Marriage breakdown, mental health, medication and cannabis

[northeastbudlover]

Evening all,

Not sure this is in the right section??

Here i am again asking the good folk of uk420 for help when I don’t really contribute much.I’m really hoping someone can advise/point me in the right direction as i have nowhere/one else to ask about this.

 

Three weeks ago myself and wife decided to separate, coming for quite some time, i’m living alone and so is wife with our youngest son 13.

And to be honest I’m struggling now big time and at times worry where i might get to, mind wise.

Now I always have been very very wary to say the least about any sort of head medication, not wanting to be controlled etc etc.

After consulting the doctor got referred to counselling due to doctor thinking I’m depressed, i told the doctor of my cannabis use.

 

So i’m a daily wake and bake quite heavy smoker and have been for quite some time, what would be the potential effects/outcome of getting medication and smoking still?.

Sorry its long but feel at wits end at times, help!

Edited August 18, 2021 by northeastbudlover

[Giventofry]

Hi @northeastbudlover

 

I have no answers for you,  im afraid. 

 

I do know its almost easy to worry about stuff that might not even happen.

Concentrate on the things you can change, that helps me everyday.

 

An awful lot of people get depression or related issues, that i know for sure!!

So dont think its "JUST ME"

 

But I'd like to wish you good luck.

 

Fry,

Fellow wake and baker!!

[Dodgee]

Well first off, sorry to hear about your marriage breaking down.  Any split is hard but when you been married and have kids it's that bit worse ain't it. (Imo)

 

By the sounds of it, the breakup is amicable at least, I know this might sound hollow right now but that in itself is something to be grateful for.

 

It's bad enough to break up without the added angst that animosity brings with it.

 

Someone said to me before, when you lose someone you love (or loved) through relationship breakdown, it is in many ways the same as losing someone to death. And the process you go through to come to terms with it is similar.  

 

Shock often mixed with denial, then acceptance, then sadness, grief for what you lost before often reaching gratitude that there suffering and your own is at last over.

 

These things take time, and as clichéd as it is time really is a great healer.

 

Try not to get hung up on how your feeling right now and just accept it for what it is. Take each day as it comes, if the thought of a day is too much break it down further to some timeframe you can manage even if that's just an hour or half hr, even minutes.

 

As far as I know cannabis doesn't really have any negative effects combined with most anti depressants but I'm not a doctor so don't wanna give medical type advice.  As far as I know there isn't any major danger though.

 

I'm not anti-antidepressants in anyway. I take them myself.  But I do wonder if they are appropriate in your case.  The truth is you have good reason to feel sad right now. It's not like your depressed with just cause or reason so I'm not sure the benefits would be the same as for say someone suffering true clinical depression..

 

But again, I'm no doctor so the last can be taken with a pinch of salt really and doesn't qualify as advice per se.

 

 

Whatever you do, your not alone mate.  More marriages end in divorce these days than ones that go the distance.  Loads of us here have gone through it and in many cases still are.

 

Keep your chin up. Brighter days will come.

 

Atb

 

[zen-ken]

It would depend totally on the medicine prescribed......Give the counselling a chance...Im not a big fan SSRI's and such like...it sounds like you're having a rough time of it and need to let it out 

 

Asking for help and recognising you need some, is a very positive move 

[vape_ninja]

As others have said, it would totally depend on medication prescribed
Im sorry for your situation, but hopefully you can actually feel better in the long run and things can be improved all around.

Be wary of mixing Anti depressants with cannabis if you have a tendency towards anger (Prozac, Citalopram, Sertraline, Fluoxetine and mirtazapine) thats my experience with those anyway 

[Mort]

Wishing you all the best

 

[Guest Donnyronny]

You sound like your going thru it mate and I feel you, 

 

a few years ago I lost my job, my dad and both my dogs in the space of a few months so since I’m single it was 90 percent of my entire world. 

aside from mental health issues around loss which hopefully resolve over time I do suggest you keep an eye on your blood pressure at home, I’d never paid any attention to it at all in my life before that time and it was dangerously over, my doctor immediately put me on blood pressure tablets as I was at risk of a heart attack, 

 

when I was initially tested at the surgery it was fine but by testing at home it became apparent that it was spiking irregularly, prob due to grief or anxiety.  

the blood pressure tablets helped a lot, 

 

weed didn’t interfere with anything, however I resisted anti depression pills as I knew that was a hole I didn’t want to start digging. 

all the best with everything, you;l come out the other end soon enough. 

