Marijuana.com

Chronmastflash

Hello, I am suffering from Manic-Depression a.k.a. Bi-polar. I am living in San Diego county, and smoke occasionally. I am wondering if there is a way I can get a doctor's note to use it medicinally. Weed has only helped my mood every time I have turned to it. Anyone know if there is a way I can get medical support for marijuana? Thx.

 

elitesama

I have the same problem my friend, and i do most certainly agree with you that weed makes me calm and controls my mood swings to great avail. I would imagine that to get something like that from a doctor in your state would be no problem. You might wanna talk to your doctor and see what he recommends. I dont think you want to go on any pills. I was put on a few like lithium and stuff and they made matters worse. Weed is the answer to my problems, even my girlfriend and my parents have said that i am easier to cope with when im high.

Mamabudz

Yes...it's true.

It does help bi-polar...



Let's see if I can get a few more links on here for this topic.

RemdyFind
~ Confirms what we know but has the usual ONDCP concerns

Use of Cannabis as a Mood Stabilizer in Bipolar Disorder: Anecdotal Evidence and the Need for Clinical Research
~ The always excellent work of Dr. Grinspoon

RxMarihuana
~ A 25 year old woman discusses her self treatment with pot.

Medical pot patient prevails in court
~Medical pot patient prevails in court in California - taking Pot for bipolar.

Re: treatment of bipolar with marijuana posted by iris November 15, 1998
~From a message board back in '98, over 5 years ago

Oregon Med Marijuana
~Oregon Medical marijuanaAct includes Bipolar

OMMA
~And the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act extension to include Bipolar

...now to go have some cookies ...

Hugz,

Mama Budz

AnimalChin

i also am bi-polar. ive been on numerous meds for this illness, but have found only two to be bearable. one is a mild anti-seizure medication called depakote (i am currently taking it but thinking about stopping) and the second is our good friend THC.

i am enraged that the better of these two meds is currently illegal, and even more so that other more dangerous meds were practically forced upon me as soon as i was diagnosed. i foolishly took some of the pills the medical doctor gave me and experienced horror story side affects. i now know that i must dictate what goes into my body, and not government can stop that.

stay strong.

__________________
"Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded."

-Abraham Lincoln

Rugbee

Chron
If you are in serious need of medical marijuana, cheek out some county’s in California. California has some of the best medical marijuana laws in the US.
Step 1 search around the net or Call County’s in California and ask about their medical marijuana laws. Most countys in California allow people who suffer from pain or what ever the reason might be to have a few zones a month as long as your doctor OKs it. Take your letter you received from your physician and give it to the DA and you’ll be set.
I don’t know what this dipolar disorder is but many doctors show sympathy to people suffering from pain and illness such as aids and so on. Your chances should be good. Don’t let doctors trick you with these famous meds; they are only making money of you and your insurance company. They would prescribe you cyanide if you or your insurance company would pay for the cost. Hope this helps, Good Luck.

__________________
A 'fascist' or a 'racist' is someone who is winning an argument with a liberal!

 

Mamabudz

Depakote is effective for Bi-polar, however there are side -effects including weight-gain. In fact, weight gain is a side effect of almost all the bi-polar meds except Topomax.

Topomax, according to reports, may not be effective for everyone. It is the medication I have been taking for over 2 years and I find it highly effective with no discernable side effects for me.

I use cannabis both medically and recreationally and have been functioning at a higher (excuse the pun) level than 10 or 20 years ago and am more physically and mentally healthy.

It may be worthwhile for you to speak with your prescribing physician to alter your bi-polar prescription as well as seeking Medical Cannabis if you are in California or one of the 8 other states that allow medicinal use of cannabis.

Hugz,

Mama Budz

detour

I have been a daily smoker for many years now, and was only recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder. My psychiatrist has me on a coctail at the moment, but the main mood stabilizer is Lamotrigien. He wants me off THC asap, to remove any drug wildcards from the equation.

Weed may have kept me alive thusfar, but I do not see it as a 100% successful medication because of demotivational effects, paranoia etc.

I have some questions for any other bipolar sufferers out there (any response will be appreciated):
- If you self-medicate the disorder using marijuana, what does the dosage look like or are we talking daily unregimented smoking?
- Has any one found the available treatments (such as Lamotrigien) to be more successful than weed? I.e. moods are controlled, no excessive weight-gain plus no more demotivation etc

Am I expecting too much? I stopped weed yesterday, so I guess I want to feel it is worthwhile investment.

Thanks,
David.

