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Medical Marijuana And PTSD

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I have no intention of becoming dependant on pot. I have fibromyalgia. I often experience a tremendous amount of pain all over for no apearant reason. No swelling, no inflamation, no bruising, etc. but it feels like I hiked a thousand miles sometimes. It feels like I was used as a football sometimes. I have tramadol, gabapentin, and motrin, but sometimes they don't work very well. I am well aware that some medicines don't add, but multiply or even exponetially act on the body.
 
I am fortunate to have a great T, and dr with open minds. It does help with my PTSD, I don't get anxious, it helps with my pain, I get my mojo back and can leave the pain meds alone. It helps me be able to think about more than just how to deal with my pain or taking meds. Physical relief leads me to a mental break to get on with life. I wish it didn't smell so bad, even with a vaporizer. I don't like to eat it, brownies, tea or whichever, I don't like the feeling at all and I have no control, almost the same as some meds I have taken in the past. I still feel I l am taking way to many meds for my PTSD and major depression. I can't control my pain with my med of choice during the week, I don't think pulling out a vaporizer would help with long term employment!!:) They kinda frown on that sorta thing. I have used cesament, but find my tollerance builds up really fast and it is really expensive, very fortunate I have a job with health care. Had a great expericence growing my own this past fall, can't wait to start again in the spring. Everything I could do wrong, I did, but I have been able to take pain meds that I had total contol of, I grew it. Awesome, and fortunate. I got a very low yield and have to make it last because I have no budget to purchase any.:( It is very expensive. Even to grow, but it pushed me to have to go out of the house and into the shed, to deal with the plants. All legal, all above board. It helps for me, it is like any other med out there, works for some, different for everyone.
Just wish it wasn't such a hot issue, but that's life.
 
I just want to point out that in the states, even if your particular state has medical MJ laws on the books, you're not completely "legal" in that it is still very much a federal crime.

And please don't fool yourself into thinking that natural=healthy. Even as kids we were told not to eat berries in the woods as some are poisonous. Have we all forgotten these caveats?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not so much anti-pot as I am anti-med. I just wish that people would try alternative therapies before using psych meds long term. But I realize this forum doesn't want to hear it... I'll be on my way. Carry on...
 
I find medical marijuana is helpful to a point. I have 2 therapists, one who specializes in EMDR and another in talk therapy. Both know that I am a card carrying marijuana patient.

I use it for a variety of reasons and for me right now it works differently at different times. Sometimes its very relaxing (and even when its not it always helps me sleep, insomnia is one of my big issues.) Other times, its a hyper-processing super-tool and I seem to be able to access deeply repressed and embedded material so that I can talk about it later with my therapists. On those nights, my dear wife will sometimes help me by writing down what I say so I can be accountable later to talk about it.

Its good stuff, for me. I can't say if its good for everyone.

I don't think its a PTSD cure by any means, but I do think that it can be helpful. I too used to be totally anti-medication, having been on most of them at one time or another. At one point I was desperately and dangerously addicted to benzos. Naively, I thought since they were prescription they must be harmless. Boy was I wrong.

Trauma is personal, and the journey to recovery is personal too (though paradoxically it requires friends and experts). Medical marijuana is a small but helpful part of my own recovery. I don't use it as a replacement for therapy or hard work. I have spent the last 10 years in therapy, sometimes going 3 times a week for months at a time. But I find that marijuana is great as a booster to my therapy to help things move along smoothly. It can help me get sleep or to simply remember what its like to not be hyper-vigilant and habitually repressive while remembering details.

No doubt there are many wiser than I on this forum who know how its really melting my brain in the background. And it might be! Feel free to share that wisdom with me.

All that I know is that I find it effective... somedays when I am processing a lot of emotional material it is too effective and I'll take a month or so without it to work on what came up. I only smoke at most 4-5 times a month anyway, so ebb and flow is part of my process. I think there is no reason for me to question my experience, as it is my own and I know I have my integrity. I didn't touch any drugs at all, script or otherwise for 14 years. Given that discipline I was ok to check out marijuana when 3 days of therapy a week sometimes didn't slow my symptoms down enough to even get a good night's sleep. I decided I wanted some relief sometimes. I learned its OK for me to not have to suffer all of the time just to prove to myself I am working hard to recover.

I am not advocating marijuana to anyone, and certainly not to anyone who has to go procure it illegally. But for those who live in a medical marijuana state, and who are carefully combining it with deep therapy: if it works, use it!

