Personal Battle

[ruthless]

hi guys,

this is a personal battle, i'm contemplating or trying to quit

 

in my teens i was on anti-depressants then i substituted it with smoking marijuana. I have been smoking for 9 yrs since 12 i did quit for a year a year and a half ago it was one of most difficult struggles of my life. I couldn't sleep at all only way to sleep was if i go to bed watch repeats twice of a tv shows i downloaded. After a few weeks of my personal struggle i was clean for about a year then i got back into it after a night out.

 

Lately i've been trying to quit i said last quarter that this would be my last and by lowering the amount i smoked would help. Well that didn't work, so fast forward ahead i'm on my last last quarter down to scraping the resin out of my bong.

 

my problem i can't concentrate whole heartedly as my work requires me to do so (passion) without a smoke. It's like i'm dazed there's no ambition and motivation. At the same time smoking is getting expensive, some of you might be familiar with Parkinsons law.

 

If you bring $200 for a night out you will spend $200. Same as a quarter.

 

I'm contemplating seeing help and going back on to meds to keep me in a good state of mind. It's been a very along time since i had meds prescribed and even then i was smoking as well. But at the same time i know marijuana is good at what it does and also helps me to sleep as i have always had a hard time sleeping.

 

right now i'm actually smoking the resin out of my bong... i know a sad reality. Smoking cigarettes is not even close to a substitute and i don't normally smoke them unless drinking.

 

My situation:

My main dealers moved who i've been getting off for yrs.

options:My friends mate that i don't hang with can get it but it's a hassle as he doesn't smoke and he has to pick his mate.

options:I can go see my old time school friends who i used to smoke with but everyones grown up and its been 5 years.

 

What's the difference between prescribed meds and Marijuana? like instant effect, differences, side effects, cost of prescribed meds etc..

 

What do you do to cut down smoking? for me i try to reward myself~

Do you guys ever ask yourself can i smoke forever?

if worse comes to worse i'll see my friend and try get introduced so i can pick up myself.

Edited December 31, 2007 by ruthless

[Pam]

Anti depressants saved my life. They are overused by doctors though. I believe there are alot of bi-polar ppl out there trying to make ssri's work, and they might help, but not enough it seems.

MJ certainly helps with a ton of different ailments, but severe depression isn't one.

 

I firmly believe that anyone who feels that they cannot mentally cope without self medicating needs help and the proper meds for the problem. These are not conditions that can be cured, or will just go away, or can be remedied with herbal meds. Sure MJ makes it hurt less, but why hurt at all if you don't have to.

[DrDee]

Ruthless and friends,

Granny,you have a good take on the situation. I remember when Prozac came out and they were doling it out like candy. Bizarre. The modern anti-depressants have fewer side effects and with moderate to severe depression, pot smoking just isn't going to do it.

 

Mullway, you had some good points but depression and treatment for it isn't necessarily a lifetime thing. A good Psychiatrist is always thinking "when can I be reducing these meds" They use drug holidays (weekends off) and other ideas to reduce lifetime dependencies on meds. They can save a life as Granny pointed out and also reduce the pain of living with depression or anxiety.

 

Ruthless, hang in there and do what you think is right. You have options. Your life won't be like this forever.

Dee

[mull]

Ruthless and friends,

Granny,you have a good take on the situation. I remember when Prozac came out and they were doling it out like candy. Bizarre. The modern anti-depressants have fewer side effects and with moderate to severe depression, pot smoking just isn't going to do it.

 

Mullway, you had some good points but depression and treatment for it isn't necessarily a lifetime thing. A good Psychiatrist is always thinking "when can I be reducing these meds" They use drug holidays (weekends off) and other ideas to reduce lifetime dependencies on meds. They can save a life as Granny pointed out and also reduce the pain of living with depression or anxiety.

 

Ruthless, hang in there and do what you think is right. You have options. Your life won't be like this forever.

Dee

 

 

Hey Doc, yeah we all speak from different experience I spose mate. Prozac, Fluoxetine, Lovan, Sarafem is still on the candy doll out tho, and I agree, bizarre to the point of obviously being a self perpetuating industry.

One of such a size, that it can protect its interests on many levels, one e.g. the continuing of cannabis prohibition.

And one that sometimes seems to create and class new illness' to suit existing medications.

