Need help/advice for my wife

[taboohope]

Hello everyone, I have read through almost all of the forums about the use of MMJ and its positive effect on those who suffer from Crohns and UC.

My story begins with my original view on MMJ. I hated it. I couldn't stand to be near or even listen to those who used it, for recreation or otherwise. I had fallen into the negative propaganda that I grew up with, I was always told it was a terrible drug, even my father said that he tried it once and that it was a terrible experience for him. To his account, he ended up seeing a plad pattern on everything around him and he didn't find the experience very apetizing. I had never tried it, and I lost a few friends and two girlfriends over the fact that they used it.

I got married to my wife about 6 months ago, and we had dated for 2 years before we tied the knot. Before I met her, the only thing I knew about Crohns disease was from what I had seen on commercials advertising Humira and how I thought the disease was just about an upset stomach and diahrea. I was in for a shock.

During the first year of dating, she always had these cramps and nausea, her stomach always hurt, and getting out to do things was sometimes difficult, though she always managed to soldier through it. She told me she had Crohns since she was 16, and before that she had become a black belt in martial arts and a national champion for her division. Its hard for me to believe it seeing her now, if it werent for the pictures and trophys, I'd have never believed it.

A few months into our dating, she had gotten progressively worse and it got to the point where she couldnt even get off the couch. Later, a few weeks before Thanksgiving, she developed a fistula and had 2 abscesses. She underwent surgery and had some of her intestine taken out and she was fitted with a temporary colostomy bag. She had it for 6 trying months before it was finally reversed. After that, she seemed to slowly gain some of her weight back but she was always in some level of pain. Every medicine she seemed to take failed to dull the pain. She was taking these shots to the stomach (I cannot recall the name) but she told me she was on Humira for awhile which seemed to help when they switched her to Cimzia which took her out of remission (this is before she met me).

She has been to the Emergency Room 3 times since we've been together for extreme pain and dehydration. Everytime we go to the ER, they hook her up to morphine which doesn't touch the pain.. from there, they put her on Dilaudid which she says "takes the edge off" but doesn't make the pain stop. It seems that none of her medicine she takes provides her with relief, and it wasn't until I was looking into "Crohns disease cure treatment" that I came across Shona Banda's video on youtube. Watching it led me to Rick Simpson and his oil. From there I was led to watching the "run from the Cure" video. After that and upon more research I landed here at the forum, mostly reading through the MMJ forum on Crohns and Ulcerative Colitis. I read through 15 pages and was convinced that this many people who have tried it cannot be wrong. It was either a very large and elaborate conspiracy or this plant was actually a little green miracle. The more I researched into it, the more I uncovered why it was so alienated and why drug companies and doctors don't endorse it. It's sickening.

I have spoken to her about if she would ever be willing to try it and she says she is willing to try anything for relief.

Heres the kicker however. I am in the military and live in the bible belt of the south. I also live on base. I will not say where exactly and what state for anonymity, but that we have access to the Mayo clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.

Please, can this little plant help my wife? Seeing her suffer is the worst.

 

[FrancisK7]

Dear taboohope,

Welcome to CF!

I am very sorry to hear about your wife. I think she is incredibly lucky to have found a partner that is intelligent enough to think critically and freely. In spite of growing up in propaganda, you still found a way to open your mind to a possibility of good and researched cannabis enough to bring you over here. It is heart warming to see someone get over their bias and prejudice after they have seen "the light", that is, hard scientific facts. If only the southern states had more people like you

To answer your question directly: yes cannabis will help her. And not just a bit, a LOT.

Unfortunately Florida is NOT MMJ friendly, so you have only two options:
1) Grow it yourself covertly
2) Plan a trip to Colorado (I am not sure if you need to be a state citizen to purchase MMJ there)

Growing it yourself won't give you any usable product for a few months, so for short term relief, you'd have to get it somewhere else. If you know people that sell it on the black market (like a brother in law perhaps) feel free to buy a small quantity and have your wife try it.

