@Allie D.
For sleep you might want to try something that is heavy Indica. Th...
Yes, I bounce back and forth between Lavender** (which in this case is the actual name of the strain, it has no actual lavender in it - this is important to me 'cause I'm allergic) and lately I've been using something called Wappa** at bedtime. Lavender is an indica and Wappa is an indica-dominant hybrid. I find edibles best for sleep, though - for one thing they make me sleepier; they take a long time to kick in but then they stay with you longer, possibly through 8 hours.
Sativa-dominant strains, as opposed to indica, are much better daytime meds and are more likely to provide energy and clarity of thought. There are many strains to choose from - even in one of the most restrictive states. Everyone reacts differently to different strains. That's a difficult part of the whole thing - you're left to figure it out on your own. It's expensive and time-consuming. In my case - worth it, but for severe chronic pain, and it hasn't helped much for PTSD except for a slight reduction in nightmares.
My best daytime strain I've found so far is a sativa-hybrid called ACDC** and it has almost no THC but is CBD heavy and works wonders for the chronic pain I experience. Not so helpful with depression and anxiety, but at least it has given me a little more energy than I would have otherwise, and it has not worsened my anxiety as it does in some people - and it makes me less loopy than the THC heavy items.
(A little loopiness, though, isn't such a bad thing once in a while, in the evening or especially if you're stuck at home having a bad PTSD day. My doctor said so!! :D)
As has been written in this thread... Medical marijuana, like any medication, is NOT a cure-all and it is NOT for everyone. Think about how many SSRI's there are, Prozac and about ten others now and what do you do? A psychiatrist takes depressed patients down the list. Some people are not helped at all by SSRIs, or different types of antidepressants.
Expect to go through the same thing with MMJ, but you've got to find it out yourself. Oh, but on the plus side, you don't have to take it for 6+ weeks to determine if it is helping you.
Sometimes, along with the desired effects, I get a fast heartbeat which makes me reach for anti-anxiety medicine on occasion. Yesterday I tried a new strain and it made me SAD. It is such a weird set of effects. One strain in particular had rave reviews from fellow-PTSDers, but it gave me a panic attack. So I moved on from that one.
**Not all strains are created equal, and the names change up so you should always double check what you are taking in. This is most important when talking about west coast vs east coast... sometimes the names end up lost in transition. I'm on the east coast.
I hope some of this helps someone. There's a truly overwhelming glut of conflicting info, so this is all describing my own personal experiences.
