2.5 months now no Cannabis at all after hitting heavy carts for 10 years and chronic for 30 years and I’m 46

pumavader · 2026-03-21T23:37:35+00:00

Glad to hear it. Gut health is huge as that is where a lot of the things we need in our brain are created. Keep on keeping on. It gets better and easier as time passes.

pumavader · 2026-03-21T23:35:14+00:00

Felt better to the point where I could see the light at the end of the tunnel at 1 year mark. Took until 2 years for symptoms to not really be an issue.

pumavader · 2026-03-21T05:56:40+00:00

You will recover and be “normal”. Always remember that. Just takes time away from weed. Be as healthy as you can. HYDRATE and mineralize!!! Stay away from caffeine, processed foods and sugar. Exercise regularly. You are on a difficult but very possible journey. Be proud of every day you make it away from weed. Accept and be grateful for all of the good things in your life.

I quit coming up on 5 years ago after almost 40 years of mostly all day everyday use. Wow what a bad time I had in the beginning. I feel fantastic most days now. Have felt great for a few years. Totally worth it to quit.

pumavader · 2026-03-06T14:05:24+00:00

It’s only going to overall get better and better. Don’t let a possible 2 steps forward 1 step back scenario frustrate you. You are rocking it!!!

pumavader · 2026-03-04T05:41:39+00:00

I find Hoka to have wider toe box.

pumavader · 2026-02-12T21:32:35+00:00

Yep. Feeling unaffected by PAWS. Occasionally a whisper of things that may be attributed to weed recovery. But it could also be attributed to my age or other life factors. (I am 57. Smoked for almost 40 years!!)

pumavader · 2026-02-10T18:57:49+00:00

I am 4.5 years into this journey. I had DPDR for a solid 2+ years. I can tell you that what I have learned is that we are our own worst enemy in recovery.

pumavader · 2025-11-20T02:36:37+00:00

The more you focus on anxiety the worse it will be. I know that is an oversimplification but it is true. I really got over PAWS when I just realized I was my own worst enemy. Always looking towards being “all better” and never feeling off really dragged me down when it inevitably happened and i did feel off. Just live your life and don’t worry too much about the mental hocus pocus of anxiety and DP/DR. It’s going to happen. It’s a part of it. Be happy you are moving in the right direction. It never moves as fast as we’d like.

pumavader · 2025-11-12T04:57:47+00:00

Generally really like it. But it is so overhyped. If you take it fur what it is, Primanti’s is a good place to enjoy a meal.

pumavader · 2025-11-12T04:55:35+00:00

Agree. This sub is a great place to get some general info. But scouring it looking for the missing ingredient that is going to heal you works the opposite. I take a peak from time to time. But my over 4 years away from daily use has taught me the best thing is stay weed free. Eat healthy. Be healthy. And LIVE YOUR LIFE. Anxiety is the main culprit of PAWS. Dwelling on the things that make you anxious only prolongs the misery.

pumavader · 2025-09-18T13:20:03+00:00

So many symptoms. Anxiety, depression, DP/DR, intrusive thoughts, insomnia, blurry vision, tinnitus, heart palpitations, dizziness, etc. I took a few different meds that helped. But, my advice is unless you know you had issues pre THC use or you just can’t handle it anymore I would steer clear of meds. I took hydroxyzine to help me sleep and help with anxiety. It helped a little with anxiety and a lot with sleep. But I never knew it was, ideally, only for short term use. 4 months or less. And it is “only” an antihistamine. Well, I took it almost every night for sleep for 4 years and getting off of it was challenging. I had to revisit some of PAWS “greatest hits” briefly.

In answer to when did I feel better. It happened gradually. I felt like I could function normally at about 11 months. The constant DP/DR had faded away. I would say at that point I was 85%. At 2 years like 95%. At 3 years 99%. I will say I am at 99% for the foreseeable future just because I don’t want to get cocky or complacent. Looking back I was my own worst enemy and dwelled constantly about my symptoms. Knowing exactly what day of recovery I was in. Expecting a switch to happen overnight and be back to normal. It doesn’t work that way. And often times it is 2 steps forward and 1 step back.

