Hey everyone, I guess it’s a bit of a taboo things to talk about here but I’m opening the gateway to discussion because I think it needs more attention….
Is anyone suffering with the over-use of their medication?
I took a long hard look in the mirror and realised I’m probably vaping more than I should, I work from home and having a volcano within arms reach and what seems like a limitless supply of cannabis is a slippery slope. Vaping from 8am until 11pm certainly had me out of pain- but at what expense?
Having operated like this for well over a year I figured it was time for change…
Over a month ago I challenged myself, moved the vape to another room, create a hard non-negotiable with myself that I will not vape before 5pm and will only vape one bowl (instead of the normal 10 a day)
I must say, my life has completely changed for the better, I get all my chores done around the house, garden mown and sorted, car cleaned (not done that myself in over a year) and my business is doing better as a result of my sharpness returning and ability to make swift decisions unhindered by 25% THC hits.
My pain seems to be well managed with the once a day application, but most importantly I’ve been able to display to myself that I’m in control and that I do have boundaries that I myself must respect.
I do feel vaping is very much a habit in itself and so I am going to switch to 100% oils next month and see how that goes.
Anyone else going through or gone through similar?
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33 comments
Spaceman7
- 3y
Rep: 3246 Lvl: Gold
Newbies chatting about addiction are goiny get the full program shut down, have some restraint.
As much as I’d want to vape before work I know I can’t due to working with live electricity, so I don’t.
I get SOME people have addictive personalities but your goiny ruin it for everyone. IMO
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Dudley86
- 3y
Rep: 5933 Lvl: Gold
As someone relatively new to things, it is a concern. I feel I’ve used more than I would ordinarily just by trying to get to grips with vaping and dosing when the medication doesn’t come in pre packaged doses. I know dosing capsules are a thing but these don’t work with all vapes, afaik.
I spoke to my consultant about it at my follow up as I found I was feeling too impaired at times and have been prescribed a different dose for daytime. Consultant has assured me my dose is actually very low, less than 1g a week. I’ve found the oil a bit easier than flower in terms of dosing and have never overdone it on the oil. Whereas I’ve definitely ended up in space on the flower with no intention at all, it just seems to depend on so many different things, how much I’ve eaten, how much exercise I’ve done that day.
It seems a double edged sword, part of the safety of cannabis seems to be the fact that there is not necessarily any immediate or serious harm in overdoing it, particularly on one occasion. It can in fact be enjoyable. Over time though this could of course be detrimental to functioning and getting things done.
I think psychological dependence is a very complex area that warrants further discussion, particularly for those that may be medicating for mental health disorders. There needs to be a multi pronged approach and transparency and feedback between all providers of secondary care. I think certainly it can be hugely beneficial but I wonder how realistic it is (given the stigma surrounding cannabis use) that talk therapy providers are onboard with working with folk prescribed mc for mental health reasons. I’d love to hear how that works from those prescribed mc purely for mental health reasons. I’m prescribed for pain and sleep but have realised how beneficial it is to my wellbeing too.
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MelvinMC
- 3y
Rep: 5939 Lvl: Gold
This is what I've never been able to understand about MC, I've even brought concerns of addiction or misuse of my cannabis to my consultants and they've just suggested other strains. What's even harder is medicating when prescribed for MH. I'm prescribed for depression and at first it was great, it took a bug edge off the depression and I was functional enough to get things done without crying in a heap on the floor.
Now I'm depressed every moment from waking up to sleeping, with a slight relief for about 20 mins after medicating. I've started anti ds again (though not working) but a lot of my depression comes from my other illnesses and having no help for them (possible adhd, recently diagnosed with fibromyalgia and IBS) so at any given point I'm struggling with something and turn to Cannabis hoping it may fix it. Unfortunately I get similar responses from the clinic too.
It also confuses me when people say take a T break. You wouldn't say have an anti depressants break as anti depressants being stopped abruptly can lead to serious withdrawl and suicide. I'd probably need a break of 2 weeks with cannabis, I sure as hell know with the withdrawl symptoms (depression, insomnia and nausea) that I probably wouldn't survive that t-break, so is it something I should still do?
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Samhoi
- 3y
Rep: 5756 Lvl: Gold
Finally someone with the kahoonas to say the down falls, everyone talks about how good it is and the verities but for someone that also struggles I feel like I have to shut up about my dependencies
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Steveo
- 3y
Rep: 3994 Lvl: Gold
It's not overuse cause how can it be if you have a script for a certain amount. You are medicated under that prescription.
