Robert Celt
New Member
A Cambridge teen was recently approved for a medical cannabis prescription to treat a mitochondrial disease that has caused her to have hundreds of seizures and a number of strokes. The drug, combined with two others, will replace the 13 medications she has to take daily to manage her pain.
Megan Servaty, a senior at Cambridge-Isanti High School, was diagnosed with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes, or MELAS, in 2011. MELAS negatively affects many bodily systems, causing those with the condition to develop unpredictable sickness and seizures. The drug will treat her headaches, nausea and chronic body pain caused by lactic acid buildup and hopefully prolong her life.Connexus WiFi Jan 16 Rectangle
The Minnesota Legislature legalized the medical marijuana program in May 2014 and the drug became available on July 1, 2015. It is considered one of the strictest cannabis programs in the country; only oil, gel and pill forms are permitted.
Only nine conditions currently qualify a person for the Minnesota cannabis program including epilepsy, cancer and glaucoma. There are currently 1,041 Minnesotans on the cannabis registry.
Participants of the cannabis program must be approved by certified doctors to be placed on the state registry. Patients pay an annual fee of $200 to the state.
Medical cannabis is not obtained from pharmacies; patients can fill their prescriptions at one of three dispensaries located throughout the state. By this spring, there will be a dispensary in one of each of the eight congressional districts. Minnesota authorizes dispensaries to distribute a 30-day supply of the medication at a time.
Since marijuana grows from a plant, manufacturing companies are required to extract the active ingredients from the leaves and turn them into pills and oils for medical use. This process is expensive and patients pay steep prices for the medication. There is no insurance coverage available, as the drug is federally classified as a schedule 1 substance with no medical use.
Lee Servaty, Megan's father and sole caregiver, will have to pay around $700 to $1,200 per month for Megan's medical cannabis from Minnesota dispensaries. The total of her medications will cost around $30,000 per year, none of which will be covered by insurance.
Megan's half-brother died at 14 from MELAS in 2003.
Servaty decided to pursue a medical cannabis prescription for Megan this year following two severe strokes.
"All they can do is treat the symptoms," he said. "I know (cannabis) isn't going to kill her or give her side effects."
Medical cannabis gel, combined with a mitochondrial cocktail, will drastically reduce the amount of medication Megan has to take.
She first experienced seizures in 2010.
"I heard some noises in her room. Odd noises," her father said. "I just happened to walk in (her bedroom) and she was in a full-blown catatonic seizure."
She was diagnosed with MELAS, a progressive neurodegenerative disease, in 2011 and was put on 16 different medications to treat her symptoms.
"(Megan has) been off and on all the different prescriptions," he said. "I'm not too fond of pounding all the medicine in her."
Since Megan's strokes are a symptom of her disease and are not caused by a clot or a bleed, they cannot be treated. Servaty and his daughter have been in and out of the hospital since she was diagnosed. She will graduate high school this year thanks to an individualized education program, but spent about half of her career there in the hospital or at home sick.
"With MELAS, it's totally unknown," Servaty said. "She'll be in school for a week and be all great and happy and have no seizures for a couple weeks then have a few in a row."
Due to the constant trauma to her brain, Megan has memory loss, constant headaches, eyesight loss and balance issues.
"There's no good outcome," her father said. "Hopefully what will happen is she will have a stroke and pass away in her sleep. We live our life 24/7 around MELAS. She's a tough girl. She cries once in awhile, but she does it."
Servaty is unable to work, aside from being Megan's caregiver. He has started a Go Fund Me campaign to help with the costs of Megan's medicines. The website can be found at gofundme.com/meganshealth.
"I know that I'm not going to live long, however what time I have left I want to enjoy," Megan writes on the page. "I am in truly need of your help as well as indebted to you all for adding days I can spend with the ones I love and experience life."
