Is this just getting old?

[kilbanks]

Before my panic attack this last June, I was an avid pot smoker. I would smoke pretty much all day, every day. Now I really can't because it makes me too anxious & in my head. Once I stopped smoking, I really started feeling every little ache & pain. Random arm & chest pains, tight/sore neck, aching jaw, etc. and all these lead to anxiety attacks as my nervous system kicks into high gear & I'm convinced I'm dying.

I can't tell if these aches & pains are from the anxiety or if they've always been there and I just didn't feel them because of the healing factors of weed. I've been to the Dr and they say everything is fine, but I can't shake that feeling of "but yeah is it? Because I have all these symptoms that are new and where are they coming if not a dire health issue?!"

Anyways, thanks for reading my ramblings - it's just so weird what anxiety does to the body.

[Charlie1108]

As anxiety sufferers we are super in tune with every sensation in our body. It's normal to have aches and pains it's just magnified in an anxious mind x

[daisyflower]

Yes, everyone gets aches and pains. Anxiety just magnifies them!

[KK77]

You saying that weed makes you worse, as you still have bad anxiety, plus new aches and pains? Not judging either way but wondering whether you were better off using it?

[kilbanks]

Weed definitely now makes my anxiety worse. It could be because I smoked right before my first panic attack, so I now correlate it with being anxious, but regardless - I can't smoke like I used to!

[KK77]

Weed definitely now makes my anxiety worse. It could be because I smoked right before my first panic attack, so I now correlate it with being anxious, but regardless - I can't smoke like I used to!

Then I think you've made the right choice in stopping. Also, you're mixing it with tobacco I assume, which is harmful, especially if you were smoking heavily.

Many people report pain relief from cannabis, but I think it's a far more complex picture of pros and cons (as aforementioned).

But that aside, anxiety itself creates many physical problems/symptoms. So perhaps there is an overlap going on here regarding your current symptoms which in time might ease.

[Chick100]

Before my panic attack this last June, I was an avid pot smoker. I would smoke pretty much all day, every day. Now I really can't because it makes me too anxious & in my head. Once I stopped smoking, I really started feeling every little ache & pain. Random arm & chest pains, tight/sore neck, aching jaw, etc. and all these lead to anxiety attacks as my nervous system kicks into high gear & I'm convinced I'm dying.

I can't tell if these aches & pains are from the anxiety or if they've always been there and I just didn't feel them because of the healing factors of weed. I've been to the Dr and they say everything is fine, but I can't shake that feeling of "but yeah is it? Because I have all these symptoms that are new and where are they coming if not a dire health issue?!"

Anyways, thanks for reading my ramblings - it's just so weird what anxiety does to the body.

Hi Kilbanks.

I would think the pot numbed you a fair bit, and anxiety does make us super aware of every little ache and pain, its par for the course unfortunately. As is blowing normal aches and pains and signs of ageing out of control.

You don´t say how old you are, I don´t often either but when I turned 60, all of a sudden I felt like I was falling apart! and it wasn´t in my head.
Suddenly I developed arthritis in both shoulder joints ( didnt help that I had a really old car with no power steering to haul around) and I also got sciatic pain in my back and down a leg whenever I did any proper work, cleaning the house etc.

So to sum up. I think you are just noticing your aches and pains for 3 reasons, 1 stopping the pot, 2 reacting to anxiety, and 3 just getting older. But don´t worry, there are cures and help for everything, and if there was anything seriously wrong , your doctor would be on to it.

Hope you feel better soon

[budgie1979]

I'm the same way with pot...not necessarily while partaking, but the next day my anxiety is off the charts. So, I don't even bother anymore. It's not worth the anxiety.

I think the aches and pains thing is a bit of both anxiety and a function of getting older. Since I turned about 35, it seems like there is always something not quite right with my body. Either my digestion is off, I've got a headache, back or neck tightness, or just mysterious spasm-like pains in various parts of my abdomen. To be sure, anxiety magnifies it because as an HA sufferer I notice even the smallest sensations. Just today I've been noticing an on and off pain in my right flank, and of course my mind goes straight to "something is wrong" and I have to pull myself back from that thought and practice rational thinking.

The only thing you can really do is get your mind occupied with something else, and try to learn to notice but then consciously ignore those little niggles. Exercise is very helpful for me--you learn to tolerate a little discomfort and that your body doesn't have to feel 100% all the time.