I've decided to make this guide because I personally went through a stint of a month or so where everytime I tried to toke, I had a seriously terrible reaction.
I see lots of guys and gals posting on here who are so upset because they're not sure what's happened to their smoking experiences.
(ex: I've been smoking for XX months but recently everytime I smoke I ________ )
This will be a very basic guide but it will give you a few tools to use.
I'm hoping that this will let all you apprentices know what to try first before anything else.
BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS
A very little known fact is that smoking weed causes your blood sugar levels to drop quite sharply.
In fact, this is partially to blame for the munchies. You're body is low on sugar, so you immediately hunger for sweets and sugars.
The problem with this drop in blood sugar is that similarly to people with diabetes, when your blood sugar drops abnormally low, you can become very dizzy, nauseous, light headed, out of it, and generally "too fucked up".
Luckily there is a very simple cure for this ailment.
- Drink a glass or two of something very sugary beforehand like apple/orange juice, or a carbonated soda.
- Have a serving of sugary fruit such as strawberries or apples.
- Chow down on a candy bar, or some other candy before your session.
The key point here is to eat these things before smoking otherwise they won't work, or will work too late in the game.
DEHYDRATION
This isn't as obvious as you'd think. The fact that smoke is hot and dry causes you to lose alot of water while smoking it. There's other reasons to account for the fact that you get dehydrated while you smoke as well, regardless though, the fact is that you lose water while smoking! This is to some extent why you get dry mouth and dry eyes!
The symptoms for dehydration while you're high are the same as in normal everyday life, but they may seem a little more dramatic because of the change in perspective. The common symptoms are yellow urine (quick and easy way to check!), dizzyness, faintness, dry and adhesive saliva (more than the normal dry mouth), extreme thirst (more than munching out), and obvious vertigo or loss of balance when getting up quickly (has alot to do with blood pressure as well).
This one has the simplest cure in the world:
- Drink two glasses of water before smoking and keep water by your side while you smoke (might as well anyways to keep off that dry mouth and soar throat)
Be thankful if this is the reason you're freaking out, because it is so easy to fix! It's also an extremely healthy habit to get into, drinking an extra few glasses of water a day can help fix alot of ailments of the body.
PANIC ATTACK
This is a completely mental problem, so the fixes are not going to manifest themselves physically for the most part. If you have panic attacks when you smoke, the first thing you might want to think about is if cannabis and other drugs are really for someone like me.
I see all too many people pick up smoking when they're an extremely stressed out and anxious person. As much as cannabis can help stress and anxiety, it most definitely can make them much worse as well.
This article really covers the symptoms well.
All that aside, there's a two step plan that most blades will recommend:
- Smoke Less - This means instead of killing that entire 1.5 gram blunt with your 4 friends, just smoke until the first half is gone and then excercise a little self control and stop yourself.
- Smoke Slower - This entails smoking whatever amount you've chosen, but choosing to smoke it over a longer period of time. For example, maybe smoke half of your joint and then put it out. Then maybe thirty to sixty minutes later after you've accustomed to your high, finish the rest of it. You might also want to try using spoons/bowls so that you can really smoke small amounts and comfortably smoke slowly without worrying about saving something like a joint.
Now for some more alternative ways to help:
- Utilize progressive relaxation. Consciously relax your shoulders by allowing them to drop. Then let go of all the muscles in your face. Allow your face to feel like it's drooping down. Keep your eyes open or closed, which ever one makes you feel more relaxed and in control. Continue this process with your arms, then your abdomen and chest, then your legs, then your feet. This will not only make you feel amazing but it should help alleviate some anxiousness.
- Deeply breath. Try to be in control or breathing and completely aware of it. First analyze your breathing, is it extremely fast? Is it shallow? Then begin to slow your breathing down by taking big breaths in through your nose and down into your chest, and then letting all that air out very slowly through your mouth. You should purse your lips as if blowing out a candle when you're exhaling to aid you in breathing out slowly. This will slow the flow of your blood down, slow your heart beat down, and give you something to concentrate on.
MEDICATIONS
I do not have alot to write about this since there are so many medications with so many adverse side effects, but I do have one bit of advice.
Research your medication and it's effects on the high weed gives you. A simple search using the search function on these forums should give one or two threads about your specific medication. If nothing comes up try google as well.
Unfortunately there isn't always concrete proof that it is your medication unless it's a very popular medication (say adderol or concerta), and even if so you might find out that it is not your medication giving you the freak outs (hey atleast that strikes one thing off the list right?). Either way, it's very advisable to do a quick 15 minute research session to find out if it could be your medication giving you problems.
(Thanks Jrock for reminding me about this)
If none of these tools above help you, you should really consider if weed is a drug you should continue using. Sure the high might be enjoyable, but if you're having freak outs everytime you smoke it's much smarter to discontinue smoking. Plus, a long break from smoking such as a month or two allows your body to sort of "restart". After a long period of time, some people find that when they come back to smoking they completely lose their ability to freak out and no longer have problems.
If you or your family have a history of mental ailments such as schizophrenia, depression, or bipolar disorder, this might be the cause of your problems and you should wait until you've over come those diseases/sicknesses before you start smoking again.
I really hope this guide helps a few guys to keep enjoying weed. It can be such a beautiful thing, and as I've experienced, it's a huge bummer when it starts to become something you fear instead of love.
If I missed anything please feel free to tell me. I'm also aware there's a similar guide to this but it seemed too wordy and quoted. I felt there needed to be a more straight forward, easy to handle, and personal guide about this topic.
Shankmasterflex
Edited by Shankmasterflex, 15 August 2010 - 01:03 AM.
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