[elevatedsoul]

well, its been over a month now since i've been sober (from alcohol) and the doctors just keep "pestering" me about smoking weed, so im considering just stopping for a while atleast so to make them happy

i've smoked for more than half my life, im 24 years old now and started when i was 12-13years old

smoking has become somewhat a core part of my life and i really dont think that weed is such a bad thing...

i dont want to quit but i want to prove to them that its not negatively effecting me? i feel like im trying to divorce a wife or kill a best friend
i havent even quit and i miss it so much already...

i just now read a couple articles about gabapentin helping some 'adicts' with quiting/cessation/abstinence ...
how did any of you quit? did you choose to or did you do it because of your drs? have you tried gabapentin to help..?

i feel like quiting may be the only way to get them to take me seriously... even though i quit drinking already, it seems that doesnt count even though drinking is 1000x more dangerous (especially when you dont eat and drink a whole bunch like i used to)

anyway i guess i am just wondering if any of you have experienced with using gabapentin to help quit smoking.. my whole life revolves around smoking i've become such a huge marijuana advocate because of how much its helped me through everything i have been through and i feel like the dr's are just ignoring that .. its never negatively effected my life and in my opinion has saved my life multiple times becaues i just dont feel like i would be alive today if it wasnt for that plant

[winter4me]

I think it would be a good thing to stop, just so that you are Not dependent on any substance and can truly evaluate the effect pot has had on your life. Do it for yourself. It doesn't have to be "forever", and, hey in 6mo, a year, maybe you will feel differently than you do now, or it may not be a "regular" thing. You will be free to go anywhere without worrying about whether you can get what you 'need' or not (whether it be alcohol, cigs, pot, dunkin donuts...)---

[elevatedsoul]

i did abstain for a year a few years back, i quit drinking that year too and did alot of self reflection (i was 16-20 i think? memory gaps..) it wasnt a problem for me to stop.. i know how much the marijuana has helped my depression, and i also know how much the drinking worsened the depression... so now i have been sober from alcohol for a few months now and really dont want to drink although i miss it, i know it just makes me feel worse the next day... the marijuana has never caused me to feel ill, in a bad sense.. i have freaked myself out a few times but thats because i guess i was a chronic user..? but with every drug comes a dosage level right? so after the 1 year i started back smoking 1 night out of the blue, i was starting to get depressed again as well before i started back (although it doesnt cure depression for me it makes it milder) so i see this plant as a big part of my life and probably would have been suicidal / suicide ideations without it all these years, i remember before i started using around 11-13 after being returned from fostercare to my father i was having rage issues which turned into a meloncholic depression that lasts even today, i would go days without talking to anyone... read large books within days, withdrawing as much as possible i supose so when i started using it was a social thing that helped me not isolate, etc... probably to the extreme even though it still feels normal to me to just be alone... so this plant really changed how i handled things in life, if you can see where im coming from..? every medicine is weighed in pros and cons and i think its helped, maybe its not helping so much now because of my high tolerance level due to long term use and improper potency evaluation... i dont see anything wrong with smoking and i think the illegal thing is causing the anxiety which i think is unfair because it helps so well with so little side effects... i wish that it was legalized medicinally atleast so we could get propper potency / strengths for our different needs.. sorry, im just ranting on ; anywho

a therapist at the clinic i go to said that i could have problems getting my medication because i smoke it? i dont quite understand what he meant by that?
thanks for your time reading my long winded post - i dont know how to explain these things most of the time so i end up confused myself hehe

[HealingNSuffering]

Originally Posted by elevatedsoul

a therapist at the clinic i go to said that i could have problems getting my medication because i smoke it? i dont quite understand what he meant by that?
thanks for your time reading my long winded post - i dont know how to explain these things most of the time so i end up confused myself hehe

Yes I know people who this has happened to, myself included, one time I admitted to regular pot use at a hospital and they didn't give me pain relievers. Same thing with pdocs and benzos. Some docs find it harder to give them to you if they know you have a history of substance abuse or alcohol abuse.

I think its a good idea to quit, but I know all too well with cannabis dependence that is always easier said than done.

[elevatedsoul]

i read about gabapentin being used to help with stopping dependence?
im thinking about trying to refrain from smoking for a while atleast till i get my 'head' straight?
but of course its easier said than done, when you see it smell it or hear it!! but yeah its just hard for me to think of myself as an abuser i guess, i was just chronic user for my many ailments no criminal
its like the age ol sayin 'im not an alcoholic, i just like to drink' :/
atleast im not drinking anymore ! thats how i look at it and dont see why the green should be a problem besides maybe not monitoring how much i intake ?

i was thinking if what i read about gabapentin is true then maybe that would help? and just maybe i could curve it for a while long enough to get things straight - or maybe forgood who knows.. i know mary jane has been my girlfriend for 10+ years so losing her is something sad

[Tist1975]

I think the doctors have a point asking you to quit smoking, now that you mention that doing that is difficult.

I'm not a smoker, and I'm not dismissing weed as totally harmful. But if you associate your happiness with a particular substance (drink, food, smoke or any other substance) then there is a problem.

[elevatedsoul]

I agree, its just been such a big part of my life for so long im not sure what to do about it now? I would like to be happy without any substances or materials, I dont associate it completely with happiness or joy but its become a large part of my life

[Tist1975]

Have you told your doctors what you feel about smoking, how it has helped you? Maybe they can prescribe something else that can help.

I'm sorry I can't suggest anything really useful. As I've said I'm not a smoker, just wanted to help.

