Medical MJ and Me - My Christmas Miracle

[Ausbud]

Hi Everyone!

 

It has been a very long time between posts. I have been very unwell for quite a while, but have a story to share. With the current status of Cannabis in australia this is the only place I can really share my experiences and hopefully get some feedback regarding what i have found.

 

Two years ago I suffered a "Major Deppressive Episode", long story short, I was driven to the point of physical and emotional exhaustion by my employer, and myself, working 12 to 14 hours a days, 7 days a week for a period of 6 months. Basicly I worked and was worked to breaking point. On "D" day, I was working as normal before I had to go and prepare for a stocktake. At 10am I sat at my desk to start a marrathon papperwork session, I looked down at my notes and tried to formulate a plan of attack, what seemed like 2 seconds later I checked my watch to discover it was now 11am. I checked again, freaking out, yep, 1 hour had passed and I could not remember it. With that, I just started to unravel, I had to go, I called my wife and headed for my car. to give you an example of my emotional state, try and remember a time when you were at your most scared, lost, terrified. I likened it to having the closest person to you die in your arms....... times ten. I am not even sure how I made it home. This was it I had 'lost my shit', I could not talk, eat, sleep. The only thing my body could do was be in the fetal position crying, I was like this for 24 hours.

 

I was taken to the doctor as you could understand my wife was terrified. Unfortunatly this is where the real pain began. I was started immeditlly on Vallium, then Temaze, then Avanza (a anti Deppressant). Over the next 3 months I did not venture out of my bedroom save for the bi weekly trip to the doc. At this stage I had no, and I mean NO short term memory. Each day was like Groundhog Day, my wife would explain every day what had happened and every day I seemed to get worse. The medication has basicly given me a chemical lobotomy. I have always been very sensitive to medacation, the best examples of this is I once had a shot of Phenergan for a allergic reaction and was out cold for 36 hours, the other was I took 1 cold and flu tablet during a very bad case of the flu and it was like I had taken an acid trip. The doctor knew all of this but still had me on a standard mg. of the drugs.

 

Enter Cannabis.....

 

3 months after my breakdown a friend had come to visit to see how i was. They were shocked to see the shell, or rather blob of a man they had used to know. My days activities were sleep, eat, sleep, eat, sleep........ you get the picture. I was told avanza was most likly going to make me put on weight, and that it did, 20kg! My friend offered me some Weed. Even though my wife and I have smoked before, she was worried as it is common knowledge (ie the world biggest lie) that Cannabis causes depression and almost all other mental illnessess and was even created by the devil himself..... I blew of the concerns, rolled up and took my first toke. Now this may seem a little over the top, but like a slap from the worlds stongest man, I woke up. For the first time in months clarity started returning, by the end of the joint I had a smile on my face, 10 minites after the joint I was laughing. Unfortunately though I was now self aware. I realised what was happening to me, I looked in the mirror and could not belive what was looking back at me, this was NOT me, who is this person?, and where have I been for the last 3 months? I spoke to my wife for the first time remembering what happened 3 months prior but had no memory of the time in between.

 

After my awakening I got myself off all of the drugs, stoped seeing my doctor, started my own business and started on the process of healing myself.

 

I was traveing pretty well until November of 2012, although I knew I was not back to my old self I was alot more functional than I was whilst on the drugs.

 

I was using cannabis (home grown) as mosly a crutch, I would slip during the day and hold out for 6pm when i would medicate, normalise and feel better. I was determined not to stay home all day and smoke just because it made me feel better, I had to work. Bills don't care for illness, I had to sell our house in 2011 just to keep us afloat. At the start of November 2012 I started remembering all of the details of my life during my missing 3 months, I could not belive what I was remembering, the pain, the hopelessness. i could feel myself slipping away again. Life became dream like, nothing seemed real, it came to a head whilst at a customers house (we are landscapers), I had developed a facial twitch and speach difficulties. After an out of character disagreement with my wife I was found in the back of my work trailor convulsing, sreaming in pain and non responsive. My wife rushed me home, settled me and asked if I wanted to go the hospital. I more than freaked out when she asked this. I recalled a dream to her where I was taken to a mental hospital and over medicated and locked away. She asked then if I wanted a joint, i said yes, rolled and smoked it. She walked me around our garden and had me water the vegtables. Whilst watering the vegtables I again 'woke up' but began breaking down again because I could not remember the events of the afternoon. Something had to be done!

