The Perpetual Healing Garden - SweetSue's Joyful Return

[Pigeons420]

It's funny you mention this Jim, I've never really considered how little I dream.

But since I've been thinking about it; perhaps it's strain dependent?

I tend to have nightmares before dreams. Not nightmares of "boogie monsters and bad guys" but of life incidents i.e. Relationship problems. But these only happen every now and then.

This is interesting stuff. I've limited education on dreams and sleeping and none of it involves marijuana.



HAPPY WEEKEND!

 

[SweetSue]

I agree with the lack of dreams with normal cannabis use. I used to dream when I was drinking heavily but stopped drinking 11 years ago. Only time I dream now is with an opioid.

I only take those for acute pain.

Part of my research over the past few days was watching a seminar by Dr. Dustin Sulak on the use of cannabis to reduce or eliminate dependence on opioids. His extensive work with this area has led him to develop a protocol that insists that you always accompany your opiod dose with a small dose of cannabis. Make this a hard, fast rule. As little as one mg of cannabinoids will do the trick, so we're talking one hit, that's all.

What he's discovered is a proven synergistic relationship between the cannabis and the opioids. Using them together extends the therapeutic window for the opioids and increases their potency at the same time. He and his associates used this discovery to develop a successful method of using cannabis to wean off the opioids that too many patients grow addicted to with fewer and fewer benefits.

Let me reiterate:

If you use opioids, always accompany your opioid dose with a dose of cannabis. If that pill is going to pass your lips, follow it up with some cannabinoids, your flavor and delivery method of choice.

 

[SweetSue]

Let me carry this conversation a bit further. Dr. Sulak is among the growing group of cannabis clinicians coming to the conclusion that in the vast majority of cases, we're overdosing our Endocannabinoid systems, to the detriment of our med effectiveness. With cannabis there's an optimal effective dose, and beyond that you lose effectiveness every time you increase the dose, until you get to mega doses. He backs this contention up with in-house lab work that tests not only patient's blood levels, but the analysis of their chosen medication, be it flower or concentrate form. He's not just saying this, he's witnessing it in his daily practice and seeing the labs to prove it.

The thing is, your Endocannabinoid system isn't set up to handle long-term heavy doses of THC. It begins to pull receptors into the cells so they aren't even available for attachment. This "shut-down" is evolved to keep the system from being overwhelmed by anandamide, your endocannabinoid that THC mirrors. When we take doses beyond the optimal effective dose we put that shut-down into play.

In response to their findings, he and his associates now recommend a 6-day Sensitization protocol that they lay out in great detail on Healer.com. I highly recommend you check it out. I'm mostly a recreational smoker, interested in getting more cannabinoids in to accelerate my move towards homeostasis when my system can take up most of the heavy work. Were I dosing for medicinal purposes I'd want to get the most out of these meds. As much as we enjoy growing, we'll all agree it's a fairly expensive process when used as medication, particularly when you factor in the costs of making concentrates. To be able to reduce your dose and get more effect saves you money and time.

 

[SweetSue]

It's funny you mention this Jim, I've never really considered how little I dream.

But since I've been thinking about it; perhaps it's strain dependent?

I tend to have nightmares before dreams. Not nightmares of "boogie monsters and bad guys" but of life incidents i.e. Relationship problems. But these only happen every now and then.

This is interesting stuff. I've limited education on dreams and sleeping and none of it involves marijuana.



HAPPY WEEKEND!

Proven by science Pigeons, it's the THC that reduces REM sleep. I guess we could assume strain dependant on the level of THC.

HAPPY WEEKEND! We have rain, rain, and more rain here today.

 

[Curly Beaver]

What he's discovered is a proven synergistic relationship between the cannabis and the opioids. Using them together extends the therapeutic window for the opioids and increases their potency at the same time. He and his associates used this discovery to develop a successful method of using cannabis to wean off the opioids that too many patients grow addicted to with fewer and fewer benefits.

Let me reiterate:

If you use opioids, always accompany your opioid dose with a dose of cannabis. If that pill is going to pass your lips, follow it up with some cannabinoids, your flavor and delivery method of choice.

