Quitting Cannabis - Scared To Be An Alcoholic Afterwards
Jan 19, 2006
I have been smoking cannabis since i was 14 and am now nearly 19. even though i have not smoked for as many years as others here i can relate to a lot of the points they are making. Cannabis is a great drug when you first start smoking it but in later years i have found myself on edge whenever i haven't had a spliff. However i find after 3 days of going without a spliff it gets much easier.
Since starting university this year i have met a lot of people that do not smoke cannabis and never would, this has opened my mind in a huge way as before i came here i was in a group of friends where everyone smoked it. These days i do feel that cannabis detaches me from the world and it doesn't help in social situations at all. finding a girlfriend is becoming increasing difficult as i spend few hours of my life not stoned. The problem is i do need some escapism from this reality and i can't find it at the bottom of a bottle. For some people drinking is great but i would choose weed any day over alcohol. Friends of mine that have given up cannabis have become full blown alcoholics, i don't think i could face going down that route. Cannabis use does concern me a lot and i think i am on the way to giving it up altogether. Besides the effects are so insignificant these days compared to what it use to be when i was 14. Its always hard though when you know your friend downstairs has just picked up a fresh eighth. I am making a committed effort to give it up altogether as my chemistry course is too difficult for me to go on smoking daily. Lets just hope my tobacco consumption doesn't double as a result.
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I am a 28 year old male that as smoked cannabis on an of for pretty much 13/14 years the last 6 bein skunk and every single day am on day 4 and have not smoked a single bit last night I had a really good sleep for the first time in 3 nights I feel so much more alert and like I can take anything on and conquer it was before I was worried about my next bong I can honestly say I will never smoke again it ruined my life and cost me thousands and thousands of pounds of my wages over the years av also just woke up and realised i'm hungry haha anybody now how long till i'm fully clean please with being a heavy smoker am prob 6ft3 and just under 13.
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I've been a smoker for 10 years for anxiety & manic depression i find it gives me the ability to socialise & be happy , now it's made me depend on it for sleep & other things i wish i could just get it out of my life . cost is one thing but being tired all time . feeling un well, & having to risk my lisence when i drive is why i want to quit, any ideas on best way to go about stopping , it affects my emotions bad wen i dont smoke.
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I am a 42 year old man. I smoked cannabis almost continuously for 18 years until 18 days ago (scope the symmetry!). For about three quarters of that period I knew it was messing me up badly: gone were the giggles and the intellectual intensity, replaced by paranoia, reclusiveness, depression, mania and aggression, associated police trouble, self-harm, chest pains, erectile disfunction, etc etc et cetera. Although fully aware of all this more than substantial downside, nevertheless towards the end, I was spending £50pw on toxic-grade skunk, and it was driving me completely crazy.
Three or four weeks ago, I decided I was going to quit at the end of the world cup. And I did. I've been 18 days clean so far, and my life has changed dramatically. I've replaced talking with mad levels of exercise: going to the gym 3 days a week, swimming, walking everywhere, 2 hours of 5-a-side football once a week with a bunch of 25 yr olds. I've become a confident and witty social animal. I'm enjoying my phd studies. I've even acquired a lover, the delicate problem alluded to above being already a thing of the past!
There is life after weed; a damn sight better than the one I lived during weed.
Two caveats: I'm not sleeping well, tho' that may be due in part to the heatwave. And I'm drinking a little bit more. Previously my drinking was slightly below HMG's recommended limit; now it's probably slightly above - something I should keep an eye on, especially given that it's a symptom of my newfound enjoyment of life. Hopefully it'll settle down again quite quickly.