Likewise, for those illegal, opposed, or appalled: don't bother yourselves, you know your body and what works for you, trust that!

Life is too short to make hard and fast rules about recovering from abuse. At least it is to me. I have already given 31 years of my life to this condition! If a toke here and there is going to make the difference between a good and a bad day while I work with my therapists and friends to find freedom, then so be it.

I will give my abusers and attackers no hold in my life, and I will give myself no guff for trying whatever it takes. I will make it through this no matter what.
 
Sativas and Sativa dominant strains (such as Haze, Trainwreck, Sour Diesel) contain more THC to CBN and CBD. THC is the stuff that gives you more like a cerebral psychedelic high. It's affects are more "happy" and sometimes even hyperactive. These kind of strains are good for people who are lethargic and burnt out, people who want to explore open mindedness and insight, artists, and those who want to smoke only during the day time. It is not good for people who are very anxious, and paranoid as it may increase your anxiety severely.

Indicas and Indica dominant strains (such as Purple Kush, White Widow, Cali Orange) contain more CBD and CBN over THC. This means the high will be more of a couch-lock, relaxing, body high. This stuff can knock you out, so it's best used in the evening. It's great for people who need to relax, lessen and control pain, and just want to chill. It's not recommended to use during the day, as it will burn you out. These strains can be more "addictive" to some as it sometimes offers "opium" like effects.

Hi, no offense here, but just wanted to clarify some misinformation in this post. Sativas and Indicas both usually never have CBD in them. 99% of today's strains are THC potent and have little CBD to CBN in them.

To make matters more interesting, Indicas themselves are hardly ever even capable of being CBD-rich, but in fact tend to be genetically predisposed to be extremely potent in THC. The strongest usually have the capacity to achieve higher levels of THC than Sativas do.

It is a misconception that THC gives the energetic and sparkly Sativa effect, while CBD gives the more mellow, narcotic effect of the Indica strains. It is actually as of yet unknown why the two major strain-families differ so. It is believed that the terpenes that cause the flavor and aroma of specific strains may be responsible for the differing effects, Sativas having a more spicy/citrus/chemical terpene profile and Indicas generally possessing a more earthy/floral profile. There is much research being conducted on this very topic.

In actuality, the most CBD-rich strains on the market are all potent Sativas. Harlequin, ATF, Jamaican Lion, Soma A+, etc, are all pure Sativa or Sativa dominant strains. These are not very common, but it is very interesting that it is the Sativas that show the most potential for CBD.

In my experience CBD is not always calming either. It can help clear up the stupefying effects of a heavy duty strain like ATF (one I have a lot of experience with) and is supposedly anxiolytic, but my own experience has shown that even CBD-rich strains can be quite alerting and cause me a bit of nervousness. In fact, the ATF I have used has caused me to have even more of a trippy feel than a THC-rich strain like God's Gift, and this is something I do not always like.

CBN is a byproduct of the oxidation of THC and will usually contribute to the feeling of being "messed up" or "drunk" if present in high amounts.

Again sorry to barge in correcting here, but I feel its important to dispel this myth that Indicas are rich in CBD and therefore cause a narcotic effect.
 
Pot is a legal med where I live, but is still highly stigmitized. And I legally use it to help with my PTSD. I can tell you about my personal experience, not hearsay, not the dogma or propaganda influenced mumbo jumbo from addicts and/or zealots of either side, nor the BS hypothetical prepositions of people who’ve never used it but hear it was bad/good from church/propaganda/friends.

Now to dispel the lash backs before they come (because I've heard it all before): It does not cause cancer (there are studies that prove this). It does not kill brain cells (the monkey tests have been debunked; pot didn't kill the monkeys; scientists sufficating them caused the brain damaged and killed the monkeys). It is not chemically addictive; I have never had withdrawals when stopping, and only use it sparingly when my flashbacks or panic attacks get too overwhelming.

I have tried the non-herbal antidepressants, sleeping medicine, and antianxiety medications as prescribed by my doctors over the years and had horrible reactions to all of them. Every pill they put me on had horrible side effects, some made me suicidal when I otherwise was not, some made me randomly fall asleep in inappropriate times and places and not remember falling asleep (I would wake up on the toilet or with my face in my breakfast and not remember how I got there), they made me dizzy and confused, many made my nausia worst and would make me throw up so much that I’d lose over 10 lbs in a week... the list goes on and on.

