Saturday, August 1, 2009

Vapourize Me

*WARNING TO CONSERVATIVES*: You won't like this post .

THC Vapour

Last night was evening three of my THC vapour trial. For awhile now, I have been thinking about trying THC vapour for my MS. Finally, after reading a few posts on Herrad's blog " Access Denied "
I thought I may as well give it a try. I encourage you to stop by her blog if you want more information on the benefits of THC . ( further warning to Conservatives: avoid it)

What I do is put marijuana buds and leaves ( courtesy of a friend ) in a vapourizer This machine can be bought anywhere as it's used for aromatherapy . I think this is just a cover for the real purpose, which is what I'm using it for: vapourizing pot to capture the THC . After letting it "cook" for about four minutes or so I inhale the vapour through a glass mouthpiece attached to a plastic tube.

I had decided before trying it that I would resist . I wasn't going to kid myself by thinking " oh yeah this stuff is great" So for the first few puffs I sat there doing my best to not let it work.

Well what do you know, it works ! No, not a miracle drug that will cure my MS, slow it down, or eliminate the symptoms . What THC does, is gently relax me, soothes the twitching and burning sensations in my feet, and helps me sleep. The first night it conked me right out and I only woke up once during the night. The second night, because I tried a milder dose, it took a little longer to fall asleep. The third night I tried an in between mixture of the two previous nights. That worked pretty good, although I think I could make it just a bit stronger. Guess it will be like Goldilocks with the porridge, trying to get it just right.

Now I know that there are many of you out there who will " tut, tut" and "pooh pooh" my pot smoking experiment. I've heard all the arguements against it, some I even use to believe myself.

So what's better ? Certainly not all those awful pills the doctor prescribed that at the very least, have annoying side effects, and at the worst, terrible side effects.

Sleeping pills ? Bad stuff. I've used them . Yeah they work fantastic, allowing me to sleep through the night and kill my pain . The next day it takes half the morning to recover and the entire day to get rid of that nasty metallic taste in my mouth. They are also highly addictive, which is why I rationed myself to one per week.

Pain killers? I use them. They only seem to work in high doses, so must be destroying my liver. They also contribute to fatigue . Do I need more of that ?

I could go on and on about prescription medications ( recent celebrity deaths would back up my claims). And you can go on and on about the dangers of pot.
I'm here to tell you that so far, for me, used for medicinal purposes, it works.

So Thank You Herrad for helping me decide to try it !!

Scare Tactics of the Right
The latest appalling scare tactics of the conservatives in America, who are opposed to health care reform. "Death care" that's how these desperadoes frighten the elderly .

As part of the of the health care reform legislation, doctors will be paid to counsel patients regarding "end of life". This would include advice on living wills, medical options for the terminally ill, and other information that would help people to decide how they want to proceed with medical care. So many people are terrified at the thought of ending up plugged into a dozen machines and being fed through a tube. Wouldn't it be a valuable service to explain to patients the choices they have, and how to go about ensuring that their wishes will be carried out ?

This would be a paid service permitted only once every five years for an individual patient.
Do conservatives, who claim to have such a high opinion of the current health care system; think so little of doctors that they believe they would use this service to convince patients to commit suicide ? Desperadoes indeed. ( more on this subject another time)

Soviet Style Shopping

Today I went shopping to look for two light bulbs. One for my range hood, the other for my new, fabulous, remote controlled, ceiling fan. Well what an adventure that was. There must be at least a hundred different kinds of light bulbs. Thank goodness I had one of the old bulbs for the range hood with me. I wasn't so lucky with the ceiling fan bulb, even though I did bring the instruction manual with me to the store. There doesn't seem to be a bulb for it. Out of desperation, I picked one I thought might be right .The book said it was a "J" style halogen bulb . Wrong ! Looking at the fixture at home I have no clue what sort of bulb it needs The receptacle is very odd looking. I only know there is no such bulb amongst the hundred I looked at today. It made me think how easy it must have been to go shopping in the old Soviet Union. There would have been only one kind of light bulb , resulting in stress free shopping .

Right wingers. I did warn you, so no whining now. OK ?

7 comments:

Herrad said...

Hi Carole,

So very happy you are feeling the benefits thc, it is so much better than pain killers and sleeping tablets.
Love,
Herrad

steve said...

Hi Carole -

I came over from a comment you made on Herrad's blog about Toronto Gay Pride. Does it have to be a competition? :-) I'd rate Toronto pretty high up on Gay Pride quality after attending this year.

Thank you for this post. Since we moved from California to Texas, BR has struggled a great deal with the lack of medicinal marijuana. We hope that anecdotal evidence of the benefits posted on blogs can be used a evidence of how necessary it really it.

Diane J Standiford said...

Oh COOOOL. I am so down with the pot thing. I am a child of the '60s but never cared for it now, with MS, GAME ON---I hate smoking and that was only options my neuro gave me, Your(and H's) sounds great. Yes, Republicans LIVE by scaring others, fear is their biggestest weapon. MY fear about the durection of American health care is the "they are too old to make helping them value worthy," concept that many in their 30 and 40s are pushing around. NO WAY. They didn't want to give my 83yr old aunt a gall bladder surgery for that reason and she let them have it. She is healthy as a horse at 102. How DARE they?! Light bulbs. Uh-huh. I bet getting a toaster in the USSR would have been no big deal either, here...like shopping for a CAR! I JUSY WANT SOME FRAGGING TOAST! Can't wait to try some, um, new therapy. Everyone with MS who tries it, loves it. Legalize it, tax it, improve it, create jobs, help the sick, SLAM DUNK.

Taxingwoman said...

Hi! Steve Thanks for dropping by.
Diane .Yes if you can you should try the vapour. I never smoked pot because of the smoke but this is very mild on the throat and it is a gentle therapy

Herrad Thanks to you for helping me make up my mind.

Unknown said...

Is marijuana legal in Canada for medical use?

Can't really try it over here as it is illegal (for all purposes). This is a shame... in my youth I did try smoking pot, I didn't like it - it just made me sleepy. I can see what a positive benefit that would be for days when the muscles cramp... or when the itching drives me to distraction... or a hundred and one annoying things that make life less comfortable and make it hard to sleep.

Taxingwoman said...

Hi! Nat it is legal for medical use but you have to get a letter from your doctor.

Unknown said...

Though I may not have MS, I can definitely vouch for vaporizing!
I'm glad you found something that works for you. :)