Smoking Pot

[Darkhorse1]

I partake every now and then and it did help at first but lately every time I do it seems to exacerbate the problem. Paranoia runs high and I seem to have more of the bad dreams. I honestly don't know why when it worked so good at first, after having too much of a good thing recently (brownies a friend made) I got sick and don't think I'll have any for awhile but doubt that will honestly last.

 

[Uhavo]

I partake every now and then and it did help at first but lately every time I do it seems to exacerbate the problem

Listen to youself - you found the solution. This may sound familiar "one is too many and twenty is not enough"

It's the "more is better" syndrome - If one is good, and two is better than three has to be better yet. Yeah.... RIGHT!

 

[Vohi]

It's the self in self-medication. You're your own doctor, that's a scary one.

Not making a judgement, I smoked a ton, literally, of it. Don't anymore. I've had so many meds, I want none now.

 

[woodsie]

Don't want to so much analyze the debate but would like to chime in because I am partial to water bongs with crushed ice. I smoke weed to put me to sleep, I believe it cuts down on my nightmares and the shakes. Usually have a couple of big bong hits about 1.5hrs before bed. So when I am washing up for the sack. I'll start to get that tired burnt out feeling. Keeps me away from taking ambien, that shit makes me loopy and gives me bizarre dreams.

I live just outside Seattle and it is legal to possess an ounce. Or if you have a MedCard. You can have up to a pound which I think is a little much. But, I didn't write the bill nor did vote on it. Different strains for different pains. The weed that smells like diesel fuel. Works the best for me. Potent shit and mostly purple in color.

 

[Cuvanul]

Yeah, Diesel Day Wrecker and Train Wreck work pretty well. If I'm doin well. About 1 gram a day is all i need. I can go for about a week completely without, but then the monsters start to creep back in.

I'm thankful I got what I got. VA and doctors have been all over the map. Still debating on whether I need meds or not. I'll be dead before they decide.

 

[Nomewu]

Still debating on whether I need meds or not.

You're not debating about whether you need meds, you're smoking pot and are saying it's helping. If you're not getting what you need at the VA, either take a more active role in your treatment there or go to outside treatment for PTSD.

Drinking or taking drugs is self medicating and ineffectual in the long run. The likelihood of abusing it is always high. In the long run it won't help you to reach a more stable way of dealing with your condition.

 

[Sena]

I don't get it. Some people use pot and have so for a good part of their life...it gets them by. They work and are productive. A guy in a white coat hands you a bottle of pills, which are by no means safer AND mind you CAN be overdosed. And thats all OK. Never mind the long term effects of most pharmaceuticals. The guy who gets by on pot is a shit head for doing it himself.

Sounds like big pharma propaganda to me. Nobody has died from marijuana. But never mind that. Unless some guy in a coat says its ok, its not self medicating. Then its treatment.

Sounds like some crap my detailer fed me once. Very similar to the crap my recruiter told me.

I'm tired of the constant broadcast of anti "self medicating". Talk more about alcohol. There's the shit drug in this world. Seems to me the whole "treatment" world of PTSD is about as half baked as AA. A bunch of half truths and mental bandaids.

 

[Nomewu]

Everyone has a differing opinion here. If you do something that helps you, what ever it is, OK. No one needs to justify what they do that they feel helps them. PTSD SUCKS and so does TBI or being wounded so if you've found something that works for you don't worry about what someone else's opinion is.

 

[Ekafi]

Something a lot of you guys seem to forget is,

Most people on Lab Meds, have so noted in some documentation or other, and are not permited to do certain jobs, because the Meds impair Judgement, Coordination and such. Yes they may well still do it but there is a system in place to stop it.

Some one self Medicating on Alc, can be seen (smelt) a mile off, and can be removed from the system before accidents happen (hopefuly)

Some one self Medicating on anything "Drug" related is harder to spot and there are not allways tell tale signs of imparement.

