Day: March 6, 2019

I am undiagnosed. I have been fighting epilepsy, apparently, my whole life. I believe I have Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, which makes my story… interesting. I have had identified, undiagnosed “episodes” for 21 years. The impact these episodes have had on my life is only now beginning to be understood, even be myself.

Just over a month ago I was housebound, having been on disability from my job for just over a year. Being a chemical engineer at a DoE nuclear processing facility, I was subject to random drug testing, for which a positive result would likely result in termination and difficulty finding future employment. I had never been released from a job for any reason. Now, I was living in a housebound state, barely able to hold a coherent conversation, an emotional wreck, hopeless, confused and prepared to accept that I would die soon. My breathing would become labored, body systems were losing their ability to regulate, I could not walk, my voiding was nearly uncontrollable, I could no longer read even with glasses, and had no energy to play with my dogs or assist in keeping the house up.

I finally had reached a point where the quality of my life was such that I had to change something or I would consider the alternative to living a life so seemingly empty and void, a burden to those around you, never quite being the person I knew I was, or even a person my family could tolerate. My wife is my love and heart. She convinced me to try cannabis one day. I did and it is turning my life upside down, this time in a very good way.

The changes I have experienced are phenomenal. Often, the changes are frightening, often exciting, and other times bewildering. I believe I am regaining access to neural networks that have been inaccessible for years, or decades. I have access to memories and all associated personality, feelings and emotions, that are tied to those memories. My processing capacity seems higher. My vision is not just normal, but 20/15 at worst. My memory is fantastic and my ability to function at a high level emotionally and intellectually is beyond what I have ever thought I could experience. My agility and coordination are better than I can ever recall. I am losing weight, having weighed 234 pounds a year ago and less than 200 pounds today. I am a different person than I was. I can love and feel like I never knew possible. I do not know what the future holds, but God has this. THC has given me myself, a person buried under decades of seizures.

-Richard

Our son, Eli, was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 5. He is currently 15 years old. He has had fine motor and developmental delays since he was born. He never had complete seizure control. When he approached adolescence, his seizures increased dramatically to at least one per week. We had difficulty controlling his seizures and his behavior became more and more erratic with the increased anti- seizure medications and frequent seizures. After more testing, we found out last year that he has a genetic disorder, which was helpful to explain many of the symptoms he has had, but upsetting because we knew the seizures would not be outgrown.

We had been following the Charlotte Figi story, and once we were aware that the hemp oil was available to ship, we decided to try it for our son. He started taking the hemp oil supplement last July, and he has been seizure free ever since! We are so thankful! He still takes an anti- seizure medication and has a VNS, but he has now been seizure free for 10 months (longest since initially diagnosed)! He has been taking the Everyday supplement.

I started having episodes, as they were called back then (now known as seizures), back when I was in elementary school. I’m now 40 years old and still have epilepsy. It’s a constant fight and stalker in my life, but CBD oil has given me some hope. It works far better than any of my seizure medications ever have.

At my age I have completely depleted all my options, so I am reliant on CBD oil to keep the seizures at bay and give me hope for the rest of my future, so I can be around and be functional to care for my family and be here for all the family moments and moments with grandchildren. I wouldn’t go a single day without my CBD oil. It truly does help. No side effects, that’s good too!

-Stacey

Submitted by his mom, Stacey,

This young man has lived his entire life plagued by epilepsy since he was born and will continue to do so for the rest of his life. But this is not just any epilepsy, It’s UNCONTROLLED EPILEPSY, among other medical issues. Being born one month premature set the stage for so many of his issues, including epilepsy, Autism, bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety, both generalized & social. He has a learning disability. He has spent more of his life in doctors offices & hospitals & asleep recovering from seizures, then he has normal activities. He is special needs due to all these issues combined. He will probably never be able to live on his own due to all this and his disabilities. This disease & medical problems, being born premature & just never having a normal life due to them has deprived him of the ability to learn and retain even basic life/ living skills. We are his advocates.