Anyways, one day a doctor said “have you ever considered trying pot?”, we talked about it and my concerns, then I decided to go legal and give it a shot (hell I'd tried everything else). I tried it and it helped, and the side effects didn’t mess me up like all the pills had. And I don’t have to get stoned to smoke or eat pot and see the benifits; just a little bit takes the edge off and brings me down from high anxiety, to just normal and calm and able to function. And if I take a lot, like enough to get stoned, I would only do that before bed because it makes me fall asleep, so that I can sleep. All the “side effects” of pot, treat my PTSD symptoms: it helps me calm down, it helps me eat, it helps me sleep; I’m more productive and functional on it then when I’m not. For me it was all about figuring out exactly how much of what strands help me with specific problems, because different kinds do different things and give me different reactions. I found that plants that give a “body high” worked best for me in very small doses during the day, to calm, and that large doses make me fall asleep peacefully at night. That said, I don’t do pot very often, I try to reserve that for the worst of times when my flashbacks are most unbearable; it makes it more bearable.

I’m not saying it is for everyone, but it really helped me. I don’t recommend it for people with addictive personalities, or people who get addicted to anything easy (my docter says there is nothing chemicly addictive in it but people who get easily addicted to anything might get psycologicly addicted), and its probably not good for people who will get stoned 24/7 in order to escape and avoid dealing with their problems. It will not fix PTSD, it will not make the problems go away, but it does help me calm down and/or sleep after/during a really bad flashback. And it helps me to eat and keep down food. Stress makes me very nauseous and throw up, so pot has been a real blessing because it’s helped me to keep more food down and sleep better if I take it on really bad nights. I think my feelings and emerging memories need to be addressed and am addressing them in therapy; for me, the pot simply does what trazidone and antidepressants were supposed to do but failed to, and what sleeping pills should do but without the addictiveness or detrimental side effects.
 
I grew up in a city where pot is now legal for medical use, and went to college in a place where it is legal for medical use. It is illegal where I currently live, but I think this will inevitably change soon. I grew up in a family with a non-fear-driven attitude towards marijuana. My father is a successful surgeon and smoked in college. He no longer uses it because of his job, but he does not have negative feelings about it and I remember him telling me at 11 or 12 that pot is different than other drugs, less dangerous than alcohol, and that if I wanted to try it to talk to him and my mom first about safety and possible side effects. My mom smoked regularly for most of her life, didn't smoke while my brother and I were growing up unless she was on a vacation and we were with a nanny or my dad (and obviously not while she was pregnant), and smokes again now that my brother and I are adults. She enjoys it recreationally and finds it useful for chronic pain and GI problems. Basically, I didn't grow up in an environment that made me think of pot as something "bad" so I no rebellious instinct to use it any way that would harm me or others.

I first smoked maybe freshman year of high school. I smoked somewhat regularly through high school and college with some periods of disinterest in smoking and some periods of heavy use. It has only been a problem when I have used it to avoid feelings or INSTEAD of other coping mechanisms. Now, I use it with some regularity both for recreational purposes and for PTSD/other psych issues. The major benefits that I experience are increased appetite (I lose my appetite completely when I am distressed and have a past eating disorder so cannot afford to lose weight) and help with sleep. It almost always eliminates my horrific nightmares completely if I smoke a small to moderate amount before going to bed. If I am going to therapy, taking my meds, talking about my feelings, and using other healthy coping strategies, I see no reason not to smoke pot on top of all of this for a little extra help. It can help me relax, quiet my mind, and enjoy things like music, film, and reading without intrusive thoughts. It also greatly relieves chronic pain which is a result of my PTSD, as well as some muscle pain from running injuries.

I also find that marijuana can be motivating for me in terms of completing simple tasks (nothing complex) when I am having a hard time getting out of bed. It gives me a little sense of wellbeing and for some reason helps me tidy up, do some errands around the neighborhood, or start a creative project. Another plus is that it can help me with social anxiety.

I do not experience negative side effects from marijuana. I experience increased appetite but this is not a problem for me. It has never exacerbated my anxiety or depression. However, I wouldn't necessarily recommend smoking pot for PTSD to anyone; it seems to effect different people very differently. It exacerbates depression and anxiety in many people I know, and anecdotally I have seen people lose motivation, become awkward socially, and get in legal trouble.