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Wendy85
- 3y
Rep: 4019 Lvl: Gold
I was "self medicating" through BM 24/7 for many years. Switching to legal, I didn't reduce the amount but the benefits of knowing what I was doing is legal reduced my anxiety by so much that it changed my life for the better.
I'm an anxious mess without it, and now it just makes me feel normal. No issues getting things done, there's been some months where I've had a little left at the end of the month (prescribed 60g/mo) and then the next month I've needed it as I've had more social appointments in the next.
I think it's easy to be lazy on cannabis, but it's also a great motivator. I feel 100% better doing anything medicated, even chores. I can actually relax and just enjoy the task I'm doing without all of my.. up there problems going on.
It's different for everyone, great post, thanks for sharing. Let us know how the oils go, I'm curious myself but I really enjoy the ritual, handling the flower, grinding it up. It's part of the relax time for me.
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Dinamus
- 3y
Rep: 3825 Lvl: Gold
I hear you man. All good and valid points, I generally agree.
I have severe me/CFS and life is really bad, so I am just consuming as much as I want to keep the worst of things at bay. It’s not likely to change but my illness is not likely to go away either
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Bobarboy
- 3y
Rep: 3930 Lvl: Gold
Wow. Looks like there’s a lot of talk to be had on this one! Maybe time for clinics to implement more screening/help for patients for this kind of issue or signs of addiction developing.
Shout out to everyone who commented, remember who’s in control here 👊
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Jax
- 3y
Rep: 4153 Lvl: Gold
No I use much much less since I've been vaping
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Yvonne
- 3y
Rep: 4602 Lvl: Gold
It’s a relevant discussion and one to be acknowledged. Any one denying it is only going to hurt the cause, you can miss use lots of prescribed meds.
Those screaming theee can never be any issues with cannabis are the ones that ironically will knock us back a few steps in getting its perception changed
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Ivano
- 3y
Rep: 3589 Lvl: Gold
I think you are not alone in this especially if you moved from medicating from the BM, in my experience I would get 'recreational strains', high THC in my case, and then separate strains for medicating more balanced with CBD and THC and would treat them accordingly recreational like a good night out not so often and medicating with a journal to keep track of effects and how it worked on my body.
I struggled at first with going through way more then I was prescribed and it was because I had to draw the line on what's recreational and what's medical.
I'm my experience although it's not legal, so at your own risk and budget depending, get some BM bud to have for fun and keep what you medicate with as just that - medication like a paracetamol small doses split thought the day if you struggle with 'as needed' you will notice yourself using less in general, this is dependent on your condition and what your recreational use is like.
It helped me find the line and also cut down almost completely on my recreational because it does but it into perspective like drink counting.
(Not that being a full timer stoner is a bad thing, if everyone was stone all the time we would have a much more peaceful world)
Hope this helps 🙂
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Trippy
- 3y
Rep: 3941 Lvl: Gold
It's all about when the negative benefits start to increase and outweigh the positive imho. Same with most things. If that's so pull back
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TravisMe
- 3y
Rep: 3992 Lvl: Gold
I’m tight, so unnecessarily burning money is not something I struggle with. 😎
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Richie
- 3y
Rep: 4049 Lvl: Gold
Yes. I think it's hard when there isn't appropriate healthcare. It's very easy for me to fall into despair. I realise that no help is coming, so it stops mattering as much. If this is all I have, is it the worst thing in the world for me to stay up all night vaping so long as I'm still alive? Who knows
But I walk every day + I always make my own dinner. I keep this routine. I think so long as I can keep managing that, it's maybe not the end of the world? A tolerance break seems like a terrible idea. Leaving me all alone w nobody + not even a medication I can have to help. Just agony. So I let myself keep toeing this line between problematic + medical usage. F it. Nobody cares anyway 😅
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Porgo
- 3y
Rep: 4470 Lvl: Gold
fuck it, too many wasted hours overthinking this, it is what it is, do what you like, there’s no right or wrong , what you’re doing is currently the right thing, chill
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Cappy8
- 3y
Rep: 3781 Lvl: Gold
No
1
Feala
- 3y
Rep: 3960 Lvl: Gold
This is a really honest and thought provoking post and you’re not alone; it’s easy to over-medicate. Of course it’s easy to say “less is more” and most [informed] people will know that using too much deteriorates those all-important receptors and, ironically, in spite of bigger bowls and more frequent sessions, it just doesn’t hit the same. I’ve made a concerted effort to reduce my intake if the symptoms for which I’m being treated are mild; if they are a challenge my usage reflects that.
