Medical Access

[merl1n]

A couple of months ago I asked my GP about obtaining cannabis to treat my ongoing symptoms.

"Ohh ahhh, I don't know anything about the processes, I wouldn't know where to start..."

Being that I'm in SA and there being no clinic's here (our state Gov't (Liberal) still have their heads buried firmly up their own arses)  I thought the whole process would be a waste of time

I went investigating and found a clinic in NSW, who would go through the whole process online.

 

So after a couple of weeks of paperwork both from myself and my GP, today I got the call from the clinic and have had the initial approval.

I now have to obtain the approval from the TGA but from what I've been told this should not be a problem and should take less than a week.

The Dr I spoke to has told me that what he would be prescribing is a CBD and THC combination as my situation is pain related.

I asked the Dr about the cost of the medication itself as it is NOT on the PBS and I have to say it is NOT cheap.

The Dr himself would not actually tell me a defined cost but advised me to call the chemist in Victoria.

Upon doing so I was told $270/50ml + postage ($30), so $300 delivered. First thought "Fuck, it'd be cheaper to go buy an ounce" but have decided to follow through with the process.

 

At this point I have not been told of the recommended dosages, so how long that 50ml is going to last I am unsure.

I am also unsure if I may be able to get my local chemist to get it in for me or whether it needs to come from an approved compounding chemist, solely in Victoria.

 

So the processes have been started. The dr and the prepaid TGA approvals have cost me $550 so far (that's without the script itself), so let's see how much more it's gonna cost

When I have any further info I will let you all know.

 

Just thought others maybe interested

Merl1n

[merl1n]

Hey Graeme,

I agree with the 'hypocritic' oath. It's not until we become educated ourselves that we begin to question their knowledge. We're all taught that line 'The Doctor knows best...' and some medicos put themselves up there on a pedestal as being 'all knowing'. 

The problem arises when they DON'T know, but don't have the balls to admit it. That's when the hypocritic oath really comes to the fore ie 'He's a nut, he's crazy in do coconut...'The Avalanches "Frontier Psychiatrist" If you can't find an answer or a diagnosis it can't be the medico at fault...It must just be the patient. GGGRRrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

Merl1n

[merl1n]

I GOT'EM!!!!!

Jack haze for during the day. Indica for evening use (or so the chemist reckons). I just mix'n'match

 

EDIT: Micmac, I knew as soon as I posted someone would ask

That better ?

 

Merl1n

Edited October 6, 2021 by merl1n

[micmac]

What's it look like out of containers Merlin, got a pic please

 

Sent from my SM-J530Y using Tapatalk

[merl1n]

An article of interest

These people face excruciating pain daily, but medicinal cannabis makes life bearable - ABC News

 

What is CBD, How does it work

Cannabidiol: What is CBD, how does it work, and what are the risks? - ABC News

[seedsmanspain]

Thanks Merl1n,

                        These stories are helpful in raising awareness and letting patients know they have options and are not alone.

Ta

Mick

[merl1n]

...These stories are helpful in raising awareness and letting patients know they have options and are not alone.

 

 

And that's exactly why I made the topic. There were lots of questions regarding how, so I thought well, let's document it all.

The more information others have, the more informed any decision they make can be.

[merl1n]

OK, so made another order 'dis arvo

10gm Pink Kush 

10gm Potts Point Sativa

Cost: $325 delivered

[merl1n]

And received it in today's post.

[itchybromusic]

Hey there Merl 

i had something mentioned to  me today in regards to CBD oil that i had never heard b4 & thought i'd ask you about it 

 

sorry if you've already mentioned it b4 

 

some back ground 

A family member with MS ( CBD oil user ) who got a bad toothache & started taking a codeine based pain killer b4 having the tooth removed

after extraction the numbness had past the pain was still present , more pain killers were taken b4 heading back to the dentist 

for a second tooth removal with the same result , once the numbness subsided pain was still present , more pain killers & by this time a few

days with very little sleep , early this morning an ambulance was called because of a delirium state this person found themselves in 

not recognising a carer & long time partner 

 

lots of issues here , lack of sleep , codeine based pain killers , normal MS meds & CBD oil 

 

the carer was told by the treating doctor he would never treat a patient using CBD oil with codeine based pain killer

because some kind of reaction between CBD & codeine which was suggested was the cause of the delirium 

 

now not that i should know this cos i ain't no doctor but have you ever heard of CBD & codeine together having a negative effect & possibly causing delirium in patients ?

