Tag: medicinal marijuana

Wha d Jail

buh AA! How did I get so lucky that both my scooters were out of commission at the same time? Just my luck…I won’t bore u with the details but let’s just say that for a few weeks, I was afraid to drive:

* Bumblebee for fear that I turn the handlebar to go right and he went straight.
* Soca Scooter because he might have just stopped working mid-scoot… just writing about it is giving me chills. With no warning one day, he just wouldn’t start moving.  Luckily I wasn’t alone and was close enuf to my car to get in and head home 😳.

Bumbleebee I knew was going to be an easy fix, and happy to report that he is back in business. SS is another story. I actually know what’s wrong but it’s not an easy fix so I have an appointment to take him to a local repair shop in 2 weeks.  Perfect example of “when it rains, it pours”. There is good news though. My hibernation period started a couple weeks ago, so I have not gone stark staring mad because I couldn’t go out the road on SS. Had this happened in September/Octoberish, we would be having a completely different conversation.

i really hope that the cost of repair is reasonable because I’m not ready to give him up. Spree said, “oh no  that can’t be…it’s your “ride or die” scooter”. She was right…we’ve been thru so much together and between the two of them, I definitely feel more comfortable on SS – he’s more stable, he’s faster and then he’s just more appropriate for some things.  Anyhoo, stay tuned for news on that.

In other news, my primary care physician is open to adding me to the medicinal marijuana registry for GA.  The thing is that I find that he is really dragging his feet. If he doesn’t come thru, my Plan C is to (unfortunately) leave the MSCA behind and look into becoming a patient at Shepherd. There is a doctor there who is a huge advocate of MS patients’ use of it.  If I can become his patient, things can move along. I would hate to have to resort to Plan C but a gal has to do what a gal has to do and if the MSCA has decided as an institution not to pursue it as treatment for their patients, I eh vex but if I can become a patient of someone who will, it’s a no brainer to me. One time years ago, I smoked some weed to see if it would help my spasticity at all and it did.  I don’t know for sure that the medicinal marijuana (CBD Oil)  will help me, but I’m willing to give it a try.  With any luck it will and it’ll also lead to a decrease in dosage of (or even completely eliminating) the muscle relaxant pill I currently take. Yet another reason for you to stay tuned.

Ok…that’s it for today; remember you hadda come back for all my updates 😉

That’s it For Now

so therapy’s over. They were 9 well spent hours each of PT and OT. The Shepherd Center and those who work there are amazing (I say this from my personal experience and I’ve heard stories from other people). Anyone out there reading this who is living with MS in the Atlanta area, if you can afford to wait the 2 month waiting period to get in, do it. U won’t regret it and it’s well worth the wait.  There’s also an MS Wellness program that I’d love to join but alas all the sessions/classes offered happen during the day so I can’t join. I was discharged 2 weeks ago but both therapists told me to do things on my own for a couple months and then come back. So that’s what I’ll continue to do until my insurance company puts their foot down.

The very first PT visit started with an evaluation that included a 6 minute walking test and at the end of those 6 minutes, I’d taken 153 steps. During the last session, we reevaluated and in those same 6 minutes, I took 225 steps. I also tested better in some of the strength tests that Ian had done before. Yay!! Improvement is great although i eh go lie, a little part of me was thinking that maybe it was just a better day for me plus the day before had been leg day in the gym – hmmmm…there’s that “glass half empty” person I know. At the end of the reevaluations Ian said, “well. U have 20 more minutes…anything special u want to do?” I eyed the Alter G…it was calling my name. Admittedly, I did much better in it too. The first time, I could only walk at a speed of .3 with some issues and on the last day I was at .4 with no issues. So it’s over for now, back in it sometime in 2018.

the last day…all zippered in

ive never been part of an MS support group or attended any meetings/support sessions. One time years ago, I enrolled in a 6 week wellness class that had been sponsored by the MS society and it just so happened that every single person in the class had MS. I must say it was good to be around people who knew and understood what I was going thru. Some of us tried to keep in touch after but that eventually fizzled to nothing. Rebecca (OT) suggested that I become a part of the support group that meets at Shepherd. They meet on the 2nd Saturday of every month so I went last Sat morning. Two interesting things happened.

* At some point in our discussion -it was only 7 of us, 4 of whom had a neurological disease and I was the only one with MS – the leader of the group said that she could hear it in my voice. Eh? That was a first…well she was referring to the tremor that I mehself sometimes hear. She went as far as to say that had we been talking on the phone, she would have thought that I had MS. Apparently she’s heard the same tremor from multiple MS patients…go figure!
* I met someone who hooked me up with contacts to start my new medication regimen – that of the alternative kind. Ever since medicinal marijuana became legal for some diseases (MS included) in GA, I’ve been telling myself to look into it and I have but I’ve also been dragging my feet (no pun intended). Well this chick was there who strongly advocated for its uses (she herself uses some products to manage her disease) and I knew that I had to stop stickin. I’ve left messages for both my doctors so that hopefully at least one of them will be willing to put me on the registry and I will be on the way. The company to which she referred me makes CBD oil products to be ingested as well as topical massage oils and lotions. I’ve already spoken to the owner…more to come on that.

alright…well I gone so. allyuh do have a great weekend!

