Dating With A Chronic Illness: The 7 People You Will Meet

Dating with a chronic illness can complicate things. Here are the 7 types of people I’ve run into:

1. The One Who Ignores Your Illness

A lot of people have no idea how to interact with someone with a disability. While some people may attack the issues you face head on, these people avoid the topic at all costs. They rarely ask you how you are feeling, avoid topics of doctor’s appointments, and generally clam up when the topic turns to anything health related.

In my experience, these people do actually care if you are okay, but really don’t know how to go about talking about it. Unfortunately, not discussing a huge struggle in your life with your partner just doesn’t work. Education leads to understanding. If someone isn’t willing to talk about your illness it will be more difficult for them to understand problems that pop up. They lack the knowledge to understand why their sick partner had to cancel at the last minute, why they can’t eat the chocolates they gave them, or why those surprise concert tickets pose a problem.

2. The One Who Pities You

I love it when a partner rubs my head when I have a migraine, or is sympathetic to my venting. This sympathy can cross over to pity which gets old fast. Having a chronic illness is definitely a struggle but I don’t want to be constantly reminded “how strong I am” or asked “how I don’t give up.”  I want to be an equal in my relationships, and being constantly babied takes away from that.

3. The Overly Helpful One

Yes, someone can be overly helpful. These partners go above and beyond when trying to help you manage your illness. They even help you with things you don’t ask for, and for a while everything is much easier. The problem with the overly helpful partner is that they almost always burn out. They put helping you with your illness over their own needs. And when they burn out you are the one who gets burned. Not addressing their personal needs leads to them resenting the person they are trying to help.

These breakups are often very abrupt and sudden. One day they are driving you to the hospital and sitting up with you all night and the next day they leave you alone in the hospital to go to a party saying it is all too hard. All of a sudden all the things they did for you (that you never asked for) are all your fault and you aren’t thankful enough for everything they do. Finding someone who can be honest about their needs and not stretching themselves too thin is extremely important.

4. The Expert

Calling this partner the expert is wholly inaccurate and really just my way of ridiculing them. People with chronic illnesses will run into “experts” on their condition all the time. They suggest ridiculous things you have already been checked for or try to tell you about an illness you have had for years and understand very well. I’ve even dated people who get upset with me for not following their suggestions, “have you been checked for gluten sensitivity again yet?” They think the only reason you aren’t cured is because you haven’t had their ideas yet. These people also see not following their ridiculous suggestions as not trying hard enough.

5. The One Who Can’t Stop Asking If You Are Better Yet

Sometimes you can explain your illness a hundred times, define chronic repeatedly, and do your best to educate your partner and they will just never get it.  They will say things like “oh, you’re still sick” or “wow you still aren’t feeling better” or “when you are healthy we can go out.” I have a chronic illness! Chronic means long term; I am always sick!  They just don’t get it no matter what you do.

6. The One Who Can’t Handle It

This is the most common person I run into while dating and I must say it has left me frustrated. Sometimes my chronic illness comes up naturally in conversation, and other times I have to modify plans and it will come up. It is perfectly common to never hear from them again after this. For a while I thought I was paranoid and that it has nothing to do with my illness or that people just thought I was being flaky. However, I have had a few people outright tell me they aren’t okay with dating someone with a chronic illness.

For example, on one online date, within fifteen minutes, I had my date say “But she had Crohn’s disease and I am sure as hell not going to put up with that bullshit.” I walked away. What an insensitive jerk.

7. The One Who Supports You

I’ve found finding people who support you through your illness to be incredibly rare and even more so in dating. The best partners treat the chronic illness as something you are fighting together, not a negative personality trait that is your fault. Remember that you always deserve someone who supports you!

FOMO: 8 Ways to Stay Social with POTS

The decline in quality of life we experience with POTS is comparable to someone with congestive heart failure. So it isn’t surprising that our social lives, frankly, suck. Finding friends that understand when you have to cancel is incredibly difficult. Finding friends who understand to the point where they don’t insist on activities that include standing, alcohol, or being out in the heat seems to be impossible.

