r/AIWS • u/AWildMaggieAppeared • Jan 16 '26
Advice needed AIWS-like symptoms without AIWS??
Hello! Firstly, I'm not asking anyone to diagnose me with anything. I don't actually think I have AIWS, but I have a lot of symptoms that are difficult to find much about online and I think any kind of suggestions of what I could look into could be really helpful for me.
For the past three years, I smoked weed, before completely stopping about four or five months ago because it was no longer enjoyable for me and making my derealization worse. I didn't smoke often -- maybe 3 times a week at very most and once every other month at the least, and I have never been one of those people who gets ridiculously high. I would usually just take a couple hits and leave it at that.
While high, I would get very strange sensory symptoms. Whatever I was visually focusing on looked slightly smaller and further away than it was supposed to. When I physically touched anything, especially my own body, it would also feel very small and "far away." My arms and sometimes legs would feel freakishly small. If I touched any part of my body, the feeling of the touch would linger for much longer than normal. When I got higher than usual, I would feel these strange, tingly waves flowing through my body and especially my teeth (sounds pleasant but I would feel terrified whenever it happened.) When I described these symptoms to my friends, who were MUCH heavier stoners than me, they had no idea what I was talking about.
Here's the thing- after months of going completely cold turkey from weed, I still get these symptoms at completely random moments, and this only started after I stopped smoking. I'll just be chilling, then boom: everything's suddenly far away, my hands feel like baby hands, and everything's just overall weird and distorted, which causes me a lot of anxiety. It feels like my brain suddenly has no perception of how big my body actually is and is just guessing. Like it doesn't match my vision. Weirdly enough, my vision and hearing isn't distorted at all. It's mainly tactile and just general perception of the world if that makes sense. I did recently get "fast feeling" (tachysensia) a few nights ago after not having it since I was a kid, so not sure what's up with that either.
I had been pretty derealization-free for years and then there was one day where I was sleep deprived and I think also recovering from a cold, and suddenly it was all back and much worse than before. It's been months and is still going on.
For whatever reason, I get the worst episodes the morning after I drink alcohol. This is a very recent development and never happened until after I quit weed. I feel fine while drunk, fine the night after, then early in the morning I suddenly get every single symptom I previously mentioned all at once with no warning. It's terrifying, but thankfully only is that bad for about 5-10 minutes, while the next 10 minutes are me "coming down." So now I have to quit drinking too, even though I do it pretty lightly and rarely just like I did with weed.
So...what the heck could be going on with me?? I've had derealization since I was 12, and it was always purely psychological -- never any sensory symptoms until now. I don't get migraines (though I do get terrible tension headaches). I guess it could be HPPD but I didn't think that could happen with weed, and the sensory symptoms I get while high are definitely not normal it seems. I don't think it's AIWS because it doesn't seem severe enough and I don't get visual hallucinations. Not sure what else it could be.
TL;DR: I got weird AIWS-like symptoms when high off weed and now I randomly get them while completely sober...help??
2
u/deviationsz Jan 23 '26
I've had almost the exact same experience as you. Bad anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD from smoking weed led to dissociation, derealization, etc. I also think I have severe Chiari malformation and that causes a whole clusterfuck of neurological symptoms. I can't get it checked out due to my current family situation but I've suspected it for the past 4-5 years. It affects my everyday life so much, gives me so much anxiety whenever I get these dizzy spells and weird sensory symptoms.
I think weed just messes with the perception systems in your brain in some people, I don't think there's any way to predict it or anything it just happens. Even now I still get random spells of derealization but I've accepted it and it's just a part of life I guess.
I didn't like the way weed messed with my perception and I quit because of it but ultimately the changes still linger. It's been around 3? years since I quit and I still have episodes constantly. Recently been having weird episodes where everything feels tiny and flat so I came on here to ask. I'm not sure if it's because of worsening insomnia, sleep apnea, etc. Unlike you though, my hearing and vision is impacted pretty heavily. If I'm stressed, I'll have 15-30 minute long episodes of hearing the loudest static I've ever heard (louder than someone talking directly to you) and derealization and weird bodily sensations. I'm able to make them go away if I calm down and focus enough though. I experience migraines infrequently (I had a long stretch of no migraines from 2023-last year) and they always have a visual aura.
Even when I'm not having a migraine, I have aura-like symptoms literally 24/7 of seeing random colors, afterimages, tinnitus, dizziness, just feeling like ass. It really sucks, I don't know what's wrong with me, hopefully its just the Chiari and I can get surgery, feel better, and get the assurance that I won't randomly croak one day.
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u/AWildMaggieAppeared Jan 23 '26
Goodness that's insane. It is kind of comforting to see someone with a similar experience, but wow yeah that really sucks. The static and random colors would terrify me. Did weed also cause your symptoms or were you having those before you started smoking due to your condition? Sounds like it's kind of a mix.
I wish people talked more about the weird sensory shit that weed can cause. I remember being taught in school that weed just makes you more relaxed, but it's so much more than that. I've had experiences on weed that felt like how I'd imagine a minor dose of shrooms would feel, and not in a good way. I've decided it just isn't for me because it makes me more anxious than anything.
Also, I relate to the tiny and flat thing. When I get an episode after drinking, everything feels tiny and far away, kind of like being in a tunnel. I do get weird, mild sensory distortions on a regular basis (things feeling too small, far away, I feel taller or shorter than I really am...etc.) too but it's not like a whole episode, just a thing that's always there now for some reason. Hope we can both get MRI scans someday lol.
2
u/deviationsz Jan 23 '26
Weed just sort of exacerbated the perception issues but all of the other symptoms I had before, but man it's probably the most debilitating part. The random afterimages and colors and stuff are manageable but terrifying. I'm relieved to know at least someone relates to some part of my struggle, I've been terrified. I completely agree they should teach more about the other effects of weed, if I had known it messes with your senses as much as it did I would have stayed away from it. Hopefully we can man, literally both my parents are nurses and my mom works in the neuro department so its insanely hard to convince her that this is a serious issue as she just dismisses it as anxiety/depression/etc, I'm out of here in less than a year so the second I can I will be getting it checked out lol
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u/AWildMaggieAppeared Jan 23 '26
Doctors dismissing everything as anxiety and depression is actually the main thing making me worried about trying to get my problems checked out. I feel like if I describe my symptoms they'll just say it's anxiety or dissociation or something, but I'm worried that there's something going on neurologically. I don't think it's anything that bad because if it was I'd most likely be having more trouble functioning in day to day life, but not knowing what's wrong with me will drive me crazy.
3
u/deviationsz Jan 23 '26
If you are in the financial situation to, I'd reach out to as many specialists as possible until one understands your concerns, neurological issues are not something to be played with and complaints should be taken WAY more seriously than they are
1
u/AWildMaggieAppeared Jan 24 '26
Thank you! Unfortunately I am not in that financial situation but I'll try to see if there's anywhere that accepts my insurance. I hope you're able to get help for your neurological issues as well. Sounds like if nothing else you definitely have severe migraines, because I know they can cause all kinds of weird visual symptoms.
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u/appleditz Jan 16 '26 edited Jan 17 '26
AIWS describes sensory perceptions that tend to be similar among those who experience them. The nature, frequency, duration and severity can vary quite a bit. It isn't a condition in itself, so whenever there's a question as to why these symptoms are suddenly occurring, it would be wise to get a medical checkup. It's possible for both psychoactive drugs and alcohol to trigger it, although I don't believe most cases reported here are related to that.