How long will marijuana withdrawals go on for?

Interesting -
I am 52 and a smoker for 35+ yrs. recently laid off due to economic c**p. So I needed to quit in order to assure I would pass a drug screen for new employer. It's only been a week but I find these symptoms present. Vomiting, loss of appetite, loss of weight (5pds), and I find myself anxious and annoyed at everything.
People state time and time again that marijuana isn't addicting (wrong) and there are no withdrawal symptoms (wrong again). Withdrawal is common with anything you have used for any length of time. People that leave meat for the veggie life style experience beef withdrawal. It happens, and it's normal.

Once I get a job I also don't plan on smoking it any longer. I have waited for an "excuse" to quit and now I have one.

Also, within 2 days I felt like I could breathe better and my lungs don't feel like a volcano ready to blow.

Keep up your efforts on leaving marijuana behind. If you feel you can't on your own, find someone to support you and help you through it.

Also, people say that it stays in your system for a week. Wrong again. In order to make sure your body is free, you need to give it 45 days to know you are drug free.

Lastly, people that state marijuana "made" then do harder drugs? I call BS! That is a excuse that doesn't fly these days. I have never done anything other than smoke marijuana. Marijuana is addicting but it in no way leads to harder drugs. That has to be the dumbest statement made on this forum.

Hey guys i've read alot of these forum for a while now and i'd like to give some advice as i have smoked weed since i was 16 now being 25.. I quit when i was 24 because the reprocutions were getting to great to keep smoking.. i smoked probably an 8th a day around 2-3 grams. like most people i smoked the odd time from 16 to about 19 maybe 5-6 times a week but then my gf of a couples years a girl i finally fell in love with dumped me.. I was the highschool soccer star known as a player lol.. a label that i did not really like but anyway after my gf who i loved so much broke up with me the weed became my new gf.. and it lasted till now 25.. I managed to get my electrical ticket but the afftects of smoking weed everyday affect someone more mentally then physically making it a very dangerous drug.. you'll make excuses for why u do it and excuses that oh weed isn't a seriuos drug but the reality is it is deadly and i mean that when i say it.. it ruins lives.. anyway i've been clean from weed for about 8 months now and its great.. i need less sleep now not smoking pot and i save alot of money and i feel great... for anyone wishing to quit i recommend it because the longer u do it the more u will ruin your life.. i feel that if i kept smoking i would mentally not be able to cope in society. I have anxiety which i deal with now and it slowely goes away.. it takes along time prob a year or two in my shoes but it does.. SO MY TIP TO QUIT SMOKING and this is an awesome tip.. THC stays in your system for a long timel... it sits in your fat stores and would take years to go away.. its really sad knowing this but ya year to go away.. If you want it gone and gone forever i recommend going to the DRY SAUNA everyday while u quit.. Stay in as long as u can drink lots of water and just sweat.. it cleanses your body and releases those toxins that are trapped in your body. Give it about a month and your will feel like a new person.. I'm personally addicted to the dry sauna.. I've been going daily or atleast 4-5 times a weeks now for 8 months.. and will continue to do it till i die.. and i truely mean it.. It is incredible... Make sure u take vitamin supplements such as minerals, salts etc because your body loses these minerals etc when u sweat that much.. but really push yourself and in two weeks of doing this everyday approx 3 hrs daily in the dry sauna doing approx 20-45 min sessions in the sauana or untill u feel faint take a break jump in pool take cold shower and cool down then go back in and do another session.. Weed is a mentally dangerous drug unlike other drugs cocaine etc being physically and mentally bad.. I think thats why people make excuses for it oh well i look fine etc.. but mentally its killing your brain and can leave people with mental problems such as anxiety problems, etc.. I'm glad i could share my experience with u guys.. If you read this you are on the right path and thats all that matters.. even if you still have doubts about quitting you are on the way to actually living.. I felt like i hadn't live in over 7 years now finally i can live my life.. GL guys and i mean that.. I was fortunate to have my family support me..

For the past 20 years I've always followed a month on/month off approach.
I smoke daily for a month (an ounce a week), then I take a month off *completely* to recover physically, mentally and attend to things that I might have neglected while I was stoned everyday!