[ratdog]

i don't want to be a dick, but perhaps a break from smoking might help clear your mind and put things into some kind of perspective

 

weed really doesn't help me when shits happening, especially big shit, but i tried meds and only found mirtazapine helpful, the rest made me feel way worse, and it helped me get some sleep. i found it addictive though, so i had to ween off.

 

hope you feel better soon mate

[Hempire Road]

Hey man , chin up , long walks , deep breaths and think positively.  Happens to us all pal. My bird cheated after years and I couldn't eat for 2 weeks or sleep , felt dead inside . Times a great healer pal. I wouldn't think its a good idea being enslaved by pharmaceutical crutches . But if you feel really bad and low it would be something to take into consideration without giving up altogether. Best of luck and we are all here with you on here. Its happened to all my mates too. 

[northeastbudlover]

Hello again

sorry for the late reply, been out at my daughters trying to make some sense of my head/feelings etc.

 

I would just like to take a moment to thank everyone for taking the time to reply. I really do appreciate it, and feel better knowing others have been through it and are going through the same sort of feelings etc.

I think for the time being going from the advice i will as i would prefer, to hold off the clinical medication for the moment.

Fingers crossed things will get better

[Alys]

You are having a tough time and like many others I have been there.  The most positive thing is that you have come here to seek advice/opinions.

I would echo the advice given by the last couple of posters @ratdog and @Hempire Road  take a break from the weed and try and get out for a couple of long walks everyday.  This will definitely help in the long run, you will get some sleep and clarity of thinking.

Try and hold off going on meds because they will just make life fuzzy.  Leave booze alone too or limit sessions to once or twice a week because it is in itself a depressant.

I find that a physical detox helps as catalyst for a mental detox too.

Maybe you will find your way back to your wife and son eventually - I hope so.  
Whatever you decide to do in the near term, discuss it with your wife as I’m sure she will give you moral support and a listening ear. If this isn’t possible please talk to someone you can trust to listen without passing judgement.

 

[cannaboy_420]

I agree with ratdogs comments, sometimes when shit gets on top of us ( and it happens to all of us from time to time ) smoking weed from the moment you wake up doesnt really help, 

 

When i had a bad break up i just tried to concentrate giving my mind the best i could i.e healthy food, drink and plenty of exercise and nature 

 

You got this mate 

Edited August 18, 2021 by cannaboy_420

[bartman]

@northeastbudlover  Best wishes dude. 

 

I’m no doctor so should not comment really but unfortunately your GP probably won’t know either and could rely on assumptions and make shit up.

 

I get prescribed Sativex which is a whole plant cannabis medicine  The patient leaflet that comes with the medication states possible contraindications as follows:-

 

Quote

Other medicines and Sativex
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are using or have recently used or might use any other medicines. This is because Sativex may affect the way some other medicines work. Also, some other medicines can affect the way Sativex works.
In particular, tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are using medicines for:
anxiety or sleeping problems (sedatives/hypnotics
like benzodiazepine, for example diazepam or triazolam; other sedatives, for example zopiclone, zolpidem, buspirone, St John’s Wort (a herbal preparation))
•
• • • • • • •
•
muscle spasms ( such as baclofen) bacterial infections (antibiotics such as rifampicin, clarithromycin)
epilepsy or nerve pain (such as phenytoin, phenobarbital ,carbamazepine) high cholesterol (known as statins; for example atorvastatin or simvastatin) fungal infections (such as itraconazole, fluconazole and ketoconazole) HIV infection (for example ritonavir)
thinning your blood (known as coumarins; for example warfarin)
heart problems (known as betablockers, for example bisoprolol, propranolol)
corticosteroids used for inflammation (such as (hydrocortisone, beclomethasone, prednisolone)
Some hormone medicines used for contraception or some types of cancer (such as ethinyloestradiol, levonorgestrel or dydrogesterone)
Page 2 of 9

• anaesthesia to put you to sleep before an operation/surgery relaxing muscles
before surgery (such as propofol) •
If any of the above applies to you (or you are not sure), talk to your doctor or pharmacist before using Sativex.
If you see a different doctor or go into hospital, let them know all the medicines you are using.

 

Source: gw pharma web site

 

Good luck.

[Whatwentwrong]

Look mate, I’m in a similar situation. The issues with cannabis and anti depressants aren’t really there. They are kind of more on an issue with the anti depressants anyway. For example

 

mirtazapine makes you eat, a lot. I put on stones when I take the stuff but it does really help. Added with the munchies though I was struggling to afford enough food and the weed. Now I’m growing weed I may ask to go back on it. It does make you fat though, but it does really help. Makes you drowsy too so helps you sleep.