Mamabudz

Lamotrigine is one of the newer anti-seizure meds that has been found to help bipolar and some other forms of depression. A major side effect to call your doctor about is Rash (from what looks like mild sunburn to an all over rash...call immediately as this can be a sign of a very serious problem)

You may wish to "step down" your usage of marijuana rather than discontinue it cold turkey as stopping marijuana after self-medicating with it for a length of time (you do not state how much or for how long) will have side effects such as sleeplessness and irritability that may adversly effect mood causing unnecessary mood swings.

iGame3D

A few years back after an extensive period of strange events, isolation, absorbing myself in horror novels and working for the meanest bastard i can remember, as well as the gun murder of my co-workers wife, homeless heroin addicts living, cooking and screwing in my hall-way, the depression knocked me down pretty damn hard.

I also was given samples of DepaKote for about a month maybe two, it seemed to help.
There was another medication that I don't recall the name of.
Depakote is a pretty serious drug ..I stopped taking it as soon
as the overwhelming depression subsided (ie, not being able to dig my emotions out of a blank can't enjoy life state or deep blue funk)
Depakote to my understanding is a mood stabilizer, that means it helps
to flat line your emotions, preventing them from going too high or too low. The other drug was to offset this and make the emotions get into a regular rythymn again, I think.

please read the information at the link above
here is the side effects of depakote
I can't remember any of those side effects.
Well, hell I was stoned all the time, what do you expect?
The one thing I remember was light sensitivity, awake at sunrise in nearly pitch dark room, a single change in sky color and I was awake, the day long daylight seemed harsh...almost unreal like a weird digital effected movie.

Also I remember one of the drugs saying "avoid exposure to sunlight" on the fact data sheet, great, give up bi-polar to become a vampire.

From personal experience I can safely say cannabis decreases the occurance of mood swings to a negliable amount. Under high amounts of duress however, the cannabis effect seems to be negated. Whatever the chemicals the body produces under stress may overpower the benefits of a head full of healthy cannabinoids.

From my experience daily pot smoking won't eleviate a severe bi-polar condition.

Once your serotonin levels dip below normal, and there is a lack of the
necessary environmental , dietary, physical activity, and/or social support
I've not encountered a way of boosting or stabilizing the serotonin levels, accept the depakote/other drug cocktail which of course I didn't start using until the problem had been sucking me down for months.

If you are wondering about the above statement, I'll explain what I can.

Mental health is dependent on eating the right food, I was living on mostly Ramen Noodles to save money for months...REALLY BAD.

Mental health is dependent on getting normal sleep patterns, bi-polar makes getting that very difficult as one is likely to be "manic" and stay up all hours doing whatever, having crazy sleep patterns that irritate the situation.

Mental health is dependent on a support network of friends/family.
A hug, a pat on the shoulder, laughing and sharing feelings, skin to skin contact, being appreciated, etc. help to maintain serotonin levels.
Being a recluse or surrounding oneself
with depressing people like angry alcoholics, other "suffering" bi-polars, as well as the boiling pot of co-depenents out there is drain on the brain chemicals.

Environmental pollutants like flouride and formaldahyde and others
can cause neorlogical disorders, ie, depression etc. I have no
idea how one escapes from this mess, but if your depression
seems particular strong in a certain location or after a certain
food, then check it out for pollutants.


Hope this helps, remember to go hug ya mama.

detour

Thanks Mamabudz and iGame3D for your invaluable input.

I have no signs of the dreaded rash, thanks. I'm up to 75mg a day and 100mg as of this week.

The 'step down' method to stop marijuana usage has never worked for me. The psychological dependance and lack of self-control make it impossible, so I have gone cold turkey instead. Today is day 2, and all is well other than that I have lost my appetite. The Seroquel I take at night helps me to fall asleep.

Mamabudz, I've been smoking daily for the last ten years, give or take a gap here and there. Before my diagnosis my psychiatrist increased my Zoloft dosage which triggered a manic episode and some serious cycling for a week or two. I found myself smoking more and more to deal with the mood swings and anxiety, and ended up smoking about ten joints a day (enough to make me schizophrenic yeah .

For the past 2 years I've been isolated and disinterested in life, after a major depressive episode that caused me to move back to South Africa from Brussels Belgium. Ironically the last month I was in Europe I had a brilliant time. Now I know this was the manic phase following the almost 3 months of depression. When I crashed again my suicidal mood was mixed with intense paranoia and distrust of Everyone, including my family. I guess this is not normal and may be a side effect of marijuana?

What iGame3D says is of course true, and I have done nothing to regulate my sleeping or eating habits. It is time to be responsible about controlling all the environmental factors that effect mood swings. More reading.

Thank goodness for the Internet.

David.