Last Monday I tried to go out with friends and ended up puking in the bathroom and sleeping in the car. Then at a small party this weekend I was feeling terrible and had to keep going outside so as to not throw up. I fainted in the hallway, was in a ton of pain, and just all around felt awful. When I came back my partner made a comment on how I was missing out on everything. Well that comment hit me really hard. It really does feel that way.

I try and go out with friends and about a third of the time I feel too terrible to enjoy myself. Almost every single time I am around people I feel isolated by the pain I’m in. I do miss out on things with my friends, and most of my friends have left me behind altogether. The worst part is that I am not alone, and that most of us with POTS feel this way. In fact, 98% of us felt like POTS gets in the way of a social life.

Does POTS prevent you from socializing as much as you’d like?

Yes	98%
No	2%

Source

So what is there to be done? Humans are social creatures and not being able to socialize is a huge detractor from quality of life. Unfortunately, there is no magic solution, but there are things that may help:

1. Educate your friends

Unfortunately this only works if you have really awesome friends. A lot of time my attempts to educate fall on deaf ears. Some of the resources I have found most helpful are the spoon theory or this condensed and easy to understand information from Dysautonomia International. Being clear about activities you can and can’t do is essential. People aren’t going to make the connection that if you are heat intolerant you can’t go to an amusement park in the summer (even though it seems obvious to us), or that if over-stimulation messes with your POTS a 3D movie is really going to make your symptom worse. Being clear about what you can and can’t do helps a lot with understanding.

2. Push yourself, but not too hard

About two thirds of the time when I push myself to do something social it ends up being fantastic and I don’t regret my choice. I may not feel well, but being around friends keeps my mind off of it and finally getting to feel slightly normal. It really makes a world of difference in my mood and ability to deal with my illness. That is why I say push yourself, but not too much. We all know what happens when you use too many spoons.

Every single time I want to go out it involves “pushing myself.” Even getting dressed and ready is a huge accomplishment. I don’t think people around me realize that, but i wish they did. You are the only one who can gauge what you are up to doing.

3. Join online support groups

These have been so helpful to me and lots of other chronically ill people. Just go to Facebook and search for your condition. Be aware that some groups may not be private and you may want to make an alternative account.

4. Join in-person support groups

There are a few of these scattered throughout the world. It definitely helps if you live in a big city. If you live in Denver or Colorado message me on Facebook and I will add you to our group. Finding just one other person to chat with occasionally can be really helpful!

5. Try Meetup to find people who get it

Meetup is great for finding general chronic illness groups. People in the group may not have POTS, but they know what it is like to live with similar problems.

6. Suggest Activities that Work for you

The default with my friends is to go out to bars when we want to hang out, but sometimes that is too difficult. Standing, driving, drinking, and (for some reason) bar-stools are not things I do well with all the time. A lot of times your friends may be completely happy to binge watch Netflix or have a movie night in and all you have to do is ask. Suggesting things you can still do instead of cancelling is a great way to stay social. Sometimes it is hard to ask because it feels like you are expecting others to accommodate you, but if you have good friends they will be happy to spend time with you no matter what you are doing.

7. Don’t Worry About Being “the sick person”

This is a difficult one and I really need to work on taking my own advice. You may have read my post about being temporarily paralyzed after an injection. Well that weekend I had a social event that I really wanted to make, but couldn’t walk. I bit the bullet and went out in a wheelchair. Using a wheelchair when you only need it is so confusing to people for some reason, but I recommend it wholeheartedly. Using a wheelchair makes going out so much easier because it takes away from the standing and walking usually involved. I got a lot of questions, but I don’t mind those from friends. People were surprisingly eager to help. I didn’t feel like the “sick girl” either. My friends and acquaintances seemed to talk to me as a person, and not talk down to me as someone in a wheelchair which I was worried about. Plus I got to wear heels without falling on my face- added bonus.

