Medical marijuana for sleep disorders?

Posted by mazeppabob @mazeppabob, Oct 3, 2020

I have tried to research this topic on the internet but like everything else, it is difficult to weed truth from fiction.
Does anyone have first-hand knowledge of medical or street pot? How it might help or hinder sleep issues. Doctors are reluctant to talk about it. I am sick and tired of chasing my tail around, throwing money at. If CPAP doesn't work you get sent to a shrink and put on another antidepressant with all kinds of unpleasant side effects. CBD oil did nothing for me and the last time I smoked pot was probably 50 years ago. I will try just about anything to get one good night's sleep.

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@uncompromised

Try THC/CBN. CBN is much better for sleep. It will not work without THC but it doesn’t take much to activate CBN, which has zero “high”. I get mine from my D.O. doctor after going to her for acid reflux to get off Prilosec.

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What is THC/CBN not familiar with the terms.

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@cila

What is THC/CBN not familiar with the terms.

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@cila, Here's some information that may help explain THC, CBD, CBN and it's use for sleep and other benefits and side effects --- CBD vs. CBN: Benefits and Differences: https://www.healthline.com/health/cbd-vs-cbn

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@klrouse10

I started using mmj for chronic pain. I have had idiopathic hypersomnia my whole life. My mom had to drive to my house and wake me up for work everyday. Ten alarms wouldn’t do it. After a couple months on mmj for pain I noticed I was waking up on my own. On weekends I used to sleep 20+ hours. Now I pop up after 8 fully rested. Mmj has eliminated all IH symptoms for me.

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Hi, I just found your post. My 20yr old son has idiopathic hypersomnia and like your mum I am waking him every morning. We are currently looking at medical cannabis for him. Can you tell me what you are on, is it CBD, THC or both ? Have you had any symptoms of the hypersomonia come back and are you still taking the cannabis? Sorry to throw so many questions at you but there is so little information out there with regard to cannabis and hypersomnia. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

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If you get some sex you will sleep blike a baby sorry don't mean to be nasty but try that let me no

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I have lots of experience with cannabis and sleep but little advice to give. The operative phrase is YMMV, your mileage may vary.

Self medicating is fraught with obstacles and pitfalls. But in my case, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Cannabis has helped, but now I'm trying to leave it behind me.

Fortunately, I have doctors that will listen objectively about my cannabis use. They don't (can't) say much due to the lack of double-blind studies, but this may be changing as more reliable evidence starts to emerge.

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@chalum

I have lots of experience with cannabis and sleep but little advice to give. The operative phrase is YMMV, your mileage may vary.

Self medicating is fraught with obstacles and pitfalls. But in my case, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Cannabis has helped, but now I'm trying to leave it behind me.

Fortunately, I have doctors that will listen objectively about my cannabis use. They don't (can't) say much due to the lack of double-blind studies, but this may be changing as more reliable evidence starts to emerge.

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If you felt like sharing why you're "trying to leave it behind" you, I'd really like to know. After lots of sleep-deprived nights because I have yet to find an ongoing switch to turn my racing mind off, I'm considering marijuana. I have no experience with it, am dealing with neuroendocrine low grade tumors, and just want to regularly sleep. . . . Based on your comments, I don't think you'd recommend it.

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A friend included CBD gummies in my Christmas package, shipped from her state where pretty much everything is sold legally now. Oddly enough (to me at any rate), the ones that included THC did not help me sleep and left me tired the next day. The ones with only CBD, seemed to promote easy sleep. But that is anecdotal and these botanically based things are tricky to compare. Not only are the plants different, but the processing protocols and resulting strength of ingredients vary tremendously.

For those who haven't yet tried it, a reliable aid for mild insomnia is catnip or passion flower or a tea of both. Traditional Medicinals makes a Nighty Night tea, with both botanicals, that's sold in supermarkets now that I've given to friends who swore that they wouldn't be able to fall asleep but were easily able to do so and without being groggy the next day. I don't know if it'll help with severe insomnia, but a friend brought me when I was in the hospital in traction for a back injury and I ended up sharing it a few patients who swore that it provided the only sleep they got in the noisy hospital.

