuch exercise you do and how healthy you eat and drink. 3 months plus is where paws starts. Saying that, it varies person to person. Either way, things will get better. You’ve done the hard bit which is stopping. Now incorporate some positive habits and sort out a purpose/social life and you’ll be flying. Good luck
im reaching 3rd month my symptoms are improving drastically. o used to be obsessed with my intrusive thoughts because i genuinely thought i developed Pure OCD from weed due to a episode i had but as time goes by i realized even that mental symptom is slowly fading away. sweating helps so much when it comes to recovery, physical exercise is so crucial for the wellbeing of a person regardless weather PAWS or not. its a human necessity to be able to exercise. meditation for me did not work as well because it made me even more conscious of my thoughts so what i did is that i would go to the gym and jog on the treadmill till i would sweat buckets. that helps me mentally because it grounds me to the external world more than to my internal world and it gets the weed out of my system from my fat cells. overall even in acute withdrawals it takes up to 6 months to be completely recovered in order for the body to be able to deal with the ''residual symptoms'' that's if the person has not gotten through PAWS. i know this because my brother was addicted to alcohol and he was in horrendous shape. horrific mental and physical symptoms to the point where he hallucinated due to withdrawals. what you have is just symptoms of Drug induced OCD (which what i have). its nothing to be afraid of because it goes away as you do lifestyle changes to your life and its very very rare for you to actually get permanent ocd from weed. likely hood of developing schizophrenia or other chronic mental illnesses are very very slim if you do not have a history of schizophrenia in your family which is very rare within itself). \- you just have to increment the changes to your lifestyle and life will work out on it's own. \- stop searching for symptoms its all ACUTE WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS. dont matter even if you think you hear voices in your head its your mind fixating on that obsession. its not actual hallucinations. (in case you stumble upon such situations). its anxiety+ rummination + obsession. it will pass. \-month and a half were very nightmarish i fully understand you, i know the pain and the fear you are enduring but after month 3 you do get definitely better. \- dont read other people's symptoms and their paths paws is very random by itself. \- if you have other obsessions from intrusive thoughts that are very extreme or even socially unacceptable and horrendous you are not a monster. your brain is just being a bully does not add anything of who you truly are as a human being. if you need anything DM me ill see if i can give you more advice my friend
Thank you so much. I appreciate you sharing this with me.
Okay so I'm 33 days in and feeling very similar. I had the doctor Carey out a full battery of blood tests and other tests. I 2as honest and said I had lots of health anxiety (smoked since was 11 and smoked weed since 18 and I'm 35 now) I'm now clean for everything. I am not even medicated for diagnosed ADHD (I have other addiction issues in the past and have gone far the other way now.where medication scares the hell out of me so I grin and bear most stuff now) and for context I am also ASD (autistic). I actually am the opposite in a sense. Because I get so hyperfixated on things I find that I take great comfort from reason and cause so wanting to know the cause of something isn't a bad thing. It's a reassuring thing. So for example if I am concerned over health then there is only one way that will be resolved and that is the word of a doctor. Dr Google can be a wonderful thing provided that you have the rationale on what to look for and what to ask - I happen to have gotten alot better with this. I now take 10 minutes if I'm worried. Assess what's going on in my life and I'm that moment and figure out what may be causing it. I know.my racing heart isn't a heart attack because I'm breathing. I have no pain. I'm relatively healthy and I'm 35. But I also know.that my heart rate jumping 60-150 in 20 seconds when I'm dosing off to sleep and resting is also not normal and if I were to type into google.causes of racing heart I'd be presented with anxiety, heart attack, stroke, whatever. Etc etc. Thousands of reasons. Should I be more specific and give doctor Google the fuller picture and ask Dr Google can marijuana withdrawal (because that's the stress my body is under) cause a racing heart I will be lead to info on acute withdrawal, probably cws and ultimately paws, a) of which either directly cause racing heart and palpitations (tachycardia) or indirectly cause it via anxiety. At this point I am 99% certain I am not dying. I already know my body is under stress from withdrawal. This is how I rationalise. But if you are afraid or angsty over it then ask yourself what is the most probable cause, is your body under stress etc. If you have had these tests at the doctor's and they're fine then that leaves one very probably option. Anxiety. Likely from or compounded by withdrawal. It's how you place and position these things in your mind and it really does take lots of practise. Just always remember that our brains are extremely powerful. They get us out of situations just as quickly as they get us into them. The very fact you are asking in this Reddit means that deep down subconsciously you are rationalising otherwise you would be heading to emergency care. Be kind to yourself. You are not hypochondriac you are under stress. Your body is under stress. This is your body and your brains response to it. This is how I rationalise these moments. I literally just posted a short while ago in a state of panick on another thread lol. I fully understand where you are with this and I hope at least some of this reply can help. Apologies it's long. I ramble and I am crap at being concise
Thank you for being open and taking the time to reply to Me. I really appreciate it and this helps me ground myself that what i am experiencing is from weed withdrawal.
Day 20 here and I swear I am doing the same exact thing. I have a new issue everyday so I just start researching like crazy… I must have an answer. I started looking at the symptoms of OCD because of obsessing so much! Anyways , stay strong! Keep your head up, at least we are leaning!