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I having been a cannabis smoker since the age of 15, I feel compelled to write my comments here and hope someone learns a little if not a lot! I am now 31 and stopped smoking cannabis 7 weeks ago - I have been an habitual smoker for 16 years. I always thought (in my ignorance) that the drug helped to 'calm' me that it gave me a more 'peaceful' life when in actual fact it stopped me from relating to others, helped me to disconnect and run away from myself. As a teenager (late teens) even my parents used to say that it stopped me from being so 'fiery'! But as the years have rolled on and the cannabis became a bigger part of my life it became the one thing for me to rely on, my friend and it would never fail to be there for me. From the age of 17 I was smoking it everyday and would struggle to have a day without it. In the mornings I would always still be 'stoned' from the night before and was rolling a 'joint' for breakfast which would turn into to up to 10 or so 'joints' per day. As I reached my early 20's (looking back now I understand - I didn't at the time) cannabis was the biggest part of my life and was ruining every part of me. Being a successful human being was not part of my agenda, getting 'stoned' was the most important thing. At the age of 18 i started going to 'raves' and started taking ecstasy, cocaine, amphetamines and various others, but never heroin....that frightened me! Drugs were a bigger part of my life than anything else, I have always managed to hold down a job and had good jobs, often managerial positions and I worked hard. Life went on like this until I hit 26 and felt that life had finally caught up with me - I felt suicidal and very depressed (obviously wasn't blaming the drugs!) life was all too much for me and I didn't know which way to turn. My relationship with my parents had deteriorated so badly and they didn't understand, so I went to the doctors to ask for help. I was prescribed the antidepressants that she had been trying to prescribe to me for the past 2 years and I didn't want to take them, but felt that I had no option. I guess they did help to numb me and to stop the deep depressive states, but now I was on prescribed drugs and still smoking enormous amounts of 'pot'. Six months later I was not in any better space and my father's comment of 'you need professional help' got me thinking maybe he was right. I found a private psychotherapist that advertised in my doctor's surgery and have now been in therapy for nearly five years and it was the best thing I have ever done for myself. She has helped me to understand the 'why's' that I never could have found for myself - I have just finished a two year college course and will be starting another one in September - I am a 'drug addict' and always will be.....after 7 weeks of not smoking 'pot' I have clarity in my life again. I don't feel paranoid, edgy, vacant, detached or different.....it has been hard and yes, I have smoked through my college course and I feel sure that it would have come easier to me had I not smoked. I also now understand that I smoked it to escape unhappy memories of my childhood - therapy has helped me to discuss, deal with and understand that unhappy little girl that turned to drugs because she was lost and sad - I have spent nearly £10,000 pounds (which has been hard money to find, but I have done it on my own) on my therapy and finally I can see a light at the end of the tunnel - I feel good about myself, I have great relationships with my friends and in the last 7 weeks life is not so scary and I don't feel the need to get 'stoned' to be able to cope. I am sure I still have a journey to travel and some days I have felt a little low and had the urge to get 'stoned' but know that there is so much to embrace about life that I don't want to keep squashing myself - I no longer want to be insignificant, I have so much to give to the world! I guess that sounds a little 'cheesy' but I am embracing life with both hands and trying hard to hold on - it's hard but very empowering. In my opinion cannabis use is so very harmful....its so misunderstood and I believe it is as harmful as alcohol....I do mean taken on a daily basis to excess. I am currently watching one of my closest friends go through a 'hell' of a time - she too has been smoking since we were in school and she smokes 'weed/grass' only. She suffers with serious paranoia, recently lost her job and is generally detached from the world - she sadly will not go into therapy and also takes a high dosage of anti depressants, I cannot help her, she can only help herself and she is well aware that the cannabis holds her back, clouds her life, stops her relating and generally makes her life a misery - I love her and can do nothing to help her she has to want to help herself. I am fortunate for being able to embrace my deepest and innermost fears, anxieties and what made me turn to drugs for escapism. When I look around me, anyone I know that smokes cannabis doesn't have a great life, they don't live life to their fullest potential, they don't relate to friends, family and society in general as others that do not smoke do. This is a powerful drug and believe me when I say it is addictive, because I struggle (a little less every day) daily...... I now want a drug free life, that is so important to me, for all the years I have held myself back I now want to soar - I'm scared of being successful which is why I smoked 'pot' but I will go back to college in september and I will pass my next course and I will become successful in my chosen career and cannabis will not be a part of that.
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I wa with my gf for the first time last night. I'm 27 and I have been smoking weed for about 11 years (i quit as a new year resolution, 8 months ago) and I couldn't keep an erection and I am now incredibly worried that this problem might be permanent. I feel bad for my gf, because she was turning me on in a big way but i just couldn't stay erec. What can I do?
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So I been smoking marijuana for 5 years heavily everyday since I was 15 I am 20 turning 21 smoking Mostly blunts & papers I been sober for 9 days and I had my first anxiety attack after smoking a bowl for the first time in four days . I been depressed not been hanging out with my friends playing ball just feeling disconnected with the world . When I was smoking I was a out going energized playing basketball all the time living life carefree but every since I stopped I been over thinking everything mind racing . Checking my heart just been thinking something is wrong because I don't know what being sober feels like any more . I don't know if I'm just not used to being sober or what's going on ? Can someone shed light on this pls
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The last time I smoked marijuana was around the 13th of January, but I still have the feeling of laziness and like I'm almost looking through some kind of film or something. Like I feel when I'm high. Is this normal this long after quitting? Or is this "hazy" feeling potentially due to a medical cause. My sight isn't really impaired, but my sight is like I'm high still, like I'm looking through a haze.