"We're doing this to prolong her life and ease her pain," Servaty said.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Local Teen Approved For Minnesota's Medical Marijuana Program
Author: Ashley Haynes
Photo Credit: None found
Website: Isanti County News
Megan Servaty, a senior at Cambridge-Isanti High School, was diagnosed with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes, or MELAS, in 2011. MELAS negatively affects many bodily systems, causing those with the condition to develop unpredictable sickness and seizures. The drug will treat her headaches, nausea and chronic body pain caused by lactic acid buildup and hopefully prolong her life.Connexus WiFi Jan 16 Rectangle
The Minnesota Legislature legalized the medical marijuana program in May 2014 and the drug became available on July 1, 2015. It is considered one of the strictest cannabis programs in the country; only oil, gel and pill forms are permitted.
Only nine conditions currently qualify a person for the Minnesota cannabis program including epilepsy, cancer and glaucoma. There are currently 1,041 Minnesotans on the cannabis registry.
Participants of the cannabis program must be approved by certified doctors to be placed on the state registry. Patients pay an annual fee of $200 to the state.
Medical cannabis is not obtained from pharmacies; patients can fill their prescriptions at one of three dispensaries located throughout the state. By this spring, there will be a dispensary in one of each of the eight congressional districts. Minnesota authorizes dispensaries to distribute a 30-day supply of the medication at a time.
Since marijuana grows from a plant, manufacturing companies are required to extract the active ingredients from the leaves and turn them into pills and oils for medical use. This process is expensive and patients pay steep prices for the medication. There is no insurance coverage available, as the drug is federally classified as a schedule 1 substance with no medical use.
Lee Servaty, Megan's father and sole caregiver, will have to pay around $700 to $1,200 per month for Megan's medical cannabis from Minnesota dispensaries. The total of her medications will cost around $30,000 per year, none of which will be covered by insurance.
Megan's half-brother died at 14 from MELAS in 2003.
Servaty decided to pursue a medical cannabis prescription for Megan this year following two severe strokes.
"All they can do is treat the symptoms," he said. "I know (cannabis) isn't going to kill her or give her side effects."
Medical cannabis gel, combined with a mitochondrial cocktail, will drastically reduce the amount of medication Megan has to take.
She first experienced seizures in 2010.
"I heard some noises in her room. Odd noises," her father said. "I just happened to walk in (her bedroom) and she was in a full-blown catatonic seizure."
She was diagnosed with MELAS, a progressive neurodegenerative disease, in 2011 and was put on 16 different medications to treat her symptoms.
"(Megan has) been off and on all the different prescriptions," he said. "I'm not too fond of pounding all the medicine in her."
Since Megan's strokes are a symptom of her disease and are not caused by a clot or a bleed, they cannot be treated. Servaty and his daughter have been in and out of the hospital since she was diagnosed. She will graduate high school this year thanks to an individualized education program, but spent about half of her career there in the hospital or at home sick.
"With MELAS, it's totally unknown," Servaty said. "She'll be in school for a week and be all great and happy and have no seizures for a couple weeks then have a few in a row."
Due to the constant trauma to her brain, Megan has memory loss, constant headaches, eyesight loss and balance issues.
"There's no good outcome," her father said. "Hopefully what will happen is she will have a stroke and pass away in her sleep. We live our life 24/7 around MELAS. She's a tough girl. She cries once in awhile, but she does it."
Servaty is unable to work, aside from being Megan's caregiver. He has started a Go Fund Me campaign to help with the costs of Megan's medicines. The website can be found at gofundme.com/meganshealth.
"I know that I'm not going to live long, however what time I have left I want to enjoy," Megan writes on the page. "I am in truly need of your help as well as indebted to you all for adding days I can spend with the ones I love and experience life."
"We're doing this to prolong her life and ease her pain," Servaty said.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Local Teen Approved For Minnesota's Medical Marijuana Program
Author: Ashley Haynes
Photo Credit: None found
Website: Isanti County News
