mmm Froot Loops

Hi guys, I am new here. I am a 25 yr old girl from Ontario, Canada.

When I was 21 I was "T-Boned" by a Mack Truck during an ice storm.
I was driving a VW Jetta.
The Mack Truck won.

The result: I was in a coma for 6 weeks and in the hopital for 6 months total. I am now fully mobile, I walk with a bit of a limp and use a cane in the winter when there is ice on the ground, but I am no longer confined to a wheelchair.

As a result of this experience I am considered to have suffered a brain injury (not damage, injuries are not permanent) I am proud to say that I have gone to school and taken a general business course and am now employed with one of the major banks in Canada.

Anyways, I have always smoked a little ever since highschool, but recently I have been doing it more often, we even have a couple plants growing in our back yard. I find that it helps me to clear my head and sleep better. I am a very light sleeper, so every little noise wakes me up.

From the accident I now have early-onset arthritis in my left knee. On nice, sunny days, it feels fine. but on damp, overcast days it really aches. This is when I smoke a bowl or two and it really seems to help.

My doctor is a smoker himself and I talked to him about medicinal, and he pointed out that in Ontario, (Canada), you need to have 2 doctors sign a consent form so that you can get a licence to legally possess a small amount (personal) and then a separate licence to grow it. And if you do chose to grow your own, you have to use the seeds that the government gives you (which may suck balls, I'm not sure) anyways, his idea was just to go on as I have been doing and just not get caught with any in my possession. That it seems to be more of a hassle to go about getting the licences, then it would probably be worth. And if I do get caught, my arguement can be "hey, it's for medicinal purposes" I live in a small town of about 6000 people and the town cops are all old and not up-to-date on current laws, so for all they know, I could be right, they couldn't be bothered to look it up.

Anyways, is anyone else in a similar situation with a brain injury? I would be interested in talking about it with you.

Jo

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Higher Logic

Did you see this post regarding brain injury, damage, and stroke?

http://www.marijuana.com/420/showthread.php?t=22482

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drdoug99

it sounds like a pretty bad experience to go through with your car accident, but i'm glad it sounds like you pretty much made a full recovery.

also i love the simpsons, i think your signature is hilarious

what does it mean with your "brain injury" exactly? and do you know how long it will last? good luck

mmm Froot Loops

Higher Logic - sorry, I guess I didn't look through the threads very well before I started a new thread.

drdoug - A brain "injury" is different from brain "damage" in that it is not permanent. A severe injury resulting in an extended coma (years) has the potential to turn in to damage, if the patient develops an infection, or high fever. The way that it was explained to me is that in my accident my brain was shaken around in my skull to the point that I passed out, and remained "out" for 6 weeks, hence, a coma. A coma is the brain's way of dealing with experiences that are too traumatic or painful that you don't want to remember them.

I remember getting ready to go to my job on the morning of my accident, starting my car, and thinking to myself "my god, the weather really sucks today." and then nothing until about 2 months later.

If you are in a coma, or have a brain anyurism (pardon my spelling) you are considered "injured". Me? 4 years after my accident, physically, my knee still aches most of the time.

Mentally, I find that I have trouble with my short-term memory alot. "Post-it" notes really seem too come in handy. If there is something that I have to remember I will put it on 3 or 4 different post-its and put them in various places (my fridge, my car, my desk at work) to remind me. Sometimes it's somthing trivial like "buy milk" and sometimes it's something more important like "pick up Debbie" (a woman I carpool to work with). My doctors tell me that this will improve, and it has. But when I get older and my memory starts to slip due to age, am I screwed?

Mamabudz

You see that the brain can return from an injury -- and yes, the Post Its do help.

Stress is you most serious culprit with memory -- and the concern about not remembering things can actually cause you to forget. De-stressing and stress reducing activities should be part of your regimen (massage, meditation, sun lamp treatment in the winter, a warm furry animal)

As for loosing your memory later in life, that's a myth -- you simply don't get "old and senile" automatically, it is usually a response to poor diet, stress and often underlying hardening of the arteries. Stay on top of your medical situation and you should be toking quite well into your doderage... I know I plan to...

...have a cookie

Mama Budz

mmm Froot Loops

Mamabudz - that is so true. If I am stressed out about something completely different, then I am more likely to forget what I had gone to the store for.

I could be stressed about money and paying my bills, and then do something like show up at work when it's actually my day off (done that before)

I already do a couple of things that you recomended - go for a massage occiasionally, go to yoga class once a week, and I have a dog who really likes to cuddle.

I think that I eat good (but I do have a craving for a McNugget meal the odd time.) work out at the gym 3 times a week and attend yoga once a week.

And I am working on the stress thing.

really

SilentlySam

Hi, I am a 23 year old male who leaves in eastern Ontario.

I stumbled across your forum post, and made an account in order to reply..

I found your post while searching for information on brain injury and medicinal marijuana.

Let me explain, august of 2008, I had a bad work related accident, my harness failed and I fell straight down 24ft. onto a concrete floor, in the first instants of my fall I tried to stop myself, only swinging myself onto my side instead of falling straight down.

Rsult of my fall: Shattered orbital (eye socket), Shattered feemur, broken scafoid and radius, as well as several fractiurse throughout my cranium, hitting my head poped my left eye out of socket and left two legions in my left frontal tobe, and bruising all over.

As a result I also have a brain injury, before my accident I was an avid recreational smoker, it was not big thing..

After my accident I took a 9 month stint of not smoking, I was determined to make it to the year mark without alcohol or marijuana use what so ever.

Nov 27th of 2008 I leave the rehabilitation centre I had been at for the past 4 months

that following weekend a dear and close friend of mine had overdosed on oxycodine oxycotton w/e you want to call it..

Despite the pain I was left with I refused to take pain pills, .. after a few months I decided it could'nt hurt to try, so march of 09 marijuana has been helping me medicinally, I have filled my papers and have sent all the necessary forms in and am awaiting my license from the government.

which I expect around the end of January,

My point is that I too have a brain injury, I too smoke marijuana for pain, I have a great deal of information I would like to share with you,
My e-mail is sergerie_s@hotmail.com I look forward to hearing from you
-Sam

kushnotbush

I would just like to tell you that I wish you the best dealing with and recovering from your injuries. This forum is great for allowing us to understand issues that real people are dealing with instead of what's on tv. Also its really cool that you guys maybe able to learn from each others experience. I have PTSD and TBI from combat while in the army; I also suffer from short term memory loss. I do a lot better with remembering things when I am less stressed and not dealing with a lot emotionally but I also think most people do as well. A little MJ seems to help releave my stress too! Just my two cents, I mainly wanted to say I wish you the best recoveries!
kushnotbush