[earthangel1]

After I left a cheating boyfriend in Phoenix, Arizona, I decided to move back home to Wisconsin. On the way home, I stopped in Colorado to smoke weed. It's legal there, so I thought "hey! why not?" I stayed in the mountains and smoked a lot of weed. During my last day of being in Colorado, I smoked a joint and felt so amazing it felt like I was floating through outer space. This is when my mania with psychosis started. And read this carefully if you regularly smoke pot. I felt so happy and optimistic at first. But when I got to Iowa on my drive home, I felt ecstatic! I felt I knew the secret to happiness and nobody else knew it. I finally got home and did not want to see my psychiatrist, but then extreme irritability and agitation kicked in and I knew I needed to see him. He prescribed Zyprexa immediately. I went to pick up my prescription and began telling the pharmacist about the secret to happiness. He was very kind and did not judge. The Zyprexa did not work and it also made me gain 15 lbs in 2 weeks. My psychiatrist then put me on abilify and lithium. After a couple days, I was still so agitated and restless. I told my parents I hope they die of cancer when they came to visit me to show me support. They knew I wasn't right so they did not judge me. After a week, most of my manic symptoms disappeared. I now have a little bit of hypomania but not much. But I had to do much soul searching after my manic episode. I figured out I really do need medication, and that mj and alcohol are not my friends. I have been sober from alcohol, (which I abused for three months straight) and marijuana for over a month and I have an interview Monday working for pharmaceutical benefits plans from the state of Wisconsin. I am finally getting my life together but I just want to advise people who are bipolar to stay away from weed. Yes it does help some people with illnesses and diseases, but it's not good for us. Period.

[CopperStar]

I disagree. There have been several years when weed was highly instrumental in me being able to maintain stability enough to hold down a job, held it down for 7 years straight thanks to that plant, without psychiatric medication. The trick for me was to not smoke too much, basically to not abuse it, just a bowl before bed to alleviate depression/anxiety and help me sleep (which helped a lot to prevent dysphoric mania, which I tend to get from sleep-deprivation).

However, I do understand that weed cannot be for everyone, that it will have terrible effects for some people. And I find it very admirable when someone is able and willing to acknowledge that for themself and take a stand to quit. So kudos to you for having that level of self-responsibility.

[Unrigged64072835]

Glad you were able to recover and get your regimen back on track.

[Pastel Kitten]

I found that weed's relaxing effects actually give me more anxiety. Just to clarify, I've only been high twice, and off of edibles. The first time I ate too much without realizing and got WAY too high, which caused a great amount of hallucinating and anxiety. But the second time, I ate a good amount and got incredibly relaxed - but that relaxation actually terrified me. I stayed relaxed into the next day, and that is definitely not something I am used to - especially because I am rapid cycling so every other week I'm hypomanic. My boyfriend wants me to try weed again to help me relax, but I'm way too scared! It just doesn't feel right to me. Alcohol feels much better to me but I know I shouldn't be relying on that either.

[avlady]

my husband smokes weed all day long and is a very very high functioning person. he says if it wasn't for weed he wouldn't be able to do anything. i've seen him off of it too and he seems correct in his judgement. i myself can't and i tried it a few times but it made me manic and hopefully will never try it again.

I'd also like to respectfully disagree. If you are already manic or psychotic weed is terrible. But if used responsibly and at appropriate times I think it can be utilized just like a psych med. Like all psych meds, not every type works for every person, and some people react particularly badly.
Congrats on your recovery! I'm so glad to hear things are turning around for you.

[earthangel1]

Originally Posted by jupiter3

I'd also like to respectfully disagree. If you are already manic or psychotic weed is terrible. But if used responsibly and at appropriate times I think it can be utilized just like a psych med. Like all psych meds, not every type works for every person, and some people react particularly badly.
Congrats on your recovery! I'm so glad to hear things are turning around for you.

I think it is like a bipolar person taking antidepressants. Some are okay, others are manic.

[bbTofu]

What is right for you, is not necessarily right for others.

There are some genes that make people more prone to psychosis induced by Cannabis, not everyone are like this. Same with other stuff, LSD doesn't cause schizophrenia, but in some people it may trigger an underlaying schizophrenia.

I smoked weed for years, never was psychotic/manic/hypomanic as a result of this use. However, today I don't smoke weed because I simply don't know how it may affect my moods long-term.

[Christopher1990]

I agree, right now it's not for me. I love the stuff and if I had no responsibilities I'd continue smoking. I haven't smoked in about 9 months. After realizing it wasn't doing me any good, and most likely caused my last manic episode. i was smoking all day, even doing work. And it was all good for many months, into it sent me into mania. It may have been due to the strain being sativa. Also, if on medication, many psych drugs and herb do not mix. I'll wait until it's legal. I'm interested in smoking strains high in cbd because it is non-psychoactive.