Medical marijuana side effects

[AmmieM]

My regular family doctor suggested I try medical marijuana. My neurologist would not advise it. I do have the card and went to get some today from the dispensary. She gave me the smallest amount to try but I have not done so as I am concerned about side effects. I am looking for it to start my tremors which are pretty mild. But I’m afraid of the side effects like dry mouth which I have anyway and I’m worried about it getting worse. As well as accelerated heartbeat which would make me panic. Any advice? Thank you.

[chartist]

AmmieM,

If you have never used medical marijuana (MM) before or it has been a very long time since you have used marijuana, my advice would be to start low and slow because MM is much more potent than what was commonly available decades ago. For a person who has never tried it before, it would be safest to under dose because in some people it can cause paranoia which can be frightening because there is no switch to just turn it off.

The easiest way I found to test MM was either by smoking the buds or vaping. I would take one hit or draw on a vape or pipe and stop. Wait 10 to 15 minutes and see how I feel. If I feel little or no difference, then I would take one more draw and wait another 10 to 15 minutes and see how I feel and continue until you just start to feel any difference at all.

This approach will allow you to understand how MM will make you feel and how you will react to it. There are many types and strengths of MM and a slow approach is safest for the novice to MM because it is so highly potent.

I definitely advise against MM edibles for novices to MM because it is hard to gauge exactly how strong, how much and how it will affect a novice to MM and there is a variable delay with the edibles and other versions whereas smoking of the bud or vape will give a relatively fast result within 15 minutes after smoking or vaping whereas the edibles can vary significantly from a half hour to hours before you may feel the effects and then they can come on at full force almost at once.

Art

[AmmieM in reply to chartist]

Thank you so much. They gave me the tincture to try and told me to start with the lowest dose possible.

[chartist in reply to AmmieM]

Yes, tincture is a nice way to go once you determine what type of MM you want to use as in how much THC content and how much CBD content and also whether your preference will be toward indica or sativa varieties. There is a delay in the tincture, but usually it will act a bit faster than the edibles like cookies and brownies, so again starting at the lowest dose, time how long it takes before you start feeling any effect at all and this will give you a general reference point for how long of a time period you can on average expect to wait for onset of action.

As far as determining which type of MM and what strength, it is a little easier and quicker to do this with smoking the buds or vaping because the onset of effect will be quickest to help with your testing. Once you find the type and strength that you feel is best for you, then you can switch to a similar tincture or edible.

In general terms, I find the indica with fairly high THC content and low CBD content useful for sleep, stress and anxiety issues and these varieties tend to help you relax . They do tend to make you sleepy or sedated, especially at the higher THC content levels. My personal opinion is that some THC is required in order to get a full effect out of CBD, but again, this can vary by person.

The sativa versions are probably more on the energizing side and I tend to function better during the day with these varieties. Some people tend to think that the sativa varieties can help improve creativity and possibly a different way of looking at everyday things. Some people mention that it makes them feel like they are more spontaneous.

For me, I find that I tend to laugh a bit more and feel more awake. I have tried sativa as a sleep aid, but found it made my mind wander through different ideas quite a bit, which is the exact opposite of what I should be doing when trying to go to sleep.

Again in general, high THC content with low CBD content will tend to make you "feel high" while high CBD content and low THC content will not usually make you feel very high at all. As with supplements and meds, nobody reacts exactly the same to each one and MM is no exception to this rule. What one person finds to be quite useful for tremors may not be the same for another person. Some people find some CBD products useful for sleep, but I am not in that group. There is another one which is referred to as CBN and this one is also considered quite good for sleep, but I have not tried it yet so no comment on that one.

Again a reminder to "start low and slow" in order to avoid the pitfalls of taking too much MM too soon. If you were to take too much initially and ended up feeling paranoia, it will probably preclude you from wanting to experiment more with MM and you may lose out on a chance to be able to use a supplement that could potentially help you in the long run to deal with this disease.

Art

[chartist in reply to AmmieM]

Regarding the dry mouth issue, here is a link to a post I wrote about dry eyes, dry skin, dry mouth etc. that offers a very simple remedy for dry mouth that I have used to very good effect for dry mouth and it works well with MM for the possible issue of dry mouth:

healthunlocked.com/parkinso...

