Cannabis and Bipolar

Also, you might want to keep in mind, as with anything practically you take, there us a tolerance build-up if used regularly. Also, medicating with it may run you into trouble with the expense. I would suggest if you do use it, to maybe make edibles. The effect will last longer than smoking or vaping it.

Can tolerance breaks take care of that?

To be honest, I couldn't tell you because I haven't used it long enough. Hope someone else can help with this?

I use to smoke some. Back in college, recently as last fall. It collided with my symptoms of mania and perplexed me into a state of psychosis. I don't know if it is all to blame for what happened or if it was just that time that my body decided to become ill. I used it twice when coming back from psychosis and both times were miserable experiences, nothing like they've use to be. Paranoid and extremely uncomfortable.

I'm beginning to slip into a psychotic state now. Just got some new medicine to calm it down. Basically a race now between the new anti-psychotic and becoming full blown psychotic lol. Didn't use weed this time, but if it works for you go ahead. My brother is addicted to the stuff and can't go even a day or two without it. Kind of makes me sad. My dad uses alcohol the same way. Mom occasionally does it, but she buries herself in delicious foods. Sister is a sex addict who drinks heavily and little sister I don't know yet. I'm bipolar and part psychotic, who likes to drink and use to like to smoke. We could be doing a lot better.

My bf smokes regularly and utilizes tolerance breaks to manage and it works for him.

The moment he doesn't get the same effect from smoking (he primarily smokes to sleep) and finds himself needing to light an extra blunt he stops for about a month or so...

He's been using this method for years and so far so good.

Yeah thats what my bf was doing too, if his tolerance got too high he would have a break. The amount I use is minuscule. It doesnt even register as a recreational or social user. I have no problem having breaks from it.

Thanks for all the replies. I am thankful for first hand experiences. I have met a few blokes who had weed related psychosis but they were also alcoholics and had mental issues before the use of weed so I was not convinced that the weed was entirely to blame. All of those who I was in hospital with for weed related psychosis have all gone back to using with no problems now. I find that really strange, and makes me think it was never the weed for them. Is weed just a scapegoat for pdocs when they cant think of another reason? Or its the easiest thing to blame "cos everyone knows its bad for you"...

If you have an addictive personality I'd avoid it like the plague!!! It was easier for me to quit ciggs and booze combined than pot. I was a 24/7 pot head and had to fight like hell to get off the stuff.

I experienced a lot of psycho-ludicrous when I was smoking...

and yet?... I continued to puff the magic dragon!

...to have it acceptable?.... would change two things....

my worries...

and my worries...

Whats worse in your opinion/experience, alcohol or marijuana?

alcohol is worse in my opinion......I drink seldom but smoke plenty. Depends on who you ask. I can drive if I have smoked (slowly, of course) but I won't drive if I drink and with weed there is no hang over.....that is just my opinion, though.

I think alcohol is worse when mixed with psychiatric meds.

I love smoking marijuana, but it is very dangerous for me to do so. It causes hallucinations, paranoia, addiction and depression, it causes my meds to stop working, and it does cause psychosis. I've been smoking heavily since August, and I have been having severe depression because my meds have stopped working and I have even resorted to cutting myself which I have not done in 4 years. So now I have quit.

However, I've found that marijuana is different for everyone. Some people with bipolar have good experiences with it, but for me it is very dangerous to smoke. It is also very addicting. I never thought so until I started smoking it. I love to smoke it, but it's never been a good experience for me. And for those who don't believe marijuana isn't addictive because there's no nicotine in it, there's no nicotine in alcohol but we all know how dangerous that is.

While most people don't have a problem quitting weed when needed, for me it has been extremely addictive.

I started smoking around 14 or 15. As soon as I was out on my own it was a daily habit. It's prevented me from getting many jobs and just achieving my potential in general. Right now I live with two people who smoke and I am thinking of moving into sober living just so I can quit smoking and get my life together.

Everyone's experience is different with weed, much like many of our psych meds.

I actually love the stuff. It calms me down and relaxes me. It doesn't make me paranoid anymore.

The stuff out there now is higher quality than when I was in high school because they use different hybrids.

If it works for you, then smoke it. If it makes you paranoid, stay the hell away from it.

