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Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of, and finding treatments for, complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia, long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.
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If I could find something that gave me restful sleep, my life would be immensely improved. I think those who experience pain as a symptom would also greatly benefit from pain relief.That being said, I don't believe you'll find a strain that brings significant relief from CFS, however you might find one that brings some relief and that's better than none.
everyone reacts differently MMJ so it's hard to say what will work for any one person. I am extremely sensitive to MMJ and 99% of the strains I've tried leave me CRIPPLED with anxiety.
I am trying to find a CBD brand/form that is effective for pain. But I'm new to this area. Does anyone have a recommendation for a particular brand or else know of a resource that can help me sort through this? Appreciate any feedback that you might have
As for my own personal experience, out of the strains I've tried, Harlequin is definitely my favorite. It makes me feel relaxed and calm and helps my pain a bit, without making me feel drowsy or heavy. It's much lower in THC (and higher in CBD) than most strains so I can tolerate it better. I can still over-do it though so I have to be careful.
ACDC, Harle-Tsu, & Canna-Tsu are supposed to be similar to Harlequin but none of the local dispensaries carry them so I don't know for sure.
Sour diesel is good when I can get the right dosage. Unfortunately I've only managed to do that once. When it happened, I felt happy, energetic, and giggly. Every other time I was panicking for hours and was extremely uncomfortable. Not fun.
The other strain I've tried is called Pre-98 Bubba Kush. It helped with pain and relaxation but made me reeeeally drowsy and heavy feeling so it's not one of my favorites.
Hi CFS_for_19_year,I can vouch that these strains are also popular in Washington state. I also agree that Leafly is a good resource as a way to get to know some of the strains. When in doubt, ask the bud tender if they have any recommendations.
Caffeine doesn't seem to affect me either. I only have one cup most days, but I recall this from previously.I must have developed cannabinoid autoantibodies. I am also immune to caffeine and opioids.
I smoked bud for a good year of this terrible disease, felt good the whole time, thought it would cure me as I seemed to have more energy after smoking but it never came to pass and eventually I abandoned it since it made it hard to tell if I was getting reactions from the medicines I was testing
I found this piece very interesting.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-that-maui-wowie-doesnt-hit-you-the-same-way-every-time/
Basically there has not been the kind of r&d on weed that there has been on other agricultural products and the branding is often completely out of whack.
While a granny smith apple is more or less the same everywhere, sour diesel kush means one thing in one shop and one thing somewhere else, even if the people selling have the best intentions.
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Holmes’s company has an online data visualization showing genetic relationships between samples of cannabis DNA that have been submitted to it by people from all over the world. About 20 percent to 30 percent of the time, he told me, the samples they test won’t be even remotely related to other samples sold under the same “variety” name. That’s similar to results that a Canadian research team got in 2015, when it found that 35 percent of its samples were more genetically similar to samples with a different name than to samples with the same name. Holmes said that these distinctions can matter to recreational consumers who had a bad experience on a certain variety and want to avoid it in the future.
That also applies to people who are picking their weed based on the broad “family” categories of sativa and indica. The former is often said to produce highs that make you feel energetic and creative, while the latter is supposedly the stuff that makes you fall asleep on the couch after 15 minutes. But “it’s all just a big myth,” Holmes said. And other scientists agreed. The 2015 Canadian study, for instance, found that even though there is some evidence that cannabis could be organized into two families with distinct traits (and even that is the subject of scientific debate), those “sativa” and “indica” designations aren’t really meaningful to the consumer market, because of both cross-breeding that muddies the distinction and simple mistaken identity. In one case, a variety called Jamaican Lambs Bread, which was supposed to be a sativa, was nearly genetically identical to a supposed indica variety from Afghanistan. Both the names of cannabis varieties and the indica/sativa division should be thought of as fungible marketing, not accurate biology.
This is why I said the following:I suspect this is the truest article about medical cannabis I have read for some time. Branding of (ex or current) black market products is never going to be taxonomy.
Your best bet is to sample various strains from growers you know and go back to the ones that give you relief. I have rubbed elbows with a lot of growers here is Washington State. Labels of strains are just that, labels.
I can't decide if this is admirable or stupid. You gave up something that made you feel good with more energy in order to more accurately test medicines, which presumably may or may not help? What medicines are these, or is there more to the story?
This is why I said the following:
If you can go back to the same source where you found a strain that you liked, you will have the best chance of getting something that came from the same grower.
In the medical marijuana forum I belonged to, when growers were searching for strains they wanted to grow they asked for cuts that came from a specified grower in the forum.
I wanted to test supplements in general then once I've found something that works I read up on it and start testing similar things. I've found a number of them to help since I stopped smoking:
D-ribose, Coq10, carnitine, powdered nutrients like whey protein and pea protein, beta glucan, theanine, and a number of others.
I couldn't stay stoned forever, i want to get back to having a normal life and being able to work, I don't have endless funds or anything. The weed might ave made me feel good but i don't know that the energy I got from it was from increased health or just from the stimulant type effects of the drug, I would still get tired if I'd do things while stoned. Though, that being said, I really do want to get stoned, it was so much more fun being stoned when my health wasn't in the dumps and I could go on trips with my friends, doing things here and there out in nature.
I was agreeing with you about this.I suspect this is the truest article about medical cannabis I have read for some time. Branding of (ex or current) black market products is never going to be taxonomy.
Yeah that sucks, unless you are really lucky and find a consistently good source. Growers usually like to keep the best for themselves and their buddies.Well yes I saw that. Unfortunately it is not much help to me as I live in the UK and my only choice really was to buy whatever was offered on the street.
Agree with you on every point.Fair enough.
I found cannabis very useful to alleviate some unpleasant ME symptoms for a good few years, and just as important it gave me a sense that enjoyment is possible in my life, rather than just a mitigation of the misery so I can get on with necessary chores.
Whether this is escapism or pragmatism depends on the context I suppose. I have been marginalised for so long by being unable to work because of illness that I am less concerned with any moral arguments about what is right. I am however concerned about further damaging my health and, unfortunately, recent reactions to cannabis leads me to conclude it might not be doing me any good now, even if it was in the past.