For me, it is really helpful - when used in combination with therapy, psych meds, exercise, healthy diet, other coping skills, etc. One last thing I will note is that I have been smoking for a long time (10 years I think) regularly, so I do not get "super high" and unable to get things done. Smoking pot when you are a pot smoker and smoking pot when you aren't a regular smoker are very different things.
 
ok I have been beating myself up for self-medicating and now I am getting feed up so, I am going off on a rant. I hope no one is offended.

I have an incurable illness. *(as a matter of fact I have a couple of them) In New Mexico, the government has decided that I can receive medicinal marijuana to ease my symptoms. But in the state where I live, I am a criminal if I smoke it. Is it a freakin' medicine or not? :mad:

Obama says he wants to reduce the federal deficit and reform medical care, he even says he is not against doctors prescribing marijuana for their patients, so why doesn't he start with the legalization of marijuana (at the federal level), treat some patients with incurable illnesses, and jump start this failing economy?

No one has died from marijuana use and yet hundreds of thousands die every day from hard drugs, alcohol, nicotine, etc. Contrary to popular belief marijuana does not kill brain cells. It has medicinal value and it's been shown that the use among American Youth drops when cannabis is decriminalized/legalized.

[DLMURL]http://blog.norml.org/2011/10/17/for-the-first-time-gallup-poll-shows-majority-support-for-marijuana-legalization-nationwide/[/DLMURL]

I am 51 years old, I have paid my taxes, worked until I could literally not stand up on my own two feet, served my country and been a contributing member of my community,…., so why cannot I not get the medicine I need? Why should I have to leave the place I was born, to get what is readily available just about everywhere...and why should I continue to beat myself up for self-medicating with a medicine that works better than the stuff that the drug companies are selling?

I don't care if I have to eat the raw plant as long as it works to reduce symptoms of my illnesses. How can you arrest people for wanting relief from pain, stress, insomnia, nausea, etc. etc. etc.????? Obviously even medicinal marijuana is not for everybody, just as Prozac doesn't work well for everybody, but for those with incurable illnesses, I think an exception needs to be made to allow those people the opportunity to gain relief.

No, I am not high. Yes, I vote. Yes, I have written my state representatives. Yes, I feel better. :):barefoot::giggle:
 
I hope I didn't step on anyone's toes with my last post. I was a little fired up when I wrote it and probably should've waited till I was calmer to write it.

I just want the scientists and researchers to isolate the chemical constituents of marijuana that relieve PTSD symptoms and then make that medicine available by doctor's prescription.

I signed a petition to pass a bill legalizing medical marijuana in my home state and now I am gonna let this issue go. Thanks for letting me express my opinion on the subject.
 
Hi, I just wanted to add my experiences.

I have been smoking since I was 16. Because of the experiences of my life, for many years I used heavier drugs, anything I could get my hands on, and at 12 was prescribed antidepressants. I went off them when I began smoking pot.

I have been in some sort of healing and meditation therapy since I was 25 and I have stopped using any other drug except the cannabis. I try for sometimes weeks at a time and after weeks of not going into deep sleep and holding patterns I have begun to understand that it is definitely medicine for me.

I gave myself such a hard time for years about using "drugs" I felt shamed and isolated. For the first time in all these years I can now say truly that it has been a friend. I don't think I would have survived without it.

When I used pharmaceuticals I would just go into horrible state and often tried to commit suicide with them. I am angry at the way cannabis and the users of are looked down upon and imprisoned, thereby possibly creating more trauma.

It gives me sleep and peace and I continue the healing with somatic experiencing and psychological help and exercise and writing..much love Deva Mara

<Edited - inserted paragraph breaks.>
 
Just adding in my experience as well. I've used it very sparsely only for the last couple of years. It helps me to sleep. But while it is legal where I live, they refuse to give licenses for it based on mental illness. I have plenty of physical qualifications that would suffice but I'm scared to ask for a card based on something that really isn't an issue. I need it for sleep, not stomach pain. My other option is to use sleeping pills, but they're heavily addictive and some trigger nightmares. I'm still figuring out what I want to do so far, but my experience hasn't been negative aside from struggling over whether to pursue a license or not.

It does not work for everyone. Remember that heavy, long-term usage can have ill effects. If you're using it medically, you shouldn't be getting extremely buzzed and losing touch with reality. For some people, even small amounts increase anxiety. It is up to you, your preferences, and your body.
 
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