ChangeGonnaCome

This is my first serious effort at quitting weed. Been smoking it for 25 yrs. On a daily basis for the last 2.5 years. The after work, before bed "relaxation" time - or if I feel super stressed after work, it is also the before dinner relaxation time. I get the munchies and eat all the wrong foods, don't do anything active to work it off, and I've packed on the pounds! I quit smoking cigs, cold turkey, 3 yrs., 8 months, and 25 days ago - and that contributed to quite a bit of weight gain also. I'm sure I did the replacement of addictions with the weed and food since my intake of both increased after I quit the cigs. I am so unhappy with my body, how my clothes feel/fit, my sluggish and lazy ways, my lack of motivation, my mood swings, emotional chaos, etc. I have enough for about 4 hits left and it will be gone within the next couple hours. I refuse to get more. This has to be it! It hasn't been enjoyable for some time now. It is just a way to pass the time and medicate myself into thinking everything is alright. I thought I'd start here in search of some moral support, advice, helpful hints, etc. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Dee74

Welcome ChangeGonnaCome

I was a pot smoker for 20 years. I found next to no physical symptoms when I stopped but the psychological withdrawal was quite difficult.

I found just keeping busy, working through the apathy I felt was quite helpful.

There are support groups too. Marijuana Anonymous is one, although I have no personal knowledge of it.

Marijuana Anonymous World Services

there also appears to be an online resource here - again I've not used it...I gave up pot before the internet was invented

Welcome to MA Online!

D

Carol Star

Congrats for taking that BIG step of willingness. I was a big toker. Whatever it was drinking,pills,pot it was changing seats on the Titanic. Think of the benefit your lungs will see. Now I so enjoy just plain old breathing! Ironic the first law in Va. for weed was you Had to plant your seeds! George Washington,Thomas Jefferson all of them grew it. The Navy needed it to make rope. Funny. I go to support meetings AA and NA. I eat alot better....fruits and vegs and lean meat and I have heallthy snacks. Your body is your temple. I like to walk. I learned yoga and meditation to help relax. Good luck.

ChangeGonnaCome

I'm working on keeping busy. Gonna start school in Jan., pursuing a degree in human services. This will be my first ever college adventure, besides keg parites back in the day. I have a great husband, two teen step-children (15 and 17) that live with us full-time, a full-time job at a voc rehab as a mentor/life skills instructor, etc. trying to help folks have a better future, and have been reaching out more to volunteer in the community. I'm praying for self-discipline, patience, motivation, self-control, understanding, self-respect, and a sense of humor. Thanks for your response and the kindness you've extended!

tyler

20 year plus pothead here as well. Just want to let you know that it definately can be done. I was pretty much a 24/7 smoker for at least the last 12 or so years and still smoked heavily the years before that. It has caused me much heartache and grief (most of the gory details are posted elsewhere and on my blog here).

About 8 months ago, I finally had enough and just quit. I had "quit" hundereds of times before, only to pick up again, days or weeks later. I honestly don't know what has made this time different. Part of it is that I have moved and am no longer around the same people, but it's not like I couldn't find it here if I really wanted to, I just don't want to.

The best advice I can give you is to, and I know this sounds cliche, "take it one day at a time." Don't worry about tomorrow. I don't even count the days. I have a rough idea, but really the only day that matters is today. As long as I can manage to stay clean "today" everything will be ok.

One of our members here calls it his 2 step plan:

1) Don't smoke dope today.
2) Tomorrow, repeat step 1.

Sounds simple, but is remarkably effective!!! You will probably find yourself to be a bit edgy for the next few weeks or so, might have some issues with sleeping, a bit of a loss of appetite to start with, mood swings and some depression are common. These things will all go away, you just have to work through them. It may help to talk to your doctor, get a check up, and tell him what is going on. Pot is primarly psychologically addictive, but that doesn't make it any easier to quit than any other drug, in fact sometimes it can make it harder, as it is easier to convince yourself that it's "harmless". For some people, maybe it is, but for folks like us, don't believe it!!

There are alot of recovering potheads here at SR. You don't necessarily hear as much from them as others, or they often don't talk about their DOC specifically, but trust me, there are many of us here and out there as well. If you need any support, feel free to post here, or shoot me a PM (personal message, you have to post at least 5 times before you can access this feature). There is a ton of support here, you don't have to be alone with this. Take care.

barb dwyer

Welcome to SR!

I've never been a fan of herb, myself,
but I married three men who couldn't live without it.
But never ever did they have a 'problem'.

All it ever did for me
was make me stupid,
make me thirsty
make me scared
then get hungry
eat a whole bag of oreos
staring at the clock
and pass out.

Not much ... going for it with me.

