Unable To Speak Without Cannabis-Need Some Answers

[MirandaHart]

A few months after a stroke(s) 3 years ago and with MRI evidence of an as yet undetermined white matter disease (MS?) I lost my speech and ended up with numerous pain, spasticity problems, etc. In an effort to relieve some pain I smoked and found that it allowed me to sound normal. (My throat has no polyps, etc.) At the time I didn't think too much of it and because of all the neuro & cardio testing I was to go through I stopped. Months later with no answers or relief in sight I felt desperate and once again used a few times with the same positive result. Worried that it would confuse my tests and that I was becoming dependent I stopped for 3 months. My speech was gone, I couldn't concentrate, I was extremeley fatigued, in constant pain, lost my appetite, etc. I was slowly falling into a state of severe depression and after a neuro appt. (that basically told me I'd have to get worse before they could determine a definite diagnosis) I plummetted for 2 days then decided to smoke again. Within minutes I was speaking normally and feeling more like myself than I had since the last time I smoked.

What has me concerned now is that my underlying condition has gotten worse. I'm developing new symptoms (swallowing problems, lability & new areas of spasticity) and I'm finding that I'm having to smoke more to maintain a functioning level & that becomes a problem itself because of cost and availability which in turn depresses me realizing how bad I've become without it.

The benefits are hard to ignore (I can function normally) however I wonder if I am making the disease worse by stimulating damaged areas. Any insight/advice would be greatly appreciated - I have told my doctors however it's as new to them I think as it is to me.

[lazy smoker7]

So the actual smoke is helping your speech? or is it the effect of smoking the herb? I know nothing about this kinda stuff but I think maybe the smoke can be making the disease wrose by stimulating the damaged areas. So I guess if its the effect of the herb and not the smoke helping ur speech than maybe i can help. Well fortunatley there are ways to use cannabis and not smoke it :) by cooking and eating cannabis so I reccomend going to check out the recipie section or you can use a good vaporizer which cut down in alot of tar or what ever that is inhaled which may help also. I may know nothing about this but ive tried to help my my view of things and also you said you thought you were becoming dependant on weed.... no no no thats wrong you dont become dependant on weed... well yes it can be mentally dependant i guess but same thing goes for food,sex,religion or what ever you can become addicted to anything but in no way shape or form will you become physcially dependant on weed

[lazy smoker7]

also considering your in canada i think its possible to get medical treatment from marijuana in canada and you said "in constant pain, lost my appetite," and I think ( some one correct me if i am wrong) you can actually get to become a marijuana patient with those symptoms but not sure really and that way cannabis would be easier for you to obtain. Um also you said "I'm finding that I'm having to smoke more to maintain a functioning level " lol unfortunately with weed over a while you gain tolerance and it takes more and more of the weed to produce its effect but tolerance does go down if you dont consume any cannabis for ahwile.... like lets say like now latley i just smoked a joint of some really good stuff and a bowl of hash and i barley feal anything which is why I am stopping for 2 weeks to get my tolerance down and most likley after my 4th hit off a joint ill be really high compared to know if i take 4 hits of a joint with no effect at all witch my tolerance being so high. Anyways I hope I helped but I know nothing about strokes and those type of problems so my adivce may be completely worthless. Happy Toking :rastasmoke: :thumbsup:

[MirandaHart]

One of the problems obtaining a medical marijuana license in Canada is that a diagnosis is needed in one of 4 specified categories (AIDS/HIV, Arthritis, Cancer or MS) signed by your medical doctor (there are also forms that can be signed by the applicant for doctors relieving them of all liability). There is a secondary route without a specific diagnosis that involves a family doctor & a specialist to sign on your behalf that there is nothing better available. I don't have a definitive diagnosis and in the midst of trying to have a 2nd doctor sign off - if that fails I'm out of luck obtaining it through the government in an effort to keep costs down and I can be held criminally responsible which is just what I need to worry about now.

The real problem seems to be that though thousands of people are using it for all sorts of ailments there is little or no support/advice/understanding from the medical community. In all fairness most doctors have very limited knowledge about its use and effects as most patients keep quiet.

