THCV - trying it out

First post. My med needs are due to heavy neuropathic back pain, mostly from arthritis with some pain contributions from a couple bad discs and associated pinched nerves. Its usually heavy indica or strong gassy OG for me.

Got some Pink Boost Goddess grown outdoors and bred by Emerald Spirit Botanicals, marketed/sold by Flow Kana. Tested at 18% THC, 4% THCV. Not clear if the 4% is part of the 18% or in addition to. Came in a brown glass jar. Bought it at Bud and Bloom in Santa Ana CA for just north of 50 bucks.

Opening the jar first time, the smell is immediate. It smells exceptionally clean, sort of a floral/fruity smell with hard candy overtones. Not quite like anything else I have smelled, very pleasant and enticing. The buds look machine trimmed, was surprised to see that, but actually pretty well done. No huge chunks missing or weird leaf pieces hanging. The color is a medium green with much gold and even a bit of brown. Trichomes are clear to slightly milky.

It smokes pretty smooth, with no major tasty experience. I might try to vape or pipe some, suspect the bong buries the taste.

First experiment:
1 minute after smoking: Hmmm... something unusual going on here
5 minutes: Oh my thats rather zippy
10 minutes: Yeah, very zippy. Something else too. I feel... kinda baked. Very surprising as anything under 25% THC these days probably doesn't move the needle much for me. But I feel this.
The baked zippy thing continued for a while, slowly transitioning in to more of a traditional delta 9 THC experience.

Second experiment:
About to surf, lets try it! If I have good therapeutic pot (high THC, Indica or gassy OG), I am much less likely to have increased back pain from the surfing (actually its bodyboarding, regular stand up surfing would probably cripple me). And my back usually feels pretty relaxed afterwards.
Hit the Pink Boost Goddess, grab my surf stuff and off I go!
Getting in the water, as the physical exertion ramped up, so did... something. Felt like I was on speed or something, was truly a terrible experience. After surfing, my back did not feel like it does after surfing with a therapeutic strain. Best I can tell. there was zero benefit.

Third experiment:
Back is a bit achy, but its far too early in the day to be baked, much work to do, brain work that requires 100% cognitive function. Tried a small hit. That wasn't bad, not bad at all. Felt much more alert, the back achiness was very slightly decreased.

Wife's experiment:
My wife suffers from Chronic Fatigue, pretty bad some times. She tried it. Definitely woke her up, but also got her baked. She doesn't smoke pot, so it was way way too stony for her. However, the THCV effect was pretty promising. We got her a vape cart with Doug's Varin in it that is about 1:1:1 THCa:THCV:CBD, and it works great for her! If you have Chronic Fatigue, you might want to check it out.

Conclusions:
Its not for pre-workout, or pre any exercise.
Its not for neuropathic back pain either.
Seems really good for Chronic Fatigue though.
Other possible uses: Maybe good for appetite stimulation?

Edited for typos.

 

I do make my own edibles, they are potent for sure. Problem I have with edibles is with the dosing though. It often takes 2 hours or even more before it hits, so I don't know if I have had enough, not enough, too much, or what, for a long while. In the meantime, my back still hurts, and a big hit of the right flower would have solved the pain problem in minutes.
I do still use edibles though, and love them. I find them most effective for me as an additional layer, under flower, instead of trying to run pain relief on edibles alone. Just last night, I had some about 3 hours before bed, then had some good sleepytime flower an hour before bed, and had a great pain free sleep most of the night, was great!

 

Checking back in after some more experimentation.

Tried it again before surfing, was an awful experience. Felt like I was either going to pass out or explode or who knows what.

Tried micro dosing mid day. Did keep me alert, didn't get groggy or too baked to function. Didn't really do much for the back pain though.

Overall, I really don't like it. Its a tool, with some good uses, but relieving neuropathic back pain does not seem to be one of those uses. Good for my wife's Chronic Fatigue though. If you struggle with Chronic Fatigue, its definitely worth a try. I can't speak to the alleged appetite suppression characteristic that many are probably interested, as it seemed to have zero affect on my appetite.

Weird weird weed indeed!