I smoked multiple times a day for about a year and a half. It doesn't go away, and it hasn't gotten any better over the time since I've quit.
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For the past 3-4 months, I have smoked pot ONCE (depending on mood 1-3 joints) every night to help me go to sleep faster. I've never had insomnia problems or addiction problems before these few months (smoked 2-3 times a week for 6 months prior; and once or twice a month for 5 years before that). Now I find it extremely difficult to go to sleep. My body feels warm everywhere and even if I manage to fall asleep eventually, I never managed to fall into deep sleep and normally wake up within 4 hours feeling unrested. Any advice or similar experiences?
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quit 2 weeks ago or so which i'm well chuffed about but just wanted to know if other people have had racing thoughts or thoughts being jumbled up like really hard to focus on job at hand? either near the end of their smoking habit or when coming off it.
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Some days I read this page and I think...wow...all these people are drinking and they are functioning! I can drink and function anymore. I become a statue on the couch with the beer not very far from me and at least 2 packs of cigs.
I used to be able to function when I was drinking when I was younger...but what I believe happened to ME...was I discovered the "morning" drink about 15 years ago.
About 15 years ago...after a family cookout...I felt soooo sick from drinking all day the day before....I was probably on line and learned about the "hair of the dog". And I drove back to my brother in laws house...and raided the beer that was left outside in the cooler.
I started drinking that day..and because I was younger...I felt so much better after the first drink...I kept going and I thought....I had the cure for a hangover!
I was working back then so only drank at night during the week and didn't have those horrible hangovers in the mornings...but on weekends...I started drinking in the a.m. if I had drank too much on a Friday night to cure the blurry vision, the awful taste in mouth, that dragging feeling.
This pattern led me to drinking continuously all weekend from morning to night...and that is when my alcoholism took a serious turn for the worst.
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I'm 34 years old and have been drinking socially since I was about 17. For about the last 6 years I have been drinking more heavily. An average week night 3 pints, but often 4 maybe 5. On a very good night just 2. At the weekends I would have 4-6 pints Friday, Saturday, Sunday, but its sometimes hits 9, that's without going on a night out. So, on average, about 30 pints. I also suffer with anxiety, and recently its been really bad. The anxiety is horrible, I feel panicked, overwhelmed and nervous about things that I should be happy about, I get strong feelings of guilt from things I've done in the past that, whilst it was wrong to do these things, it doesn't really matter to anyone. I feel like I cant lie in case I feel guilty after so I end up owning up to stupid things, such as spending a tenna in the betting shop. Its worse after drinking, so I drink more to help ease it, then feel like rubbish the next day so I drink again, then I'm in a vicious circle. I do enjoy a drink but most of the time I drink its unnecessary and to make myself feel better and calm down the anxiety. Its now got to the point where I've had enough of feeling like this so I have decided to cut down, and hopefully stop drinking altogether. I went 12 days a few weeks ago and was starting to feel better halfway through, but felt a bit flat and fed up. I went 5 days last week and the same thing happened. This week I have gone 3 days and so far I feel terrible, worse than ever, its not easing off like it usually does. The last two nights I've not slept, I keep twitching and jumping in the night. My hands feel like I have constant pins and needles and I feel dizzy. As well as the usual anxiety feelings. I'm going on holiday Saturday and I'm worried about being stuck on the plane for 2 hours, and I get anxious about being with my girlfriend who I love very much, for a few days, its ridiculous! She knows how I feel and is supportive, so is my mum, so I do have people to speak to. The doctor gave beta blockers yesterday but I don't like taking pills and worried it will make me feel worse. I know I'm not the only one who is like this and I know the booze is probably the reason why I'm like this, but how long is it going to last and what if its not the booze? Does anyone have any advice?