 

Have never heard of drug holidays for the patient Doc. At first glance thought you were referring to the drug company bonuses offered to pdocs/docs.

Because any good pdoc will know that suddenly ceasing anti depressants can have significant withdrawal effects. Even heighten the risk of suicide in those prone.

Ssri's can be overdosed on. Also serious depression is usually classed bipolar 1 or 2 and treated with antipsychotics, which can leave very serious side effects e.g. heart problems, physical movement disorders like dystonia and tardive dyskinesia, plus massive weight gain/ diabetes risk etc

 

The placebo effect from sugar pills, has been found to have a higher success rate in ssri trials, than the ssri's

 

Cannabis can also reduce the pain of living with depression and anxiety. Except, for prohibition alone, the risks and its stigmas.

Growing it yourself, understanding the plant, can help to understand health and the need to nurture something alive - including yourself.

The need to have a diet of balanced nutrients and good clean water. Stress free environment, with good air flow..

 

and..

 

[Budman2012]

I agree with you Mullaway , well said ,but to an extent I agree with most of the comments.

 

If things are so bad that it becomes overly-difficult to cope it certainly is advisable to seek "professional" help , I'm sure we'd all agree ..

Some medications have their place and have helped certain people .. unfortunatly in my experience I've known all too many people that have been on these type of "anti" drugs and with terrible results across the board .. suicide , zombification or just higher and higher doses until the person eventually needs to stay in hospital with injections that really zonk them out ..

Or .. like most , they try for a while and realize that a pill is never going to help them deal with their problems , then they find other methods of coping .. some going on with great success

(I should add that many of these people still used to use Cannabis anyway , and alot of it)

 

Now forgive me if I sound a little direct here .. but it seems to me from your post that the real problem is actually not having enough Cannabis to get by , due to lack of convenience and excess prices heheh

Not meaning to disregard any personal struggles .. but if you've been travelling well for 9 years .. seems like a bit of smoko has been good for you.

 

Granny wrote , "These are not conditions that can be cured, or will just go away, or can be remedied with herbal meds. Sure MJ makes it hurt less, but why hurt at all if you don't have to."

Speaking on Depression and anxiety .. well I agree , but herbal OR pharmaceutical meds will never "cure" the root causes of depression In my opinion .. when could it ever possibly be as simple as neuro-imbalance? sure , maybe a lack of seratonin etc. won't help with depression , but it is not the underlying cause.

 

Anyway , as for motivation (passion) .. MJ used to serve me personally , extremely well .. still does , but nowhere near like how it used to be after 15 years or so of tokin' .. .. When I've been convinced to take meds I felt like a zombie and and barely wanted to live , letalone get out of bed .. absolutely zero motivation. I just stick to the Beer and Budz these days

I'd say I'm bound to lose more motivation as i gain jadedness with age

 

Cutting down is the way to go mate (at least until you can grow your own) .. It's not hard , just takes a small amount of self control ... when you cut down enough your "tolerence levels" will drop , and you will not need to smoke as much for the desired effect.

Forget Brekky-bongs if you want to lower your tolerence .. try and wait a few hours (or even until late afternoon (420 anyone?) and the effect will be greater using less smoko ..

When I do this daily I get nicely toasted with just one good cone , then just top-up a few times throughout the evening no worries .. but another important thing for "cutting down" is to make sure your occupied .. this helps with conserving the rations and also helps take your mind off other problems.

I've been using these methods when needed for many many years , and that is why I've rarely ever had a "straight" day over the years heheh , and It also saves on "doin' the mission" to score on a constant basis. Man I hated that.

 

Well , I had quite alot more to relay about this .. but this is overly-long enough as it is .. So I wish you all the best , and hope you don't need to resort to the toxic meds in order to try and feel better. Good Luck

 

Budman

[DrDee]

Hi Group,

First off, ruthless, in his initial post and request for help, stated that he's been smoking pot since he was 12 and that he wants to stop. He's having trouble with concentration and enthusiasm for work and life in general. I've tried to use that as the starting point for my posts to him. I think my advice to Ruthless was reasonable within that context.

 

This shouldn't turn into a bash fest for the drug industry and a parade for the pro-pot side. It's about ruthless and how he can achieve some relief from the pain he's experiencing. Sure, getting stoned will make him feel better but then he will come down...leaving him where he stated. If there were long acting time-release and legal THC coumpound that ruthless could be on, that may have been my first choice for him.

