Cannabis for anxiety & stress

[cenzo]

How good is cannabis as an anti-anxiety med? I suffer occassionally from anxiety/stress/insomnia from time to time and I hate it. Was prescribed Lexapro which stole my sex drive so went off it just as fast plus it never made me feel less anxious anyway.

To be honest only things that have worked is something like Oxycodone or Ambien though these can't really be taken during the day even though they actually make me feel happy. How would you use cannabis if you were treating yourself for anxiety/stress etc? Cheers

[Haukez]

i think for anxities or depressions weed is not that medicine u wan to have. for me i had epressions since i smoked weed. But for me my situation got better i smoke weed actually because i like it. i think u should smoke it when u are happy and not for any other reason .. for my opinion ;-) just enjoy and have a chilled relaxed time

 

HAUKEZZZ

[mimjess]

I am a happy person but I also have a crazy mind which goes all the tangents. An active mind is very unsettling...

 

I am not depressed at all.

[jess92]

Yes it works great, my father suffers from horrible anxiety and stress, it was so bad he had to quit his job, The doctors put him on a horrible pill called Kalma which made him to groggy to stay awake and made his downstairs unable to work. He woke up one morning so stressd and depressed and lost, so i rolled him a joint, within 10 minutes he was smiling and off to play his drum kit, it WORKS LIKE A CHARM!

[Kat73]

It's true that the Indica dominant strains r good for treating anxiety which is great when you grow. If you rely on an inconsistent supplier it's difficult to know what you're getting. This is frustrating...

[Feenixx17]

satavia isn't as good as indica for anxiety as i to suffer

[ozstonr]

hey first time post, not promoting alcohol but maybe 2-3 beers/spirts 20 or so mins before you blaze might help eaze some anxiety and help you relax. then when you toke you should be in a nice state, this is what i do sometimes and it works for me and friends

[Cerberus]

I developed an alcohol addiction by relying on it to ease my insomnia. Be careful what you use for alternative medicine.

 

Ironically I do advise the smoking of cannabis to release anxiety and stress

[Gruver]

Hi,

My first post .

You should consult with you pdoc, everything below is based on my experience and observations living 10years with my wife who suffers from bipolar (manic depression) disorder type2 / rapid cycling and talking a lot with hers (expensive) pdoc. Also, try to get referral and visit proper pdoc, as GPs are usually clueless and prescribe meds that they get most commission from.

Anxiety is one the most unpleasant and dangerous side conditions of bipolar and first line of defense for anxiety are usually SSRIs Anti Depressants, example of this would be Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro etc. They have some side effect worst of them being loss of sex drive and sweating, lucid dreams etc before they kick in, which usually takes 4-8 weeks. So, before you give up, you should really wait enough time to let SSRIs to kick in. They are usually very effective for anxiety, but not very effective for panic attacks. If SSRIs don't work for you, then PDOc would most probably try with the SNRI antidepressant, something like Effexor, which are very effective and they kick in immediately, HOWEVER, they have really really nasty withdrawal side effects. When you try to wear off, it is almost as bad as heroin, would say. Of course, GPs won't tell you that, just browse net and check. My missus was in the bed throwing up and shaking for 14 days before she recovered after she stopped taking it .

So, if none of this helps, than you are almost out of options, the most effective anti anxiety meds and works in 99% of cases are benzos, preferably long lasting ones, like Diazepam (Valium), however they are habit forming, so you should use them only for treating acute phase or be very careful that you don't increase dosage if you are taking them for long term treatment. My missus is taking Valium occasionally and it works like charm, as antidepressants are not prefer choice for bipolar.

For treating acute panic attacks, short acting benzos are the weapon of choice - however they can be habit forming as well, even worse than Valium. Example would be Xanax.

I think someone above mentioned Quetiapine ( Serequel) for treating anxiety, GPs lately just LOVE to prescribe Serequel for everything, first, Serequel is an Anti Psychotic and AstraZenece is doing everything to get it registered for everything, from sleeping pill, anti depressant, bipolar etc... It work quite well for people with schizophrenia or for mania, but it has a lot of very nasty side effects and a lot of people don't react well to Serequel treatment - my missus gets very angry and suicidal a day after. Oh, BTW, it is one of the most (if not the most) expensive drugs on the market, coincidence, I do not think so...

Edit: Alcohol is a very effective 1 day relief for anxiety, but next day it will make everything a lot worse. And we all know dangers of excessive drinking.

OK, so now let's move to cannabis. My missus is saying that it does not help her with the anxiety, that can even make it worse, that is my experience as well, however, we all react different to different things. Cannabis does however helps a lot during the manic phase, as it helps her sleep, make her relax and stop rushing thoughts and increase appetite. It can however sometimes increase paranoid behavior.

Stress, well, it helps me to reduce stress, as I'm having very stressful job and I would be a wreck if I would not have my one or two spliffs per day .

 

Cheers,

G

Edited February 12, 2012 by Gruver

[MongyMan]

OK, so now let's move to cannabis. My missus is saying that it does not help her with the anxiety, that can even make it worse, that is my experience as well, however, we all react different to different things. Cannabis does however helps a lot during the manic phase, as it helps her sleep, make her relax and stop rushing thoughts and increase appetite. It can however sometimes increase paranoid behavior.

Stress, well, it helps me to reduce stress, as I'm having very stressful job and I would be a wreck if I would not have my one or two spliffs per day .

 

Cheers,

G

 

Have you known what strains you have been getting? Cannabis isnt just cannabis......

 

 

Peace MongyMan

[Gruver]

Have you known what strains you have been getting? Cannabis isnt just cannabis......

 

 

Peace MongyMan

Strains:

Jack Herer

Northern light X Haze

Blueberry

Skunk #1

Growing method: SOG

Medium used: soil, organic

Harvest time: when trichromes start getting cloudy, so at the peak, sometimes I left them to change more to amber or amber milky

After I cured them for a month, nice and easy.

Edit: I'm not a noob, smoking 20 years, growing now for more than 10 years

As I said, everyone is different.

 

G

Edited February 13, 2012 by Gruver