I think dry herb vaping also makes it too easy to over use…back in the day, I’d be outside in the cold smoking. When you’re inside and comfortable it’s easy to fire up your vape whatever you’re doing.
That being said, I generally try not to medicate until the afternoon/evening, and to this end, it’s quite satisfying when that evening session hits like a wake-and-bake.
What’s really helped me is to set aside one day a week where you abstain if your condition allows you to. You know it’s coming so it’s not like you’ve just run out. It’s cheesy but…I have *Weedless Wednesdays*. It’s a money saver and that Thursday puff is always the shiz! ✌🏻
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Lodon
- 3y
Rep: 3538 Lvl: Gold
I have to be really strict with myself. I have decided I won’t vape until after 5pm and I also have two/three days a week where I don’t smoke.
I was initially smoking daily and realised it wasn’t a good move. Now I’d say I’m actually medicating with it and it’s worked really well.
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Porgo
- 3y
Rep: 4470 Lvl: Gold
If I’ve got no work I’ll hammer it morning til night. Working days might only have 2 vapes night.
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Trippy
- 3y
Rep: 3941 Lvl: Gold
Personally when I was with Lyphe they essentially acted as a pill mill in my case. I was prescribed for anxiety and ended up going from 1/4 (7g) a week / 1oz (28g) a month BM to 60g a month prescribed high THC low CBD. My GAD7 and PHQ9 scores were never checked in the follow up appointments I had and the Dr’s never asked me much apart from what strains I wanted. There were other factors at play not just my prescription cannabis but I ended up having a psychotic episode and getting sectioned for 2 months. I’m considering whether to pursue them for lack of medical care and medical negligence as in my final appointment with them it would definitely have been apparent that I was manic or becoming that way especially if my mood and anxiety levels had actually been monitored properly and consistently.
1
JonEmalo
- 3y
Rep: 4834 Lvl: Gold
Yes, I vape more than I should. It just becomes habitual and I absentmindedly load or smoke a new bowl before I even realise I’m doing it sometimes.
1
Lodon
- 3y
Rep: 3538 Lvl: Gold
I work from home, but I don’t medicate while I work.
Instead I get more and more manic through the day 😂 then medicate over I finish work. This works well for me and the tech work I do.
Aside from that my usage varies. Harder times and more stress means more used.
I also use more in winter than summer.
I try not to stress about it and allow my dosage to vary like that.
I am 45 though, and I’ve been honing this for years
1
HenryBig
- 3y
Rep: 4657 Lvl: Gold
Yeah I vape more than I thought especially now I legally can, I’m going to try the strong oil T100 instead of the t20 c10 I’m on now to reduce flower usage, heard it’s been a game changer for some not for others time will tell good luck my volcano needs locking up too ✌️
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Charlesfluit
- 3y
Rep: 4074 Lvl: Gold
Definitely when I was younger, but not so much addiction. It was more so boredom that did it for me. Boy did starting a career fix that (but brought on different issues)
It may be a different story if I allowed myself to vape inside but I don’t. Also, my condition is manageable through the day (most days), so I rarely feel the need to medicate until after work. I feel that routine is imperative.
Noted you mentioned the script is for pain - Have you thought about asking for Type II / Balanced strains? I’m prescribed 10g of Best Choice for the day (5:10). It’s really surprising how good of a job it does without entirely zonking you. Appreciate that may go back on the great work you’ve done cutting down, but suggesting as a point of there is a middle ground available if you do find issues going forwards.
1
Ellisahen
- 3y
Rep: 5783 Lvl: Gold
Three day tolerance break every few months and a month long T break every year or so helps me. If you can stand it from a treatment point of view.
1
KevinBop
- 3y
Rep: 3739 Lvl: Gold
Big ups.
I think people still blur the line between Medicinal Cannabis, and Legal Weed from a Controlled Source, with an ever expanding menu.
The market is going both ways. We are too heavily influenced by the American recreational markets, weed is mostly sold on THC content alone, rather than the therapeutic terpene effects. Add a healthy dose of California Capitalism, and it has become a gentrified habit of the elite owned by corporations with zero interest in public health.
I wake up in the morning, have a double whiskey before I get out of bed. After my shower, I smash a vodka orange. I have a headache from yesterday's stress, so i'll chase it with an Irish coffee. Lunch? Not feeling too peckish, so i'll have a couple of glasses of wine. For a mid afternoon snack, 2 beers. Dinner is another glass of wine, and finish the bottle on the way to bed, with a shot of Grappa just before I turn off the lights.
