My Personal N=1

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Thanks, Nak.

Compared to the other tries I've made at cutting back on the meds, this one is just going so wonderfully smoothly despite traveling and some stressful circumstances (taking care of my elderly mom plus the general holiday mayhem). I am really pleased.

Things that are helping from where I see it:

1) Taking the taper super slowly
2) Holden's Hope cannabis paste
3) My other fun cannabis edibles
 
speaking of Holdens Hope....
I am going to Florida on Sunday and am surprised that I have not received any tracking info for my batch.....
Better check into that today.
I am so happy that you are going so very well!!!
 
Happy travels, Deeds.

I just got home this evening from a month in San Diego. It is so wonderful to be home.
Now what I need is a good uninterrupted ten hours of sleep.

While traveling I managed to acquire a stupid little cold. Combination of stress, lack of sleep, etc. Also, I know those of you who live where it snows might think I'm crazy but it was bleeping *cold* in San Diego. Especially for someone who doesn't own much in the way of warm clothing.

Be good to yourself while traveling and recognize it for the stressor it is.
 
Thanks!!
We arrived last night, I was so excited to get my HH!
It definitely smells more hemp ish than does Charlotte's Web.
I am glad you arrived home, safely.
How goes the weaning?? Well I hope....
Hope you got your 10 hours of sleep.
 
Good Morning

Yes I slept for 12 hours. Mmmm. That helps.

I have found that the HH paste can dry out a bit and get a little crumbly once the jar has been opened for a while. Mixing in a bit of coconut oil can fix this and make it tastier too.

The Charlotte's Web stuff is an extract whereas the Holden's Hope stuff is the whole plant ground into the oil so yes, it is going to smell more "hemp-ish". I hope it works as well for you as it is for me.

I was really pleased that the HH as well as my California acquired MJ edibles all made it though the baggage check process.

Nine more days until I can make the final 25% cut and toss one of my two meds entirely. Anybody want a slightly used bottle of Valproic Acid about 3/4 full? Somebody else on the board was talking about how to get rid of unwanted prescriptions safely. Maybe we could start an AED swap website:)
 
hey, that should be our biggest problem....
drug disposal
sadly, I doubt it will happen to me but I have decided to stay in ketosis while I am here, my eating habits were getting ugly but I aint doing 100 g of fat, just gonna eat healthfully.
Packing to come to Florida was quite depressing, all my bathing suits were 2 sizes too small.
Lovely.

:bigmouth::bigmouth::bigmouth::bigmouth::bigmouth::bigmouth::bigmouth:
 
Getting the VpA out of my system seems to be helping with the weight issue too. I'm not even doing any particular "dieting" but jeans that haven't buttoned in a while are buttoning with ease.

When my father passed away, I was left with a pile of various old prescriptions. I called Kaiser (his HMO) to see if they would take them back and here is what they told me to do. They said I should take all the meds and put them in a bowl with some water until they were all dissolved and then dig a hole in the yard and bury the resulting glop. Huh? Really?
 
Oh, I didn't want to risk that so I put all the pills in a baggie and the next time I was at the doctor's office, I slipped it into the red box on the wall where they puts sharps and other medically hazardous waste. I figured since Kaiser overprescribed all of that junk in the first place, it was their problem to deal with.
 
Now I have the problem of two huge jars of Valproic Acid sitting around. Not a bad "problem" to have all things considered. Anybody want some second hand VpA?

Four days into the last step down off the VpA to none at all and all is going well. Sleeping great, no sleep disturbances.

I'm going to give the old bod a chance to get used to this state of affairs before cutting back on the Phenobarbitol.

I may sound like a broken record but I really think anyone who has "tried everything" but hasn't been able to get their seizures under control should consider trying cannabis in some form or another. I really think it is making a major difference in my health. I don't know if I will have to continue using it permanently or it is also possible that cannabis is sort of like a methadone program for AED junkies. It may just ease the transition off un-needed meds

I wonder how many people are out there who really don't need the AEDs they are taking except for the very real issue that withdrawal of the meds can cause seizures.

The cannabis seems to me to be the way to break out of the Catch 22.
 
Good to hear that things are still going well AB!