 

[taboohope]

Francis,

I am very relieved to have you answer my questions. Reading through the other forum on the same topic, you seem very knowledgeable on the subject. Not that others are not, just you providing scientific backup that I can understand. Being a person who likes to see 'how stuff works' and digging into things scientifically, I have learned alot about this plant whereas otherwise would've completely shrugged it off as just another useless plant people use to get high. Again, that propaganda that got me. I know that the southern states aren't friendly with the use of it at all, and only until very recently, as in the past few weeks, has Florida and Georgia looked into revising their MMJ laws. Even Florida has had the legalization of it(or at least the decriminalization) voted by the people onto a ballot, which got more than 70% approval from the people. The numbers and facts might be skewed as I only skimmed through the article.

Anyways, I have a friend from back in high school I am still in touch with whom I trust completely. He never tries to bull**** me, and is always a straight shooter. I have talked to him at length with what methods, types, where to get the stuff, etc. but he can only provide information from a recreational standpoint. I have researched and researched and it seems that the purple kush strains or the like would be good to start off with. He has told me that he can get them no problem, but they are going to be $300 for an ounce(?) or so. I have no clue as to how long that will last, but this is the experimental stage for my wife and I, just seeing if it will actually work for her.

I have watched Shona Bandas videos on Youtube and watched Rick Simpsons "Run from the Cure". I even watched the MMJ video for treatment of Crohns, Epilepsy, UC, and Cancer on Youtube(I forget the name, but its 47 minutes long). All of it has been very eye opening and makes me both ashamed that I fell into the propaganda and furious that it is not legal.

As you can imagine, I am very skeptical that a simple plant will do so much when all these powerful, expensive drugs have done so little.

Regards,

-----------

 

[FrancisK7]

Very happy to help. I remember how confused and lost I felt when I received my diagnosis. I was very thankful when I found this place. It makes for a good support group and repository of valuable information. The site owner is a very intelligent man who insists that forum content be supported by hard empirical facts whenever possible. That makes all the difference in the world.

Not all science is created equal though. For instance, psychology and psychiatry are not considered voodoo or alternative medicines, but by modern standards, they mostly involve subjective or observational science. You need only look at all the variations of the DSM to witness this. It doesn't make it less credible, just less accurate, compared to genetics or neuroscience for example.

The reason cannabis has had a bad reputation for so long is precisely because the world only had observations and subjective analysis to go by until the 90s. It scared governments and the public because a drug that could impair consciousness like that may also inflict long term damage, and there was no way to tell back then. When prohibition came into law, the legislation was based on racism, not science.

Today, we have cold, hard facts. Empirical evidence on how cannabinoids work, detailed mechanisms of action at the cellular level. Imagery and chemical analysis. Science and medicine currently know a lot more about cannabis than many other drugs currently sold on the market that are approved by the FDA. But for some reason, it's taking quite a long time for those facts and information to reach the public ear.

It's fantastic that you have access to cannabis locally. 300$ for an ounce is quite up in the stratosphere price-wise but it's not outrageous. You may be happy to know "medical cannabis" is a misnomer. While some strains have cannabinoid profiles that will work better on some diseases, recreational cannabis and medical cannabis is the same thing. Medical cannabis is a political term that has little scientific accuracy.

If you trust this person and you can afford it, then I say go ahead. An ounce will last you many weeks for sure and Purple Kush is a good strain. It has no CBD, which is a fantastic cannabinoid, but THC works wonders as well on its own. Purple Kush is quite potent at 18-22% THC content, so it will work quickly. If you have the space (a simple closet suffices), you could consider growing your own cannabis as a long-term plan. It's safe, easy, can be done covertly and in total privacy, and you could grow a strain that was specifically chosen for your wife's needs. If that is an option you'd like to explore, we can discuss it at a later stage.

My understanding of the current and immediate situation is that your wife is flaring aggressively and is in pain every day. So the short term worry is about getting her immediate relief, which you are in a position to provide.

Assuming you could secure that purple kush in the next few days, I highly suggest you purchase a vaporizer for your wife. It will spare her lungs. Inhalation provides instantaneous relief but smoking is very damaging. You can even add a glass apparatus called a "bubbler" to the mix by interfacing it with the vaporizer. The vapor created by the vaporizer will then be filtered through water, removing most of the irritants that would affect your lungs. A vaporizer like the Arizer solo can be had for around 150$. It's small, nondescript, portable and will last a long time.