 

sertraline doesn’t really do anything for me. Didn’t know I was taking it.

 

citralopram used to make me very active. Couldn’t take it in the end because it seemed to keep me up all night and no matter how much weed I smoked I was fidgeting all night long.

 

so what I ended up doing which is what I suggest to you is, buy a bike, take the mirtazapine eat the extra food but start cycling to stop being fat.

 

i can’t tell you how much it helped getting out the house and out of town into the country pounding the miles away. You obviously can’t smoke while you ride so it helps you cut back. Take weed with you. Before Covid fucked us up I bought all the kit to go bike packing, managed to go a couple of times and it was so rewarding. I joined the caravan club (good job this sites anonymous) as it’s £40 for the year but then £6.50 at any of their sites. So id pick one as a base and pick hills and mountains that I needed to get stoned on top of. Weirdly enough I have a feeling every hill and mountain needs me to have a spliff in it just to show stoners aren’t lazy.

 

the way I see it, weed helps and it helps me sleep when I’m wide awake. It can make me instantly happy when I’m sad and it can stop my head going round in circles when all I want to do is watch telly. But it wears off and I end up well depressed again. 
 

taking anti depressants doesn’t help make you happy when your sad but after a week or two you are different. Your mood between spliffs improves dramatically. 
 

so, weed is a topical solution best used for on the spot treatment of serious bouts of depression, loss of appetite and loss of sleep. Anti depressants are a long term solution that will help get you back to a point where you are functioning again and only need the odd topical application of the Ganga.

 

i stopped taking mine a while ago when I got the can card. I have lost weight but I’m not like I used to be before Covid when I took the anti depressants and exercised. Now lock down is over I’m just waiting for this grow to finish pretty much and then I’ll be back on it. This is why I’m putting effort into smart watering solutions so I can head off for a few days with no worries at all.

 

go the doctor man. As @ratdogsaid taking a break would help (I didn’t and I don’t expect you too like) but cutting down will also. It’s Ganga on its own that can mess a lonely person up and cause issues. You live in your head too much. You need to be out, even if it’s just seeing family. I bet you don’t want to and honestly I really do understand. 40/50 hearings over 4 years so I have experience in this. Being alone is a separate kind of hell during this shit so do your best to still be a person not a hermit. (I need to take my own advice man).

 

@cannaboy_420 has wide words. There really isn’t much you can do and the extra weed makes it worse. Get out, breathe fresh air. Come back tired so sleep comes easy. You’ll find you have less racing round your head if your body is dead. Also buy a vaporiser, I’m getting one on payday the arize one. We smoke so much it’s time to see if vaping will help cut the spliffs down so we can live longer for the little ones.

Edited August 18, 2021 by Whatwentwrong

[Entropy]

Hey buddy,

Sorry to read all of this and hoping you the best, not much of a poster here myself but feel I can chime in here.

In regards to medication I too at one point was wary and suffered for years with out chemical support but ultimately I would have to say it is 100% worth it, Anti-depressants can make night and day difference and if you were to chose medication they will probably try and start you with something like Sertraline.. Now myself and a few other people I know that have tried Sertraline have been left feeling violently sick for weeks and suffered through only to gain no positive effects at all. I don't want to scare you off Sertraline as I'm sure it works for some..

On a more positive note there are 3 anti-depressants I would recommend:

 

Fluoxetine
This is usually taken in the morning and will give you a bit of an energy boost for a few hours although this will fade with prolonged use, helped me through some very difficult situations, no real sickness at least for myself from this medication.

 

Mirtazapine
This one you take at night and will act as a sleeping aid, can be taken alongside other ADs, no sickness to report with this medication either, I took it along side Fluoxetine.

Venlafaxine
The best for last in terms of fighting depression, this is my current medication and has been for a while small energy boost, again no sickness while taking Venlafaxine however if I miss a day or two I can get violently sick.

Some thing you may or may not have considered is Magic Mushrooms, there's lots of good evidence coming from the US about their positive effects with depression, PTSD and if you believe Paul Stamets the ability to cure a stutter in one sitting :). It's important to remember in my humble opinion that any treatment especially anti depressants are temporary but they can work and there is a lot of options out there for you. Stay strong brother, wish I could help more.

Edited August 19, 2021 by Entropy