u/toilp00

Hello, so beginning of this year I quit smoking weed after 7 years daily use, the withdrawal effects put me in hospital where I had to have iv drips to rehydrate and was given morphine, the same day I went home and tried to smoke a zoot, I had 2 tokes and had the worst panic attack of my life I couldn’t do anything my heart was racing and I felt so warm etc and ended up calling 111 thinking I was having a heart attack!
I have ADHD and had anxiety/social anxiety since I was young but I think the weed 1000% helped mask it, but I’ve never had a panic attack until then, I decided not to smoke anymore and take a break, another week later I had a toke on a joint and again had a panic attack but not as severe as the first one but I still had a panic attack, since then I have not smoked at all it’s been just over 5 months, during those 5 months I had to leave my job and move back home, the panic attacks became daily and I was suffering. I would keep calling the doctors and emergency services to the point ambulances would come to my house just to say it’s a panic attack but I would genuinely convince myself I was dying or on the verge of a seizure or stroke, I was always scared that I couldn’t breathe properly and that my throat was closing, I had a fear of sugar, salt and caffeine and most foods, i felt like I was going to faint all the time and that everything was dizzy, and I couldn’t (still can’t) take any form of medication so anti anxiety (which I used to be able to take) and beta blockers just weren’t an option, for pain relief I would have to use calpol and even then using medication would give me a panic attack, I couldn’t go outside or spend time with people.
I have improved significantly recently and waiting to discuss my health anxiety with a professional, i can go outside and do things but still overthink sometimes like im stuck in my own head, weed helped with this and id just do stuff without thinking about it it really slowed down my mind, if I feel like I’m going to have a panic attack now I’m able to rationalise and tell myself I will be okay and it will pass and now 99% of the time it does, but I am still dealing with the anxiety and occasional strange bodily sensations but I am still able to rationalise and tell myself I’m okay!

I’ve recently just gone through a breakup from a shitty relationship, I wasn’t able to have friends or go out a lot but now I’m free I’ve been trying to reconnect with people, but literally every single person I know smokes weed. I’ve been feeling so alone recently and just don’t see much point in life itself, I put on a brave face when I’m around people but when I’m alone I’m just miserable, I used to be in a position when I was smoking where I could hack being alone and have no issues I would happily do my own thing, but now I don’t smoke that loneliness and FOMO is just consuming my mind and I’m just at a really low point. I loved smoking and miss it every single day, I just don’t want to try again and then have another panic attack and be right back at the start and have to go through all of those sensations again where my anxiety was really bad, but I also just want to smoke a puff on a joint and lose myself for a few hours and not have to think about the reality of my life right now. I know it’s probably not ideal to smoke but I don’t know if anyone else has been in a similar situation and picked up smoking in moderation after a long time of being weed free and been okay? As I’m typing this I’m realising it’s probably down to individual use and tolerance and someone else’s experience won’t be my own.. but other anxious stoners out there do you think a SINGULAR toke/puff of a spliff will cause a full on panic attack again? I know what to expect with panic attacks now atleast so I can tell myself I won’t die but I just don’t want all of the shitty symptoms to come back and take me out for another 5 months.

Also I feel like the first time getting into smoking after however long of not smoking will probably be a weird experience in itself especially trying not to overthink having a panic attack.

Sorry for the rant!

This is my first Reddit post and I hope this post is relevant!!* TW discussing thr*wing up

Hi, so a little back story, I was a daily smoker of just weed and tobacco in a joint (3/4 joints a day) for around 7 years, I would smoke before college, after college, before work, after work etc, It became a massive necessity in my life. About a year and a half ago I had to stop smoking for like 4 days and as soon as I hadn’t smoked for a day I woke up the next morning with severe stomach pain and v*miting multiple times every hour I couldn’t eat or drink anything and I would still be thr*wing up stomach acid, this went on for around 2/3 days before I had to go to A&E due to severe dehydration and had to have an iv drip etc, I was sent home the same day, the next day it was still occurring and I was still being sick, so had to go to a&e again for the same process of rehydration and a drip, I ended up being told to go on a liquid diet for a couple of weeks and that I had ‘gastritis’ but I am wondering why it all started as soon as I quit smoking? I had to get an endoscopy a few months later and had acid burns at the bottom of my oesophagus. And btw a week after I was sent to A&E i started smoking again and my symptoms subsided anyway so I was back to daily use, skip forward to January of this year (2026) I stopped smoking again cold turkey and the same thing happened where I was having severe stomach pain and thr*wing up so had to go to A&E was diagnosed with gastritis and IBS and been taking omeprazole ever since, I ended up stopping weed entirely, and my symptoms eventually subsided but the night I came home from hospital I tried to smoke and had a massive panic attack with shakes, palpitations and literally thought I was dying it was so scary, I don’t know if it was because I was given morphine in the hospital and it was just a bad reaction, so I decided to stop entirely and I felt better but It came with a lot of mental difficulty with panic attacks and anxiety attacks about my heart and health to the point I was calling emergency services quite frequently and had to quit my job and move back home with my parents, I couldn’t go anywhere or stand up for long without feeling like I was going to pass out and it lasted for a few months I’m better now and managing daily life again (not sure if that is relevant to this sub but just thought I’d mention it sorry) but I was just wondering if it was CHS or just a very very bad weed withdrawal or even nicotine withdrawal? I was continuing to use a vape while I quit so not sure it was nicotine but worth mentioning, it’s been over 5 months since I last smoked and recently just started smoking cigarettes, will I be able to smoke weed again? Or will the panic attacks come back if I try? I’m really scared about the mental health side of it as it was honestly one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had to go through, I just want to be able to smoke once a month or something and feel good again, life is just so crappy without it and I still miss it a lot lol I know it sounds stupid but I don’t drink and have (diagnosed) ADHD and a musculoskeletal issue that causes severe nerve pain and joint pain and was using the bud to help manage the pain and symptoms of my ADHD as I have a very active brain that I do not like I have a tendency for anxiety but it was never bad enough to cause panic attacks like I did when I tried smoking again as I believe that was my first panic attack, weed was always nice to shut it off and just relax, I don’t take traditional medication as I’ve got a fear of tablets due to a surprise allergy and haven’t been able to take medication for anything since literally have to take calpol if I’m in pain, I just miss it quite a lot, so yeah to summarise -

Can I still smoke again without having panic attacks?

If I do smoke again one time will I get the same issues with my stomach?

Is there a way I can ease into smoking again to make it easier on myself mentally to avoid the panic attacks?

(Sorry if this is not relevant to the sub or the way I have written it I’m not great with writing and prone to yapping a bit lol)