Wondering if anyone can help me. New to mmj & need advice.

[jillan]

I have a unique situation. I am the mom of a special needs women.
She's always had digestive/ stomach probs but they have gotten worse - she has bouts of intense pain.
Working with a G/I doctor who does nothing but order more tests for her. I asked him for some pain medication for her. He said no. Opiates will constipate her and that's the last thing she needs..... just keep giving her tylenol. After giving her 6 doses of tylenol within 5 hrs one nite, I made an appointment the next day with a green doctor. And she got approved.

Here's where it gets weird. Because I am her caregiver I cannot go with her into a dispensary... Unless I want to pay $200/yr for a caregiver card.
The consultant at the green doc told me he will be happy to pick up whatever I need for her to save me the fee.
But since I can't go with her and talk to the people at the dispensary I don't know what formula/strain would be best for her. He kinda told me that mmj doesn't really help with pain, it just helps people relax? I've been doing some research online and reading that it does in fact help with pain. So I'm getting conflicting info.

This is all new to me. Does anyone know if there is a strain that would help her with intense stomach pain? Or what I should be asking for? Any info you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[fredamae]

1. I suggest calling a

dispensary - they may be able to share some suggestions with you. Perhaps the green doc would have suggestions for resources as well.
Good luck.
And yes, cannabis is excellent for pain relief...100% Indica or Indica dominate hybrids is a good place to start. We all respond sp very differently to cannabis. 5 people, same gender, same age group with an identical disease can all use the same strain with 5 different results.

[jillan]

2. That's a great idea to call a dispensary! Thanks!

[fredamae]

3. I edited/added a bit :)

[jillan]

4. Thanks - I will def look into that. They gave her some gummies in the meantime.

Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. It's better than shoving tylenol down her all the time.

[beveeheart]

6. Prior to having a hip replacement,

I used 100% Indica or Indica dominate hybrids for acute pain in my hip and back. For the last couple of months before the operation, I had to use a walker or cane because of the pain. Indica edibles helped more than I can say and allowed me to sleep instead of the pain waking me every time I moved. I still use edibles from time to time because I like the feeling of total relaxation they provide.

It has been my experience that the people who work in the dispensaries are very knowledgeable about their products and know best what to suggest for various ailments. Perhaps you could make a request for someone to talk with you before your daughter goes in by herself.

What state do you live in (if you don't mind my asking)?

[jillan]

15. I'm in Arizona The hard part is my daughter has complex special needs so she will not be going into

a dispensary by herself... this is so frustrating. I am her advocate for everything imaginable. Someone in this thread mentioned trying to talk to them over the phone. I bet there are dispensaries that will be willing to do this.

[Voice for Peace]

5. The first thing is to look at her diet and what's blocking digestion.

But here is a nearly universal cure for digestive & stomach problems: cayenne.

I suffered for 20 years with that kind of pain. Please take this home remedy seriously. I trued every conceivale other option with nothing but short term success. A friend gave me a shot of cayenne water and it changed my life. Another valuable home remedy is apple cider vinegar. Google medicinal benefits of cayenne inparticular. Improved circulatwion and heart health on top of othe stuff.
I'm also mmj, but for stomach pain I use:

Cayenne: Take 1/8 to 1/4 tsp in a glass of water. If relief isn't felt within half-hour, repeat.

Apple cider vinegar:get organic if possible
tsp in glass of water, repeat until relief

Water watee water drink lots of water.

[jillan]

9. Thanks - we have done a lot of this but It is a medical issue.

Possibly related to her pancreas - ugh.

I do use aloe and papaya in her smoothies & it does help. I keep her breakfast liquid so her digestive system doesn't have to work so hard.
I don't know if she would drink the cayenne.... I never knew that it was so healing. I will pick some up - can't hurt.

[Voice for Peace]

14. Cayenne will burn throat for a few minutes.. A spoon of yogurt helps

Re-reading more carefully thus time -- have you heard of Rick Simpson formula oil?

I don't know her age and not wanting to make alarming suggestion but you mentioned pancreas. My sister has pancreatic cancer. They found it pretty early which is rare. It's a slow-developing cancer usually preceded by years of discomfort. It's also very hard to find and diagnose.. If there is even a slight chance of this I'd urge you to get her on that oil.

There have been only a couple of small studies with cannabis vs pancreatic cancer, one w mice and one human cells. In both cases cannabis killed cancerous cells and left the healthy cells alone. An mj doctor or dispensary shoyld be able to tell you more. Also PhoenixTears.ca I think is Rick's website. What state are you in?

I find almost without exception the dispensary people are eager to help, so don't hesitate to call.