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My boyfriend and I have been dating for a few months now, and we are both 18. When we first started dating i knew he had a drinking problem before because he went to rehab. When we first started dating everything was great he didn't drink for the first two months of our relationship. When he did start drinking we drank casually, i thought everything is okay because he would only drink with me. But then he started drinking with old friends that he would drink heavily with. I thought everything would be okay but then he started freaking out on his parents and his anger was out of control. I told him that i don't think i could deal with any of this right now and he said he would stop drinking. which only lasted about a week. he was never mean to me, but he did threaten me saying if i was to break up with him he would kill himself. he just recently went to rehab and said he isn't coming back but he still wants to be together. i love him and care about him alot but not being able to see him kills me and i don't know how to deal with it. when i told him one night that i cant do it, the whole not seeing him thing he got very emotional. This is my first real serious relationship and i just need some advice on what to do. I don't have anyone to talk to because no one understands how i feel.
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I am a mature adult female, I drink heavily. I'm a functioning alcoholic. I do not drink before work or when I have an appointment. But after I'm done for the day I often drink to the point where I cannot remember the next day. I have developed a tremor, that's an easy way of saying it, I shake during the day. Even after I've had nothing to drink for 4 or 5 days it persists. This is something that I noticed with my mother, who was also a functioning alcoholic later on in her life. I noticed it later on in her life. I'd like to know, is this a given for alcoholics or should I be looking for a deeper meaning?
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I have lived with my partner for the past 4 years and when I met him he liked a drink, but at the time, it seemed just sociably. As the relationship progressed, so did his drinking, if we were out socially he would end up so drunk and quite embarrassing on a number of occasions. The drinking stepped up a notch when we bought our own place and for the past 3 years it has become a problem within the home more times than I care to mention, going from barely being able to speak, not wanting to do anything unless there was alcohol involved in the activity, making promises and reneging on them, wetting the bed, starting arguments when there was nothing to argue about, the culmination of this behaviour has been that 2 weeks ago he moved into the spare bedroom where he drank a bottle of vodka every night on his own, only to pop downstairs to start an arguement with my sons or me. I told him I wanted out, house to go on the market and go our separate ways. With that he made an appointment to see his doctor, who in turn said if he continues drinking what he drinks, he will be lucky to live beyond another 4 years... he is only 40 years old. He has confessed to me since the visit to the doctors that he's always drunk more than he should and has struggled with alcohol for the past 20 odd years. He has moved to his parents to start his detox and has to go back to the doctors in two weeks to let him know progress there has been, also he's been to a meeting with Inclusion, previously Homer, it was just an initial chat, they have given him some material to look through. He will go through an assessment following on from the next doctors appointment, and will then be assigned a key worker who he can chat to and will support him. I suppose what I want to know is how I'm supposed to behave towards him, whilst I still have feelings for him, I'm not sure I want to sign up to be with him forever as I just can't believe he will never touch a drop again. He's emailing me saying he still loves me and wants to get married when he's sober, but what's the reality of that? Do I tell him the truth that I can't stay with him or do I give him time to start the road to recovery without any stress from me?
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I am a 48 year old man and on average i drink about 10 bottles of wine a week. i feel fine look fine & am very healthy, but in gov stats i'm an alcoholic.
Why is this, i work abroad a lot (Spain) where wine consumption is the norm.
I exercise 5hrs a week my weight in 11 to 11 1/2 stone. If i drink white or rose wine i make them spritzers 3rd sparkling water, 3rd wine & a 3rd ice, if i drink red then i drink a glass of still water with each glass. I also drink good beer maybe 20 to 30 bottles instead of wine for 3 days a week & drink the same amount of water with each bottle, i never have a hangover, feel sluggish. i don't eat junk food drink tea or coffee or popfizz drinks i only eat freash foods no packets or takeaways i make my own. So tell me is my lifestyle wrong?
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So a couple nights ago I drank and can't remember part of the night. The funny thing is usually when I get drunk a trip n fall and that type of stuff and remember it fine. I wasn't drunk enough to be doing that but the whole night is hazy. And I guess I tried to have a conversation with a buddy's mom and I don't remember it. The bad thing is there are thoughts and feelings I have that I hope I didn't tell her about and I'm afraid I did. I'm to chicken to ask. I kept on telling them I wasn't drunk. I also remember thinking this is my last beer and I'm done but I'm pretty sure I drank more after that. All the people that I was drinking with say I was very drunk. And I just can't remember. I know my drink wasn't spiked or anything. But I'm also told my husband wanted me to go to bed and I didn't want to don't remember that either. I did start drinking on an empty stomach. But then I ate after about 2 beers.
