Medical Marijuana and Seizures

Spike69

2nd Place Plant, and 3rd Place Member of the Month
Medical Marijuana - It's A Long Way To The Pharmacy by Brady Derrah

Thanks to medicinal marijuana I have been seizure free for over three years.

This is no small claim. Seizures are extreme events of the body. Planning your life around them is like living in San Francisco. You know the earthquake is about to happen, you just don’t know when. But with seizures, the earthquake hits, regularly. You dare not drive because you never know when the shock waves will seize your body and mind.

I was diagnosed with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy in March of 1991 after I began having grand mal seizures in 1990. My doctor, Thomas F. Clark, M.D., prescribed Dilantin for three years but the seizures continued. He switched me to the drug Tegretol in March of 1994 which lengthened the period between the seizures—but I continued to have them. The Tegretol dose was then increased, resulting in slightly longer seizure-free periods. But still, I regularly continued to experience these convulsive, disorienting shocks to my body and mind.

Finally, on my birthday (Jan. 13 1997), I made a resolution to find a way to live seizure-free so that I could get on with my life.

I had previously smoked 2-3 grams of marijuana per week (medically supervised) as an adjunct to pharmaceutical drug therapy, and I was sure this helped control my seizures. But how much? The only way to find out was to use my own body as a laboratory for the experiment. For me, the stakes were high: I wanted to go to college. I wanted to have a “normal” life, something you take for granted unless you’re prevented from it.

In the three years leading up to my birthday resolution, between January, 1993 and December, 1996, I had experienced six seizures, each about half a year apart from the next. These seizures all occurred on days that I did not smoke any marijuana. My last seizure had been on December 15, 1996, and I resolved to make that the last seizure ever.

My birthday resolution was to smoke 2-3 grams each day (not just each week) of high-grade “skunk-bud” marijuana, in combination with my other therapies, carefully assessing the results of this course of treatment as I began striving to achieve my dreams. Here is what I found.

In order to live seizure-free, there are four factors that I MUST do EVERY day. First, I must have a regular sleeping pattern (meaning I have to sleep at night and be awake during the day, and I can’t stay awake for two days without sleeping). Second, I must have a regular eating pattern (I have to eat at least two times a day, and I can’t go for a whole day without eating).

Third, I must rigorously take my Tegretol at regular intervals to keep my blood-level of Tegretol elevated (I have to take 400 mg. when I wake up in the morning at 8:00 a.m., 400 mg. in the afternoon at 2:00 p.m., and 600 mg. before bed at 8:00. p.m.). Fourth, I must smoke up to a gram of high grade marijuana three times a day (at the same times I take my Tegretol, I inhale five good sized bong hits).

To date, I have now gone over three years without a seizure. If I adhere daily, without fail, to the four behaviors described above, I won’t have any seizures. Not being a doctor, I do not know exactly what the marijuana does to prevent my seizures, but I know without a doubt that marijuana is one of the four daily practices necessary to prevent me from having them.

The marijuana helps me in other ways too. First, after taking my Tegretol, the marijuana settles my stomach. Second, the marijuana makes me hungry so I can eat regularly. Third, the marijuana helps me get to sleep so I can sleep regularly. Thus, marijuana is helpful as an adjunct therapy to the other three therapies—taking my meds, eating, and sleeping.

Every new day when I wake up and each night when I go to bed without having had a seizure, I thank God for creating such an important medicine. It lets me live my life.
 
My Brother has a brain inj. for that reason he used to have regular seizes
but he takes tegra and with smoking a fair amt.of good bud they have been under control for a good while.But now he is having what they think are sm.
strokes as his face sags and his talk slurs.This has happened a few times this week and I am praying they get ahold of this new problem.I found the above
article and thought that it should be in here in case any 1 can gain anything from it.
 
Thanks for posting this Spike. There are so many here that suffer from Epilepsy, it is good to know there is that possibility of being able to be freed from seizures and the life it chains us to, and to do it to through cannabis.

Boy, can I relate...
Seizures are extreme events of the body. Planning your life around them is like living in San Francisco. You know the earthquake is about to happen, you just don’t know when. But with seizures, the earthquake hits, regularly. You dare not drive because you never know when the shock waves will seize your body and mind.

