shakes

[chasepalmer]

okay, a little bit of background info, ive been smoking cannabis for about a year now, almost everyday. the first few times i tried it, i had a bad exspericance, panic attacks, shakes ect. and it took a couple months of using to get comfortable with it. then it was good times untell realy recently. this last week ive been feeling uneasy when i smoke it up, almost like im on the verge of a panic attack. then last night, i had a smoke, and felt uneasy agean. then about 15 min after smoking i started to get the shakes. it started out just a little, but got bad. to the point were it was hard to walk. my legs were shaking, my hands, my chest everything, i tried to go on the computer. but my hands were shaking so bad that i couldent even type. i dident have a panic attack but i think i was close a couple times. it was pretty scary. so im wondering whats up. do any of you guys go through, shakes and or panic attacks, or have been through them? any advice, i realy do like smoking and dont want to stop, but im kind of worried. idk, what do you guys think?

[Trip06]

Welcome to the club, I used to be able to smoke just fine all the time and A LOT too. Now I get what your talking about every time I blaze too. Paranoia, Anxiety all that shit. I don't claim to be some expert on this but what helps me is certain kinds of weed, not just indicas but also comfortable inviroments, or possibly having a few drinks or some other naughty pills to go with it. Remember weed changes the chemicals in your brain so you have to work around that. Like you I love weed and don't wanna quit, but its not for all people.

[jagarr]

heres the deal:

people will say try diff strains, dont smoke so much, smoke even more! do this that and something else etc.

those things help, but 99% of the time but its all your mindset. ive smoked for many years now and i still feel the paranoia sometimes. actually now when i start to feel it i get thrilled, because it means im about to be real high soon =p
i usually smoke, then get creeped on with the paranoia and stuff about 90 seconds to two minutes after my first drag. five-10 after that and im fully blown.

i think if you're downing too much other stuff along with your ganj, you totally spoil the experience. especially alcohol in excess, yuck. but hey, whatever sinks your sub man.

the OPs problem is his pre smoking anxiety. in the back of your mind you're all 'omg i hope i dont flip out and panic when i smoke in the next thirty seconds' and of course you do flip out because you were thinking about it intensely the entire time you smoked! then it snowballs - you go 'OMG im shaking! OMG can people tell im shaking?! omg my hearts beating fast! OMG am i shaking because my hearts beating fast?!?!' and once you start with that shit its fcking over, you may as well have not smoked to begin with.

you need to change your environment. change who you smoke with, change where you set and whats on the telly, etc.
keep your mind busy too. try taking a walk. you won't get in trouble if you've got nothing on you, so take a damn walk. walk your dog or something. just keep telling yourself that believe it or not and
contrary to whats taking place in your stoned head, everyone passing by has absolutely NO IDEA that youre baked.

after a while, you get good.
i smoke now and go out somewhere with friends and see how long it takes for them to realize im stoned, haha. sometimes they never even realize it, even when im so baked i can barely see.

being stoned is a skill, like juggling. practice.

obligatory edit: don't promote pills here =(

[napolitana869]

Different strains are more likely to make me really paranoid and give me panic attacks. In my experience cheaper weed is more likely to trigger something, but I've also had some good experiences with cheap stuff. The environment I'm in is also an important factor. If I'm alone or have been drinking I'm more likely to have a bad experience. If you don't want to stop smoking you should play around with different smoking conditions to see what works best for you.

[TheMetal1]

Yeah man, it's tricky. I have been a daily smoker for about 9 years, and of course, this has happened to me plenty of times. What you have to realize is that you are smoking a substance that alters brain function, blood circulation, heart rhythm, etc. The intensity of these effects vary from person to person. That is why some people REALLY love to smoke marijuana, and some REALLY can't smoke it. As others have said, your environment, current mental/emotional state, source of substance, etc. can all play a role in how your body reacts to the stimulation. Nowadays, you really have to trust that what you are getting is quality. Which is an excellent argument for decriminalization. A seemingly safe plant like marijuana can be covered in dangerous chemicals during the growing/harvesting/transporting, and thus passed into the lungs and blood stream of the smoker. Now, as for prevention?? It's tough. I have come to the understanding that I control my body. Nobody else is running my brain. So when I start to feel a panic attack, or extreme paranoia... I slow down and "dive into myself." I let my body know who is running sh*t here. Being in tune with your body is extremely important, especially when using substances. Meditation, and understanding the mind-body connection is essential to controlling your bodily responses. Maybe that paranoia and anxiety exist in your body all the time, and smoking just brings it to the forefront?? Forcing you to deal with the awful feelings, uncontrollable fear and confusion. Think of it as a blessing. It is a terrible way to feel, but when you break through and figure out how to control it... it is an incredible feeling. Sorry if I rambled... I'm high and really relate to your story. This forum is awesome for quality information... so you are already on your way to understanding. Good luck! :thumbsup:

[silkyblue]

I doubt if the herb made you get the shakes


sounds like Diabetes? hypoglycemic?

Have your had blood sugar tested recently? Do you eat alot of sugar?




don slam herby hes innocent

:(

[chasepalmer]

I doubt if the herb made you get the shakes


sounds like Diabetes? hypoglycemic?

Have your had blood sugar tested recently? Do you eat alot of sugar?




don slam herby hes innocent

:(

the shakes are a fairley common side effect of smoking herb man.