But I hope you find the fellowship,
the companionship, the wisdom
that I've been given here!~

ChangeGonnaCome

Thanks so much, Tyler. I've made it through my first day and working on my second one. To be honest, I'm not craving it as badly as I thought I would, yet. I'm thinking a little appetite loss may be a good thing at this point. lol The sleep has been an issue for about a year. I take ambien at bedtime to help with that. I have some xanax that was prescribed back in Aug. when I was having some major anxiety issues at work. I took one yesterday when we had a big family get together and it seemed to help my anxiousness of not toking. I was moody and irritable initially, but have been that way for at least the last 6 months, much more so than usual. Hoping that will improve as my system cleans up. Been keeping busy with family and friends and will be starting school on the 11th. Today, however, I'll be by myself @ home. Hubby is working, kids left for the beach with their aunt, I'm off work for the holidays until Sunday. Tomorrow, gonna go visit my bff and stay until Thurs. She is a smoker too, but I was the one who would take it to her. Haven't taken any to her for months, so I know there won't be any there. Thank goodness! I have a friend/co-worker who recently celebrated his first year weed free. I emailed him for some moral support as well. He has offered to take me to a meeting should I decide I want to go. I'm extremely emotional and have broken down and balled my eyes out each time I talk about this with my husband. He's supportive, but I can tell it's sort of awkward for him. He was a casual smoker and quit several months ago. My family doesn't know I do it and I'm not comfortable sharing it with them. I've read the 12 steps and I'm not sure that's going to be the route for me. I'm not sure of anything really except that I need to do this to improve the quality of my life and reach goals that I've always put off and ignored to be able to catch that next buzz. I want to feel genuine emotions again, I want to feel what a natural high is like again, I want to like me again. When I took my last few tokes the other night, I gathered everything related to it, cleaned the ashes, stems, seeds out of the drawer I kept it in, washed it out, bagged up all the stuff and handed it to my hubby and asked him to take it to the dump with the trash. I feel "safer" not having the pipes, etc. laying around. There's a bit of weight that has lifted off of my heart in doing that. I really think this is going to work. I'm really glad to have found this site and support. Thank you so much for "listening" and thanks to everyone for your support. It is so very much appreciated! (((((HUGS))))

Tazman53

I am a pretty much straight up alkie who on rare occasions would smoke a bowl.

I can sure relate to that!!!!

Dee suggested MA, if you can not find it in your area I am sure you can find quite a few clean potheads in NA that would be happy to give you some face to face support.

tyler

You might want to have a talk with your friend about this today, before your visit. You never know, she might have "hooked up" somewhere else, or may be expecting you to bring it. If she's a close friend, it shouldn't be a big deal. I know I set myself up for a number of "slips" this way. Putting myself into situations where I was sure I wouldn't use, but left the door open, just a crack, perhaps subconsciously hoping some would be around. Not saying you are doing this, but it still couldn't hurt to have a talk with her. You know it's gonna come up anyway.

Sounds like you are taking the very beginning steps of setting up a "support network". It's good that hubby is supportive, even if he doesn't quite "get it", and your friend at work should be a good supportive resource. As for working the steps, it's great for some folks, others not so much. If your friend attends meetings, it couldn't hurt to go to one with him just to check it out. I personally am not a member of any 12step recovery groups, though I have attended many meetings of both AA and NA over the years and learned a great deal from them and their members. Anyway, your call on that one, I just wouldn't "write it off" if you feel like you need additional support.

That is a great idea. I had a habbit of "forgetting" to toss a pipe here or their, or keeping an old one to smoke the resin out of. Bad idea, never worked. Just setting myself up for failure. Sounds like you are really on the right track. Just be careful of letting people you tell about this trying to talk into believing that "it's not that big a deal". It might not be for them, but is sounds like it is for you. Drinking a couple for beers is not that big of a deal for most people, but try telling that to an alcoholic. It's a big deal for them!!! Best of luck on your journey. It won't be all sunshine and roses, you will have your bumps in the road, but you will come out of it a better person. Take care.

sfgirl

Congrats on your decision; I don't have any personal experience with this but I think that pot addiction is one of the most overlooked. People seem to think it is harmless but it can really wreak havoc just like any other on your emotional and spiritual well-being. Here are some links that might be helpful. I used to live with someone who detoxed off marijuana and the thing she experienced was crazy dreams. I think there are some other symptoms that you can have during the first few weeks that are more physical. Good luck!

PDFs on marijuana from NIDA:
NIDA - Research Report Series - Marijuana Abuse
Marijuana - InfoFacts - NIDA
NIDA NOTES Index, Volume 10, 1995
Marijuana - Topics in Brief - NIDA

general marijuana link @ NIDA
Marijuana - Drugs of Abuse and Related Topics - NIDA

Gypsy Feet

28 years of smoking, some years more heavily than others. Off pot about 14 months now, everything else a year. I saw a guy here on SR that tried "helping" his booze addiction with xanax with disastrous results, so be careful.

That being said, the mind-altering substance free life is the one for me! Natural highs and head changes brought on by life's experience are way more rad=)

welcome

ChangeGonnaCome

Many thanks to everyone! You're helping to make this new journey a bit smoother!!

ChangeGonnaCome

Well, I made it through another day and no one was harmed. :o) Getting ready to head out of town to my bff's for a couple days. BTW, she was a very casual smoker, not daily like me. She's been out for a while and doesn't replenish her supply. She's been there a couple years, but is a business owner and isn't comfortable seeking it out where she doesn't know folks that well. So I'm pretty sure it'll be a very safe environment. But you made a very good point! The xanax hasn't become my replacement addiction, yet. And I hope it stays that way. I use it when I know for sure I'm going to be in a major high stress situation. I've had 30 pills since August and still have 26 of them. I'm not craving weed as bad as I thought I would be, yet. My dreams are noticably a bit more interesting, I'm still moody and on edge, and I get a little lost around bedtime when I'd be lightin' up. Thanks to all of you for your support, honesty, and kindness!!!!