In 20 years, I’ve tried roughly the same amount of medications in an attempt to stabilise my conditions. While traditional pharmaceuticals have provided mixed results, medicinal cannabis has shown promise in addressing symptoms that other treatments failed to alleviate. In this post, I will share my journey and the pros and cons of both approaches.
Traditional Pharmaceutical Medications
Pharmaceutically, I have tried medication ranging from Trazadone to Amitriptyline, Aripiprazole, Fluoxetine, Sertraline, Citalopram, Alprazolam just to name a few but as previously mentioned, I am currently trialling a mix of Diazepam, Venlafaxine, Aripiprazole and Prozasin.
With the majority of these medications, I have not suffered many side effects, but simply not been able to notice any improvements. However, with a medication named Mirtazapine I suffered severe side effects which were horrific for me, so they were quickly discontinued.
Fluoxetine worked the best for me out of all the SSRI’s I tried; but caused severe jitters and disturbed sleep including teeth grinding, which also caused severe headaches so after 4 years of them, I am now on Venlafaxine, an SNRI, which I’m happy with. My dosage has recently been upped after 2 previous failed attempts due to side effects and I think I am stable on this. My Aripiprazole works as an aid for the SSRI/SNRI to stabilise my mood more and calm the heightened emotional responses I have, most probably linked to the CPTSD. I use the Diazepam as and when needed, when I feel like I’m struggling to manage my emotions by myself and have found myself to rely less on it following the addition of Hypovase (Prozasin) which has been prescribed to counteract the vivid night terrors associated with the CPTSD.
In-between all of the trial and error phases, I also decided to trial Medicinal Cannabis.
Medicinal Cannabis / CBMP’s
With Medicinal Cannabis I was initially prescribed a strain named EMT-1 which had great anecdotal information for anxiety and depression; however as stated in yesterdays blog, I don’t believe that mental healthcare works for me when only treating 2/3 conditions, or similar. The EMT-1 made me feel more hypervigilant, increasing my symptoms of PTSD so I discontinued use. I tried a handful of alternative strains without side effects but with little benefit before realising that Grow’s Strawberry Glue was a strain that seemed to work for all three of my conditions I was seeking treatment for.
The medication was in flower form, and I vaporised the medication when required, up to 1g maximum daily.
I found that I was reliant on the medication, and struggled without it, which caused me to question if I was becoming too dependant, and then I remembered all the difficulties I faced with traditional pharmaceutical medications, and realised that as long as I was comfortable following my treatment plan outlined by my consultant, that I was in a safe space and was free to discuss my concerns, so I did just that and it turned out that I was able to increase my allowance slightly, which became more than sufficient to manage my conditions for a months period (the usual medicinal cannabis prescription validity timeline)
Medications such as Diazepam, Codeine and Morphine used by many PRN (as and when needed) have similar concerns when taking into account dependency, so I find it unfair to dismiss CBMP’s solely on this risk. With close clinical supervision, CBMP’s may be a wonderful option for many conditions ranging from cancer management to sleep disorders, rheumatology, mental health conditions, and women’s health.
On Strawberry Glue, I noticed that I was a lot calmer, I was more focused on daily tasks that required my attention rather than my traumas or negative experiences, I was able to live without feeling constantly nudged by my mental health conditions, I felt ‘normal’ something that pharmaceutical medications are yet to do for me; however it’s important to note that I have not yet solely relied on CBMP’s apart for a one week period in February and do not yet feel comfortable to do so, due to changes in my mental health.
I am currently off CBMP’s whilst I am managing my conditions and trialling new pharmaceuticals alongside therapy.
Which Do I Prefer? My Thoughts and Goals
With all of this considered; would I choose a CBMP only treatment plan, would I choose a pharmaceutical only treatment plan, or would I choose a mixture of both?
Medicinal Cannabis is not easy to access in the UK, even once you have been confirmed as eligible for your care, there are significant barriers such as stock availabilities, pricing issues and direct accessibility such as being limited to prescribers and dispensers.
This being said, I struggled for over two years in the UK to get a pharmaceutical medication I had previously been prescribed abroad and was stable on for just under three years, due to protocol that had to be followed in terms of signposting – or so I have been told; yet the services available when you are struggling to receive a prescription such as alternative pharmacies, 111 emergency prescriptions and even over the counter medication makes it slightly less daunting when thinking about the absence of the medication in question.
Costs vary greatly, with yearly NHS prescription prepayment certificates costing just over £100 annually, you are looking at 3-4 times this per month in the cannabis industry, so for a lot of people, especially those unable to work due to their healthcare conditions, this is completely inaccessible.
Cannabis also had no side effects for me, except for my first medication which made me more agitated, something that I was quickly able to discuss and alter with my consultant; rather than having to wait a certain period to even be considered for a change in medication, as usually seen with traditional medications.
My ideal goal is to be able to focus on CBMP’s solely, and PRN at that.
Cannabis is prescribed for sleep difficulties/disturbances and could help with the night terrors associated with PTSD/CPTSD.
Cannabis is already prescribed for depression and anxiety and I will soon discuss further the relation between cannabis, the ECS and depression/anxiety so I don’t find this goal to be unachievable.
I am hoping that as I gain further information about trauma, the ECS and their link I will be able to make further informed decisions.
I am open to traditional pharmaceutical medications being used also; but I am highly confident that CBMP’s could replace at least one of my traditional medications and look forward to the sector developing.
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