Epilepsy

I have been dealing with Temporal Lobe refractory Epilepsy since 2004. Uncontrolled seizures. I don't drive and I am now on my 7th medicine. I have had grand mal seizures in most all my regular public stops - Costco, Walmart, 7-11, McD's. I was fortunate to spend one week at the Epilepsy Center of Stanford University. But the seizures that were forced have permanently injured me so stopping the meds all together will take a lot more courage than I have at the time.

But we are now at brain surgery as the only option for a normal life again. No one even wants to discuss cannabis, even off the record. Usually I inform them, not the other way around. So we are forced to be our own doctors.

I use cannabis every day and as much as possible, which isn't alway as much as I'd like. Regular sleep, regular meals, and taking all my meds on time are also the best prescription for me. Although it has not stopped the seizures altogether, I don't feel like a walking zombie that I have at times, and the aura's are more and more spread out in the last few months.

Thanks again :peacetwo:
 
Thanks for the share.
I know that it takes massive amounts of meds to be Medicated to the point of feeling good about being able to treat ones self.
People just do not understand this.
All the plant counts and med weight limits, seem to be setup to protect the healthy while keeping the sick sicker.

There is nothing like knowing what one needs to be in ones health zone while having to consider the law and jail instead of ones own health. I am awiating the day I do not have to do that.
 
TY for sharing this. I can totally relate to it having epilepsy as well as other issues. Every now and again I get into a funk and tell myself I can do this w/o pot. UM YEAH RIGHT! That's what I realize after I try to go w/o it. Pot helps me get an appetite (my meds KILL it and make me NOT want to eat), settles my belly, helps me NOT have seizures, ensures I'm able to sleep (deprivation of can induce seizures)... I could go on.
 
My Brother has a brain inj. for that reason he used to have regular seizes
but he takes tegra and with smoking a fair amt.of good bud they have been under control for a good while.But now he is having what they think are sm.
strokes as his face sags and his talk slurs.This has happened a few times this week and I am praying they get ahold of this new problem.I found the above
article and thought that it should be in here in case any 1 can gain anything from it.

Am
Epileptic & Suffr. Frm. Mental Health.
Maybe By Chance It Will Result From Low Vitamin's Or High Or Need Of Sodium.
 
My wife had a brain injury when she was 13. As a result, she had head surgery that caused her to be prone to seizures. She is taking an anti seizure med that is working for her. My question is this....is cannibis safe for her? Will it cause her to have a seizure?
 
i have grand mal seizures and i just found this site you may find my first post where i explained my problem with my meds and marijuana where i would like some professional opinions on my seizures and how to stop them because my meds just arent doing it
 
Hi, I have had Temporal Lobe Epilepsy for well, all my life, I was diagnosed at 17, I am 53 now. I have used Marijuana since I was 14. I have learned a lot over the years, and will try to put down some of the key points here. First, It will help. BUT, there are caveat's. I personally do not believe in JUST MMJ (medical marijuana) for treatment. Some people may find this works out for them, but I think that SOME anticonvulsant therapy is almost always needed. Second, There needs to be an understanding of the whole of the condition, and by this I mean, not only the medical epilepsy, but all the issues that come with it, and there are many. First of them is the constant fear, and therefore anxiety associated with epilepsy. Most MD's are oblivious to this, but it is a real, and tough to manage part of the condition. MMJ helps LOADS here. Next is (of course) spasmadic muscle responses. It has been my experience that they can be triggered by something as simple as a shiver. Lastly (that I can cover in a short post), there is DEPRESSION, this is a huge issue for epileptics. Now, from all I have read, treating the different aspects of the condition requires different treatments, even as far as MMJ is concerned. The Epilepsy "Proper" is best controlled by a high CBC MMJ. But the fear and depression are best controlled with a high THC MMJ. I found that for myself, a 75% high CBC + 25% high THC combo works best (YMMV).

There are other considerations to be looked at too. NutraSweet is a TOTAL NO-NO! cut it out of your diet. (Google it if you wish) But your brain is AWESOMELY sensitive, any change in your daily life can trigger a seizure. I know, this is not good news, but better to know and plan, than not to understand. Even a change in your sleep pattern can give you issues.

Stress, seems to be the largest factor. It can come from any source, all the daily worries, they tend to build up and BANG. MMJ is the best of meds here. A puff or two, and the stress levels drop, and so does the chance of seizure.