Hi Sue,
I just stumbled on this post and want to follow up on it.
I'm afraid I'm not very good at following these really long threads... after a couple pages and I get lost

 

[SweetSue]

Hi Sue,
I just stumbled on this post and want to follow up on it.
I'm afraid I'm not very good at following these really long threads... after a couple pages and I get lost

This is why I recommend people just jump into real time. I usually work backwards with posts I'm catching up on.

It's a great seminar, and I'm assuming it's up for public viewing, since his plea was that we share this information far and wide. Check out his website.

I shared it here because I'm pretty sure we have a vast number of members taking opioids, so this is very relevant to us. When they prescribed opioids for Dale we traded them for cannabis. Cannabis did what the opioids promised but didn't deliver. If we'd known this then I'd have approached that differently and he'd have gotten better pain management.

 

[Weaselcracker]

I agree with the lack of dreams with normal cannabis use. I used to dream when I was drinking heavily but stopped drinking 11 years ago. Only time I dream now is with an opioid.
I only take those for acute pain.

Likewise. I've always assumed/known that if I smoke I won't have much in the way of dreams. Ditto the opioids/dreams/pain scenario. Natural opioids can be easily grown in gardens ( I have heard... ).

 

[Graytail]

Two things about sleep patterns and dreaming:

I've always battled the transition - I like to stay awake and I like to stay asleep. And when I don't smoke (those few years when I didn't) I dream, so I was curious about that. It's been years since I looked into it, but my conclusion was that we simply don't remember them when we wake up. But I hadn't seen the latest brain monitoring, so ...

And as far as REM, I thought we go crazy without it, so smokers must still be getting their REM. In fact, I think cannabis probably regulates my REM for me. I have to have a fairly rigid schedule or I drift badly, and I smoke right up to the time I go to bed, so I believe it sets a pattern in my brain, and REM probably comes close to the same time every night.

The other thing is the circadian rhythm - closer to 25 hours a day than the 24 that our planet operates on. That means we drift to a later sleep period fairly quickly if we don't set a pattern. Cannabis helps me match the 24 hours I need to operate on. In past years when I was disconnected, I'd find myself naturally matching the 25 hour schedule.

My conclusion is that cannabis is probably a net sleep disrupter, but it also substitutes for some of the non-REM sleep we need. Its effect is very similar to dreaming, so I think we work out a lot of subconscious stuff when we sit quietly by ourselves, stoned. We can get by with a couple less hours of sleep.

 

[Curly Beaver]

Well then... STONED IT IS

 

[Amadeus Forzin]

I haven't dreamed (that I remember) since I gave up the opiates (248 days clean ) except when I've had to abstain from cannabis because of holidays. I've always put it down to the cannabis use but I've never looked into it further.
Thanks Sue for posting this info, it's been most helpful

 

[SweetSue]

Two things about sleep patterns and dreaming:

I've always battled the transition - I like to stay awake and I like to stay asleep. And when I don't smoke (those few years when I didn't) I dream, so I was curious about that. It's been years since I looked into it, but my conclusion was that we simply don't remember them when we wake up. But I hadn't seen the latest brain monitoring, so ...

And as far as REM, I thought we go crazy without it, so smokers must still be getting their REM. In fact, I think cannabis probably regulates my REM for me. I have to have a fairly rigid schedule or I drift badly, and I smoke right up to the time I go to bed, so I believe it sets a pattern in my brain, and REM probably comes close to the same time every night.

The other thing is the circadian rhythm - closer to 25 hours a day than the 24 that our planet operates on. That means we drift to a later sleep period fairly quickly if we don't set a pattern. Cannabis helps me match the 24 hours I need to operate on. In past years when I was disconnected, I'd find myself naturally matching the 25 hour schedule.

My conclusion is that cannabis is probably a net sleep disrupter, but it also substitutes for some of the non-REM sleep we need. Its effect is very similar to dreaming, so I think we work out a lot of subconscious stuff when we sit quietly by ourselves, stoned. We can get by with a couple less hours of sleep.

That was very insightful Graytail. I don't think THC eliminates REM, just tamps it down to the point that we don't remember them. I hadn't considered that our "quiet times" when we're smoking alone right up to bedtime (yes, I do the same every night ) might be a substitute of sorts for the lost REM. Interesting proposition. I wonder if any researcher had the idea to investigate this? I had considered that the energy drains on my system had changed so drastically after Dale's death that my body just got by on less sleep.

