Tips: using vaporizer for cancer pain?

[glenbob]

Hi folks,

 

My sister-in-law has been suffering end-stage bowl/liver and bone cancer for some months - maybe not long to go now. As the chemo/radio/medication's efficacy wears off, her pain/nausea are escalating, and her appetite decreasing.

 

She got a Volcano classic and some local Tassie bush-grown bud to try vaping. It's only day 3, so she's not sure how best to use it to help. She's ground up the bud, put a thin layer in the chamber, and filled a couple of bags on Temperature setting 6. It's a light vapour.

 

She had a couple of bags on Day 1 and felt a bit stoned but no pain reduction, but slept better that night.

 

Similar on Day 2, I think.

 

I'd be interested in other people's experiences with pain management by vaporisers, and any tips for use/frequency/dose. For example, should she be gaping til she feels a 'high' (which she doesn't actually like that much), or would smaller more frequent amounts be better for pain?

 

It would be great to get hold of some cannabis oil to try, but gather it's pretty much a case of make your own at the moment?

 

Thanks,

B

 

 

[Midget]

This is for another site and has some good inforamtion should you care to read..

 

Different temps are beneficial when vaping..

 

good luck with you quest.

 

http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/vaporization-temperature-dependent-selection-of-effects.1637/

 

which I realize has been widely reprinted, mangled and represents boiling points of pure or mostly pure mixtures of compounds, I have started to compile a table listing temperatures in degrees C and F referenced against the effect you can expect by using this temperature when vaporizing. I'll be posting this tomorrow, but will detail some explanations right now.

The legend is as follows;

AI=anti inflammatory
E=Euphoriant
AN=analgesic
AE=antiemetic (anti nausea)
AX=anxiolytic
AS=antipsychotic
BD=bronchodilator
AD=antidepressant
SE=sedative

So for example if there is a line in the table that I will post that reads

180C 356F AE,AD,2AI,AX it means that from the previous temperature gradation of 170 there is a compound or compunds that give each effect. 2AI means that there are 2 compounds listed that give an anti inflammatory effect. This is NOT an exact science, but I was bored at lunch hour today and spent most of an hour compiling a rough table.

For example, the last three lines of my table will read as follows;

220C 428F AI,AN,E,SE
225C 437F SE
230C 446F SE

Meaning that if you vaporize at 230C 3 components will be contributing to a sedative effect, one an antiinflammatory effect, one a euphoriant effect and one an analgesic effect. Again, this is NOT an EXACT science, and I merely do this for interest's sake (I am treated for OCD which I hate), and I like charts and graphs.

But what this should be able to do is allow people who have variable temperature vaporizers to select somewhat of a specific effect that they want (within limits of course). To give a really quick example, if I saved all of the ABV from an Iolite, which has a fixed temperture of 190C and then reused this material in a Volcano or Extreme and set the temperature to 230C, I could reasonably expect more of a sedative couchlock type of effect.

I should have this posted by 9 pm CST tomorrow. Don't kill me if it is inaccurate. Don't praise me if it works; merely pass it along if you think it is of any value and forget it if you think it's garbage. I could be reading too much into this, but it would or could explain why, when I set my Extreme to 170 (up in 10 degree increments from 140C) all the pain from my my/moderate osteoarthritis disappeared.

Temperature oC Temperature oF General Effect
140 284 2AI
150 302
160 320 E,2AN,3AI,AE,AX,AS,BD
170 338 AX,2AN,AS,2AI
180 356 AE,AD,2AI,AX
185 365 SE
190 374 2SE,AD,AX
200 392
210 410
220 428 AI,AN,E,SE
225 437 SE
230 446 SE

As promised, here's the post. Don't read too much into it at the moment, since I'm posting this from work and I'm sure there are corrections to be made. But, in a nutshell if a particular compound had a boiling point of 157C, I attributed it to 160C, since the Extreme that I use can only increment or decrement 5 degrees at a time. I then went and cross referenced each property with each 'assigned' boiling point and put a tick mark in a rough table. When I was finished I was able to enter data for a particular temperature; for example, at 185C there is at least one compound that can contribute a sedative effect. At 140C there are at least 2 compounds that contribute an antiiflammatory effect. There are mistakes in here, I can guarantee that, but I will edit and notate corrections. And yes, vaporization of these compounds emeshed in an organic matrix is not the same as boiling of pure compounds.

I can offer two general conclusions; if you want an anti inflammatory/analgesic effect, keep your temperatures lower. And if you want a sedative/couchlock effect keep your temperatures higher.

Some more corrections and opinions to come tonight.

Tom

[merl1n]

Excellent info Midget

I was looking for something like this when I first got my digital vape.

I haven't used it much as I was unsure what temp was optimum for me, short of trial and error (and lots of it )

Might have to pull the vape out again, more trial and error

 

Thanks

Merl1n