[chasepalmer]

i think ive gotten into a bit of a viscious cycle. It happened once, so every time i smoke im feeling a bit worried that it might happen again, and this paranoia puts me in a mindset that makes me more suceptable to getting an attack.

thats what i think is happening. after i got the shakes that night, the next morning i smoked just a little bit, ie two tokes, and the feelings of a panic attack were starting agean, and i just wanted it to be over. then that night i smoked a little bit more, and same thing. then the next day i had a couple tokes agean, and i noticed that even before i took the tokes, when i first got my bowl out, i started to feel like i was going to have a panic attack and my heart started beating fast ect. i smoked and just avoided having one by taking deep breaths and walking around every 5 min or so when the feelings started to kick in. i just want to go back to how it used to be before last week, i could smoke any amount and feel great. this realy sucks, i used to enjoy smoking and dont want to quit but i dont know what else i can do. this realy realy sucks. its like it was when i first started smoking all over agean. what is a mofo like me to do? :(

[birdgirl73]

Shakes and anxiety are definitely common side effects of herb. We've read this very same complaint about 10,000 times here. Read any sort of general info on cannabis on Erowid or elsewhere, and you'll find shakes/panic/jitters listed as a common side effect. Happens more with people who're feeling nervous before they smoke and newbies. Happens a lot more with sativa and/or sativa-dominant strains, which can make even the calmest people jittery. Happens particularly within the first half hour after smoking, which is when you have the strongest "adrenergic" response (like you've had a burst of adrenalin) and the peak vasoconstrictive effects. Try switching strains, finding something with more Indica characteristics. If you're well exercised beforehand, that'll help you be more chilled out. Deep breathing and relaxation exercises can help you recover your balance, but some people have serious ongoing trouble with these side effects and some truly find that cannabis doesn't agree with them.

[PamStoner]

You know my younger daughter had the same trouble with the panic attacks. She can however smoke what I grow without trouble. Since both my kids have all kinds of allergies, I wonder if she is sensitive to the way the weed is grown rather than any strain... It might be that what you smoked wasn't organic...

[chasepalmer]

i think its the strain that i got, i have been smoking the past year, and other then when i first started havent had any trouble intell the last couple of weeks here when i got a new batch of herb. the thing is, the two "dealers" i know dont know what strain or anything the weed is. they just know if its good or not. im gonna grow this summer, but for right now i guiess it will just be a hit and miss as to if the weed will be the indica stuff that i think agrees with me, or the sativa stuff that doesent. this sucks, and i'll prabaly waste allot of money, but what other options do i have?

on a side note, is schwag usualy indica or sativa based? i have one dealer that sells that, and another that is always getting differnt higher grade stuff. thanks guys. this is the most helpfull site, im realy glad i found this place. :)

[joyfuldinosaur]

I know what you're talking about - I've had similar experiences. I'd have to say it really does have a lot to do with my mindset. If I'm feeling anxious/depressed/nervous about _anything_, then I'm more likely to have a bad experience with weed. Although, I think that strains with less THC/ more CBD/N ratio, or whatever, tend not to be as panic-inducing.

For example, Hawaiian Snow, Cheese, and Jack Herer are strains that I've had trouble with in Amsterdam at Greenhouse Seeds. They have really high THC content, up to 24%, and lower CBD/N. I remember that smoking them was quite unpleasant. My thoughts were racing, my heart was pounding, and I had a really weird panic feeling.
I found that this problem of feeling panicky went away as soon as I change what sort of weed I'm smoking. and if you're having trouble with anxiety and panic you might want to specifically look for strains with lower THC levels.
The cannabis capsules method has proved so far to have no anxiety issues, quite the opposite they're very calming.

[wiseguy2505]

Hey, I was a heavy smoker for 9 years and 3 years ago i started getting full on panic attacks every time i smoked. I eventually gave up trying. smoking is my most favorite thing in the world to do and i miss it so much. it was the hardest thing ive ever had to do. i even dream that im sitting down smoking a few bowels most nights :) growing at the min at the hopes to "train" myself to smoke again now that i have got to grips with the attacks and am no longer afraid of them (although they are still very unpleasing).

has anyone on here or does anyone know someone who has completely overcome this problem or even learn to live and smoke with it?

cheers

[demoreal]

It happens to me when I smoke and do not do something. If I study, work, do chores, just about anything that needs to get done my mind goes into kick back mode and I work and get things done real nice.
Try smoking then taking care of a choir that has been bothering you for a while. If it does not work at least you took care of some choirs.

[flyinhi]

the two "dealers" i know dont know what strain or anything the weed is. they just know if its good or not.

Sounds to me like you could have the answer there? You don't know anything about what you're smoking.....and this is the hazzard of buying from dealers. You just don't know what shit has been out in there during growing or curing or anything. There's so many horror stories about idiots that put ground up glass in the weed to make it heavier for selling, so think about it, what chemicals are possibly being sprayed etc during growing? Definitely best to either grow your own, or get your weed from someone you know that's growing it, but only way to make sure you know what's in it is to grow it yourself.

Also stay off anything else and see if that helps any. My brother used to get terrible aggressive when he drank and smoke, but was so chilled and such a fun guy just smoking. Even have to consider any medications you're on as they could alter the effects of your smoke, like how you're not supposed to drink alcohol when on antibiotics etc. And I agrees with the mindset thing too - no different from having several beers when you're not in the best of moods - it can be a made move!!

Hope you can get growing your own soon and find it stops your shakes and panic. If not, try meditating or something before you smoke to relax your mind and body? Just a thought :thumbsup: