Question about medical Cannabis side effects!?!?!

[Ihurt]

Hey everyone,

I have been having awful gut issues for the last 5 years amongst other health issues. I have not been actually dx with Crohns, my GI keeps thinking IBS, however, I am not sold on that diagnosis as my symptoms are not typical for IBS.

Anyhow, I have loads of pain from my intestines as well as my bladder( I have Interstitial Cystitis). I have tried many different medications to no avail. I either have nasty side effects or they do not work.

I live in Illinois and recently applied for my medical cannabis card. I was very reluctant at first because I am not really an advocate for drugs, however have read that cannabis can be very helpful for pain and is supposed to be safer than most prescription pain relievers with little to no side effects.

Well I tried smoking medical cannabis a few weeks ago but I just did not like the way it felt. I hate the thought of inhaling smoke into my lungs. I am not a smoker and hate breathing smoke as it is when someone is smoking. I am very sensitive to that kind of stuff.

Well yesterday I went and purchased something called a Vape pen where you vaporize cannabis oil instead of smoking cannabis. The guy at the dispensary said it was better than inhaling smoke. This appealed to me because I do Not like smoking. I told him I had no clue on how to use this thing though. He told me it is just like taking a puff off of a joint. What I bought came with a charger, a pen and the cannabis oil cartridge. I did exactly as he said. He said to take a puff, hold it in the lungs and let it out. I did this, however I immediately started coughing and my whole chest and throat was on fire!!! It burned unbelievably. My husband was freaking out as was my dad and quite frankly so was I! I called the dispensary back and told them what happened. The guy who answered said did you take a tiny puff? I said The guy told me to take a puff like you would if you were smoking a joint, so a regular breath in. He said, Oh No, I am sorry, he should have told you only to take a small breath that it is way to strong to take a regular deep breath like you would with a joint. UM, Okay, WTF!!! Why didn't this guy tell me that to begin with, I mean how was I supposed to know?? I am not a regular smoker so I did not have a clue. Anyhow, last night my chest was on fire all night!!! This morning I still uncomfortable in my chest. The burning has went way down, but I still am not feeling great. Could I have caused some irreparable damage to my lungs from this??? I am freaking out. I know some of you may not even have any experience with this, but just wondering if anyone else on here has ever tried this and is this reaction normal? I think that guy who sold me the stuff and the dispensary should have explained to me exactly how to use this and he did not! This is supposed to be legal so you would think they would have someone there giving instructions on how to safely use these things, especially people who have no experience with smoking. My chest is still burning some and it just hurts. My lungs and bronchial area must be irritated and my chest probably hurts from when I coughed hard after inhaling it. I am so upset right now. Here I try and take something for pain that is supposed to be safe and I am suffering even more now because I was not explained to correctly how to use this thing.

I was so close to going to the ER last night. I still feel crappy in my chest and am worried this damaged me. My hubby thinks it irritated me and it will take a couple days to calm down. I would hate to go to the ER about this. I feel like embarrassed to say I was trying cannabis. I mean I know it is legal medically so I did not do anything wrong, but I still feel self conscious about it. So worried I did damage to my lungs because this guy did not give me proper instructions on how to use this thing. Any suggestions or advice if anyone has had experience in this area??

 

[Cali01]

I would try some edibles instead. I recommend CBD based items, like CBD chocolate bar. You don't need much to help with GI issues....1 bar lasts me a month, and I take such a small amount that I don't feel high.

 

[MmeMagpie]

Second getting it in edible form. Mostly because I don't like how smoking it makes me feel. Being stoned before bed is one thing. Staring at the wall during the day, not so good. I don't get a high when I eat it, unless I eat a little too much, and then I'm just giggly and in no shape to drive for a few hours. Otherwise, when I dose correctly, I feel perfectly safe riding my motorcycle.

You can even cook up your own. There's lots of instructions on the internet about how to extract the goodies with either alcohol or in an oil of some sort. If you cook it down into coconut oil it will solidify at room temperature. You can use a dropper to put it in capsules while it's still a liquid. That way, you can have a lot of control over your doses.

From the research I've done, it appears that Indica is best for pain, and sativa is best for inflammation. You might want to experiment with indica to sativa ratios until you get whats right for you. I use sativa, and my dose is somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 drops of the coconut oil stuff.

So far, it seems to be having a stabilizing effect on my emotions (diagnosed a few weeks ago, so I'm still in my rage phase of getting used to the idea of Crohn's), my road rage has gone away, there's a general feeling of wellbeing, and I sleep like the dead through the night. I take it at 9:00 every morning and evening. Lets me get all of my work out of the way in the morning, and then before bed for the great sleep.

About your lungs: standing next to a camp fire is probably worse. You'll be fine. Your lungs aren't used to the vapor and probably aren't too happy about it.

 

[Ihurt]

Thanks for the replies.

Mmemagpie: Thanks for the tips. Ugh what an ordeal I went through. I ended up in the ER For the whole day Last Friday(5 days after the incident). I supposedly have aspiration Pneumonitis. It is not an infection, but from what the Doctor said, my respiratory tract is very irritated from aspirating liquid into it from the vape pen!

Needless to say, I am NOT even doing that again! I agree, I am going to try edibles. I got some oil that is used sublinquially( I am supposed to put in under my tongue). I am hoping this will help my pain.

It is cannabis that is in coconut and Avocado oil. I guess I will start here and see how it goes. I appreciate your help and suggestions, thank you again!

 

[MmeMagpie]

Coconut and avocado oils are great for this. High in Omegs-3's too

I have someone make it for me, and I'll have the recipe, soon.

In the mean time, this looks like it might be a helpful place to start for an oil based product. I was told never to use olive oil, but my chef is a real snob when it comes to ingredients It's a very smelly process. http://www.wikihow.com/Cook-With-Medical-Marijuana

Tincture will be a lot less smelly to make. This looks pretty straight forward: http://www.theweedblog.com/the-most-underrated-of-all-marijuana-products-weed-tinctures/

 

[mish2575]

Holy only! I vape exclusively and that never happened. Glad you're ok!