[TheSmokingMonkey]

Most studies indicate that marijuana can precipitate a stroke, but I did find a few indicating its use as a therapeutic agent. You may wish to print these out and show them to your doctor.

A preliminary controlled study to determine whether whole-plant cannabis extracts can improve intractable neurogenic symptoms -- Wade et al. 17 (1): 21 -- Clinical Rehabilitation (http://cre.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/17/1/21)

http://www.drugpolicy.org/docUploads/lancet_therapeutic.pdf

http://63.240.200.111/pages/pdfs/data/1998/154-02/15402-03.pdf

Chronic smoking has been shown to decrease blood flow to the posterior cerebellum, even after 24 hours of abstention. If your damage is there, it's possible that smoking might clear the blood in that area (or other areas). The cerebellum, in general, controls motor function. It also controls one's sense of the passage of time.

[MirandaHart]

Thanks for the articles and for the first reasonable explanation why smoking may be helping. Some of the damage is in that area though I do have lesions elsewhere. I read one that suggested brain cell growth with use (as opposed to other drugs that kill them) and also another that purported that it protects the brain cells of stroke victims from further damage.

On the one hand stroke and on the other MS (?) or something akin to it. All I know is that when I run out my speech goes (I can still make sounds but mostly unintelligible), I lose my appetite, I have facial tics and body tremors, the spasticity and pain are worse and my thinking goes totally off because I'm so depressed at what is my real self is like without smoking. I recently tried an anti-depressant thinking it might help cope with some of this however it only aggravated current symptoms and added a few side effects of its own. :)

[Chieftain WeedGuyver]

Thanks for the articles and for the first reasonable explanation why smoking may be helping. Some of the damage is in that area though I do have lesions elsewhere. I read one that suggested brain cell growth with use (as opposed to other drugs that kill them) and also another that purported that it protects the brain cells of stroke victims from further damage.

On the one hand stroke and on the other MS (?) or something akin to it. All I know is that when I run out my speech goes (I can still make sounds but mostly unintelligible), I lose my appetite, I have facial tics and body tremors, the spasticity and pain are worse and my thinking goes totally off because I'm so depressed at what is my real self is like without smoking. I recently tried an anti-depressant thinking it might help cope with some of this however it only aggravated current symptoms and added a few side effects of its own. :)

To the general part, you should definetly do anything possible to get a medicinal marijuana lisence. As others mentioned I don't think smoking it would be the healthiest way to get it in your body and a vaporizer or eating it does seem like the best ways.

As for the antidepressant part, don't bother.

I spent my middle to late teen years in chronic depression, to the point of suicide, and all antidepressants ever did to me was calm me down, they made me not want to do anything, but all the thoughts were still in the back of my head bubbling up.

I got over my depression by quitting the pills on my own and leaving my home for college, it was a great change.

I started smoking marijuana not that long ago, no more than half a year and it's great. I don't know many people here so I'm always in my apt with my roommates and got nothing to do, and this is what brings depression. If I have some marijuana I'll just smoke it after I've done everything I need to do, or if I don't have any I'll go and buy some.

It's the best antidepressant out of like 5 different pills I took at one point.

I wish you luck and hope everything works out for you. Definetly want to be updated on your situation.

[birdgirl73]

Your story is fascinating and compelling, and I'm thrilled cannabis works so well for you, but I know it must be terribly scary, too, to contend with what seems to be a progressive, degenerative disease. I hope they can figure out what's up. And I hope you can always stay well supplied with cannabis.

Have they done PET scans and perfusion scans of your brain to see what's up back there with the blood flow? I want them to try taking PET scans both before and after you smoke and see if that'll help them figure out what's going on and why and how cannabis is helping the situation.

Good luck to you!

[PatrickHenry]

You really need to talk to another doctor about cannabis. Even better, find a doctor in CA or somewhere near you who prescribes it and is familiar with it. They would likely be better at providing insight into your situation.

I hope you feel better and get to the bottom of it all. It sounds like cash is tight, but if you can, try to get a vaporizer.