N.B. If you live with a resident cat and make the tea, keep it safely out of feline reach. I made a cup once and left it to cool while I took a bath. Then discovered that a newly-adopted kitten had happily drunk some then had the zoomies for about 2 hours afterwards. Trying to sleep while Ruggles played with all of his toys and attacked the scratching post and tried to get the annoyed older cat to play added a new element to insomnia that night. Though he slept just fine after the catnip wore off.

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@callalloo

A friend included CBD gummies in my Christmas package, shipped from her state where pretty much everything is sold legally now. Oddly enough (to me at any rate), the ones that included THC did not help me sleep and left me tired the next day. The ones with only CBD, seemed to promote easy sleep. But that is anecdotal and these botanically based things are tricky to compare. Not only are the plants different, but the processing protocols and resulting strength of ingredients vary tremendously.

For those who haven't yet tried it, a reliable aid for mild insomnia is catnip or passion flower or a tea of both. Traditional Medicinals makes a Nighty Night tea, with both botanicals, that's sold in supermarkets now that I've given to friends who swore that they wouldn't be able to fall asleep but were easily able to do so and without being groggy the next day. I don't know if it'll help with severe insomnia, but a friend brought me when I was in the hospital in traction for a back injury and I ended up sharing it a few patients who swore that it provided the only sleep they got in the noisy hospital.

N.B. If you live with a resident cat and make the tea, keep it safely out of feline reach. I made a cup once and left it to cool while I took a bath. Then discovered that a newly-adopted kitten had happily drunk some then had the zoomies for about 2 hours afterwards. Trying to sleep while Ruggles played with all of his toys and attacked the scratching post and tried to get the annoyed older cat to play added a new element to insomnia that night. Though he slept just fine after the catnip wore off.

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ROFLMAO🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

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You need a medical marijuana card, issued by your state, to buy MM, Your doctor has to do a physical exam and certify you have a condition on your state's list of qualifying conditions. All states' lists are different, but I don't think insomnia is on any of the lists. A lot of docs don't like to talk about it because it's illegal at federal level; there is not enough research to confirm usefulness and lack of long term danger; they haven't put in the time or effort to learn about it and are therefore don't know much more than you do; or they are very misguided souls who still see cannabis as a drug with no redeeming medical value - these are the worst kind. SO, if you can't get an MMJ card, you can purchase from a "recreational use" dispensary, if they exist in your state. First year of this in my state. It is also legal to grow your own in some states; this is what I did last year. It was a great project and I was able to grow a "strain" that is more sedating - higher in CBN. Of course I don't have a lab to test it, so don't know for sure, but I let it go as long as possible so some of the THC would degrade to CBN. The result is a really nice mellow weed that is relaxing and mildly sedating, as opposed to exhilerating and anxiety inducing. You need to be careful, especially as a novice. Pot provokes high anxiety in some people in general. And there are strains that are more energy boosting and strains that are more relaxing. It's complicated. I would recommend talking to someone who works in a dispensary if you can; they know the characteristics of everything they sell. If you can't do that, and are purchasing "on street", be VERY careful. Especially since you haven't tried it in 50 years. This would indicate you are a person of a certain age, ha ha, as am I, and you need to be super careful about how it affects your balance and what sounds like symptoms of depression? It can make both worse. Strain is everything, but some can't tolerate any of it. It's good to know who you are. I use it nightly to help with relaxing and initiating sleep; it is an enormous help, but is not useful for maintaining sleep, as its effects wear off within a couple hours. If you decide to try,
START LOW AND GO SLOW is the company line, little baby amounts until you know how it affects you, much like any med that has the ability to sedate. Best ~

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