Hello, I need some support

Hello, I am not new here.

I was active here about 10 years ago. I had successfully quit ativan 10 years ago and remember all of the worst withdrawal symptoms that I used to have.

I am back because I really need some new support. My mom passed away unexpectedly 4 years ago. I had some levels of anxiety that I was able to cope with.

I live in a country where marijuana is legal. I remember after I successfully recovered from ativan, I stayed away from substances which would work on the GABA system. So I stopped drinking and just exercised.. and I was "recovered".

Anyway silly me thought it would be ok to partake in a legal thc edible sold at a government shop. I felt my GABA system would be ok to try something. Well apparently not and I also was allergic to the edible.

I regret doing this so much as it has retriggered my anxiety to the point it feels like I am withdrawing from benzos again.

My sister told me she had sensitivity to the substance as well.

I have really bad anxiety, insomnia, and fears that once again I permanently messed up my brain chemistry.

I remember when I was here before when I was withdrawing from Ativan, the support of people telling me I wasn't permanently damaged helped me get through it.

Just need some help again.

-sensitive benzo brain

Hi stacatjazz.

Welcome back. Sorry to hear that the edible seems to have triggered some lasting symptoms. Edibles are kind of tricky in that you can easily have too much and bring on temporary panic and paranoia. Marijuana works with the CB1 and CB2 receptors, not GABA receptors, so your receptors are okay. I’d look more to the ‘allergic’ side of it if it were me.

You don’t say how long ago this happened, but it can take about 30 days for THC to clear your system. 

Let me check to see if one of our members who knows more about marijuana and THC is around to answer your questions.

Other members replying to your posts generally prefer to know where you are in the process, so here’s how to add your benzodiazepine information automatically to your posts: go to Profile, then Forum Profile, write your pertinent info (benzodiazepine, dose, taper history) in the text box and save. Thanks! Let us know if you need help with this.

Take care,

Challis 

Hello,

I have updated the information on my profile.

I have only stopped THC about a week ago, and it triggered anxiety on par with my recovery from benzo's. Thanks for letting me know it may take a month for it to get out of my system.

I should listen to myself more often in understanding that ever since I got better from benzo's that I have to be careful about what I put in my body.

Thank you so much

THC is well known for bringing on anxiety, certainly. But it is unrelated to benzodiazepines and your recovery, IMO, and should pass with more time.  Maybe you can use your old coping skills from withdrawal. To help you through this.

While you’re here, have you written a success story? 

I've overdone it a few times with edibles.  At times it has caused me a prolonged terror-like feeling that can be pretty scary, but that requires way more THC than I'm used to.  I wonder if something like that happened to you??? 

I'm curious - did the bad feeling start within an hour or come on after 3-5 hours??  One of the other cannabis testing lab managers once told me that he thinks it's 11-hydroxy-THC (11-OH-THC) that causes the terror.  Your body converts d9-THC into 11-OH-THC, which is also psychoactive - perhaps more so than d9-THC.  That high level of 11-OH-THC accumulation only happens with edibles/tinctures. 

Overdoing it like that can shake up my confidence for couple of days, but then I'm fine.  I'm sure that you'll be OK again too.  THC targets different receptors.  The gabaergic system is only tangentially involved.  Very different from benzo's mode of action.