THC, Cannabis, secondhand smoke while Acute or Post Withdrawal=> jerks,SEIZURES?

Long story short I was in benzo withdrawal winter of 2018-19. Post withdrawal symptoms continue to this day. One of my major complaints, both in acute and post- withdrawal, is repetitive myoclonic jerks at wake-sleep transition (some call it "hypnic jerks" on benzo forums, but i think they differ from true hypnic jerks and are a form of epileptic activity). The "jerks", as I'll be calling the phenomenon, can completely prevent sleep for days on-end if not medicated.

 

Recently I've realized, to my slight horror, that cannabis/THC exposure, even minute quantities as found in secondhand smoke, is enough to induce the "jerks", and requires potentially massive quantities of anticonvulsants to suppress in order to get a little sleep. The anticonvulsant i typically use is valproate. The only GABA-a signal boosting med I'm aware of that is non-addictive. So for secondhand cannabis smoke, a one-time exposure of 3-5 lungful (breaths) of the stuff from 6-10 yards away downwind is enough to cause "jerks", requiring medication (250-500mg sodium valproate). A second similar exposure requires bumping the dose up to 1500mg. A 3rd such misadventure shortly after produced "jerks" that cannot be suppressed by 3000mg sodium valproate, the daily maximum dose.

 

Anyone has similar experience with cannabis/THC while in withdrawal or post withdrawal? I used cannabis before benzo withdrawal and it always helped me sleep. Post withdrawal cannabis has been pure hell, whether it was voluntary or secondhand exposure. Im beginning to wonder how am i gonna survive in a pot-legal state, or if they legalize Federally. Right now im averaging 3 days between accidental THC exposures, even while trying my best to avoid. Granted this is Hood Oregon

 

Edit - i dont use valproate or any other meds or substances when not exposed to THC, and had been able to sleep and function quasi-normally. I'm thinking now 'waves' can be caused by unwitting chemical exposure. A wiff of alcohol or gasoline fume, a wiff of weed, and there it is.

 

Just for fun sake, I think the interplay between THC, benzo withdrawal and anticonvulsants is like this -

A person in withdrawal or post withdrawal has lowered seizure threshold, but the threshold is not 0.

THC has a long half-life (10-20 days) in former frequent users (like myself)

THC can accumulate from low doses and small accidental exposures due to the long half-life

Once above the seizure threshold, THC causes epileptic activities that certain anticonvulsants, like my sodium valproate, is only marginally effective at managing

 

So in my case, once I've reached the seizure threshold, any further exposure to thc, even a small quantity like in 2nd hand smoke, produced "jerks" requiring massive doses of valproate to control. Even further exposure would simply produce intractable "jerks"

i actually stopped cannabis while ive been in recovery for a little over a year and i smoked daily from age 16-31. i def felt better without the cannabis but when my stomach stuff ramped back up i had no choice but to start again. some strains for me effect me more negatively than others i find the mostly indica strains are better FOR ME. i only take one small puff at a time and i dont hold it in very long. i smoke dramatically less than i used to. honestly if i had to choose i wouldnt do it at all but bc my stomach issues were so severe and nothing prescribed or over the counter was helping the pros outweigh the cons for me. also keep in mind i went through just over 6 months of stomach issues before i started back on cannabis.

 

you should be fine with 2nd hand smoke. bc your receptors are still damaged and healing pretty much everything is going to have some kind of effect on them in one way or another. i would just keep pushing on. thats all we can do.

So i dug up this 2016 post on Buddies, on marijuana and hypnic jerks. Says CBD counteracts THC. So I went and bought CBD (in hemp oil) that very day. The first day it seemed to help, although it took 900mg CBD. Now on the 3rd day im thinking the small amounts of THC in hemp oil is adding up, due to long half-life, while CBD only has half life around 1 day . So its getting less effective. I'll have to buy pure CBD isolate online and see how that works

 

Really wish there was still a THC blocker on the market. There was one, for obesity. Then got discontinued.

 

I couldn't effing believe it at first. 1 wiff of pot smoke from 10 yards away and i come down with no sleep for days! But this is the only explanation that fits the data. Every single time i took a wiff of the stuff I'm f***** as hell that night and for a week after. No exceptions.

I dont even have "hypnic jerks" like ever when I'm not at Hood Oregon

 

 

Edit: Profanity

CBD worked for me during the initial withdrawal somewhat but i cant get anywhere near it now. i cant even smoke strains that have even 1-5 % of CBD. i would stay away from it but looks like youve already taken it.