Help please (medical marijuana)

[hj10]

well i dont know if this is the right place to post this is since im new n all

but anyways

I have really bad migraines, ive had em for about 4-5 years now and my mother has had been having them for many many many years as well
i also have trouble sleeping and staying asleep, in total i do sleep about 8-9 hours, but i fall asleep very late and wake up many times so its not exactly a very refreshing 8-9 hours of sleep and i am also depressed, have been for many years to the point suicide has crossed my mind many times (ive never attempted nor want to attempt it, but it has crossed my mind alot of times)

anyways

well, ive decided i want to pursue getting a medical marijuana card (i live in california) to help me because i really really just do not wanna take the pills they wanna give me, for these problems, they want to give me 1 pill which is an anti-deppressant which the doctor has told me will help deppression, headaches, and make me somewhat sleepy as well
but this drug has alot of really fucked up side effects

from wikipedia : Common side effects of using amitriptyline are mostly due to its anticholinergic activity, including: weight gain, dry mouth, changes in appetite, drowsiness, muscle stiffness, nausea, constipation, nervousness, dizziness, blurred vision, urinary retention, insomnia and changes in sexual function. Some rare side effects include tinnitus, hypotension, mania, psychosis, sleep paralysis, hypnagogia, hypnopompia, heart block, arrhythmias, lip and mouth ulcers, extrapyramidal symptoms, depression, and hepatic toxicity.

for some reason, my body is usually prone to side effects from pills
so with depression, migraines, and sleeping issues, how good are my chances of actually being able to aquire a medical marijuana card? Im afraid i wont be able to get it because the doctor wants to give me that medicine, its called Elavil, or Amitriptyline (chemical name) and refuses to perscribe me diffrent medicine or even hear my suggestion of medical marijuana and made very stupid remarks, ive been to 2 diffrent doctors, one of them a neruologist
1 of them said Marijauan can kill you even with smoking it once (yeah i dont think so) another said that she has to PERSCRIBE it, not recomand it, and that THC kills brain cells and she would not even listin to me when i told her about and even attempted to show her legal documents saying its illegal to perscribe it and it must be recomanded and that THC does in fact, not kill brain cells

ive done lots of hours of research on this and this is the route of treatment i perfer, ive schdeuled a visit to a medical marijuana evaluation center in hopes of getting my recomandation, im afraid i wont get it because im only 17yrs old but my mother, relucantly, has agreed to at least try this......Do you think i will have a good shot at getting a recomandation? i really really do not want to take that Elavil shit

thank you in advance for any help you can give me

 

[tomber]

It would probably help if you brought any prescriptions/info your other doctors gave you over
time so you could show you aren't just trying to get legal weed. If your mom's there that should
help to. And I'm glad your doing this marijuana is so much less dangerous than those side
effects.

 

[hj10]

It would probably help if you brought any prescriptions/info your other doctors gave you over
time so you could show you aren't just trying to get legal weed. If your mom's there that should
help to. And I'm glad your doing this marijuana is so much less dangerous than those side
effects.

yeah they told us to bring medical records and such for proof of treatment, espcially as a minor, they want to make sure its not just for getting high legally

but man, im really hoping this goes over well :/

 

[onmyway]

you should try the amitriptyline for a while, it is a proven drug that has worked for millions of people. there is always the possibility that marijuana will make your depression worse.

if the traditional approach to depression doesn't work then sure, try weed. the thoughts of suicide are an important concern that should first be treated by a professional.

 

[Chainer]

It will help if you've got records form any neurologists or craniofacial experts, especially from respectable places. With enough factual evidence of pain, and/or management plans like physical therapy, getting the drugs isn't the hard part. Anyway... I've been through all of this before but not in search of weed. I doubt you will get that script unless you hit up some shadier pain management places, you're 17... or unless you have a history of trying SNRIs, Celexa, beta blockers etc first. You could always ask your doctor for beta blockers or a benzo like valium or flex - they may help as well.

As I said, I'm not sure how your state employs MMJ law, but if it is strict, your age is a limiting factor here... as it is with almost all pain centers, especially if your chief complaint is migraines.

 

[Greenstar420]

I wouldnt be suprised if age was a factor that is written in to the cali medical mmj laws, but since you do have a documented condition then you should have no problem getting your permit once you turn 18. Goodluck!!

 

[chompy]

youre going to need to be an adult to qualify for a mmj card my man. A lot of clinics are 21+ as well.

 

[bluehairman]

Story sounds like bull shit.

Try the medication first before attempting a marijuana card? I don't know how you expect the doctors to take you seriously when you're just flat out going for the MJ card and not even attempting to try any other treatment.

 

[artaxerxes]

Taking into consideration the side-effects of powerful drugs like Elavil, Fiorinal or Fioricet vs. a relatively benign medication like cannabis, my orthopedic doctor would describe pursuing the least drastic route, ie. Medical Marijuana, as "pursuing the most conservative modality".

I'm about twice your age and have known many people who've suffered from migraines for their whole lives and have taken many different drugs with nasty side-effect profiles that didn't do a thing for their migraines. I don't know a single friend who's happy with either the side-effects or effectiveness of their prescribed migraine medicine.

Migraines are difficult to treat and a lot of the stuff prescribed for them are meds I certainly would not want my 17 year old child taking before trying less dangerous treatments. (I use the term "child" in this context to describe my off-spring, not an immature or young person. Just wanted to make that clear.)