Every single time when I stop smoking, I experience cannabis withdrawal symptoms; insomnia, sweating/night sweats, vivid dreams/nightmares, loss of appetite, irritability, anger, depression/crying/suicidal ideation.
Usually, these symptoms last around a week for me and then I feel back to normal. The severity of the symptoms seems to vary, but for whatever reason the duration seems to be about the same.
It definitely sucks, but it's a reality of life, just like getting a hangover when you've had too much to drink. I find it hard to believe anyone who can say they experience no withdrawal symptoms at all - I'm a living testament to the fact that the withdrawal is very real and I've been through it so many times it's like clockwork, and I know plenty of other people who have experience the same.

So here's my tips for dealing with the withdrawal symptoms:

- Speak to your doctor and get some Valium. This is kinda a dangerous one because this drug is definitely addictive, so I usually get my doctor to prescribe me only 5 tablets (yep exactly 5). I take them for the first 5 nights after quitting and that helps deal with the sleep issues including the night sweats - and having a good night's sleep tends to also stabilize your mood during the day.

- Drink LOTS of water all day. It's the only reliable way to flush out your system.

- Eat low fat/healthy options. I find that it's the foods high in fat (that you'd probably eat in abundance while stoned) like pizza, burgers, candy etc that makes me feel really sick during the withdrawal period. I find lots of fresh fruits, nuts, dry crackers, soup etc. goes down a lot better until my appetite returns.

- Surround yourself with (non cannabis using) friends/family and do stuff you enjoy and stay busy. I find the emotional/mental symptoms get much worse when I dwell on it. If you find yourself in that place, get up and do something; go for a walk, watch a movie, call a friend, DISTRACT YOURSELF!

Smoking pot is NOT a way to cope with all this sh*t and feel normal again, even though your brain keeps trying to convince you otherwise. I never start smoking pot again unless I feel 100% normal and have my life totally and utterly under control.

The good news is that the withdrawal symptoms will ease, and I actually find it exciting to return to reality and "feel" things again. But I like life both ways: i enjoy the month I'm stoned, and I enjoy the month I'm not.

great job, i'm 54 smoked 2 to 5 days a week for almost 5 years ive been cold turkey for 35 days now melatonin, relaxing herbs (teas), and diph help me sleep when I need em. exercise very important and eating well. all this has helped me.

Hello. I am also 52 and have smoked for almost 40 yrs. with quitting here and there for months at a time over the years with just basically getting headaches after quitting, but they always got better within a month. I just recently quit about a few weeks ago and I have been having all these symptoms that I didn't connect to quitting until I've read all these online sites. It has been unbearably bad for me with my heart pounding out of my chest on a constant basis, to a point I have gone to the doctors 9 days out of 14 (with 2 of those times In the ER. my doctor gave me every test under the sun on my heart and swears it's not my heart (I never told them about the pot or quitting), and I would tell them all that they are crazy because my heart was pounding and pounding every single solitary day and I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack, literally it is that bad (as it is right now as I write this). Now I know it is withdrawal from reading all of this. I also wake up many times a night with it pounding and I feel like I am having a heart attack, no lie. I wake up sweating too all night long. I've been crying a lot too and wanting to just die, really die because I am so depressed and feel like pot has ruined everything in my life. You know, I never thought pot was this harmful or was the cause of a lot in my life because I loved smoking it, I loved the taste, how it made me feel, I loved cooking and doing everything on it so I constantly smoked it. I too felt like I really haven't lived in all these years and it's only been a few weeks now but I feel I lived more in these few weeks than I ever have. The one thing I wish would just stop is the anxiety and the heart palpatations, they are debilitating and with the depression with wanting to just die too. Now that I know (thank God) that this is all withdrawal, I just keep asking God to give me the strength to get through this and hope that one day soon the anxiety and heart pounding will go away, or at least slow down. It is in the wee hours of the morning now as I write this because I woke up sweating as I do every night, and with my heart pounding too, so much so, I had to take a Valium to help me. Thank you for sharing your story, it has given me hope and the knowledge to understand what is and has been happening to me, and that these symptoms will one day stop. I felt like I was losing my mind and I really felt like I had no choice but to end my life, no exaggeration, because I can't keep going through this everyday with these symptoms. I feel I have so much to offer in life and I will never go back, never, because I never ever want to go through again, even though I absolutely loved smoking and the taste of good pot, it's not worth it, and I want me back before I die and enjoy the good things in life that I have missed put on because I was too busy everyday getting high, not to mention, spending every penny I had to get it, including borrowing money to get it when I owe so much money to bills that in itself makes me feel so stupid for letting it get so out of control because I had to get my pot instead!