My question how to prevent future memory loss cause sometimes it happens sometimes it does. And why. And does anyone think I would have said embarrassing things to the buddy's mom
Ps I'm not an alchohalic And I'm of legal drinking age and a responsible adult 90 percent of the time
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I had high ALT, high cholesterol, Triglycerides and Non-alcoholic fatty liver for last 1 year (as i know). I was trying to control these for last 6 Months.
I had my liver function blood test results back today as follows:
Serum Albumin: 43 g/L
Serum Alkaline Phosphatase : 77 iu/L
Serum ALT level 34 iu/L (it went upto 110 last year same time and slowly decreasing since then, in December 2014 it was 65 iu/L i am glad that it is back to this level )
Serum Bilirubin level 9 umol/L
Serum Lipids
Serum Cholesterol 5.3 mmol/L (In December 2014 it was 5.8)
Serum Triglycerides 1.95 mmol/L (In December 2014 it was 3.96)
HDL Cholesterol level 1 mmol/L
LDL cholesterol levels 3.4 mmol/L
Total cholesterol:HDL ratio = 5.3
It is clear that i have improved my ALT and Triglycerides with diet control and sports/exercise. However, still my cholestrol is high and recent Ultrasound scan suggested NAFLD, i.e fatty liver.
I would appreciate expert's suggestions regarding my cholesterol and reducing NAFLD. I am worried as i did not have these issues just about 1 year ago. I am playing sports 2-3 times a week, controlling my diet (no cheese/butter etc), what else i can do to lower my cholesterol and Fatty Liver.
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Does THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) the psychoactive chemical in cannabis sativa cause diarrhoea as well? I have no idea if thisis the case as all I know is that every time I use Cannabis, well I have to make several urgent detours to the loo!
If not THC, then what else could be in CS that would cause diarrhoea? (Some people claim that they experience real bad cases of the runs upon discontinuing the use of pot. Now in my case as I do NOT smoke the stuff, as there is already enough air pollution to go around, why pollute the lungs even further? Therefore I eat it in certain baked goods such as the old fashioned Alice B. Toklas brownies. (Could this be the cause of diarrhoea)?
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I had an abdominal ultrasound done for some abdominal pain and it was noted in the report as an impression that I had an echogenic appearing liver (such as non alcoholic fatty liver). My doctor at that time didn't tell me and just said my report was normal. When I went in for my Colonoscopy that was unrelated, it was mentioned again and when I did some research I realized what fatty liver actually was. I switched doctors.
My new doctor is considering giving me a CT scan but is checking with the GI department to see if they think its needed, etc. etc. But that there is no treatment for it besides diet modification.
Here's the thing. I don't have any of the risk factors. I am not overweight. I'm actually underweight slightly (BMI is 18, I weigh 110 lbs). I don't drink any alcohol, never did. And I don't have diabetes or hepatitis. The only thing I could do and what I have been doing is change my diet. I stopped eating processed foods, watched my sugar/carbs, and eat more vegetables than I ever have.
I'm a very anxious person and I'm not sure I want to know what the scan says. If it's worse than what I thought, I'm going to be so upset and stressed out. And I can't treat it anyway. It's not like they can give me a medication and make it go away. I think knowing the extent of it will just cause me mental anguish and I'm already stressed out about it as is.
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On Dec 6th i had a protected sex with a sex worker. I read through Google and found it is a low risk.
But what am worried is the symptoms or the things happening.
On the 10th day after the incident, i had a sudden huge dehydration and from there mild fever, fatigue, Throat pain, Pain in my groin, Arm pits as well, Loss of appetite, felt a lot of tiredness. I don't know if the lymph nodes were swollen or not, Nausea, Oral thrush, Blood red spots inside the mouth for a day. I felt all disappeared yesterday. But from today morning, i feel nerve tickling or blistering in my legs and frequency is slowly increasing with a mild joint paints as well.
Tests taken
13th day PCR DNA - Negative
28th Day - Antibody screening (finger prick) - negative
30th day PCR DNA - waiting for results.
my questions are
1) Do you think i will be hiv + ?
2) How good is a 13th day PCR DNA test?
3) 30th day PCR DNA test results are expected to come by this weekend.. If it is negative, then do you think i still need to do the testing after 84 days or 3 months?
I know symptoms cannot diagnose HIV, but i m really worried confused and keep thinking of this always. Please help me with any possible information.
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