Please, do not fall into the "stoned to the gills, for life" category. I can not and will not suggest this. It is not needed. with the weed today, like I said, a puff or two, and you should be fine. If you do need more, most likely, your whole day was going to be shot anyway with seizure activity. The point here though is to RETURN to life, not to ESCAPE life. please don't over do.

In a (rather) short summery, this is some of what I know, that might help others.
 
Your insights are interesting and useful, Java, but I'm sure you know that epilepsy comes in many different flavors. Mostly the actual cause of the condition is unknown, idiopathic.

My own TLE started more than 15 years ago when I was about your age (late onset). My seizure types are simple and complex partial. My simples turn into complex partials if I don't quickly lay down. The complex partials cause a complete disconnect from all sensory and muscle control. If I am not lying down then I go down, sometimes hard and end up bloody. No fun. I hate getting sewed up in the emergency room and fear even worse possibilities.

I went through a whole gamut of meds. The only one that seemed even slightly effective has been Tegretol but it hasn't stopped the seizures completely. At best I still have one every month or so at best. I can only tolerate a barely "therapeutic" dose. Above 600 or 700 mgs a day I get a heavy dose of ataxia which in some ways is worse than a seizure.

Last summer saw a significant increase in my seizures, one or more a week. The only thing my neurologist tried was to up the dose. I couldn't stand the ataxia. So now I am trying something different: cannabis. Over a period of a few months I have stopped the Tegretol completely now and am taking a couple of squirts a day of cannabis tincture and a few puffs of the pipe. I'm not ready to declare victory yet but my seizure incidence has dropped back to what it was, about one a month. If I can go the next two months without a seizure I will consider my experiment a smashing success.

I am unhappy about the weed I'm using, though, as I have no idea what the cannabinoid profile might be and have no way to control it. From my reading on the subject of epilepsy and cannabis results can be quite a mixed bag including cannabis actually inducing seizures. I think that is because of inconsistent profiles and the vast diversity of E types. It seems the THC and CBD proportions have to be right and also THCV might play a role. It's probably is even more complex than that. Who knows? I don't but I want to find out so I will continue to experiment. Weed sure beats the hell out of ataxia.
 
Thanks for the share.
I know that it takes massive amounts of meds to be Medicated to the point of feeling good about being able to treat ones self.
People just do not understand this.

Actually I went for over a year with only a few seizures a week, which were much less violent, medicating only with about a half to 3/4's gram a day, down from a couple a day with no meds. Smoking more does not seem to reduce the frequency much, but does help with pain levels.
I rarely need to smoke enough during the day to get any kind of a buzz at all, and fall asleep even as I'm beginning to get good and stoned after taking my 1/8th gram bong hit of Train Wreck before turning off the lights at night.
My med strains and regimen are this;
Wake up, and take two hits of White Widow, oe Ace of Spades to start the day. Throughout the day I will take a hit every hour or so of Bubble Gum, AoS, WW, and in the evening switch to Neville's haze, Jack Herrer, or Dairy Queen, ending the day with Train Wreck.
Along with that I take 1500 mgs of Keppra twice a day.
I actually began medicating for pain, tremors in my hands and appetite stimulation more than seizures, but immediately saw a drastic reduction in both severity and duration of my seizures, as well as a great reduction in frequency.
 
Some great info here. Thank you to all who have contributed. I have had grandmal seizures randomly for the past 8 years due to a head Injury at work. I am a long term user of cannabis and also use it medically. I have been very blessed as I am one of the lucky ones that have no seizures for months at a time but the unfortunate thing like spike said. That earthquake eventually comes. I have found that medical marijuana helps me with the anxiety and the apatite and proper sleep patterns as well. I especially use it for anxiety reasons as I find I get an anxiety rush just before a seizure most times. So when it happens during daily life it is worrisome and stressful as I get worried something worse is coming. Another positive thing is I don't like putting pills into my body unless I really need to. I was prescribed loazepam for anxiety and I haven't had to use it in years. The Mary Jane has taken care of me. Medical marijuana in combination with my medication seems to be the key for me. Hope this in combination with other people's feed back will help others.
 
I suffer from seizures I have done since I was three years old and they put me on sodium valeperrait I think that how u spell it any ways I started smoking weed and it slowed my seizures down and the stopped taking the weed and I started fitting constantly so I went back on weed and now I props have a fit ones a month now if that
 
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