Made from hemp with no THC content to make you high, many CBD edibles are not considered an FDA-regulated substance and are legal in all 50 states!  CBD (Cannabidiol) is basically considered a  neutraceutical or nutritional supplement. Medical cannabis is growing in acceptance each day offering another natural alternative to traditional medicines. Many patients find they need less narcotic pain medication when using this regularly.

I decided when things began to go south that it was finally time to take things into my own hands obtain some medicine that doesn’t require a prescription from Dr. Slow-as-Molasses.

This has been on my to-do list for some time but with everything I’ve had on my plate and all the evaluations to set up and all the fires to put out around Emory and testing and orders, etc. I just now have gotten around to putting in an order for some edible CBD (Cannabidiol) Cannabis infused items.

I bought 2 packages 500 Mgs. each of CBD infused chocolate covered pistachios. The woman who made them, Carrie, of CBD The Healthy Choice on Etsy was very helpful and recommended I start out with 2 or 3 nuts (which is about 5 Mgs.) and work up from there until I notice relief. I started with 3 yesterday. I even got 3 free hard candy hearts, each of them 50 Mgs. a piece as a bonus for my purchase!

This is my first time trying edibles and I must say they are delicious! I couldn’t even taste the CBD! For those of you thinking of trying this option I’ll continue to post in my blog how it goes as I ramp up.

It was hard for me to limit myself to just these 3 because they were so tasty, but it’s important to remember that just as with any other medicine they can have some side-effects if you overdo it. Depending on the strain used some types can be adrenergic, especially the Sativa strains, and patients who were overzealous have on occasion ended up in the emergency room. Indica has a more calming effect, but at the time of this writing I’m not sure what variety was used in the making of these I purchased. I’m in the process of obtaining that information so that if this relieves my symptoms I’ll really know what works and can keep track. Eventually I’d like to compare several strains.

Since I don’t know yet how my body will react I think I’ll just increase it one nut a day. Today I’ll take 4.

This is very hopeful, and I could really use some hope right now. Since I haven’t been getting much in the way of real treatment other than pills to control the individual symptoms this powerful medicine just might make what I have to face alot easier, both physically and emotionally. Maybe in addition to helping my movement disorder it will help reduce my fear so that by the time I see the movement disorder specialist in July I won’t panic when he does his exam.

I want to wait a little for the jitters to die down after seeing the one at Emory but have a possible lead on a local neurologist outside of Emory. I’m also working on getting something set up with Vanderbilt too in order to get my Dysautonomia officially diagnosed and finally put all this controversy to bed. Emory just seems to bring more drama and it’s really exhausting. I hope I can find my way out of that system soon, at least except for seeing my pulmonologist and maybe for a few targeted services.

There is a center in Texas I contacted as well that does the Tilt table test and while it sounds like they do a fairly state of the art one, they don’t seem to do many of the other autonomic tests that Vanderbilt or Mayo does, and Texas is an 11 hour drive, so if they miss it that’s a long way to go for nothing. I’ll have to see how feasible that will be in terms of logistics. Which ever clinic I choose to do the assessment I really need to come home with a piece of paper for it to be worth my while.

I’m beginning to have a pretty clear idea now what the global underlying condition is encompassing all my symptoms, (Myoclonus, Dystonia and Dysautonomia included). It has been a long process of narrowing things down but I think I’m closing in.

I guess most of my current doctors will feel disgruntled that I figured it out before they did and have bruised egos having been outdone by a “mere” patient, but the truth is if they really care (or ever did) they should be happy to have somebody figure it out and start treating it sooner rather than later whether it’s me, or the local home repair guy. I’ve always been several steps ahead of them and when you’re suffering and most of the doctors are sitting on their hands, sometimes you’ve just got to take the bull by the horns and work with what you’ve got.

Given that I may not have complete control of what my body does, now or in the future, at least there are a few things I can control and that is some comfort.

Another blog called The Cannabist reviews various such products. The writer, Brittany Driver, lives in Colorado, home of one of the first states to fully legalize. In her blog she documents her own experience in using edibles for her back pain. Hers did contain some THC though (approximately 53%), as Colorado’s laws are more lenient about that than many states.

Stay tuned to see the results of my little experiment.

Please leave a comment below even if just a sentence or two to let me know what you think. I hope my experiences will help and empower others struggling with chronic and hard-to-treat diseases and disorders.

Sometimes our greatest challenges generate opportunities we never expected.  🙂

May you all find your silver lining.

Power to the patients!