As for getting rid of the VpA, in the U.S. there's a "National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day" (sounds like a fun holiday :)) when you can drop off unused meds with designated local authorities. More info here http://www.takebackyourmeds.org/dea-events and here http://www.takebackyourmeds.org/what-you-can-do/locations/temporary-drop-off-locations

It would be great if the meds could go to needy patients, but there doesn't seem to be an official way to arrange it if the rx has been partially used. If the meds are unopened and unexpired they can be donated via www.sirum.org
 
Hey Aloha,
You sound great, I am thrilled that you are doing so well.
I ot a really bad cold in Florida, right after I fell and had to get my head stapled.
I started taking cold meds which helped congestion wise but obviously seizure wise.....
oh dear.
My sister and brother in law just returned from Hawaii with their 5 kids (15,17,19,21,23)
anyway, they said is was SPECTACULAR!!!!!
They were blown away by all the rainbows.
Happy Healthy New Year to you,
Also, I totally believe that many of the drugs I take too much of are a direct fear of withdrawal issue.I have a potent benzo coursing thru my body.....or cursing? or both?
Talk soon,
Dd
 
Good to hear that things are still going well AB!

As for getting rid of the VpA, in the U.S. there's a "National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day" (sounds like a fun holiday :)) when you can drop off unused meds with designated local authorities. More info here http://www.takebackyourmeds.org/dea-events and here http://www.takebackyourmeds.org/what-you-can-do/locations/temporary-drop-off-locations

It would be great if the meds could go to needy patients, but there doesn't seem to be an official way to arrange it if the rx has been partially used. If the meds are unopened and unexpired they can be donated via www.sirum.org
Good info. Thanks, Nak. Unfortunately, on my little backwoods island, there aren't any official take back locations.

That Sirium service looks great but I got the impression they were only collecting from clinics and other health facilities, not from individual people.
 
Hey Aloha,
You sound great, I am thrilled that you are doing so well.
I ot a really bad cold in Florida, right after I fell and had to get my head stapled.
I started taking cold meds which helped congestion wise but obviously seizure wise.....
oh dear.
My sister and brother in law just returned from Hawaii with their 5 kids (15,17,19,21,23)
anyway, they said is was SPECTACULAR!!!!!
They were blown away by all the rainbows.
Happy Healthy New Year to you,
Also, I totally believe that many of the drugs I take too much of are a direct fear of withdrawal issue.I have a potent benzo coursing thru my body.....or cursing? or both?
Talk soon,
Dd
Thank you. I feel great. I got a cold in San Diego and you got one in Florida. What is this with going to warm places and catching colds?

There have been a couple of threads lately about decongestants and other cold meds lowering seizure thresholds. I just do the chicken soup and rest method. The cold meds don't really cure anything, they just postpone the symptoms a bit.

Hawaii is spectacular. The most amazing rainbows and sunsets are just sort of ordinary around here.

Have you tried the Holden's Hope paste yet?

There is something just so massively back-ass-wards about taking meds for seizures not because the meds really stop the seizures but because stopping the meds would cause seizures. What is wrong with this picture?
:soap:
 
Well, I'm one half of a month into life without Valproic Acid :woot:

Sleeping and feeling great. And I've lost four pounds without even trying. :banana:


I have gotten a bit of a harvest from my MMJ plantings (several of the plants died but a couple of them made it). I am going to try making my own Holden's Hope paste and see how that goes.
 
I'm so pleased to read that stuff seems to be going great for you and you are proactive and taking the responsibility to self advocate.
One thing I'm in awe with you AB is that you are on your own and you are very self sufficient and resilient person. :)
Please keep us informed.
 
How great!!
I quite like Holden's Hope! They called me on Tuesday to see how I was doing and they told me that I could totally increase the dosage, and I have decided to stay in Ketosis and smoke more pot and...... very few seizures.
So interesting.
When you smoke too much you don't have much energy.
 
There is something just so massively back-ass-wards about taking meds for seizures not because the meds really stop the seizures but because stopping the meds would cause seizures. What is wrong with this picture?
:soap:[/QUOTE]

This is exactly what My Hubs originally thought was quite paradoxical when we went through some really negatives issues with some of those meds. He was quite instrumental in getting me to think broadly about interactions and side effects.
Its quite scary reading those leaflets info that comes with the meds.
 
How great!!
I quite like Holden's Hope! They called me on Tuesday to see how I was doing and they told me that I could totally increase the dosage, and I have decided to stay in Ketosis and smoke more pot and...... very few seizures.
So interesting.
When you smoke too much you don't have much energy.
That's great! I'm glad it seems to be working for you. The HH folks really are awesome on the customer service front.

I have found that if I take a larger amount of the HH paste, I tend to sleep longer and later. I'm figuring out my individual optimal dose as I go along. Enough to help me get to sleep and sleep soundly but not so much that I sleep through the whole morning.
 
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