How to Treat Epilepsy or Seizures with Medical Marijuana (What Works & Doesn't Work)

[NebulaHaze]

Hello everyone! I'm not a doctor or any other type of medical professional, so I can't give any medical advice. However, I am an epilepsy patient who uses medical marijuana, and I wanted to share some things I've learned about using cannabis to prevent seizures! Using medical marijuana to help prevent seizures is a trial-and-error experience, and unfortunately isn't effective for every epilepsy patient. However, there are some tips to help you get started in your personal journal to finding the perfect regimen.

1. Maximize CBD with high-CBD strains - High levels of CBD seem to be extremely helpful for many patients
2. Maximize THCa while minimizing THC - The plant naturally contains THCa, which does not get you "messed up" and is known to possibly have anti-seizure effects. However, when cannabis is heated during the smoking process the THCa gets converted to THC, which can actually make seizures worse for some people. In order to directly ingest THCa, you need to be eating fresh cannabis or hash that has not been subjected to heat. So standard edibles aren't necessarily the best choice because of the heating process. Some growers actually juice the fresh leaves or bud, but one of the easiest way to eat "raw" cannabis cannabinoids is to remove all the trichomes into hash using a method that doesn't use heat, and then eat the raw hash, for example in pre-measured caps. This will make you less "messed up" than most other methods of consumption, but may be more effective for stopping seizures for some patients
3. Eat cannabis instead of smoke it - Going along with the above point, this helps minimize turning any THCa into THC
4. Never harvest buds early (as that can make buds more "speedy" or anxiety inducing)
5. Always start slow and never test out a new dose (of anything) when you have responsibilities within the next 12 hours, just in case!
6. Listen to your body - it knows better than anyone!
7. Be realistic - Cannabis isn't a magic bullet so it's important to stay realistic about what it may be able to do for you. Some patients are able to go off some of their medications by using medical cannabis, but many (if not most) medical marijuana patients use it in conjunction with prescription medication. I personally still have an RX from the pharmacy in addition to medical marijuana.
8. Good sleep and hydration! And of course, as any epilepsy patient knows, drink tons of water and make sure to stay on a regular sleep schedule with at least 8 hours of rest daily! Avoid alcohol and coffee! Dehydration and poor sleep are two of the most common triggers for seizures!

Note: You should always talk to your neurologist or general practitioner before trying anything new that could affect your seizures! You might be surprised at how many doctors are open to talking about cannabis if you just ask them!

Any epilepsy patients out there? Do you agree (or disagree)? What's been working for you?

[LuckyAcres]

I don't suffer of epilepsy but the good you do Nebula, the good you do...thank you...

[NA420]

This is the only thing legal in my state and for a good reason. Good knowledge on a subject people actually understand about the medical treatments that help people. Keep the knowledge coming cause i know you are full of it!

Peace and Positive Vibes!

[Insight]

My friends son is in the middle of his MD, PhD program at New York University Medical School (NYU). His research is Epilepsy and Cannabis. There is plenty of work being done and hopefully this will lead to some relief for those suffering from epilepsy.

@NebulaHaze....here is some heavy reading if you are interested...

• Rosenberg EC, Patra, P. H., & Whalley, B. J. (2017). Therapeutic effects of cannabinoids in animal models of seizures, epilepsy, epileptogenesis, and epilepsy-related neuroprotection. Epilepsy & Behavior, 1–9. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.yebeh.2016.11.006
• Rosenberg EC, Tsien RW, Whalley BJ and Devinsky O. Cannabinoids and Epilepsy. Neurotherapeutics. 2015, 12(4):747:68.
• Obeid M, Rosenberg EC, Klein PM, Jensen FE. 2014. Lestaurtinib (CEP-701) attenuates "second hit" kainic acid-induced seizures following early life hypoxic seizures. Epilepsy Res. 108(4):806-10.

[CCisme]

I love that finally things are being done, There is so much more to this plant.

[ZigZag]

drbabe_ thanks for the link. I have epilepsy and read everything I can find about treatments with cannabis. Tell your friends son that I used to have seizures about every 6 months or so, but since I started smoking again I haven't had one for 18 months_ fingers crossed. Still take my regular meds but no breakthrough seizures is an awesome relief. Another benefit is that the side effects from the meds is reduced significantly too.

[ZigZag]

Nebula_ you're information matches everything I've read too. I've had seizures for 40 years_should have had a helmet on, too late now. In the past I've had about 2 "breakthrough" seizures a year but since I started using cannabis again I haven't had any for over 18 months now. I still take my Rx meds but I believe the cannabis is helping as well. I've been growing strains with at least 1% CBD and usually more and some that are mostly just CBD. I also make caps with decarbolized hash with the high CBD strains using your dry ice hash recipe_ Thank You!_but I have't tried making them with the hash before converting the THCa to THC_ so I'm gonna try it too_ Thanks again!
I got back into using cannabis because my daughters friend_ an MD- asked me if I had tried it to treat the side effects I'd get from the meds I was taking. She recommended some strains and thats where I started.
The side effects of the meds I'm taking are insomnia and tension. Cannabis does that for me better than anything else. And it seems to be helping with the seizures as well. That could be a result of getting better sleep and being less tense_ the main triggers for my seizures. Or it could be that the cannabis is contributing directly in some way as well. As you probably know_ seizures are different for everyone, Therefore making them difficult to study and a challenge to diagnose and treat because of that. Many of the meds being used today were developed to treat other conditions and were afterwards discovered to help with certain types of epilepsy. Same kind of thing is happening with cannabis.
We need to let others know they need to support epilepsy research_ there are a lot more people out there like us than most people realize. For whatever reasons epilepsy has got the short end of the stick when it comes to public awareness and an ability to generate funding.
All the new biotech research with cannabis thats happening these days is encouraging for sure_ but its expensive.
As Nebula said_ for those interested in trying cannabis as part of your program for controlling seizures take care, go slow, and find out what works for you without making anything worse. Check with those who are currently treating you and get their opinions as well.
Stay informed.
I've had a lot of EEG's but never had one when I was stoned_ it would be interesting to compare one to the other. :~)
All I need to do is find a neurologist who's got that open of a mind!

[alltatup]

Fantastic info, ZigZag!!
I take it that you live in an illegal state; too bad!!! You could contribute to the research!! Perhaps you could find out if any scientists in your area are doing research in the field.

[ZigZag]

Nope, I live where rec and med are both legal. But my doc is old school and there isn't a neurologist in town, and the local dispensary just opened last summer. It was legal before that to grow your own so thats what I've been doing! I'm gonna try to get a med card if I can find a doc who's willing. It might come in useful once (if) other states begin to accept each others med cards. Then I could get access when I'm not home without carrying it on a plane. We're isolated with no road in or out of town so the only way out is by air. Or slow boat.

[NebulaHaze]

I bet you have some stories!

[ZigZag]

Good Morning Nebula_ well... at least it's before noon my time! Yup. lots of stories. I think you mentioned having a lot of green open space around your hometown? We have green too (forests), and lots of blue (water) and white (snow)_ but the only open space is on the water or up in the alpine or on a glacier! But I love it. Clean, wild and free. Thanks for the information and when I come across anything pertinent I'll send along a post!