P.S. – One of my calls was returned.  the MSCA is not participating in anything related to medicinal marijuana so they won’t add me to the registry.  fingers crossed that my primary care doctor will or else i’ll hadda figure something out.

 

That's it For Now

so therapy’s over. They were 9 well spent hours each of PT and OT. The Shepherd Center and those who work there are amazing (I say this from my personal experience and I’ve heard stories from other people). Anyone out there reading this who is living with MS in the Atlanta area, if you can afford to wait the 2 month waiting period to get in, do it. U won’t regret it and it’s well worth the wait.  There’s also an MS Wellness program that I’d love to join but alas all the sessions/classes offered happen during the day so I can’t join. I was discharged 2 weeks ago but both therapists told me to do things on my own for a couple months and then come back. So that’s what I’ll continue to do until my insurance company puts their foot down.

The very first PT visit started with an evaluation that included a 6 minute walking test and at the end of those 6 minutes, I’d taken 153 steps. During the last session, we reevaluated and in those same 6 minutes, I took 225 steps. I also tested better in some of the strength tests that Ian had done before. Yay!! Improvement is great although i eh go lie, a little part of me was thinking that maybe it was just a better day for me plus the day before had been leg day in the gym – hmmmm…there’s that “glass half empty” person I know. At the end of the reevaluations Ian said, “well. U have 20 more minutes…anything special u want to do?” I eyed the Alter G…it was calling my name. Admittedly, I did much better in it too. The first time, I could only walk at a speed of .3 with some issues and on the last day I was at .4 with no issues. So it’s over for now, back in it sometime in 2018.

the last day…all zippered in

ive never been part of an MS support group or attended any meetings/support sessions. One time years ago, I enrolled in a 6 week wellness class that had been sponsored by the MS society and it just so happened that every single person in the class had MS. I must say it was good to be around people who knew and understood what I was going thru. Some of us tried to keep in touch after but that eventually fizzled to nothing. Rebecca (OT) suggested that I become a part of the support group that meets at Shepherd. They meet on the 2nd Saturday of every month so I went last Sat morning. Two interesting things happened.

* At some point in our discussion -it was only 7 of us, 4 of whom had a neurological disease and I was the only one with MS – the leader of the group said that she could hear it in my voice. Eh? That was a first…well she was referring to the tremor that I mehself sometimes hear. She went as far as to say that had we been talking on the phone, she would have thought that I had MS. Apparently she’s heard the same tremor from multiple MS patients…go figure!
* I met someone who hooked me up with contacts to start my new medication regimen – that of the alternative kind. Ever since medicinal marijuana became legal for some diseases (MS included) in GA, I’ve been telling myself to look into it and I have but I’ve also been dragging my feet (no pun intended). Well this chick was there who strongly advocated for its uses (she herself uses some products to manage her disease) and I knew that I had to stop stickin. I’ve left messages for both my doctors so that hopefully at least one of them will be willing to put me on the registry and I will be on the way. The company to which she referred me makes CBD oil products to be ingested as well as topical massage oils and lotions. I’ve already spoken to the owner…more to come on that.

alright…well I gone so. allyuh do have a great weekend!

P.S. – One of my calls was returned.  the MSCA is not participating in anything related to medicinal marijuana so they won’t add me to the registry.  fingers crossed that my primary care doctor will or else i’ll hadda figure something out.

 

Legalize It…

they say that weed helps with the pain…i don’t know, but when i was going thru my crap in 2007, i tried the weed (mummy, close ur eyes) because the dumb ass neurologist i had at the time, couldn’t tell me anything.  i only did it once or twice – it’s something i didn’t enjoy (i know some people might be gasping in amazement now) and it didn’t help me one bit – maybe because i didn’t smoke it enuf?

Montel Williams used it (not sure if he still does) at some point when the disease was wreaking havoc on his body.  In this interview, he says that it actually helped with some of the other symptoms as well.  Of course, in CA (and a few other states) medicinal marijuana is available.

I was talking to a friend of a friend the other day and he mentioned that his father has MS too.  I’m not sure how he’s been affected or what meds he’s on or anything, but the fella said that about once a month he drops a pound of weed off for his dad to ease the pain. 

Begs the question…should doctors be allowed to prescribe marijuana as part of the MS regimen for their patients if they think that it will help?  sure beats walking around with a pill organiser and popping hundreds of pills at various times in the day…hmmm

Food for thought…

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