Thank you for.sharing. Am struggling to change after 30yrs of heavy smoking. I want me back too!
Thank you for taking the time, you've reached someone :)

Hey hope you managed to stay off it, I'm only at the start of day 3 but already have all those symptoms :(

Can you please help me.....my life is falling apart.

Can you please help me.....my life is falling apart. 

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I found propranolol helped a lot with the withdrawals. I started at 15 and i've now given up at 31. It got to the point where i couldn't go for a haircut or a funeral without hitting a panic attack. I got terrible sweats from head to toe If i didn't start smoking a bong by 11am. I found it takes 2 weeks to get back to 80% normality, and probably another 2-4 weeks for another 15%. I believe that I'm not fully recovered as I always have the anxiety in the back of my mind but it does not manifest it's self physically any more. Intense cardio workouts helped me with detox as well as lots of water. Also, staying away from coffee while detoxing helped me as i find the buzz from coffee intensified the weed withdrawal. Glad to see I'm not alone and that people are sharing tips and advise. When the bad times out weigh the good, it's time to stop. Good luck

Good for you, Charlie. Mine is a similar story: I'm 56 and have smoked pot for 40 years. I'm ashamed to say that, but it's the truth. I never thought pot was addictive until I decided it was time to deal with my drinking. I was a heavy beer drinker for most of my life, but when I started curtailing my alcohol consumption I replace it by smoking pot more heavily - wake and bake style. I soon realized pot had more control of me than the alcohol did. I'm committed to quitting pot altogether and forever, and I know it will take 45-60 days to get all the marijuana metabolites out of my system (they're stored in fat cells and won't start being released right away after quitting.) The withdrawal symptoms are VERY real, often frightening. Once you realize that it's withdrawal symptoms and not a heart attack or going insane it's much easier to address them.
The internet has helped tremendously, especially sites such as this one. Knowing that you aren't alone in your struggle is a tremendous help. Eating nutritional food and finding an exercise - such as brisk walks - that you enjoy are a great help as well. It's finding balance. A good support group of people who care for you as well as medical professionals is part of my mix. But it will only happen if we really want it to. Getting through the withdrawal symptoms is extremely difficult at times. Sweat it out, literally, then replenish your body with water and electrolytes (Gatorade-type drinks). It's been so long in the fog for me that I can only imagine what mental clarity really is. I can't wait to find out!

Hi! I just recovered from multiple drug abuse(alcohol, weed, hash and tobacco). I struggled for a month and a half. At first I thought I got some big disease. Then I read about withdrawal syndrome. My doctor recommended me to a psychiatrist. When you hear it from a doctor that the symptoms are normal and that it happens to everybody, you feel better. You can take a few medicines. It helped me a lot. About eating, try to eat fried food or high carb diet whenever you can eat. Take long baths. It'll relax you. Get well soon man!

loved your story , i am 56 , into my 7th week off weed , and very low grade weed at that ,because , i can,t afford , green,,, any more,,, , i have been going to a friends , every week , to give him guitar lessons , i have had a few joints the past 4 weeks , once a week. , i am getting beginners, wheight lifting , i am 8 stone , sweating like a pig , when i go to bed , i take diazapam , 30 mg take protine powder , eat like a horse , drink plenty fluids , wen will the sweating go away ,

Iam in same boat as you pal..over 35 years on cannabis and the last 20 on high grade skunks..iam only on my first day but feel OK but iam on pregabalin due to a bad injury and these tablets sure do help..I hope you've completed your journey and maybe you can let us know how u got on pal..I last used my volcano yesterday for a few bags but I gave it to a friend who doesn't smoke to hold onto it..police in Scotland started road side swabbing in April 2017./I value my licence job and mortgage more than the dreaded weed..stay strong bro