Sounds f'in horrible, doesn't it?
I always say treat it like alcohol. Would a 25% wine automatically be better than an 11%? Anti-freeze is alcoholic, but will make you blind, but at 90% you could charge quadruple, and if people choose to drink a pint of it and die, that is their fault.
Smoke weed erryday. Snoop Dogg. Wiz Khalifa. High Focus records. Stoner movies. American celebrities with their own brands. Tory politicians all lying about having a puff at uni but not inhaling, to try and curry favour with "people in tracksuits".
I think it is promoted because the only person you really harm, is yourself. Nobody has ever smoked 3 bowls and gone out to rob a bookies and get in a car chase to buy their next bag. But they will miss their appointments, interviews, be late for work, have their car seized in a traffic stop, forget things, eat unhealthily, and not feel bad about it in any way at all.
The lazy stoner is a stereotype for a reason, but it is through apathy towards importance, rather than laziness.
I was putting away an 8th a day when playing sport, recovery was on point, never missed a training session, injuries very few and far between, reactions comparable to a test cricket middle order batsman (I was on the same page as Flintoff on the touring bleep light machine test, nowhere near the F1 drivers, but surrounded by a lot of Finnish names so I assume rally). Then again, I had no talent, hard work and willpower were what carried me up the levels (as well as my team mates)
Personally I can't get things done unless I am medicated. Paradox medical reaction, stimulants make me sleep, MC makes my wind work. If I still had a volcano, i'd still be hitting gram bags every few hours. I am getting the same effect out of 1/4 the amount in a Pax, but saving 4x the money. I also have a dynavap B on order for microdosing
Changing habits can be hard if you try to change too much at once. Moving it to another room was a great idea, out of sight, out of mind. Some choose to continue the frequency of usage, but reduce material amount, others reduce frequency but maintain size, a bit of both will bring you to where you need to be
'Scuse the essay, but conversations like this need to be had, and proper info shared for people looking for it. It is easier to google for help someone has already asked than put yourself out there like you have. Big respect!
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Hal9
- 3y
Rep: 4703 Lvl: Gold
I genuinely feel like doctors here are possibly letting patients lead a bit too much without considering the consequences, but so many will just use other sources if a doctor says no to the dose they want. Having your receptors flooded daily might be needed for some conditions like epilepsy, but it's not without potential side effects in systems they don't even realise. Cannabis has biphasic actions and at high doses does cause the down regulation of endocannabinoids and receptors that do have a number of jobs in the body (that's part of why you end up with insomnia and pain if you take a break after a lengthy period of treatment)
I've never tolerated THC at high doses during the day, it makes my mind too cloudy, but so many other pharmaceutical meds do too. It's about balance and using the safest/effective medicine to meet your needs as a patient at a given point in time.
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foztrott
- 3y
Rep: 6494 Lvl: Gold
I had to learn what amount is good enough for me to manage my conditions as I found before I may have been overusing unnecessarily now I vape 4 times a day which amounts to 1gram a day my first vape of the day starts as soon as I feel pain coming on where as before I was in the habit of just having a wake and bake. After that my doses are usually 3 hours apart but it really does depend on how I feel at the time I have really bad days where I may have to use abit extra.
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CharlesHob
- 3y
Rep: 3613 Lvl: Gold
Self discipline is key
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Steveo
- 3y
Rep: 3994 Lvl: Gold
Less is more
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HenryBig
- 3y
Rep: 4657 Lvl: Gold
Yup it can happen, i personally have struggled with addiction problems all my teenage/adult life but managed to stop around 10years ago. The overuse of things has been a problem in my life on and off now for quite a while, i found just having a break as hard as it is can help, to me its like hitting a reset button. I had to stop oils as i was using them way too much because its quick and convinient takes seconds. It all coincides with building a tolerance to cannabis aswell i think though. Hope you manage through it i know personally can be a rough time mentally
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AlanVem
- 3y
Rep: 3825 Lvl: Gold
Btw, in my experience pills work in a very different way, so a straight away might not be the best way to go. (IMHO of course)
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Porgo
- 3y
Rep: 4470 Lvl: Gold
I've recently taken a small tolerance break because of this and it really helps, but takes so much will power (and fails for me 95% of the time)
I also have had similar issues with diazepam and morphine previously, both prescribed, and I found the was surprisingly little help. I also struggle to manage alcohol and food intake, all 'me' problems too.
It's such an easy thing to do when you're fed up of 24/7 pain. Don't be too hard on yourself - I've often found that the first step in dealing with this is acknowledging, so kudos 👍
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