Not everyone who quits smoking weed will experience severe withdrawal symptoms, but most will find themselves facing a wide range of symptoms ranging from uncomfortable to distressing and unpleasant. Although none of these are life threatening, but they can make relapse tempting. The trick to success is to prepare for what may lie ahead, and feel able to deal with any problems early enough to avoid the temptation to smoke weed again.

Typical weed withdrawal symptoms

• Headaches
• Disturbed sleep (insomnia/vivid dreams)
• Fever
• Feeling sick
• Feeling cold
• Anxiety
• Feeling restless
• Stomach ache
• Poor appetite
• Depression
• Mood swings
• Hot sweats
• Feeling irritable

Any one symptom experienced alone may be fairly easy to manage, but when you experience several at the same time it is easy to get overwhelmed and lose perspective. This is the danger point for returning to weed simply to get relief from the withdrawal symptoms.

More about headaches

Headaches are one of the most commonly reported physical problems people experience after quitting weed. In most cases they tend to come on within a few days of your body being without marijuana, and be quite intense for the first few days before easing off or disappearing altogether within the first couple of weeks.  

Headaches alone are bad enough, but when combined with some of the other high-risk symptoms like night sweats and persistent coughs they can seem even worse.

Dealing with weed withdrawal headaches

Coming to terms with severe headaches is not easy, but these tips make the road to recovery a little easier.

• Avoid  too much caffeine (especially in energy drinks)
• Take OTC painkillers regularly
• Drink lots of water to stay fully hydrated
• Try yoga, meditation, or tai chi in class/via online video
• Eat small healthy meals often
• Get outside in the fresh air as much as you can

A handy go-to strategy

One of the best ways to tackle weed headaches is to act as soon as the first signs appear.

Distract yourself

Take some meds, drink a glass of water and then do something that won’t make the headache worse; so while watching TV or reading may aggravate it, taking a short walk or bike ride should be fine.

Delay big decisions

If the headache is causing you to waver, set a time limit before you will think about smoking again. In an hour or so you will probably be fine.

Don’t panic

Pain wears people down, and can make smoking weed again attractive. The trick is to cut those feelings off before they take hold, acknowledge it will pass, and take action to help it do so.

Ditch the stress

Make a list of automatic de-stress activities that make you feel relaxed and do as many as you need to too counteract the headache taking centre stage.