Synthetic THC/Spice withdrawals
Hi Everyone! I just found this site tonight and it looks like a great support community. I've struggled with alcohol and drug dependencies since I was about 20 years old or so. I'm now in my early 30's. I've never really gone down the path of opiates or other "hard" drugs. I was always a part of the hippy scene and thought nothing of smoking and drinking. I was a pothead mostly every day and a would binge drink 4 or 5 days a week. Just about a year ago, I was introduced to the synthetic varieties of marijuana/THC. The smoke shops around town sells the stuff and apparently it's legal. So I started smoking that instead of real marijuana due to the legal system. I didn't want to get caught with marijuana. The last months have been very stressful and I was starting to use the synthetics very heavily. I smoked a bowl probably about once an hour or more. I could barely recall what sobriety felt like. Well, I finally got to a point where I decided that enough was enough. If I don't get my act together now, I'm going to be miserable for the rest of my life. So when I woke up Monday morning of October 2 last week, I decided not to smoke a bowl. In fact, I decided to just go 100% sober because I knew nothing would work if I kept doing some drugs and not others. So I've been clean since Monday. So far so good, except for the withdrawal symptoms. I've stopped smoking marijuana before and it was mostly a mental thing. It wasn't ever much of a problem. But now that I've quit the synthetics, it's a whole different ball game. I've had body shakes, hot sweats, cold sweats, panic attacks (not too bad), shortness of breath, muscle aches, muscle and limb soreness when moving around, decreased sensation on my skin all over my body, headache, and a general sense of uneasiness. I was shocked when all this started, but it's only making me want to keep off this crud. I've done some internet searches and apparently there are reports that heavy synthetic users of 3 months or more tend to have very similar symptoms to opiate withdrawal. Does anyone else have experience with synthetic THC withdrawal? I really don't know much about withdrawal symptoms and I'm just curious if my symptoms sound typical for what I've been abusing? I'm not interested in starting back up, I'm just kind of wondering when I can expect to start feeling better. I do feel better already as in a clearer head, more energy, and a better sense of well being. But those withdrawal symptoms are letting themselves be known and it's really difficult. Anyone know how long the synthetics take to get out of the body and return to feeling "normal" again? Thanks for any help or advice!