The other problem you will have to face is the high. Purple Kush is potent and it will knock your wife off her ass. She will build tolerance over time. What I usually suggest to people who have never used cannabis is to take a few personal days or if they can, a week of vacation from work. This allows them to sleep and recuperate through what I like to call the "couchlock phase". Once tolerance is established, she'll be able to function normally.

Once she has the pain and cramps under control, we can look at a RSO regimen that will help heal her over the long term.

 

[taboohope]

This is excellent information. She has been in the ER for the past few days and they have established that the extreme pain she felt came from a bad flare around the spot she had the colostomy bag at. She was fearful that it was a blockage, but thankfully this was not the case.

From the reading, I understand that you'd want something high in CBD and low in THC, although the Delta 9 canna..tetra.. stuff helps as well. Do you have a particular good strain to recommend other than the PK? My friend mentioned something of a North Lights strain might help, I don't know the exact names or what the differences are, I just don't want her to be broadsided with the effects that it scares her.

Interestingly enough, I have let some crucial information about the situation fly under the radar. I am currently overseas on deployment, so have had to rely on her parents to take care of her in my absence, though I will be back in the states within the week. My friend who I trust is 4 states away, but I am hoping to visit home after I rotate back. So this does put me in more of a hardplace than I already am.

Talking to her today, she said the flare is subsiding and she is taking stomach shots of Humira(?) which seem to be helping a little from her account. Though, to her account, the shots to her stomach feel worse than the actual cramps which she says she prefers to the shots; oddly enough.

The vaporizor is something I thought about looking into getting as she also has asthma, though I read that cannabis is an active anti-broncital(if I spelled that right) which opens the airway. But still, smoking or introducing combustion isn't healthy anyways to the lungs. I was wondering if the vaporizor could be scraped like Shona Bandas to get the oil from there and put in a capsule? I even read through your recipe for cannabutter which was very well written.

One more thing to address, she hasn't had a job since she quit her last one. Her employer didn't care when she was in pain, just that she got the job done. Since she worked in a retail store, she was made to routinely lift boxes and whatnot, which made her very uncomfortable and produced a fair amount of pain. Needless to say, a week to herself won't be much of a problem.

 

[Kero]

Hi Taboohope, welcome to the forums!

I am a MJ user. I have found it helps my symptoms enormously! My stash is currently depleted and I know it It help my nausea and my appetite, slows my tract some so I am in the bathroom less, and helps the pain. I have been told by a few docs that if I didn't smoke it, I would likely be much sicker
My husband was also very very anti MJ when we started dating. But he was actually the one that suggested I try for pain from endometriosis, about 10 years ago. Pretty much have smoked since, other than when I was pregnant.
The good thing about MJ is that it is not a physically addictive drug, unlike many of the narcotics that docs will prescribe. If I don't have any, I don't have withdrawl symptoms, just my guts act up from not getting the CBDs.
FYI an ounce is a lot of weed if you are just trying it out for the first time and if she will be smoking/vaporizing it. I usually by 1/4 an oz at a time, and using my vape it will last me about a month.

 

[Kero]

I forgot to add, that I have a pretty high tolerance as well, seeing as I have been using it for so many years

 

[mish2575]

Taboo, your wife might be resistant to opiates: Novocain, Percocet, Lidocain, etc. I'm not sure where morphine falls in there. I had to have Dilaudid after my C-section and was prescribed Dilauded for my hidradenitis pain but even Dilaudid didn't help that one but MMJ dulled the pain a bit.

I've been a life long smoker and even I thought that using MMJ for pain relief was bunk (pun intended) but I found out from experience that it is not.

 

[F.u.Crohns]

Acdc is currently one of the top cbd strain the other are cannatonic. That the strain I have been smoking for my flare up

 

[Queastor]

Talking to her today, she said the flare is subsiding and she is taking stomach shots of Humira(?)

My money's on Remicade. Which from the testimonials I've read is very effective but stops working after 8ish months or so.

 

[Markdam]

I love this thread as I have all the same questions and problems for my mom ....I live in California and I got her to smoke for a while but the smoking isn't going to work it irritates her lungs I need to get her the oil