[MirandaHart]

You're right about cash being tight - that's a big concern and really depresses me and why I'm trying to get a Canadian license - seems much easier to get in CA and I could really get used to your weather. I'm in the midst of a snow/ice storm that doesn't look like it's letting up and I'm almost out :(

PS - Just an oddity - I was given some hash to try and for some reason it has no effect whatsoever on any of my symptoms and I feel like I have lead in my stomach.

[Storm Crow]

If all else fails, immigrate to California. With medical records in hand, it is very easy to get "California legal". Costs me $150 a year and is well worth it! I grow in my closet and keep my profile low. - Granny:hippy:

[Markass]

The real problem seems to be that though thousands of people are using it for all sorts of ailments there is little or no support/advice/understanding from the medical community. In all fairness most doctors have very limited knowledge about its use and effects as most patients keep quiet.


If I have anything to do with it friend, we won't have that problem in a few years. It's bullshit that our governments are cockblocking marijuana because it's "dangerous." Marijuana hasn't ever fucking killed anybody and it never will. Tell me how that's fucking dangerous. Killing half a million people in America every year isn't dangerous? That's tobacco for you. Now that that's over with. It sickens me to see the numerous people that are affected because of this lack of research on a drug that obviously possesses many different kinds of therapeutic potential...In days to come I don't think this will no longer be a problem and hopefully one day very soon marijuana will be more accepted as a method of medicine...and studies will be done as much as they should be so we can find out everything we can about this wonderful plant.

I use it for my back pain, and nothing is near as effective as it...at least not without detrimental effects. And I don't want to have to be a dope fiend just to feel better.

I hope things work out for you on this. Go to a doctor and explain to him how it helps you and try to get a medical license or recommendation for it...If you could grow it yourself, you could grow a nice potent strain and have plenty of it for you at not much cost. Good luck :thumbsup:

[Markass]

Thanks for the articles and for the first reasonable explanation why smoking may be helping. Some of the damage is in that area though I do have lesions elsewhere. I read one that suggested brain cell growth with use (as opposed to other drugs that kill them) and also another that purported that it protects the brain cells of stroke victims from further damage.

On the one hand stroke and on the other MS (?) or something akin to it. All I know is that when I run out my speech goes (I can still make sounds but mostly unintelligible), I lose my appetite, I have facial tics and body tremors, the spasticity and pain are worse and my thinking goes totally off because I'm so depressed at what is my real self is like without smoking. I recently tried an anti-depressant thinking it might help cope with some of this however it only aggravated current symptoms and added a few side effects of its own. :)


Marijuana helps you way too much...pain management...speech, appetite. You should be able to obtain a medical card man...

[TheSmokingMonkey]

Thanks for the articles and for the first reasonable explanation why smoking may be helping. Some of the damage is in that area though I do have lesions elsewhere. I read one that suggested brain cell growth with use (as opposed to other drugs that kill them) and also another that purported that it protects the brain cells of stroke victims from further damage.

On the one hand stroke and on the other MS (?) or something akin to it. All I know is that when I run out my speech goes (I can still make sounds but mostly unintelligible), I lose my appetite, I have facial tics and body tremors, the spasticity and pain are worse and my thinking goes totally off because I'm so depressed at what is my real self is like without smoking. I recently tried an anti-depressant thinking it might help cope with some of this however it only aggravated current symptoms and added a few side effects of its own. :)

Cannabis also is a potent antioxidant; it may cross the blood-brain barrier much more effectively than other antioxidants and may target your areas of damage more effectively? Maybe you know more about that than I do. I'm sure your doctor could research it, or you could, on Google Scholar.

[TheSmokingMonkey]

You're right about cash being tight - that's a big concern and really depresses me and why I'm trying to get a Canadian license - seems much easier to get in CA and I could really get used to your weather. I'm in the midst of a snow/ice storm that doesn't look like it's letting up and I'm almost out :(

PS - Just an oddity - I was given some hash to try and for some reason it has no effect whatsoever on any of my symptoms and I feel like I have lead in my stomach.

There is a fabulous book, "Cannabis" by Jonathan Green (UK author), and I believe that's where I read that medical patients have more side effects with hash than with bud, and additionally it doesn't have all the respiratory benefits of bud.