My experience with medicinal cannabis, by Beth
My name is Beth and I have been prescribed, by a Cannabis Specialist the following:
THC flower to be used through a vaporiser. (Some DRs will deny prescribing it if you say your plan to smoke it via a joint or bong so don’t mention that if its your preference). I find the vaporiser is great. Firstly, because it doesn’t produce any of the distinctive smell you get when smoking. The house won’t stink, you can use it discreetly in public and I used significantly less consuming it this way.
The benefits to me were an increase in my appetite during chemotherapy, it stopped nausea, eased some headaches, reduced anxiety, relieved gastric colic, relaxed the bowl and was a fairly broad analgesic for many of my aches and pains.
It’s drawbacks were dry mouth syndrome, which was compounded by Endep and opioids. The munchies had me eating more, so that I had weight gain. Concerns were also being tested by the police as medical use is not an exemption from prosecution. My memory recall was also affected.
It was a god send when I was titrated down on opioids and then under medicated for 3.5 years. To be honest I was still in considerable pain when using it but it made it bearable and probably stopped me from self-harming at that time. I did find it very antisocial, but I could watch the same series on Netflix multiple times lol!
THC Oil had the same effects as the flower but took about 2 hours to act, and lasted considerably longer. If you are needing a continual affect this may be your option. I felt I had better dosage control with flower.
CBD Oil was life changing. Without Endep I can’t walk, but still had my whole left leg burn like a cold sore 24/7 365 days a year and that was a real head f*&K, exhausting and the reason I nearly said no to the cancer treatment. With CBD oil that neuropathic pain is gone completely. It maybe aiding anxiety, but not enough that I would take it specifically for that.
A simple google search will find you a clinic to prescribe it and some you don’t need a referral from your GP. The two clinics I have used wanted me to use their compounding chemist because they had shares in the business but I insisted that my local chemist scored and dispensed it as I am on 15 other medications so wanted the one pharmacist overseeing all of them and to make sure what I was receiving was legal should I ever have to go to court again. As prior I was charged with cultivation for personal use before being referred to a prescribing specialist.
My opioids where increased 10 months ago and because of a supply chain issue the GP had to write a script for a higher dose as the lower dose scripts couldn’t be filled in town. Finally, I was on the appropriate opioid dose of 15mg of Targin twice daily and this decreased my THC use, and then after starting EMDR therapy for PTSD, I have all but eliminated my THC use to a couple of times a month should I have a flare up or a migraine. I find that quite useful. I am still prescribed the same quantity should I need it multiple times a day, but I find it makes my thinking retrospective and increased negative self talk and I’m trying to lose weight by using Lite and Easy and getting stoned blows that out of the water.
Very good medications that aren’t on the PBS makes cost an issue but accessing it now is quite easy, should you need it and can afford it. I’ll take CBD oil every day for the rest of my life and don’t know how I lived without it.