 

Mullway, perhaps things are done differently in the US, but drug holidays are a useful tool to reduce overal medication to minimize side effects. Anti-depressants are a long acting drug (long half-life in the body). That's why it takes about two weeks to get a full therapeutic response when you first start taking them. Skipping two days definitely won't cause a "crash" with withdrawal symptoms. I don't like to discuss personal details about myself on pot forums, but suffice it to say that I have over 20 years working in mental health settings in the US.

 

Also, with severe depression, which ruthless doesn't appear to have, anti-depressants are the first course of action. Rarely are anti-psychotics used. In mental illness categories or diagnoses, the lines are often blurry. Many severely depressed patients also have elements of psychosis in their behavior. Generally that category is called scizo-affective disorder and that's treated with anti-depressants and anti-psychotics. I don't think I implied that ruthless had anything other then mild depression which is why I recommended herbals to him.

 

Ruthless, sorry to be talking "about" you rather then "to" you, but I'm responding to the other posters here. Hope this was useful to you and I hope you're feeling better. If not, you know what some of yur options are. Good luck to you.

Dee

[Tom]

If the depression gets too much to handle then you seek professional assistance, it is a very common problem and that is why those specialist doctors are so numerous, mj helps in a lot of cases but it is not the "wonder drug" that is going to help or cure everyone.

 

This shouldn't turn into a bash fest for the drug industry and a parade for the pro-pot side. It's about ruthless and how he can achieve some relief from the pain he's experiencing.

A very valid point, lets keep to the topic people.

 

[Pam]

Ruthless, only you can answer the questions about how you feel. It helps to have the questions though. The Hamilton scale is what helped me understand the symptoms of depression.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_Depr...on_Rating_Scale

 

I started on Lexapro, and by day 3 I felt so much better I could not wait to go to sleep so I could get up and take another. After about a year, I was able to break for month since the half life was built up in my system enough. I did it to try and lose a few pounds. A little weight gain and some loss of libido were the only side effects I noticed that weren't good.

All my obsessive thoughts were gone, the knot in my chest loosened, and I actually felt like living again.

I remember feeling my symptoms as a child. I have always suffered with depression. The symptoms are many it's not just sadness. It's rage, it's obsessive thoughts, it hurts your heart if you can understand that.

 

The best thing I can tell you is to take the test and see for yourself.

[roid]

Ruthless, i'm here on this forum to learn about MJ for anxiety/depression/bipolar, because i have not had much luck with traditional meds. So i hope it makes you feel better to see that you will meet people traveling either direction on this road .

 

 

Mullway, perhaps things are done differently in the US, but drug holidays are a useful tool to reduce overal medication to minimize side effects. Anti-depressants are a long acting drug (long half-life in the body). That's why it takes about two weeks to get a full therapeutic response when you first start taking them. Skipping two days definitely won't cause a "crash" with withdrawal symptoms. I don't like to discuss personal details about myself on pot forums, but suffice it to say that I have over 20 years working in mental health settings in the US.

 

Not only do i disagree, but your nonchalance in giving this recommendation to random internet ppl frightens me.

Not only can i personally testify to this, but others i talk to tell me the same thing - Going without your SSRI/SNRI meds for 2 days will introduce many people to the beginnings of withdrawal. Please be careful with your recommendations.

[DrDee]

Hi Ruthless,

Lots of opinions here. Roid,, if you go back and read all the posts here, I was offering evidence of what psychiatrists do all the time to minimize side-effects of ssri's. I never meant to suggest anyone do that except under medical supervision. It's a useful tool. I was responding to a "claim" that once you get on ssri's, you're hooked for life. Not true.

 

Ruthless, you do what you're going to do. You're the only one living inside your head. You have options and I wish you well.

 

Dee

[loylty gets u nothing]

iwas on a drug called aropax for some time

seemed to assist with me finding me happyness

i took it for 2 yrs...its a ceratonin doodah tablet

imho its a bit of a hit n miss as i tried i think 5 diff anti depresants before aropax was decided to be the most beneficial to my needs..i also abstained from any other drug use to get the aropax on track

if me memory serves me correct i think it took about 6 weeks to stabilise on it

all the best

bil