Who was diagnosed with depression 30 years ago received a recommendation from her psychiatrist. She had been using but not legally and had asked her doctor. She was the first he recommended, but that number has grown significantly. Vaporizing without fear or guilt, and an edible before bedtime to sleep, she has been extremely stable and on an extremely low dose of anti-depressants. A side benefit is that it has been very effective in reducing arthritis symptoms and other orthopedic pain.
(OOOH! Spell check says no errors!)

I live in a legal state, but can't afford the fees

I know my post is late but I hope you were able to work something out. I was recently approved in DC, a state that has reduced fees for low income persons. But without the assistance of a good friend I would not of had the fees for the doctor, which medicaid didn't cover or the $50 registration fee. The mmj also has a small discount and he will assist with that if needed because he wants me to have pain relief. I try to do without whatever I can to save money for it. Also check with your local health organization eg. CFS-Fibro Support Group to see if they can refer you to an organization offering financial assistance for meds or otherwise. You never know; they may be open about the mmj as medication. Alternatively, you could ask for assistance with something else and use the money saved for the mmj fees. Good luck.

was the only combo that touched my hideous cramps. I'd been prescribed opiates since I was 16 but grass worked better.

He was diagnosed with Dermatomyositis in 1991. In 1996 when he had to have another Chemo treatment his doctor actually agreed with me regarding the use of mj for nausea. He was on vicodin for years for pain and experiencing some very nasty side effects. He found MJ controlled the pain better and helped with the constant nausea due to Methotrexate and Cyclosporine. My son made a believer out of me in regards to medicinal value of MJ.

Will see how the drugs treat me next week after I get back from family vacation.

Dermatomyositis is tough on it's own, having overlapping Lupus makes it even harder. If you ever need someone to vent too, just pm me.

edit to add: Oral Chemo drugs are not as bad as Intravenous Chemo therapy, but still have some side effects,

Eating helps more than smoking. I have a friendly neighbor that helps when the pills don't.

He actually wrote out the paperwork for me to send in! I live in Colorado. My biggest problem is the dosage. I don't smoke, although I have a vaporizer. I prefer edibles. There is so much that they don't know about it, but I believe in it.

into the fog that i am trying to escape.

I've found that some strains of indica have a very relaxing effect on my pain. Any kind of mj is usually effective on the nausea that comes with migraines. As for "medicine head", I think you might find a different type of "medicine head" if you use mj. Whether or not it affects you negatively is your call. If you use it regularly, though, I would recommend vaporizing instead of smoking.

Have you heard of transdermal magnesium therapy with Magnesium Chloride? aka Magnesium Oil, only its not oil, just feels that way.
Magnesium is good for your bones too, relaxes the muscles and improves sleep.

I haven't had a migraine in 2 years...a miracle for me.
I make my own now, with the flakes and unscented lotion.

There are so many different kinds. Start with one that's supposed to relax you, not the kind that they say won't make thou tired. I started with the kind that wouldn't make me tired and thought my heart was gonna race out of my chest, have a heart attack and die. On like 4 tokes. It did take the pain away. And I got so sick, east with a bowl and threw up while my husband laughed at me. He tried not to. And he did bring me the bowl. And a washcloth.

Hey NW: Yep! I've been legal for about 12 years, and though I don't smoke (medicinally except for a few illnesses smoking is the lest effective) I do take sublingual HAO; short for Holy Annointing Oil, as the ingredients are at the same ratio's in the same order as the Biblical recipe, for muscle spasms, optical fluid pressure and diabetic retinopathy.

I use the big fan leaves to mike a very sedative coconut oil based butter, excellent for sleep and pain, (real butter works well too for baking cookies, brownies, etc) that if you add food-grade beeswax to, turns the infused coconut oil into a topical cream that soaks right into the skin for joint pains, bruses, stretched muscles and quite a few skin cancers.

I use an ethanol refluxed form of Rick Simpson Oil (the original formulae used naptha but any chemist will tell you it leaves highly toxic residues that takes highly specialized gear to remove) for extending the effective length of my meds (oxy...same prob) cutting down (lots of people use oils to kick completely!) controlling the pain the oxy doesn't, helping to sleep, and has allowed me to quit using insulin (was on 30 units of Lantus + prn Novalog) now I take a piece the size of a cooked grain of rice twice a day, and my sugars range from 70-100 with A1c of 6 and ketoacidosis level at .01, plus solid sleep with no pain.

Lastly, depending on the strain and extraction method I make absolutes (smokable oils with no wax or chlorophyl) for PTSD, anxiety, appetite or immediate pain relief.

If I can ever remember my username site and all that...lol...I'd be happy to share any knowledge I may have that is within the guidelines and the law. I'm new here, stumbled upon something from my hometown on a completely different mission, and ended up here, but it's way late and I have to sleep.

Nite all...