(Side-note: I would recommend investing in a vaporizer to spare your lungs. Consuming edibles is always as option and a safe one, but can be an overwhelming experience when you're simply searching for a solution to a medical problem. The ideal MMJ strain IMO is one that alleviates the symptoms but leaves you with very light cognitive impairment. That's where a dispensary can be ideal.)

I live in CA and haven't yet gotten a card as I have other options and I use cannabis occasionally for sleep. muscle spasms or GI/IBS issues. I do have many friends who have the card and I'm quite familiar with the screening process.

If it weren't for your age, I'd predict 98% success rate in acquiring a card even without medical records. But, unfortunately, since MMJ is still under subtle to aggressive attack even in this state, you *may* be SOL until you're 18. However, the application form has a section to be filled out by the parent of the minor applying for the card. So if your mom is willing to support you, you stand a good chance.

Do bring your mother to your appointment. Don't freak out too much. And don't complicate the issue by saying you're depressed and whatever else. If you're legitimately searching for relief from migraines and that's your primary concern (I would think it would be: migraines are hell), just address that issue with the doctor. Having parental consent, a medical history and a family history of migraines is sufficient to get you a card.

If you are unable to procure a legal card for some random reason, I would still recommend trying MJ as a treatment for your migraines. I don't really enjoy MJ as a recreational drug, but I use it like aspirin or ibuprofen or chamomile tea when I need to treat a symptom of an illness. As I suggested, I view it as a conservative modality to pursue before getting involved with pharmaceuticals that could be potentially more damaging.

I have access to excellent organic outdoor and it's quite powerful. However, one very small hit (inhale --> immed. exhale) has the ability to ease me to sleep (w/o the more dangerous Ambien or the like) or to chill my IBS without getting me high. Yes, I am slightly affected, but I can do work that requires math, technical reading and memory.

Maybe this isn't a concern for you but I'm just saying it's easily achieved. It's not that I don't like to get high on occasion, but if you are faced with inquiries from people who are concerned that you're going to damage your cognitive development by taking some cannabis once in a while, there's an honest answer for them.

The 2 distinct disadvantages I can see to you having to procure cannabis without a card is: (1) the legal risk you run, which is not insignificant at your age since they can use that against you for scholarships, and/or military and college enrollment, and (2) the fact that without access to a good dispensary, it will be harder for you to find the appropriate strain for treating your migraines.

There is such a difference in effectiveness b/w different strains that the ability to consult with an expert in the dispensary will save you money, time, pain and frustration. Even if you put in major time on the internet getting recommendations for the best strains for your condition, you'll have to track them down. The research will be a ton of work and finding those connections will be a huge and expensive hassle for a someone with limited resources. These are both major disadvantages IMO.

So I hope it works out. I looked over the application again and I figure your chances are good.

 

[hj10]

Story sounds like bull shit.

Try the medication first before attempting a marijuana card? I don't know how you expect the doctors to take you seriously when you're just flat out going for the MJ card and not even attempting to try any other treatment.

oh no, ive tried many many pills they have perscribed me before even thinking about this
its that this is the most recent pill they want to give me
theyve given me other meds for this first
like 800mg ibuprofen, 2.5mg Zomig (zolmitripitan) , 50mg and 100mg Imitrex (sumatripitan), i belive it was 800mg ergotamine tartrate and caffiene pills
Elavil is the most recent pill there trying to give me

which is dumb since my primary doctor told me to go to neruologist for a scan and i never even got a scan, she simply made me walk in a straight line and touch my nose and such before announcing she isnt even gonna do a scan like she was supposed to, since thats why i got reffered there.
my primary doctor hasnt wanted to give me any more medicine period until i went to the neruologist and got a scan. It took 8months to get that appointment, and in all that time my primary doctor refused to perscribe me anything period. And now, they want to give me Elavil. My medical records do show my course of treatment including meds ive been perscribed, ive been told many times that they didnt want to give me the Zomig or Imitrex as its usually reserved for adults and only gave me them after a long period of time but the imitrex and zomig knocked me out because of there side effects

 

[hj10]

It will help if you've got records form any neurologists or craniofacial experts, especially from respectable places. With enough factual evidence of pain, and/or management plans like physical therapy, getting the drugs isn't the hard part. Anyway... I've been through all of this before but not in search of weed. I doubt you will get that script unless you hit up some shadier pain management places, you're 17... or unless you have a history of trying SNRIs, Celexa, beta blockers etc first. You could always ask your doctor for beta blockers or a benzo like valium or flex - they may help as well.

As I said, I'm not sure how your state employs MMJ law, but if it is strict, your age is a limiting factor here... as it is with almost all pain centers, especially if your chief complaint is migraines.

well ive gone through lots of websites and such and they say that here in California, theres no age requirement to get a medical card, just that if your a minor, you must have parental consent, and my mother, even though she doesnt want to, has agreed to give consent and try this out

this is why instead of a year long recomandation, we are going for a 3 month recomandation as a test to see how well this goes, and if it all works out, we will re-apply for a year long one when the 3 month one expires, and we asked in the evaluation centers that we called and they said as a minor, i will need a parent present and there consent for this, but other than that, theres no real problems for me getting it if they deem me to qualify after giving me an evaluation

 

[Chainer]

Then it sounds like you should be fine. I did not realize you live in Cali. It should be rather easy with someone with a "proven" migraine record to get MMJ in Cali.