Topic: Tourettes & all movement disorders

Hi,

My son has a sever case of Tourettes Syndrome and high functioning Autism and NOTHING works like a dose of medicinal cannabis. I want to scream it off the top of a mountain to let others know! We have tried so many meds that had horrible, life threatening consequences! And they did not help! or the side effects made him want to jump out of his own body. I read everything I could find and combined it with my personal experience & when he turned 18 I took him to a MMJ friendly Dr. It was the best thing I ever did for him! It absolutely works on relaxing the muscles somehow, it can even reduce sever hyperactivity and ticking that is un controllable due to Tourettes Syndrome as well as other kinds of movement disorders. It helped his sleep disturbances, anxiety, Ive seen it help stuttering, I could go on but I wont. I just want to let others know It works. I believed the propaganda for a few years but in 30 min of research it was obvious it had been used for medicinal purposes for many thousands of years, until this recent Prohibition, and propaganda just like they did with alcohol. But they wont let up so easy on this. Maybe there are fewer people whos lives it can change and really need it medically. My Son is one of those people. 
We had been going to the Mind institution in Sacramento and I discretely inquired if they were doing any experiential protocols that included MMJ & I was informed they were not likely ever going to. UC Davis gets Federal funding because they are a teaching hospital, if they find a patient using Marijuana they send you to their addiction/psychiatric department weather you have a Doctors recommendation or not. As an example, the Mind Institute receives most of their funds for research from Pharmaceutical companies, and are testing the effects of their meds. Thats fine that they will likely help a small number of people with each new med, but the side effects and the costs of their medication seem to just get worse, an they cant patient a plant, so the can make enough profit to make it worth their time to even test.
MMJ works differently for everyone, just like most things. It also worked differently differently depending how you ingest it, for example smoking results are fast but leave fast as well. Eating it can take up to 90 minutes to fully kick in, but then it will usually last 4-5 hours. There are many variables and each individual needs to start slow and take your time until you find what works best for you.  My son found even the experiment phase to be quite enjoyable. Just take caution if is your first time eating it, it reacts differently as it is processed by your liver and needs to be broken down before your body can use it, so dont keep eating more because you cant feel it yet, because once it does kicks in you will be wasted for the whole day. Some people do not find this type of experience to be enjoyable.
When cooking never cook above 330 or you will end up vaporizing your precious medicine. You can also cook with hash or keif, just add exact quantity desired for each serving.  It seems the average range needed for a serving is 2-5 grams, average 3gm of hash, tricoms, etc. pr serving. Another caution: Start at low end and work your way up, slowly.One last caution; if you already have health issues you are attempting to address, it is a good idea to be reasonably certain that the leaf you use to cook into ganga butter is clean with out any mold or sprays that many commercial growers use to maximize their profit. If you want to be certain what went into any pot is to grow it yourself.

My boy eats two 1 inch ganga rice crispy treats per day, sometimes he takes a little one before bed if he is hyper and it will usually cause him to be able to sleep through the night. We were able to quit some of the other medications he was taking. It is the single most helpful thing we have ever found!

Re: Tourettes & all movement disorders

I too am the parent of a teen who has spectrum related disorders (Asperger's), the most impacting being Tourettet's or Tic disorder.  My daughter, now 17 used the full barage of western medical treatments (anxiolytic drugs, bio feedback, pain management patches, neuroleptics like Haldol, homeopathic medicines, yoga, accupuncture etc) to no avail from the time she was 9 until just last week. 

I have been using MM for the past year to address severe insomnia, depression and panic disorder.  This is the only thing that actually works without causing side effetcs that would necessitate another drug to compensate for them.  After thoughtful contemplation and much prayer I decided to use edible MM to help my child cope with constant spasms and pain associated with tic disorder;  it has been a God send.  I do not fear that this will become a "gateway" drug as the media would have us believe nor do I believe that I am making my child into a drug addict.  The only options available to her would be: opiates for pain (which are highly addictive and interfere with normal functioning of other systems, eg. liver and brain); neurolyptics which are highly associated with causing extremse and severe non reversable disroders; living with the pain and humiliation of having a body that she cannot control or canibis.  We chose the lesser of all evils which I believe is a gift from God.

She has a lightness of spirit that she has not had since she was 8.  She sleeps well, feels more relaxed and despite the normal effect of cannibis, can concentrate in school (mostly because she is not ticking so severely that it calls the attention of teacher and peers).  She asked me, "Mom why did you wait so long?" and my only answer is that I was afraid.  I'm not anymore.

We are still in the experimental phase of finding the correct dose for her.  She began with 1/16 of a brownie three times a day which was too little so we increased to 1/8.  She felt some relief but still had insomnia (a comorbid condition common among stectrum kids). Now she is having 1/3 of a peanutbutter cup before school, 1/2 after school and before bed.  This seems to be the optimal amount but I find that the dosing varies as oils separate or solidify (even within the same treat).  Yesterday I gave her 1/2 and licked my fingers after cutting the peanutbutter cup.  I was a little buzzed for 2 hours but she said that she felt nothing.  I will introduce rice crispy treats next and hope that the dose is more evenly distributed.

If anyone knows of edible products that have a more even distribution/concentration of THC available in west Los Angeles I would appreciate the referral.

Best

Re: Tourettes & all movement disorders

Have you ever tried a tincture?  That may be helpful and less expensive.