Art

[Ktno in reply to AmmieM]

I have used the tincture with the cbd oil and thc. I find that 1 mg of thc every 2-3 hours is perfect for my tremors. (Often people use 7-10 mg thc for a “high” effect). I also carry pills that are a combo of 10mg cbd/1 mg thc. Both work, tincture I like better as it works faster. Hi do find that fatigue hits in early eve.

[park_bear]

The dry mouth can cause tooth decay. There are things you can do to mitigate that if it is an issue.

[GymBag]

I do not use it yet but I have tried. There are so many types and delivery options . What I found with my limited personal research was that it is very good for pain and I do indeed have pain but it made me feel dizzy, light headed, out of sorts and seemed to increase the shaking and I did not need that. It seems now that it is legal here that people are poping out of the closet who have been using this regularly for many years is about 25% at least on my street.

[AmmieM]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply. I’m still mulling things over.

[Buckwheat64]

Trying it once or twice will not hurt because it won't have a lasting effect and then you can decide whether or not it helps you. Everyone is different it may or may not help. For me it helps me relax and I walk better. Try smoking it first before you move on to edibles. My neurologist recommended it so it all depends on the doctor and how they were trained.

[Buckwheat64]

It is definitely safer that alcohol!!

[Tfrk]

I tried edibles on a trip to Massachusetts recently and all it did was make me feel high with Parkinson’s???

[HugoRipanykhazov]

Surely you are quite lucky if you find yourself in the position of being more worried about the effects of dry mouth than Parkinson's disease?

And does anyone know if there has ever been a case in recorded history of dry mouth leading to tooth decay? or is the word CAN used in the same sense as vaccines CAN lead to autism?

Surely, knowing you have dry mouth, you'd have to be astoundingly inept to let tooth decay progress that far?

[Vjbaiocco]

I tried the gummy bears with cbd and thc. It relaxed me and helped with sleeping. Also when my foot bothered me it helped the pain go away. My left foot is always trying to scratch through my shoe ind it swells sometimes. The gummies relaxed me.

[chartist in reply to Vjbaiocco]

Oh no, not the gummy bears! Even with the MM in them, they are just plain addictive to me. I just love gummy bears, MM or not! 😵😵😵😵😵😵

Art

[olehoss]

Ammie, big "second" to what Art sez!

Have used MMJ for years, all kinds, and in all ways; and have shown my Movement Order Neurologist, who specializes in PD, here in the Sun City, AZ area; how vaping completely stops my tremors.

As pointed out by others, take it slow, and don't be a "Pig"; otherwise, you'll pay an uncomfortable price! The trick is to find some excellent Budtenders, in your area, at the numerous MMJ Dispensaries, who can help you sort out the over 2000 strains of MMJ available. And chat with you about the numerous methods for using Cannabis...and there are many!

Kinda like searching for the Holy Grail, but well worth the effort, in my opinion. And don't mix alcohol with cannabis, either. You, an others around you, will not like the results, at all.

Keep a diary, when experimenting with Cannabis, so you can track the effects of cannabis on your mind and body. And to reflect back on the success or failure of all your mini - experiments. There will be many, most likely. Finally, do a lot of research on MMJ, besides chatting with us "Users" here on this wonderful Site.

Remember - Patience, persistence, and perseverance are the "go to" policies for us Parkies. So good luck with your search, and subsequent experiments.....Glen.

By the way, have found that there are many Docs, including Neurologists, who frown on Cannabis treatments, but what do they know, huh? Except how to frown....

[jackedmonston]

jackedmonston.com/a-caution...

Our first attempt to use MJ for medical purposes was a disaster, as the blog entry explains. But now we both use small doses of THC, maybe 8 to 10 milligrams, for sleep, with no evil side effects.

[reedboat2 in reply to jackedmonston]

Wow what a traumatic night! Glad you both survived to tell the tale. I am one of those who cannot tolerate THC, even a little. I do take a CBD product sometimes as a sleep aid and it works well. I do not take it every night because I figure we are already trying to detox from multiple factors and this would be one more thing to detox from. Anyhow if you are experimenting with MMJ, as others here have noted, best to go slow.