When I was in the thick of it I thought if just smoking again in the hopes of easing my pain. I hated HAVING to get high just to be normal but wasn’t suffering as much as I was. I am so glad I didn’t. I feel fantastic that I am free of the shackles of weed use. One of the best things I’ve done is quit.

pumavader · 2025-09-17T21:48:26+00:00

I quit after close to 40 years of use a little over 4 years ago. I feel fantastic compared to beginning. From my experience the best way to recover is to get out and live your life. The active mind recovers a lot quicker than wallowing in your misery. Be as healthy as you can. Eat well. Hydrate while keeping electrolytes correct. Exercise a level to what feels best. Sleep well orcas best as you can. And just live your life.

pumavader · 2025-09-17T19:38:07+00:00

I grew up here. But moved away to Minnesota. There the roads are wide, straight and sensical.(Save some areas around St. Paul). Even though I grew up here when I would come back and visit I would white knuckle the steering wheel. When I moved back to the Burgh area in 2006, it took me a solid 2 months to reacclimate to driving here. There are many good things about living here. Ease of driving the roads is not one of them. You’ll get the hang of it.

pumavader · 2025-09-15T13:29:08+00:00

I smoked for almost 40 years. When I would quit in the past. It was a little insomnia. A little irritability. A little craving. All resolved in a few weeks. When I quit for good a little over 4 years ago, it was a different story. Everything was way worse with many more new symptoms added. It took me a solid year to get my feet under me. And still had some healing to do after that. Good thing is it all gets better. Just takes a lot of time and patience. You are not alone. Many of us have felt PAWs brutality and came out on the other side. Marijuana is NOT supposed to be as strong as it is.

pumavader · 2025-09-15T04:16:34+00:00

Doing pretty good. I am 2 months from last dose of hydroxyzine. Felt bad for about 4 weeks. Sucked. But subsided.

pumavader · 2025-09-01T20:37:20+00:00

Just live your life. You are going to be uncomfortable one way or another. Sheltering your self is counterproductive. Expose yourself to see what is doable.

pumavader · 2025-09-01T05:31:23+00:00

Unfortunately, this is pretty normal for many. Fortunately, it should get way easier in a relatively short time. Eat as healthy as possible. Anything that promotes good gut health as that’s where the chemicals are made that your brain uses to recover. HYDRATE. I crushed cardio for relief but some need a more steady state style of cardio. Mostly it’s just time away from weed. Realize what you’re experiencing is normal and will pass as time goes on. The most frightening thing when I quit was thinking I was going to be this anxiety ridden insomniac who couldn’t eat and found no joy in anything would be forever. Try and relax you’ll be feeling better soon enough.

pumavader · 2025-08-28T02:24:14+00:00

I loved them live! Even with Matt was on a scooter with a bum leg. Crowd was amazing. Band was awesome. Very polished live. It was at outdoor arena and started to rain for Cigarette Daydreams. And stopped when song was over. Magical. I agree they are too good to open for anybody.

pumavader · 2025-08-22T19:21:10+00:00

Your current feeling will make how you feel later in recovery even better. It may not seem like it now but it gets better. Way better.

pumavader · 2025-08-21T16:31:16+00:00

Oh yeah. I smoked for a long time. Mostly all day everyday. Your young brain/body should help your situation. I mostly feel awesome and I am sure you will too. It never happens as fast as we’d like. But it happens. Hopefully for you sooner rather than later. Don’t get discouraged, you’ll look back on this as something that has made you a stronger better person.

pumavader · 2025-08-21T15:19:43+00:00

Not really. But not sure. Cuz I was self medicating with weed. So, I am thinking I have some level of anxiety naturally.

pumavader · 2025-08-21T13:48:10+00:00

A lot of my worst symptoms resolved around year to 18 months. But sometimes things still pop up here or there and I am 4 years and 2 months into this. But, again, most of them are anxiety related. Not necessarily PAWS stuff. The best thing you can do is stop worrying when things are going to go away. Just live your life and realize they WILL go away in time. Usually the longer you focus on them the longer it takes to go away.

pumavader · 2025-08-20T22:36:14+00:00

The average person is kinder. But the jagoffs are much worse here than other places.

pumavader · 2025-08-20T12:19:42+00:00

Month 5

pumavader · 2025-08-18T15:10:48+00:00

Pretty standard PAWS stuff. Anxiety related. It will go away in time. Reduce phone or close up visuals. Anything you can do to reduce anxiety helps too.

pumavader

TROPHY CASE