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A Ten Year Migraine Experiment

Discussion in 'Medical Marijuana Usage and Applications' started by TheApothecary, Jan 26, 2015.

  1. Backstory:
     
    Nearing 30 years old, I have suffered from migraines off and on for a decade and a half. They started when I was about 12 years old and have been the absolute bane of my existence. I started smoking cannabis at the age of 14. We can argue all day long about how wise of a decision this was, but at this point it is ancient history. For three years I used cannabis, and during that time I experienced a dramatic decrease in migraine frequency. Whereas it was not unusual for me to have 1-2 a week, I started to experience periods of a month or so without a single migraine.
     
    In my last year of high school, I decided to stop smoking to better focus on academics. I didn't know the difference between indica and sativa at that point in life, so often I found myself couch locked and unmotivated. Of course, the migraines came back that year, the worst instance being my final exams when a bout of migraines hit during 3 of the 7 finals that I was to take. Despite having a formal diagnosis of chronic migraines, I was not allowed to retake those exams. Now keep in mind, this was in the early two-thousands when we knew a whole lot less than we do today about the potential benefit of cannabinoids for migraine treatment. There as no link in my mind between curtailing cannabis use and the reappearance of the migraines.
     
    The following year, I left for college and ended up rooming with a couple of other smokers. We smoked a LOT of pot that year - more than likely too much for our own good, following a wake-and-bake method that looking back now I wish I had avoided. Live and learn, my friends (and I certainly did). But yes, you guessed it, that first year of college I had only a couple of migraines.
     
    After my first year, I changed major and moved countries. Going from a country where personal possession was legal for over-18's to the good ole' USA where it was a Schedule I narcotic was a huge shock. I decided to completely give up using marijuana - it simply wasn't worth the potential legal trouble. For six years, I didn't touch the stuff. Instead, I was prescribed all manner of abortive and preventative migraine medications. The worst, Tramadol, is a quasi-opiate that I found myself easily getting addicted to. In the name of behaving myself and not touching a schedule I drug, I had found myself going down the slippery slope of highly-addictive pain medications. Luckily, I had the sense to realize the addictive effect they were having on me and I decided to just grit my teeth and bare the pain. That's all well and good, but when you've used all of your sick time and paid vacation days by the second month of the year due to migraines, it really starts to wear on you. So here I am, faced between the choice of taking prescribed narcotics and not getting in trouble at my job, or staying away from those drugs and missing more work than my boss has patience for. Just so it is said, I have explored so many different types of treatment. I have all but ruled out a dietary or lifestyle cause for the migraines, and since they run in my family I have been told several times it's pretty safe to assume a genetic cause, rather than external influence.
     
    It was when the discussion of legalization in certain states was happening that I started to take a look at marijuana again. Keep in mind, I hadn't touched it in six years. But when CNN does a report on cannabis and you hear the word "migraines", your ears start to perk up. I began to look at my life, thinking back to the periods when I had, and hadn't smoked, and I realized there was a pattern spanning over a decade. The times when I wasn't smoking marijuana were the times that my migraines happened with the most frequency. Analyzing further, I realized that for me, marijuana has both an abortive and preventative effect on my migraines. It effectively kills an oncoming migraine (abortive in medical terms) as well as reduces their frequency over a period of time.
     
    It took many, many months for me to get up the courage to buy some weed, which is not legal for any reason in my state, but eventually I did. As a control, in the month previous, I had 6 migraines which is in line with my 1-2 per week standard. In this past month however with a total intake for the whole month of only two grams (weighed), I have had NO migraines. I did have one bad headache, but it lacked the visual disturbances (aura) and sensitivity to light that I ALWAYS get with migraines. This is astonishing, and a welcome respite after more than six years of weekly migraines. Seriously, for sufferers of chronic migraines, I cannot begin to describe how taxing they are. They take over and affect every area of your life. You know that big meeting at work that could help advance your career? Yeah, you can forget it. You know that big and only vacation you're taking this year? How does two days in bed at your hotel sound?
     
    It is clear that cannabinoids positively interact with my physiology, making an effective treatment for migraines and the pain associated therewith. This isn't an official study of any kind, nor does cannabis work for everyone afflicted by migraines. It is however part of my story and my struggle with decades of pain, and I am absolutely convinced that marijuana is the most effective and least harmful treatment that I have come across. Too bad that my connect moved this week, so now the game is on to find a new source before they come back
     
    If you reached this point, thanks for reading - I know it was a lot to get through! 
     
    Peace and love.
     
     
     

     
  2. Good read! Thanks for sharing!


    I also have found that cannabis has been the most effective treatment for my migraines.
     
  3. yeah bro you just bumped into cannabis randomly and had favorable undeniable results from a swing at anything coming your way strategy. think of a controlled ( we know what is what and how it works) approach that targets certain conditions. we are on the cusp of realization of this and just as your self it takes years and years of noticing what cannabis did for you unawares.


    there are studies on lsd and shroons to mitigate migraine take over and the studies are positive and good! the best thing it takes but the teeniest amount, not like tripping into outer oblivion and beyond

     

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