 

just curious if this is a actual thing

 

thanks merl 

[merl1n]

Hey Itchy,

As both a heavy user of codeine and canna, I call BULLSHIT. For some medicos they still have that 'Evil Weed' mentality. They have the idea that if you use canna, a recreational drug, then you're just a drug seeker.

CBD is considered by most as a non psychoactive component of canna, but 'non intoxicating' would be a more appropriate label, as it does have some (minimal) psychoactive interaction effects. Interaction with other meds. So if you add 2 intoxicants together (canna + opiates) what is the effect? It's increased and this can feed that 'Drug seeker' mentality/label that many medicos like to throw around.

 

Now, MS. The easiest way to explain MS to non-medical layperson is to think of the nerve fibres as an electrical cable surrounded by a sheath/insulator. With MS that sheath, that insulator, breaks down exposing the nerve fibres. If those exposed nerve fibres come in contact with each other you're going to have misfiring of those electrical signals all over the shop. For some those effects can be minimal, for others those effects can be overwhelming and those effects can vary MASSIVELY from one day to the next for each and every patient. For some they can vary MASSIVELY from hour to hour. There are a couple of forms of MS. One is considered benign or non-progressive, the other is highly progressive. All of these variables can make the whole process of diagnosis and treatment a HUGE mine field as each dr can have their own interpretation of cause vs effect vs treatment.

 

You speak of 'Normal' M.S. meds and that's a bit of an oxymoron, there is no 'normal'. Some people can get by with a panadol but for others they can need pretty powerful medications. Some meds can be used to treat the symptoms, pain, muscle spasms etc. Some can be used to slow the breakdown of the myelin sheath, the insulator. This is NOT a 'one-size-fits-all' type situation and yet some medicos try to treat every patient the same. So, we have all of these 'Medically approved' pharma concoctions + canna + a variable condition, so what is the effect?? No one really knows. Medicos love a straight line diagnosis (what I call the A+B=C theory), Symptom 'A' + symptom 'B' =Diagnosis 'C' the reality is that often A+B=C is way too simple, it's more like A+B-C/DxE √F..... The interactions of the 'Medically approved' pharma concoctions is fairly well established in most cases, the interactions with canna, not so much.

 

Dental issues can be notorious for having flow on effects. There is a condition called trigeminal neuralgia, sometimes known as the suicide disease. The trigeminal nerve is one of the 5 primary cranial nerves and receives messages from all over the skull, down into the lower jaw/teeth. Any damage/disturbance along the nerve branches can send pain anywhere along the nerve tree, so to pinpoint a diagnosis can be near on impossible. Another common diagnosis in such cases is 'Nerve pain'. Nerve pain is VERY generic, any pain could be considered 'Nerve pain', but it's often a label given when medicos can't pinpoint a cause/effect for pain. And the medications for nerve pain can have some crazy, OMG side effects, sometimes those effects can be worse than the condition they're attempting to treat.

 

Pain is one of those things that can be wildly variable and is very individual. Some medicos think they know all about it, but that's more their ego than fact. In my personal view, I take the information given by medicos, I have trialled all of their medications, all of their theories, but at the end of the day I have to manage all of this for me, not the dr's. If your family member is receiving a benefit from canna, despite the dr's view, then it's up to your family member to weigh up the pro's and con's against their own personal circumstances minus the influences of the medical profession. With some medicos when you mention canna you can see their eye's roll, you can see they've already made a moralistic judgement. This has SFA to do with morals and more to do with medical need.

 

Merl1n