Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

mopinko

(71,640 posts)
Fri Jun 14, 2019, 09:20 AM Jun 2019

playing w my brain. mmj

Last edited Fri Jun 14, 2019, 10:30 AM - Edit history (1)

so, i have been struggling w fibro and arthritis for a couple decades now.
i have managed to keep going, but meds have outlived their usefulness in the face of the spread of the pain.
i turn 65 in a few weeks.
it was either opioids or weed, and having been a smoker most of my life, guess which one i picked?

fibro tends to cause paradoxical pain response, as it has for me, so i started out w some abnormal reactions.
edibles dont usually work for me, my lungs are old, there are lots of complications.

i also needed more than pain relief. i keep saying i need puppy uppers and doggie downers, and if you are old enough to get that joke, you know just what i mean. but yeah, millennials.

so, i have tried about a dozen strains of oil and about that many of edibles, and i am starting to find some useful strains.
but the trial and error has been interesting and fun.
i have come to think of it as playing w my brain.

i knew that one thing that mj did for me was it changed the way i interacted and took care of my animals. puts me in my happy place. activating this lightens my load, and adds to my joy.
i figure anything that does this is good, and might have some other good affects.
this has proven mostly true.

but some of the other things that have popped up have been very amusing.
a good sativa gummy at bedtime doesnt register a conscious reaction, but it does lead to nice sleep. fun dreams, as opposed to my usual nightmares. at least a short memory on awakening. wake up pretty rested.
this is great, because it is a signal that i should have a good day, fatigue wise. that turns out to be very useful.
some strains poke my creativity, and spark solutions to the many little problems that litter my landscape.
this is very useful, but sometimes leads me to wander off into space when i am trying to get things done.
some give me energy, but it is a jittery sort that isnt really useful, all tolled.

but i just found a super good strain this week.
energy w/o the jitters that some other strains brought, and totally poking me in my language centers.
yes, this strain sparks words.
i am not making any judgements about the quality of recent posts here and elsewhere, but they have been well above average in volume.
the big thing is, tho, i am not searching for words, not fumbling for spellings, not tripping the correct as much. no big, headbanging senior moments.
my typing is more automatic and fluid. fewer typos.
much more fluid.

it is also totally tickling my funny bone.
i almost never actually lol, but this week i am at least chuckling
it is just the time of year where i run into my neighbors a lot, and talk a lot. but i swear these conversations are at least a little funnier than usual. (i am pretty funny. i'm not sayin, i'm just sayin.)
it tastes pretty good, too. easy on my lungs to vape.

this is so great.
i was so worried that i might lose my language/writing skills. i have been struggling w so much fatigue, so much brain fog, that i was really starting to have a lot of searching for simple words, and other tripping around. daily brain farts.

i enjoy writing. i sing my irish ancestor's song. i am a former gifted kid in language.
it is also likely to be my last salable skill. i am comfortable, but i would rather be a little more bullet resistant.
i did most of the writing for my sister's campaign, and she did win. i mean.

it has long been my plan when the rocking chair gets me to set down my story(ies), at least for my kids. heck, i come from a big, big family. if i wrote it for fun, i would need at least 100 copies. it would entertain me for a while.
i could comb through my farm page for a book. people do like my farm story. i have gotten some good media. i mean...
a book tour would be a blast, and likely my last chance to do any real traveling.
i give pretty good speech.
i have been making a conscious effort to maintain these skills, and i am so happy to find a way to stimulate them.

this is just so much fun. i feel like this is a game of operation. only it's a brain, and i get to take this little probe and poke this spot and that.
i have a long time interest in how brains work, and how fun is it to play around w my own?
i wonder if any of you have good stories about pot and your head.



eta- the strain is pie hole.

11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies

mopinko

(71,640 posts)
4. i do, and the first time it always hits me harder.
Fri Jun 14, 2019, 03:21 PM
Jun 2019

once in a while a strain gives me a headache, usually only the first time.
but i did drop one after it caused a second one.
i dont usually get headaches, but this one made my teeth chatter.

i have been doing this one all week, so i feel like i can keep it for a while.
sometimes if it fades, it will work again after a break.
it has faded a little bit, but seems steady.

5X

(3,987 posts)
5. I too have enjoyed the journey through all the different strains.
Fri Jun 14, 2019, 07:32 PM
Jun 2019

back in the day, which sounds like about your time period, we got what ever
the dealer had. Sometimes good, sometimes ditch weed. The only strain names
i can remember from back then are Acapulco Gold, Colombian, Colombian Gold.
everything else was just Mexican weed or home grown.

i am enjoying especially the sativas, i wouldn't even mind a little jittery.
the indicas i use just at bedtime.
but the variety that is out there is just amazing to me, never knew the effects
could be so different.

mopinko

(71,640 posts)
6. see, indicas dont relax me, tho
Reply to 5X (Reply #5)
Fri Jun 14, 2019, 08:00 PM
Jun 2019

i think they do help w anxiety which is a road block to a lot of things. this leads me to do a lot of things that i otherwise have a bit of an exhausted reaction to. lets in the joy.

yup, in the day, you took what you got, and tho they might have named it, it didnt mean that was what it was.
thai stick, tho, that was thai stick.
regular weed in large quantities got me through my divorce, but my lungs were mad at me for a long, long time.


lucky to have a hook up to a mi medical grower. good choices, but way lower prices than the dispensaries.
wedding cake has been good moderate pain relief for me.
doesnt really hit bad pain, but it can keep it from blowing up from the fibro if i stay on top of it.


all these years of hearing that there are a lot of interesting compounds in there, and here we are finding out.
honestly, if i could just take a couple pills of these compounds i would be fine w it. when you are using it as medicine, you need it to be stable.
i am extremely skeptical of most herbal meds for that very reason.

Aristus

(68,214 posts)
7. Go with what works...
Fri Jun 14, 2019, 11:16 PM
Jun 2019


Glad to hear it helps. I never discourage my patients when they tell me cannabis give them effective pain relief. It's a lot better than treating with opioids.

mopinko

(71,640 posts)
8. i'm just so fascinated by brains.
Fri Jun 14, 2019, 11:26 PM
Jun 2019

a lot of it is stuff i learned because i fucking had to, but a lot is just so interesting. when my now 44 yo daughter was small, the chicago trib ran a 10 page special on the very new research on how stress affected fetal brains. i never forgot that.
discovering evolutionary psychology deepened my interest greatly.

we are such a strange and complicated species.

deek

(3,414 posts)
10. Have you heard of Transcranial Magnetic Therapy?
Fri May 1, 2020, 01:50 PM
May 2020

I am investigating it. I have fibro, arthritis, some other autoimmune issues, depression, probable ADD...

My neuro thinks it may be helpful in addressing the chaos I call my life.

I too explore the different strains, but with my memory problems, I have difficulty remembering which do what! I should be more diligent and keep notes.

mopinko

(71,640 posts)
11. i know they are using enhanced etc, data driven, more targets.
Fri May 1, 2020, 02:57 PM
May 2020

and yeah, i have heard of this one, too.
saw my neuro this week, and we will be doing some testing, finally.

Brainfodder

(7,181 posts)
9. That struggle to find YOUR strains is real, indeed!
Fri Jun 21, 2019, 02:08 PM
Jun 2019

Some growers/producers are attacking that head on with their naming conventions, + step!




Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Cannabis»playing w my brain. mmj