[jillan]

16. Thank you for that information - adding it to my list of strains to research.

It is so frustrating that big pharma stands in the way of medical research on cannabis.
I was watching a Sanjay Gupta special & he had a clip of the head of the Mayo Clinic screaming about getting big pharma out of the way of research.

I'm in Arizona. I imagine people at dispensaries are eager to help. Health food stores have been great & eager so I imagine people that work with mmj are going to be the same.

[Voice for Peace]

17. Best of luck

We're sunshine neighbors - I'm in NM
💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

[jillan]

18. Hi Neighbor!!

[BobTheSubgenius]

7. It's important to know this.

I am fairly conversant with many of the factors that might affect your result. It's entirely possible, or even probable, that the properties of a given crop are more dependent on the grower than the strain.

Or, at least that variations in technique will make predictions difficult. Besides, unless the dispensary has a rock-solid supply line, names don't really mean a lot. Tradition is that a grower is free to name a new hybrid whatever they want, and further, well-regarded strains tend to have a lot of copy-cats.

The major factor is time in the flowering phase of the growing. Different strains have different maturing characteristics, but the principles are the same. Some mature faster, some slower, and faster maturation means more $ for the grower, because over a bit of a time frame, a couple of weeks over several crops means an extra crop over a slower-maturing strain. So, the temptation is always there to harvest early - as soon as it's salable, if commerce is the biggest influence.

What happens is that there are 3 important cannabanoids in play, and around 80 others that all have various effects in their myriad combinations and ratios. THC, which most people are at least aware of, and CBD and CBN are what I've read are the most important. Earlier harvest means a higher ratio of CBD to the other two, THC peaks between these two other side-chains, and CBN rises as THC content starts to fall.

CBD tends to make the product more "electric", fast-acting and stimulating, whereas CBN makes it more "dopey" and soporific.

I recently read that CBD is very effective as a pain-reliever. In fact, I believe it is available as a stand-alone 'medication.' It's the THC that stimulates appetite.

Back in the day, I always preferred the CBN-heavy "creeper" pot, which I found relaxing and dreamy. I found that the other end of the scale left me feeling too tense and jangled to eat for a while afterwards. That was years ago, though, so I'm not exactly current with the marketplace, but the science is the same.

A bit of preliminary research on your part might at least get you headed in the right direction, in terms of strains - previous caveats in mind. Find out what the dispensary typically offers - White Rhino, Big Bud, God, Northern Lights and a MYRIAD of others are some of the names you might encounter. And more all the time.

Finally, I would suggest that you also try some ingestibles, which is a lot easier process by which to administer the 'meds.' And easy does it, until you find what your daughter's tolerance might be. It is POWERFUL today - at the higher end, at least 20 times as strong as what virtually every smoker in North American started with, back in the 60's and early 70's - outdoor Mexican field crops.

Best of luck!

[jillan]

10. So what you're saying if her pain intensifies at night she should have CBN instead of CBD?

That is great info! She definitely shows more distress in the evening.

thx!!

[eridani]

8. I'll go along with the people who are recommending Indicas

Also, plain CBD extracts are available online, as CBD isn't psychoactive. It is made from industrial hemp extracts which often come from China. Colorado's Bluebird botanicals sells CBD extracts derived from European hemp--a damn shame neither CO or WA has a hemp industry. I need to be careful to save them for evenings, though, as industrial hemp is also rich in CBN, which as someone noted above, has decided soporific effects. For driving, sleepy is worse than stoned IMO.

[jillan]

11. Thanks so much for that info. Going to be researching Indicas.

[waddirum]

19. The thing about industrial hemp in places like CO or WA

is that it would produce a lot of pollen which will seed the medicinal sinsemilla crop.

[potone]

12. I suffer from IBS and have severe cramping.

I also suffer from spine problems and arthritis. I have been using ACDC, which is one of the strains that research is being done on for medical purposes. It is a hybrid with a very high concentration of CBD and low THC. I have found it very effective for both my cramping and my back pain. For sleep, you will want an Indica as well. Your local dispensary can probably recommend one that will work. When my pain was more severe, I used Purple Urcle (an Indica) at night to help me sleep along with Harlequin (a Sativa-dominant strain which I used during the day: very effective but more psychoactive than ACDC because it has a higher THC content). I would recommend that you get the free web application Leafly: it is a goldmine of information about different strains of cannabis and their medical uses. I hope this helps; good luck!

[jillan]

13. Thank you!!! I really believe a lot of her pain is from cramping....

without getting into too much details of when I see her in pain... but she definitely suffers from IBS.

ACDC is now on my list to research

PS - just signed up for leafly