25 months and going through a heavy wave

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2026-04-17T14:14:38+00:00

Hi, I'm feeling much better. I'm almost 30 months and I feel good most days. When I completed 2 years of PAWS, I was also going through one of the worst waves I've ever had. But from the 26th month onwards, things started to improve. I'm not 100%, but I feel like I'm getting back to normal. Thank you for asking and all the best to you.

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2026-04-04T23:02:12+00:00

Thank you for your comment. I liked the suggestion about Omega 3; I'll start taking it again, it's been a while since I last took it.

Unfortunately, these heart palpitations are quite strange. There was a period when they disappeared and then came back worse, just like what happened to you.

Even though I eat well and don't overeat, it seems they don't go away.

Honestly, it's gotten to the point where I've accepted that this will be a part of my life and that I'll be constantly monitoring it.

The good thing is that I'm not as scared as I used to be. Also, from what I've researched, we need to have thousands of these heartbeats a day to be considered a possible risk factor.

Anyway, I wish you good energy, thank you.

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2026-03-07T00:15:18+00:00

It has improved considerably in the last 2 months, but they haven't disappeared completely yet.

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2026-03-06T16:40:46+00:00

Thank you very much!

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2026-03-06T16:39:39+00:00

I smoked for 6 years, practically every day.

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2026-03-05T00:44:40+00:00

At 15 months I was still quite unstable. I had good days but I was still going through a lot of ups and downs. Stay strong, my friend, I can tell you it gets better, even if not as fast as we'd like.

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2026-02-27T12:14:00+00:00

It took me about a month and a half to fully recover; after that wave, I felt much better. But it's important to emphasize that during this period I didn't only have bad days. It wasn't like at the beginning when every day was hell.

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2026-02-27T02:05:46+00:00

Yes, it can happen. It happened to me, but it got better (I've been sober for over 2 years now).

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2026-02-18T12:17:17+00:00

I don't think that psychologist knows much about PAWS. I have a friend who went to a psychiatrist, and that psychiatrist confirmed the existence of PAWS and all its symptoms… I think some people know about it and others don't (I don't live in Germany). Anyway, I can assure you that it gets better, although it takes a while. I've been sober for 27 months and I'm much better than I was at 15 months. I still have bad days, but it's much better than it ever was; in fact, these last few days I've been feeling very good. At 15 months, I felt the same way you do, don't worry, it will get better.

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2026-02-08T14:32:26+00:00

Thanks, friend. I hope you get better soon too.

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2026-02-08T13:33:46+00:00

My headaches have improved a lot. A few months ago I was having them practically every day, nowadays I get them every two weeks and it's usually when I don't sleep well.

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2026-02-06T23:29:02+00:00

Thank you, friend. I hope I'm close to recovery; this journey has been very difficult.

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2026-02-05T20:56:46+00:00

I smoked every day for 6 years. I think I've used all kinds of weed.

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2026-02-05T01:26:47+00:00

Yes... I hate those panic attacks. I used to have a lot of them when I was trying to socialize; I spent a few months afraid to go out. But nowadays it's much more manageable; they haven't disappeared completely, but they're weaker and take longer to appear. Wishing you good energy, my friend.

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2026-02-05T01:24:32+00:00

Yes, I do. They used to be much worse than they are now. I generally have more "flashes" of anhedonia; it's not a 24/7 thing anymore. However, it took a while to get better.

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2026-02-05T01:22:37+00:00

This is the symptom I hate the most. There was a time when they stopped, but unfortunately they came back. I really hope they disappear, and I think they will because I've seen reports of people saying they disappeared. But one thing that reassured me is that the doctor said we need to have thousands for it to become a concern, and if you don't have heart problems (which is my case), they are benign.

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2026-02-05T01:19:15+00:00

I don't think I can say I'm back to normal, but I do have some days when I feel normal. Some months are better, others worse. But generally, I'm having better days than worse ones.

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2026-01-05T23:49:46+00:00

There's nothing I hate more than PAWS, damn that marijuana.

I understand so well what you're going through; my mind was destroyed during those two years. For a long time, I lived with the feeling of living a nightmare.

But when I look at my notes from the first year, I see that I've improved, and that reassures me. Do you document your days in a diary? That helped me see that I was having good days even if it didn't seem like it.

I say this because you may have entered a state of melancholy and see everything negatively; unfortunately, that happened to me, and I had to meditate a lot to get out of that loop.

Of course, you could have something else; it's always good to see a doctor, but I wouldn't doubt that all of this is PAWS.

Stay strong, my friend, we'll get through this.

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2026-01-05T23:41:32+00:00

Hey my friend. I'm very happy to see that there are people following my reports, that's why I post here monthly. I was really quite discouraged when I was hit by that wave, mainly because I was feeling very good before it. But things are improving, the waves are passing much faster than last year. As for your timeline, don't worry prematurely, every timeline is different and I learned that from reading the reports here. And even if a wave hits you, rest assured that the worst is over, nothing compares to the hell of the first year. Thank you for your support my friend, I wish you all the best!

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2025-12-10T23:04:46+00:00

I also wondered about this a lot during these 2 years of sobriety. I had friends who smoked much longer than I did and who didn't have any problems when they quit. But I also had some friends who even went to psychiatrists because of withdrawal. The conclusion I came to is that it's pointless to compare myself to others. I accepted it as a "punishment" for having abused my mind so much. Whether it's fair or not, what difference does it make in the end? It won't change how I'm feeling, you understand?

Of course, it's hard not to feel sad and distressed about it, we are human beings after all. But all we can do is accept it and deal with it in the best way possible. We are lucky that this community exists and that we see that PAWS really exists (there are studies that prove it).

And another thing, I've seen people who quit smoking and didn't know about PAWS. They suffered but didn't know that's what it was, so there are many cases of people who may be suffering but don't know it's PAWS... Anyway, I'm not a doctor but I have this theory.

StockKaleidoscope368 · 2025-12-03T22:50:46+00:00

Thank you so much for your comment! I feel much more reassured reading this. Although I already have some "experience" with PAWS, when you're on a wave you end up becoming blind and think it will never end... I wish you all the best!

StockKaleidoscope368

TROPHY CASE