 

[SweetSue]

I haven't dreamed (that I remember) since I gave up the opiates (248 days clean ) except when I've had to abstain from cannabis because of holidays. I've always put it down to the cannabis use but I've never looked into it further.
Thanks Sue for posting this info, it's been most helpful

 

[Weaselcracker]

Out of curiosity, do thrips thrive equally well in high brix plants?

Still curious about this one

 

[SweetSue]

Daily Update: Saturday, May 14, 2016



I have thrips in my no-tills, so every plant in veg has been treated with spinosad, a foliar that'll be repeated at least three more times. At least I caught it earlier this time. Thank you again millertm for that heads up. I'm so glad I hadn't gone to bed right before that post as planned.

DDA2 (Day 32) got her treatment this morning. I never thought to do that in the middle of the night. I trimmed almost all of the clover you see here before the foliar.

Looking at the pictures I see the signs of infestation. That I could have missed this again amuses me.

I almost got a FIM when I topped her. Instead I now have three limbs to train.

Carnival (Day 27) Got a treatment too. Let's not take any chances.

The clones (Day 12) No roots yet.

The flowering tent. (Day 94)

The CBD Critical Cure, on the left (flip + 29) and CBD Critical Cure on the right (flip + 11). I took the time to center the light better, giving better coverage over the entire tent instead of the back. I'd left it alone for so long because it was a pain to get shifted and it took me this long to decide it was intolerable to shove both of these plants against the back wall. Now all that's required is a simple 1/4 turn every day.

Critical Cure has some nice buds going.

CBD Critical Mass (flip + 11), by contrast is just starting to set hers.

Let's look into the veg tent.

Everyone's chilling, waiting for the thrips to be gone. Clockwise from the upper left, Strawberry Blue (Day 32), Crosswords (Day 18), Shiva Shanti ll (Day 11), Crossroads 2 (Day 12), Bubba Kush (Day 32) and Super Cheese (Day 18).

Short and sweet today guys. It stopped raining. I believe I'll throw on some jeans and walking shoes and head out for a walk. Thanks for stopping to visit.

You all have a wonderful day. Let joy bubble over in unexpected ways. And grab some hugs if you can. They're a healing force all their own.

 

[SweetSue]

Still curious about this one

I believe that the higher the brix reading the less likelihood of any problems with pests. These two kit soil plants that I have in veg aren't that strong yet, although there's no signs of infestation on either of them. Graytail's famous dance every winter with his whitefly residents proves that HB plants can, indeed, be infested with pests.

 

[Noob4x4grow]

Good afternoon Sue Sorry about your thrips problem. Looks like you have it under control now though

 

[SweetSue]

Good afternoon Sue Sorry about your thrips problem. Looks like you have it under control now though

Yeah Noob, grow in soil and sometimes you get bugs. Thankfully they're easy enough to eradicate.

Good afternoon.

 

[Scottay]

Sueeeee...crikeyyy girl.....that dark beauty harvested looks awesommeee! I know you have told of the effects of this plant but will u give us a hint of how this batch turned out!? It just looks delicious!

 

[SweetSue]

Sueeeee...crikeyyy girl.....that dark beauty harvested looks awesommeee! I know you have told of the effects of this plant but will u give us a hint of how this batch turned out!? It just looks delicious!

I only smoked a small bud, and it has a different effect fresh. The longer you cure the more hallucinogenic effect you can expect. Having said that, the fresh buds have a special flavor all their own and offer the sweetest rushy sensation. My hands begin to tremor about three tiny hits in. I was looking at what's hanging

and decided to trim off a piece. I'll let you know later how it goes. I won't be trying it out until later tonight though, because I just took my second brownie dose this morning and that'd skew the results.

I may have hit on a way to get the brownies to carry me most of the day with just morning doses. By accident I discovered that if I have my first dose, wait an hour and then follow with the second, wait an hour and eat a meal, I stay at a consistent buzz level right into the evening hours with a couple hits here and there to enhance for special occassion. I'm trying it again today to see if it works for the third day in a row. Next I'll be compelled to look until I figure out why that works so effectively. I never was good for doing something just because it worked. I've always needed to know why it works.

 

[Weaselcracker]

....because I just took my second brownie dose this morning and that'd skewer the results.

I know that you mean 'skew', but I love this expression and am going to use 'skewer the results' from now on, whenever I think I can get away with it. Thanks!