So with a lot of research & a recommendation from two of his doctors, we began using nonconventional medical treatments/therapy to treat Taylor’s epilepsy and other issues. It’s proven thus far to help, and better than what was previously being used which caused him more harm than good. Great to find an alternative therapy and medical treatments to work in his favor, but the expenses of his medical treatment are a downfall. We cannot afford it, and none of it is covered by his insurance. We struggle financially to make things work for him. He has been through so many medications (seizure meds), that he ran out of options. Meds had begun to start to show signs of making his insides “angry.” Liver tests come back abnormal in areas they shouldn’t and so he’s having to be weaned off meds and is undergoing this special treatment to address his medical problems to help control his epilepsy. The nonconventional methods have been of some help to him and more so then the medications, without damaging his internal organs.

NONE of this is covered by insurance, and so we are drowning and killing ourselves trying to afford this form of treatment, to keep him healthy and seizure free. It’s his only option at this point. We need help with these medical expenses and therapies! He’s a fighter and we continue this battle every day, without CBD oil Taylor probably wouldn’t be with us. He fights with all his might. Please like and follow his page on facebook https://www.facebook.com/taylorsfight4anormallife

I was a hospice nurse when a work accident suddenly ended my career and altered my life drastically. It left me disabled with a spinal injury, limited mobility, and constant excruciating pain.

It seems so silly now, but I was so scared to try cannabinoid therapy. Even though I was taking opiates and benzodiazepines around the clock to manage the pain and muscle spasms.

It’s silly because I had already tried EVERYTHING else, including a major surgery that left me in an even worse condition. But the stigma of medical marijuana frightened me so much, and a risky surgery was more socially acceptable. Deep down, I didn’t believe a plant could help me when morphine barely touched the pain.

Finally, my mom convinced me to try medical marijuana. “You’ve tried everything else,” she said, “you have to try this.” The day I started MMJ is the day I stopped taking benzos and opiates. I haven’t needed them since, and it’s been nearly two years.

The first time I used medical marijuana, the spasms just melted away and the pain lifted. I knew at that moment, this plant could give me a bit of my life back.

Now, cannabinoid therapy is not a magical cure. It hasn’t healed my spine or returned my full range of motion. But MMJ has enhanced my quality of life on a massive scale. Cannabinoids control my pain and spasms without the harsh side effects of opiates.

I’ll never have my hospice nursing career back, but I created MarijuanaMommy.com to help others buck the stereotype and try medical marijuana because this plant is changing lives around the globe. It’s time to stop fearing it.

-Jessie

At the age of 57 I have lived with intractable complex partial seizures for 44 years. Neurologists have had me try most of the anticonvulsants that are made and I still take three of them. When I became persistent to my epileptologist about trying CBD he finally gave me the name ‘Realm of Caring’ to contact!

RoC has been a joy to work with as well as CW and my family and I thank you. My last day of cluster seizures (5) was almost a year ago and I started taking CBD oil the next day. I have had no cluster seizures since! My doctor is happy with this outcome and we even cut down some of my other meds, but it’s a careful journey. I still have periodic seizures, 1-2 a month, but they are very mild in length, neurological effects and number compared to 5-7 a month in previous years past. Thank you RoC.
-M.R.S.

I have been having muscle spasms severely since I was about 15 years old. I’m now 45 so that is a long time. Most days it feels like all my muscles are going to rip off my body at any moment. I ruptured a disc in my thoracic spine in my mid 30’s. T7, T8. I was told this is not common, but from all my research it is more common than doctors say. My ruptured disc is causing spinal cord compression. I can NOT have surgery because I have some kind of bleeding disorder. No doctor will touch it. To make matters worse I do not have health insurance.

I have been suffering a very long time. It is bad when you wake up and all you think about is the pain. People are talking to you and you are in so much pain you do not even know what is being said.

Three days! it has only been 3 days! and I feel so much better. It was about 3am this morning, when I just kind of felt as if someone was putting a soft cloth over the screaming pain. I’m excited. I may get to enjoy some of my days. I know it has only been three days, but I have never felt this kind of relief. It’s a numbing sensation I guess is the best way to describe how It feels. Best money I have spent in eight years. Thank you, Thank you.

-Helen