PottyBear
08-02-2008, 04:06 AM
Well, how do I begin... this is a bit tough for me, as I usually don't like putting this out there in public but I think this is the only way to figure it out. I have CFIDS/ME/CFS and FM (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia). It isn't exactly clear which it is or how much of one thing it is vs. the other, as there really is no way of knowing which causes what symptoms since they overlap. I'm not sure if others here have either or both of these conditions, but anything like this illness might be a helpful starting point (if you can stand wading through my drawn out explanation below).
A couple of years ago, I had tried cannabis from 2 different sources (they were different strains as they had very different effects), and neither helped at all - they were actually quite unpleasant. After that I gave up on the whole idea of cannabis helping me. I didn't know anything about different kinds of mj, or about sativa vs. indica or, well, I had no clue. Pot was pot, it was not something I enjoyed, and trying it proved it was not helpful. Back then I had never done any 'illegal' drugs in my entire life but was really desperate for something to work, and that's why I gave it a shot. I found that I felt buzzy, restless and it stopped me from sleeping - and not sleeping with CFS is not a good thing... it pretty much made me sick for weeks afterward due to loss of proper rest for several days.
My wife had experience with marijuana, but I didn't... neither of us really knew where to get anything different - or really, that there WAS anything different. A couple of friends since have provided some things like pot brownies, but none had enough of an effect to make it worth trying to scrape together the money to try smoking it again.
A while back this year, her aunt, who has the full, government-legal cannabis stamp of approval, came to visit. She had some stuff that she said was more of a "body stone". Since my experience had found it unhelpful, I refused to try it at first. But, the wife talked me into it finally and I gave it a shot and it was completely different from the stuff we had tried before. It was, honestly, like a miracle drug. I know people say that all the time and it is really cliché, but this stuff helped me get better rest, substantially relieved my pain and even took care of many of the other symptoms as well. It was then that we decided to get my card and began exploring options for a supply. Of course, the first thing that we discovered was that being legal does NOT mean that you can afford the stuff on a disability income...
It has been since then that we learned about all the different sorts of strains and the different effects and how some kinds are good for some things and others are good for others. Clearly, what I tried the first couple of times was more of a sativa - the first was probably some kind of hybrid and the second was even purer sativa as it made me jittery and restless (but did not relieve the exhaustion which is the hallmark of my illness). Her aunt had something that must have been either a pure indica or had very few sativa properties... but she lives in another province, gets her stuff from a supplier we can't access and doesn't know the name of what strain she has and is afraid to ask because she is too paranoid (in spite of the fact that she has a card).
We decided that growing it was the best way to make sure that I got a proper dose of the "right" kind and could maintain a supply. The seeds we ordered are supposed to be a cross of some pure Afghan strains, very indica, no sativa. Time will tell if this grow works out to give me what I need - I am learning very quickly that growing is NOT a quick way to get some medicine!
In the meantime, all I can do is imagine feeling better as all the $$ we have is tied up in getting this stuff growing. I really hope it works, but I think I need some suggestions for a backup plan if it doesn't. So, I am going to list off some of my symptoms, and I would appreciate any suggestions of strain names that could work to relieve them. If you could give a specific supplier name that would be great, too, since some of these names seem to be pretty random.
Symptoms:
Extreme tiredness only slightly relived by sleep (sleep was restful with the strain from the aunt)
Random, extreme muscle cramps/spasms
Brain fog/Extreme mental fuzziness (oddly relieved by the strain from the aunt)
Extreme chemical/pollution intolerances, manifesting in asthma-like condition
Twitching & short-lasting tremors in fingers, eyes, and feet (not all at once)
Stiffness
Migraines (and occasionally other headaches)
Random periods where my immune system over/under reacts
Well, that's the big stuff, anyway. Believe it or not the stuff my wife's aunt gave me helped all of these things to some degree. I was completely shocked that it did so much. It helped some other issues as well, but if something would help with all or some of this stuff, that would be fantastic. Obviously, I find sativas are unpleasant and not very helpful although I would not rule out a hybrid with a very low sativa portion if someone knows of something that could help with my issues.