[elevatedsoul]

its ok, i appreciate the replies
i've tried to express my feelings about smoking towards the drs but i have trouble i guess "giving weight" to what im expressing/experiencing? I've only recently considered quiting as an option so im still being hit with wave after wave of guilt "maybe i should quit, maybe i shouldn't" .. but i intend on getting intouch with my case manager asap and telling her my thoughts about it
im hoping that they can give me something that will help with what the weed has helped with all these years, it just makes me feel a little silly .. but i would rather be a happy camper than a criminal because i smoke

i do know i dont get the same effects from weed so maybe its only logical to quit and try something else i didnt realize i had become so addicted/dependent

[kala83]

its really a hard thing for to have an opinion on...me and my boyfriend smoke...but we also know the issues smoking can create so we always try to keep that in mind.

him espically for me since he knows I am trying to find work right now...I have abstaining fro a while...but I do enjoy the feeling that it gives......

and I don't feel poorly about that...

but then I just got a hold of a friend of mine that is going to rehab right now to get away from her smoking issues.

I just for certain people.....smoking is more of a series issue then others. I don't see it as being so bad for me...cause I don't let it control me.....but maybe for others its harder to control that kind of thing.....

[Hellion]

It sounds like maybe it would be a good idea to give it up for a while...just to clear your head(though I know cannabis can have a head clearing effect at times to) and see where you are in life without it. But yeah if its too stressful to think of quitting 'forever' just think of it as a break and after that you can decide if you want to continue to smoke or if you're better off without it. I am kind of thinking of giving it up for a while at least...I have reduced the amount I smoke but even still it's just not doing what it used to. Even so I admit it is kind of hard to actually give it up.

I can also relate to feeling like it can help reduce suicidal feelings, its done that for me. Anyways it is in the realm of possibility it will be legalized medicinally in your state...but yeah I certainly don't think it should be a crime to smoke it.

Also though not sure if its true you would have trouble getting your meds because you smoke...I don't have any trouble and have valium perscribed for anxiety but maybe it varies in different states.

[elevatedsoul]

thanks, yeah im seriously considering it just to see what happens.. but its extremely depressing to think about quiting, im gonna try to think of it as just a break like you said.. ive been reducing the amount for past couple weeks, i wish there was an easy button hehe

[deeronjepsuhn]

I don't know if I'll ever not smoke because it doesn't negatively effect my life.
But I can go without it, I have before.

[elevatedsoul]

i quit drinking and smoking before, for 1 year; and i picked it back up after a year nearly exactly, just because i couldnt see where it was harming me or my life...
i really dont want to quit, it scares me thinking about quiting.. i love everything about the plant, but i think the doc thinks the weed is causing negative symptoms.. like the cofffee, but i've been drinking coffee all day long again since quitting drinking and the cafiene doesnt negatively effect me either, i just have severe underlying anxiety and depression probably from the PTSD..? MJ is a miracle plant and has helped me get this far.. it feels like betraying a best friend to even mention or think of quiting

[arachnophobia.kid]

I think you're right that it doesn't have to be a problem. However, you've brought it to our attention here, to me that says you're worried about it for some reason or another. Is that accurate?

I think ideally what marijuana should be used for is medicinal purposes. If you could get a prescription that'd best. Otherwise, if you are using it recreationally or for some kind of escape, that's where it could become dangerous.

[elevatedsoul]

im worried just becausethe doctors keep asking me if im still smoking... im not sure if im using it for an escape or not but i know i've used alot, for a long time .. and i havent spent many days without it, so not smoking for 1 day i can tell a huge difference.. ( i gave in and smoked earlier ) i feel like it helps my anxiety and depression so much, takes the big bite off you know? i dunno, i just know i dont have bad side effects from it and it seems to really help :x

[HealingNSuffering]

Doctors are good at hassling me about marijuana to. Mine hounded me for years about it, to the extent that I stopped going to him, even for physical check ups... Last time I saw him, he used a better strategy than telling me to be completely abstinent, he told me when he was a kid they used to smoke Thai stick dipped in Opium but they smoked it moderately, socially with friends. He said he doesn't have a problem with that kind of use, but every day heavy use is concerning to him. I was an every day, all day, best quality I could get, never ran out kind of smoker. For many years, then it started having a paradoxical reaction and stopped helping my problems, it was making my anxiety a lot worse, I think something happened in my liver, or in my brain that changed the way I metabolize it, and hence changed the way it effects me. I quit for several months, and it was a roller coaster, but after 3 months the withdrawals went away completely.

Now I'm back to daily use, but I only do it once or twice per day and never in the morning. Usually before dinner to enhance appetite or before bed to improve sleep quality. I'm not constantly thinking about it and don't really have the compulsion to keep using it after I get my fix. But my mood is a lot more stable and sleep quality improved as well as my nausea and GERD (other medications don't work and cause horrible side effects for me). The paradoxical reaction still happens sometimes, if I take too many puffs I tend to get very anxious and it lowers my pain threshold.

[Altered Moment]

When I went to drug and alcohol treatment in 1995 before I went I swore to myself I would never give up weed. While in treatment they made us go to a couple of Marijuana Anonomous meetings. I thought to myself you have got to be kidding. I couldn't believe there was such a thing. Addicted to pot.....ridicules. I was a heavy pot user up until that point. For some reason something I heard in that meeting made me decide to quit. I called my wife from the treatment center and told her to throw away my pipe and stash. I decided that if I was going to be clean and sober than I was going to be completely sober. Years later after battling depression and anxiety all my life I decided to give pot a try to see if it would help with depression. It did not help, just made me more tired and unmotivated. If i was having anxiety it made me paranoid. I gave up that idea and quit.

Before I got sober I used to try to quit drinking on my own alot. The furthest I ever made it was six months. during that six months my pot intake went up and up and up and up. I was smoking 24/7. Finally my tolerance was so high it just wasn't getting it so I went back to drinking.