 

I went to the doctors again, my doctor had moved so I had to see a new one. After recalling the last 2 years of history I was again handed a script. Xanax. No discussing of side effects, possible problems or how addictive it is, just like robot vending machine....MUST MEDICATE!!!!! Just in an overseas accent...:-(

Wow, Xanax what a miricle drug, does nothing for ..."what I have" but made me hallucinate, wish for death and crave more and more. Again I took myself off the drug and went and saw my wife's childhood doctor 2 hours away. He gave me a referral to see a Psychiatrist. Guess what......1.5 hours, $450 dollars and after decribing this whole story and even more information about my life in hell i get......... wait for it........... a fucking script for anti depressants. No diagnosis, and blame for my mental condition place wholely on my cannabis consumption.

 

This was absolutly IT! I had had it. On the drive home I thought to myself, what if I just don't make it home. My poor wife would have some peace. I couldn't get out to work, what good was I? My insurance and super would get her on her feet again. The thought of her was the only thing that got me home.

 

This was it! This was not going to beat me! Google became my mistress, I read pages and pages of information about Cannabis and mental ilness, with mixed results.

 

I decided it needed a very aggresive approach. I decided to try and make a Cannabis Tincture. I had read medical papers from the 1800's saying that Cannabis Tinctures were basicly used are 'cure alls' through history treating everything from Athsma to chronic pain (pardon the pun). I made cold press Tincture with my remining bud (a few ounces). I made a cold press as I wanted to be able to medicate during the day without the 'stone'.

 

The Tincture was ready at the start of December. I started taking it 3 times a day and started a log book to see if there were any inprovements. Within 2 days I was back out on the road with my wife, in a week I was feeling more like myself than I had in years. In two weeks I started noticing massive changes in my mental state, physical state and overall health. Just before Christmas I weighed myself and discoved I had lost over 5 kilos in the month with no change in my diet. My shoulders that have given me muscle pain for years had relaxed and I had no pain anywhere in my body. I asked my wife if she would try it aswell to see if this was just a coincidence. She has now been on it for 1 month and is getting all the same benifits. I have been on it for 2 months and am now finind improvements in my muscle definition and size, scars and the odd bump and scrape heal at twice the rate and my wife is even seeing improvements in her eye sight. She no longer needs her glasses to watch T.V. Before the tincture I could no longer play my favorite game on the computer as my facilities were so slow, now I am beating everyone and high scoring every game.

 

This all seems to me to be impossiable, but here I am the living breathing proof. I would love to hear form anyone who has found relief in Cannabis, particularly using a tincture, to see if anyone else have had the same relief.

 

Cheers for reading a long post!

[MongyMan]

Sorry to hear its been such a rough road for you Ausbud. Great to hear cannabis helps you so much with it all. When you say cold pressed how exactly did you do it? With a seed oil press or similar?

 

MongyMan

[Sir PsychoHashy]

Hi Ausbud, glad to hear you found a way to get off the pharmaceutical, disinterested, merry go round that is our mental health system, I hope it continues to give you these great results.

 

My partner unfortunately suffers from depression, long term, but also unfortunately her problems are exacerbated by cannabis, which really sux as she is very fond of it and has had to give it up.  This is why we can sympathise with your medical community experiences.  I am interested in the particular effectiveness from using a tincture as compared to smoking, are you still smoking as well if you don't mind me asking?  Sounds like it is worth researching.

 

Best wishes for your future

[Ausbud]

Hi Dr Dave, I am still smoking, not much, two tiny joints a night. I find that sleep is a big factor with me so its good to get in right frame of mind before bed. My tincture has no psychoactive effect, is prepared cold so the THCA is not 'activated' as such. MongyMan sorry by cold press I mean no heat was used in the prep of the tincture, basically 2 oz of NL in 500ml of 50% alcohol soaked for 2 weeks strained and bud matter pressed to get all the goodness out of the plant.

 

 

 

Hi Ausbud, glad to hear you found a way to get off the pharmaceutical, disinterested, merry go round that is our mental health system, I hope it continues to give you these great results.

 

My partner unfortunately suffers from depression, long term, but also unfortunately her problems are exacerbated by cannabis, which really sux as she is very fond of it and has had to give it up.  This is why we can sympathise with your medical community experiences.  I am interested in the particular effectiveness from using a tincture as compared to smoking, are you still smoking as well if you don't mind me asking?  Sounds like it is worth researching.

 

Best wishes for your future