Bearing in mind Most people who self medicate either with Alc or Dugs will still Drive, work with heavy machinery and carry weapons, and usualy will sooner or later f*ck up to the point that the rest of us have to bail them out.

We had a REME guy out here back in the 80`s before mandatory drug testing.

We didn`t get to know he was high as a kite untill the 434 he was driving rolled into a lake, after he had driven through a barbed wire fence and cut his own f*cking head off.

2 good blokes died because of 1 wankers attitude to drugs.

Self Medicating is one very border line thing and those who deem themselves OK for doing it have to ensure that it doesn`t go wrong and cost others their lives

I for my part would rather have a PTSD`d, fire spitting, head tearing off, Vet wanker covering my back the same as I will covers theirs, anybody who does any type of Recreational drug no matter what the reason , doesn`t, they can not be trusted.

tuppence
anglesachse,

 

[Efak]

Bearing in mind Most people who self medicate either with Alc or Dugs will still Drive, work with heavy machinery and carry weapons, and usualy will sooner or later f*ck up to the point that the rest of us have to bail them out

But its OK to send soldiers into combat on psych drugs. Another pointy headed white coat double standard. How many people are allowed to drive on Xanax? I can't tie my shoes on the stuff.

I think the point here is ALL drugs are a crap shoot with PTSD. Mostly for the fact that you cannot measure your brain chemistry at any given point in time. Hence everyone struggles to get their mix "right". Which it never is, because it does not attack the core problem, not to mention that brain chemistry is in a constant flux.. And then people become immune and have to change their mix.

There is a fine line between recreational and medicinal. Has to do with the person, maturity, self control, etc... Has nothing to do with the substance legal or illegal. I'd trust a guy who got stoned in the privacy of his own home every night....not the guy who's on Xanax to make it through work.

 

[Oda]

But its OK to send soldiers into combat on psych drugs. Another pointy headed white coat double standard. How many people are allowed to drive on Xanax? I can't tie my shoes on the stuff.

I`d like to say it never happens in the Brit army, but no doubt it has some when, some where. but it is definatly not the policy. It is cedrtainly something the US gov and Military have seriously f*cked up with allowing it to happen, ours do try and take you of the front line while medicating.

I was also medically banned from driving while on meds, guess my Therapist was on the ball for that, She put it in writing and had me sign it, If I had driven and been caught it would have been good by license

I think the point here is ALL drugs are a crap shoot with PTSD. Mostly for the fact that you cannot measure your brain chemistry at any given point in time. Hence everyone struggles to get their mix "right". Which it never is, because it does not attack the core problem, not to mention that brain chemistry is in a constant flux.. And then people become immune and have to change their mix.

There is a fine line between recreational and medicinal. Has to do with the person, maturity, self control, etc... Has nothing to do with the substance legal or illegal. I'd trust a guy who got stoned in the privacy of his own home every night....not the guy who's on Xanax to make it through work.

Your right about getting the mix right, it can take ages to get the right dose of the correct Med that will help you. But like you`ve said, it doesn`t "fix the core problem"

That is the reason why I don`t do Meds any more. I would rather work on the problem than on the symptoms.

I`d like to think the guy on Xanax has been taken out the line and you wouldn`t have to rely on him, but that comes down to Gov Policy again.

I know the Brit Army experimented in the 60`s and I believe the 70`s with different drugs and their effects on soldiers in combat. Which is why it became and automatic "Dishonourable Discharge" if caught using.

I don`t think it makes a difference if your are Recreational or a Lab Med Prescription user, neither can be trusted in a serious situation while under the influence, but thats just my opinion based on my own experiences.

Shit has been shown to enhance anxiety and paranoia if taken for too long, but then like you say, some Lab Meds on prescription f*ck with the head as well. can`t say i`d like either brother next to me in a fire fight, let alone behind me.

anglesachse

 

[grunt31]

I used to....it helped but its expensive and illegal in my state. Not worth the risk.