22 years a smoker help

[Muffinman]

I am going to stop smoking cannabis. I have smoked for 22 years and spent a great deal of money on it. Today is my first day and I am abit scared. I know me and my wife will argue. I just hope we will still love each other once we both stop as we dont know each other with out it. I have had mental issues for a long time but that might be down to being in a care home from a young age or it could be from the cannabis. I am a 37 year old man and I am not looking forward to this. Has any one out there gone through this.

[Cannabis Rehab Admin]

Hi Muffinman

Wow 22 years is a fair old wack. I know what you mean about the mental issues I have experienced them too and after a number of years using cannabis you don’t know which is the cannabis and what would probably be there anyway, but in a lot of situations even if cannabis is not the only contributing factor, it can often exacerbate the problems and make them worse. Anyway yes it probably will be tough and there will probably be a few arguments, but it’s all part of the process and you will get through this, try to think long term and in the long term I am sure you will be glad you did it.

Thanks for posting, take care, please keep us posted and happy new year!

[OrangeCrush]

Muffinman, I am on Day 11 of not smoking. I’ve been smoking daily since I was 15, I’m 33 now (18 frickin years!). You can do this, it sure won’t be easy, but it is doable. These past 11 days have not been easy, but I can say it is already getting easier and I am thinking about it less. Here are my brief tips that I have found useful.

1. Read posts by others on this site. Make it a new habit to read a couple posts a day and whenever you have urges. The first couple of nights, I spent hours on here reading their stories, it really gives you the perspective needed to understand the role marijuana has played on your life. I just found this cannabis rehab site the day I quit; it is very active and has great support from others, especially from Cannabis Rehab Admin .

2. I felt like I lost my best friend. I became incredibly bored and lonely at times. I still feel this way, but it’s getting better, day by day. Luckily you have your wife which should soften the blow of these feelings. Don’t give in to this insidious drug; it will play tricks on you, as it has with me for many years.

3. It seriously affected my sleeping the first couple of days. I initially took Valerian Root an hour before I went to bed, but it left me feeling groggy in the morning. I have since started taking 3mg of Melatonin in the evening and it doesn’t give me the groggy feeling. I have also started taking 5-HTP in the morning, this will help with your mood and behavior; also helps with sleeping since it increases serotonin levels in your body.

4. On my fourth day I was really struggling, so I bought a Hypnosis MP3 called “Beating Marijuana Addiction”. You can buy this from Amazon for about $8.00 and there is usually an advertisement at the top of CannabisRehab.org for the download. This helped me the most. I can’t stress enough how beneficial this is to listen to. I have been listening to it at least once a day (sometimes twice a day), usually at night in my bed (I downloaded this on my iPod) and every time I have fallen asleep within 10-15 minutes. I know hypnosis doesn’t work for everyone, but it sure has been a life saver for me. I would strongly suggest taking a listen. I look at it this way, I have been smoking for 18 years, my brain is wired and programmed to smoke pot, so I needed something to re-wire my brain.

5. The first couple of days I had to force myself to eat. By the end of the first week I was almost back to normal, but now I don’t really crave sweets and junk food as much. I am eating a lot healthier! I think 5-HTP also helps with appetite, so this could be the reason why I got my hunger back again so quickly.

6. The first couple of days, I still felt like I was stoned. I actually felt dumber and said and did a lot of stupid stuff. I am not sure if it’s because I was sober and more aware of how dumb I am or if it was the pot seeping out of my system. Today I feel a lot better, but I certainly don’t feel 100% yet, I hear this will take a while. I need to remind myself to be patient with myself and allow my body and brain to heal and to learn how to function without pot.

7. Like I stated before, pot has an insidious affect on our minds. What I mean is that it’s very subtle with temping you to smoke again, it will tell you it’s no big deal, and one joint isn’t going to hurt. Don’t underestimate the power marijuana plays on your mind! (Wow, that sounded like a quote for Star Wars LOL).

Well, I could go on and on, but I will save more of my journey for another post.

Oh, Rehab Admin we have not officially met, I have posted a couple of brief posts, and I hope we will have many healthy discussions in the future. You truly are a godsend!

Peace,

OrangeCrush

[OrangeCrush]

Also keep in mind what works for one might not work for someone else. You need to find what is right for you. For example, I mentioned 5-HTP…. I am still unsure of this supplement. I am not sure, but it seems to cause a slight headache for me and also my cheeks and face feels warmer than normal. It is a little uncomfortable; I am not positive it’s the supplement, but it seems like it is.

I ordered Natrol’s Theanine from Walgreens, it’s only $13.49 a bottle and it uses the Suntheanine brand which is recommended on this site. Once I get this in my hands, I am going to give this a try and stop taking the 5-HTP.

[deb]

muffinman

muffinman keep it up, day 13 for me after smoking for 40 years on a daily basis

hugs
deb

[Cannabis Rehab Admin]

Hi Orangecrush and welcome to the forum, I don’t think I have formally welcomed you yet, I have been a bit busy lately and I think replying to your posts slipped me by, my apologies. I am so glad the hypnosis mp3 has helped, like you say not everybody is susceptible but for those who are it can be a really powerful weapon, for the price of a couple of joints I think it is definitely worth giving a go. I am so glad you are finding the rehab group helpful, thank you for your kind words they really do mean a lot. It can be a bit of a mine field with the supplements thing, there are so many these days and it’s difficult enough to decide what to take without even beginning to pick a supplier that will be of high quality. I researched it quite thoroughly a little while back as I was in desperate need of some good brain food, the years of smoking really took their toll particularly on my memory and cognitive abilities. Anyway after a fair bit of research the best I thought I could find were something called neuro natural memory, they were the most complete brain supplement I came across and meant to be of good quality, they are even enteric coated which is meant to protect the ingredients that may be destroyed by your stomach acids if they were not. It’s got the 5HTP, sAME, gingko, ginseng, as well as practically everything else that’s been linked to be good for the brain including essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals. They also do others like neuro natural serenity which is specially designed for anxiety, but has many of the same ingredients, like I say there’s not much that they don’t include, anyway that’s what I take and I think they have helped significantly.

I know what you mean about it feels like you have lost your best friend, I think most of us feel that way, so it’s really important to find new things to put in its place, I think that is one of the most important strategies when it comes to quitting, having other positive things to focus on is so important.

Thanks for your posts I am sure others in the same boat will find them really helpful, those are some good tips. Well done with your efforts you are doing really well!

Take care, please keep us posted on how it goes and happy new year!

[Moomin]

Day 1 for me

Hi muffinman,
I'm new to this message board thing but have decided to use it as a way to detox after 17 years of smoking. I've just turned 35 and looked back on the amount of time I've wasted smoking weed- LOTS!

My relationsips are suffering and time passes by in a haze.
I stopped for 7 months in 2008 but slipped back down the rocky slope of 'occasional social smoking' to where I am now....smoking every day, planning my life around it.
I wish muffinman all the strength to get through the cravings
wish me luck................