I don't know if I will need to order other seeds or not but I'd really like to start the research now so when the time comes I know what to look for. I got completely befuddled trying to figure out from the previous lists what might work, and it would be good if someone with similar issues (or who knows someone who has these issues) could make some solid suggestions. I've been trying to read all about it, but what I need is some people who really know what they are talking about and not "sales-speak".
I appreciate your help!
A couple of years ago, I had tried cannabis from 2 different sources (they were different strains as they had very different effects), and neither helped at all - they were actually quite unpleasant. After that I gave up on the whole idea of cannabis helping me. I didn't know anything about different kinds of mj, or about sativa vs. indica or, well, I had no clue. Pot was pot, it was not something I enjoyed, and trying it proved it was not helpful. Back then I had never done any 'illegal' drugs in my entire life but was really desperate for something to work, and that's why I gave it a shot. I found that I felt buzzy, restless and it stopped me from sleeping - and not sleeping with CFS is not a good thing... it pretty much made me sick for weeks afterward due to loss of proper rest for several days.
My wife had experience with marijuana, but I didn't... neither of us really knew where to get anything different - or really, that there WAS anything different. A couple of friends since have provided some things like pot brownies, but none had enough of an effect to make it worth trying to scrape together the money to try smoking it again.
A while back this year, her aunt, who has the full, government-legal cannabis stamp of approval, came to visit. She had some stuff that she said was more of a "body stone". Since my experience had found it unhelpful, I refused to try it at first. But, the wife talked me into it finally and I gave it a shot and it was completely different from the stuff we had tried before. It was, honestly, like a miracle drug. I know people say that all the time and it is really cliché, but this stuff helped me get better rest, substantially relieved my pain and even took care of many of the other symptoms as well. It was then that we decided to get my card and began exploring options for a supply. Of course, the first thing that we discovered was that being legal does NOT mean that you can afford the stuff on a disability income...
It has been since then that we learned about all the different sorts of strains and the different effects and how some kinds are good for some things and others are good for others. Clearly, what I tried the first couple of times was more of a sativa - the first was probably some kind of hybrid and the second was even purer sativa as it made me jittery and restless (but did not relieve the exhaustion which is the hallmark of my illness). Her aunt had something that must have been either a pure indica or had very few sativa properties... but she lives in another province, gets her stuff from a supplier we can't access and doesn't know the name of what strain she has and is afraid to ask because she is too paranoid (in spite of the fact that she has a card).
We decided that growing it was the best way to make sure that I got a proper dose of the "right" kind and could maintain a supply. The seeds we ordered are supposed to be a cross of some pure Afghan strains, very indica, no sativa. Time will tell if this grow works out to give me what I need - I am learning very quickly that growing is NOT a quick way to get some medicine!
In the meantime, all I can do is imagine feeling better as all the $$ we have is tied up in getting this stuff growing. I really hope it works, but I think I need some suggestions for a backup plan if it doesn't. So, I am going to list off some of my symptoms, and I would appreciate any suggestions of strain names that could work to relieve them. If you could give a specific supplier name that would be great, too, since some of these names seem to be pretty random.
Symptoms:
Extreme tiredness only slightly relived by sleep (sleep was restful with the strain from the aunt)
Random, extreme muscle cramps/spasms
Brain fog/Extreme mental fuzziness (oddly relieved by the strain from the aunt)
Extreme chemical/pollution intolerances, manifesting in asthma-like condition
Twitching & short-lasting tremors in fingers, eyes, and feet (not all at once)
Stiffness
Migraines (and occasionally other headaches)
Random periods where my immune system over/under reacts
Well, that's the big stuff, anyway. Believe it or not the stuff my wife's aunt gave me helped all of these things to some degree. I was completely shocked that it did so much. It helped some other issues as well, but if something would help with all or some of this stuff, that would be fantastic. Obviously, I find sativas are unpleasant and not very helpful although I would not rule out a hybrid with a very low sativa portion if someone knows of something that could help with my issues.
I don't know if I will need to order other seeds or not but I'd really like to start the research now so when the time comes I know what to look for. I got completely befuddled trying to figure out from the previous lists what might work, and it would be good if someone with similar issues (or who knows someone who has these issues) could make some solid suggestions. I've been trying to read all about it, but what I need is some people who really know what they are talking about and not "sales-speak".
I appreciate your help!