I smoked quite a bit back when in college (a looong time ago!) and it was overall relaxing, fun... Munchies where we were so hungry wouldn't give the pasta time to cook, so it was pretty darn crunchy....

Since college I think I've tried it, very little, maybe once or twice. Luckily, I didn't get addicted, in that I could just leave it behind when I left college, no problem, never actually *craved* it.

Alcohol has been another thing entirely for me. Got very addicted, had a problem for many years, very destructive. A doctor told me once that he didn't believe the thinking that it's used as a 'coping mechanism' but I was extremely fortunate (and came as a shock to me) that after getting Lamictal to a therapeutic dose and feeling so much better, I stopped craving it. And this was after over 10 years of serious alcoholism. Still took a while after that to stop using it as a go-to, out of habit, when I was feeling too down or too agitated, but it happened. I consider myself very lucky in this respect.

So for me, alcohol and weed --can't compare. I've heard weed isn't so addictive, but I don't know how that plays out in the real world; just know it was no problem for me stopping it, and when I did it, didn't cause at least mental health problems. Could be too, though, that I wasn't particularly insightful at that point in my life either, so who knows, but certainly nothing obvious.

Igot paranoid on it and hallucinated while driving. Glad I didn't get pulled over.

Hi. I quit weed 9 months ago thru AA. I totally agree with your post. Pot ruined my life and it was very very hard to quit but so worth it!! I used to start smoking first thing in the morning and go all freaking day. My life revolved around weed and I was s prisoner. Today I have a life and before I was just a waste of space.

Good luck to you

tnt

I have used cannabis on and off years and prior to being diagnosed with BP2.
Then did not use it for over a decade. Then, within the past three years, I began using it again. Occasionally and then habitually. Cannabis, according to my Pdoc is not addictive, rather it is habit forming. I was smoking very two three hours all day.
I noticed I was more relaxed, less manic and slept better, but feel asleep when I wasn't ready to .
Within the past 3 months of using after a 2.5 year high-atus (haha) I became depressed and worrisome; anxiety surfaced and I felt so poorly afterwards.

That is just my experience.

Speaking as someone who has not really built up much tolerance, there IS such a thing as a marijuana hangover. No worse really than mild drinking hangover. Not pleasant, but each person is different and I've just done too much trying to find the right dose for sleep. Drink lots of water though if you get one though!

Yes, I have used it and it makes my symptoms worse. I end up getting anxious, very depressed, and have disturbingly vivid thoughts about death and suicide. Not to mention I can't carry out simple tasks. Concentration is also out the window. All in all, I can't smoke it anymore.

I only use during the evening hours at home. I use it specially for sleep. But frankly, still experimenting to find the right amount. I had a good night's sleep with it last night. I also know people who had smoked it since being teenagers and are now in their fifties. The one has stopped and the psychological withdraw has been hell. The other smokes at home nearly constantly. Even though she uses it for her MS, there is also a very big addiction going on.

Frankly, I don't like feeling high all the time and only use it after being home for the night and often just at bedtime. I am aware that psychological addiction does exist, but I'm hoping I'm careful enough not to have this problem, and if I do, to stop before it takes over my life.

It used to calm me but now it just creeps me out. I don't use it anymore .. but have to admit it does have value to some.

I became completely addicted to pot. I smoked it morning noon and night. I was spending $500 a month. I don't care what the experts say, for me it was physically and psychological addictive. I had sn easier time quitting ciggs and booze combined. I think it's lethal.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

Hi! I know cannabis causes distress for a lot of people. That, however, is no reason to say it is a bad drug. I'm not referring to anyone, just stating my opinion. Cannabis helps me a lot. It lessens my mania, it cures my depression (for a while) and it makes me calm and able to think better and more objectively. I really believe it is a good drug for a lot of people with bipolar. It is definitely worth trying. One has to be careful, however. While it is not very addictive, it can be a tough addiction to beat. I look forward to the day when I can get this medicine legally at a drug store. By the way, for me, mania is a much more intense high than cannabis.

Yesterday I smoked weed for the very first time in my life, and it was GREAT! Except the hunger and, ehm, increased libido, everything was marvelous. It's like a hypomania episode without the ugly parts.
I subscribe to Axiom, after smoking it everything was better, no signs of depression, anger or worries, and it went on for a few hours today too.