Pain - Anxiety & Migraines - Delivery Methods and Dosing Guidelines

SweetSue;2946447 said:

Dosing Update: Additional Information

I spent a good part of the day free-falling through the medical cannabis sites and found myself wandering around the site of one Dr. Frankel. While visiting there I gleaned a smattering of information that would add to our knowledge base.

Focused Dosing

Focused dosing is when the physican, the patient and the dispensary/caregiver all know what's in the medicine. Knowing the concentrations of the major cannabinoids in the medication allows for fine-tuning of the protocol. Dr. Frankel says they can take up to 15 calls or visits to get a protocol dialed in properly.

I also found their rating system interesting. They use a Psychoactive Scale of 1-10, with 1 being almost pure CBD and 10 being almost pure THC.

* 5 on the scale was a 1:1 ratio CBD:THC.
* From 1-5 CBD concentration stays constant as THC increases.
* From 5-10 CBD concentration drops.

He mentioned somewhere that almost 80% of his patients get agitated with high levels of THC. I wasn't aware there were that many people adversely affected by THC. You learn something new everyday.

Migraines

It's easier to prevent migraines than it is to treat them. Dr. Frankel's discovered that a small dose of CBD during the day, every day, will keep most migraines at bay.

If you have a migraine chose a strain with a higher THC ratio.

If you're having a really brutal migraine increase the THC value, at least a 1:1 ratio, but probably higher. Every person is individual.

Chronic Pain

Dr. Frankel splits pain up into two categories

Skeletal pain - Most often, but not confined to joint pain.

Neuropathic Pain - Pain caused by irritation or damage to the myelin sheath protecting the nerves, usually in the form of burning, tingling and numbness.

The narcotics typically dispensed will distance you from the pain but they don't address healing and they come with a host of dangerous side effects.

Orthopedic pain responds well to oral doses of a 1:1 ratio CBD:THC. Neuropathic pain responds even better to that ratio. Of particular notice are the patients who suffer what's referred to as "Suicidal Pain", typically caused by chemotherapeutic drugs or other toxins. Dr. Frankel's practice has seen much better results using cannabis to treat neuropathic pain caused by drugs and toxins than with pinched nerves.

If you're on a medication known to cause neuropathic pain consider a cannabinoid therapy of a 1:1 CBD:THC ratio.

Seizure Disorders

In his practice Dr. Frankel's seen an average of a 65% reduction in seizures with a well-crafted cannabis protocol. He confidentially proclaims that adding CBD to the treatment protocol will reduce seizures by more than 50%.

THC is also an effective seizure medication in its own right. Surprisingly, THCA has proven to be useful for patients who don't get the anticipated relief from CBD therapy.

Traumatic Brain Injury

An interesting point to consider: Israeli soldiers suffering TBI are administered CBD-rich medications in the field. CBD has shown efficacy in preventing damage progression in brain injury. Again, CBD will prevent damage to the brain.

Evidence exists that the same is true for stroke and heart attack. This makes a compelling argument for a daily maintenance dose of CBD as a preventative medication. Dr. Frankel recounts that a number of his patients suffering TBI with memory loss had regained that memory within 4 weeks of initiating CBD therapies.

Anxiety and Insomnia

For someone having difficulty drifting off to sleep, but who stays asleep and wakes refreshed, a little CBD with THC will work fine. A dose as little as 5mg CBD and 5mg THC will do the trick. Some patients will respond to just THC. With cannabis it's always going to be a certain amount of trial and error.

Someone waking frequently, what's referred to as "Early Morning Waking" (EMW) does so at the point when they have cortisol spikes in the system. For someone riddled with anxiety, should that spike occur while stress metabolites are still circulating, waking up is an abrupt start, with extreme difficulty falling back asleep.

Treating anxiety with a small dose of CBD in the daytime hours will help tremendously to reduce early morning awakenings.



And that's all I have for today. Time to unwind. I do hope this helps some of you.

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