My Experience Treating IBS/IBD with Legal Colorado Cannabis in 2015

bdubs504;2841163 said:

In 2013 I was diagnosed with IBS/IBD. In 2015, I moved to Colorado desperate for better quality of life.

My conditions included severe bowel issues (diarrhea), severe nausea, severe pain, and two indicators of something else potentially: extreme weight loss -110 lbs in 2015- and vomiting. My triggers were primarily stress and food.

I had an atypical experience treating my conditions with cannabis, which I’ll explain in a minute, but my methods of consumption were primarily CCO (RSO and C02) and flower, and I experimented with vaped concentrates, rosin, edibles, drinks, patches, tinctures and raw juice.

CCO was the most therapeutic, dosed orally, swallowed whole as is, and it established the baseline of my medical regimen. This was because of its long duration of effect, ability to adjust dosage, potency, and effectiveness for pain, nausea, appetite, energy, stress reduction, and mood enhancement.

I used flower for acute symptoms, and the same with vaping and rosin. Edibles were similar to CCO in terms of duration of effects, but were more costly and less effective (but a nice splurge!). Patches I only experimented with a few times, primarily because of inefficient costs.

CBD tinctures worked well at first, and it was the very first medicine to put my symptoms into remission after they became severe. My best option for acquiring the product at the time, however, was made with a safflower carrier, which can upset the GI tract, so I discontinued use.

(For those interested, I used Haleigh’s Hope -a CBD tincture, now offered with a coconut oil carrier- and is available online nationally.)

Raw juice I only began experimenting with later. It has the tendency to upset some people's stomachs in the first two weeks, but tends to level out for most afterwards. My friend reported her IBS had been in remission for the past two years using raw juice.

Here’s the atypical part:

Believe it or not, I eventually needed at bare minimum 2g/day of high quality, high indica, caregiver made RSO to manage my symptoms. I do not know why, nor did anyone else I spoke with know, but it’s just what my body needed, and thank god, I could tolerate it. (Remember: start low, go slow!)

At the worst times, in order to stay out the hospital, on three occasions I had to use an 8g/day regimen of (apparently) much lesser quality CO2 oil from the dispensary. This was surprising, since CO2 is commonly thought of as the "preferred" CCO, but was found to be far less therapeutic than the "lesser quality" RSO.

I dosed every 6 hours, beginning at 12 am, and only missed doses when I was out of meds. The majority of my symptoms happened in the early morning, so waking up in the middle of the night was not desired, but necessary.

It was important for me to keep food in my stomach, eating and dosing at the same time, with snacks in between as necessary. Eating healthy foods, this is no problem and if served proportionally.

The two doses at 6pm and 12am also helped greatly with my insomnia.

Indica strains are recommended in my experience due to its body relaxation properties, stress/anxiety reduction, sedation for sleep, terpenoid profiles, and overall calming influence. Sativas, on the other hand, can agitate the GI tract.

As far as caregivers and the all-important oil, I went through a dozen different medical and recreational dispensaries and half a dozen private caregivers before finding a couple who made amazing RSO and were wonderful people.

(They believe that one's intention during the production process makes all the difference, as does one’s spiritual regard for the plant and its healing properties. I believed them after getting to feel the difference their oil made in my health, and it was proven by the decrease in required dosing amount.)

Lastly, I began to pay attention to both cannabinoid and terpenoid profiles. The more I educated myself and experimented, the better my selection of strains became, the key element to treatment besides product selection. THC and CBD were the most important cannabinoids, and Myrcene proved the most therapeutic terpenoid.

In sum, cannabis treated my IBS/IBD very well, in addition to other ailments both physical and mental, but problems with the current marketplace exist, even in a place like Colorado. Namely, the accessibility and affordability of quality RSO.

Just as importantly, cannabis gave me a Quality of Life that I have never known before. (If you want to know more about this concept, I encourage you to check out Harborside Dispensary [CA, USA] Founder Steve DiAngelo and his Wellness Theory.)

If you choose this path, keep in mind there is no handbook yet, it is mostly trial and error. Be prepared to climb the mountain. Educate yourself relentlessly. Seek out and stay in touch with supportive community members and other patients, and share your knowledge with others. Spread the word. It is possible, it is real.

Finally, my in-spirit thanks to our dearly departed 420 Motoco (Tim), who helped fast track my self-healing with this plant through his instruction and friendship. He told me to pay it forward. Hope I’ve done you proud, Brother.

~RedSky

Click to expand...