Fear of fainting is another barrier to going out. Fainting in public is not fun. People assume you are drunk, freak out and call and ambulance, give you terrible and unnecessary CPR (and sometimes break bones), or literally step over your unconscious body. So it is understandable that 44% of have a fear of fainting in public that prevents us from going out. My recommendation is to carry these cards, wear a medical bracelet, make sure any friends around you know what to do, and not to go on first dates or hang out with complete strangers unless you feel great. Always remember you can turn down an ambulance ride; they will try to convince you to go because they won’t understand POTS. That is why it is helpful to have a friend who knows about your condition and will stand strong in not letting them take you to the hospital.

POTS-related barriers to socializing

Low energy	87%
Brain fog	60%
Unable to stand	56%
Physical pain	54%
Fear of fainting in public	44%
Unable to drive	38%
Fear of needing bathroom too often	26%
Unable to shower or groom properly	25%
Unable to drink alcohol	14%

Source

8. Be Honest About your Needs

I should not have stayed at the party this weekend. It ended up with me feeling ever worse and I wish I hadn’t been stubborn. If you feel awful, rest. The fear of missing out (FOMO) can be a hard thing to deal with, but it is better than making all your symptoms flair. My friends joke that everything crazy happens right after I fall asleep, missing out sucks, but what else can I do but laugh at it?

PillPack Review

Within the past couple months, my Facebook advertisements have been all about Pillpack. I decided to try PillPack out and share my experience. In theory, Pillpack is revolutionary. Pillpack acts as a pharmacy, pre-wrapping each dose of your medicine based on the time of day and sends you all your meds by mail. PillPack is supposed to even work with your pharmacy so you don’t have to play the middle man. It sounds great- no more forgetting if I already took a dose, no more wrestling with pharmacists and insurance companies, no more unorganised pill bottles, and no more standing in long pharmacy lines!

Unfortunately, all I found was in Pillpack was disappointment. I signed up and put all my medicines in, and then waited for PillPack to transfer the prescriptions over. PillPack got one medicine. One medicine doesn’t even begin to cover what I have been prescribed. PillPack filled just one prescription, propranolol- the one that is most important for me to take. PillPack shipped me the propranolol. In the box were 120 small packets each with one single tiny blue pill in them. Suddenly the little packs didn’t seem handy; instead they were a pain to open and not exactly environmentally friendly. Maybe with all my medicines it would be worth it, but with one? Wasteful.

One of the primary reasons I tried PillPac was because I was so sick of pharmacies. Having to deal with both PillPack and a pharmacy was actually making things more difficult for me so I emailed and cancelled PillPack. I received an email acknowledging my cancellation.However, PillPack ignored my cancellation. Instead, they shipped out my Propranolol to the wrong address. I didn’t bother changing my address after I moved with PillPack because I cancelled their services- why would I?

I went without propranolol for a good part of the weekend. Now that I tracked down where my package went, I have to drive across town to hopefully get my medicine. There is a good possibility that they have returned the package since I don’t live there. Worst of all, my regular pharmacy cannot fill my prescription (or my insurance won’t cover it) because PillPack sent out this order without my approval. PillPack did not succeed in simplifying my health care- it complicated it.

I do not recommend using PillPack. I can see how the PillPack system may work in others. Some people may have more success, such as those without a pain doctor or those whose medicine and dosage is constant. Pain doctors write new scripts when you come into the office each month. Some pain specialists do this for even non-narcotic medicines. PillPack isn’t well equipped for the kind of care that changed each month. PillPack is most helpful in people with a few medications that are not being changed, experimented with, or adjusted. If you are, like me, still trying to figure out what medicines and doses work the best- avoid PillPack.

12 Tips For Traveling with POTS

Questions about travel pop up a lot and I can certainly understand why traveling with POTS is a battle. When flying you face problems such as security lines, standing to get off the plane, change in pressure, change in elevation, and a lot of walking. Driving doesn’t offer a wonderful alternative to flying. Often driving includes sitting in the same position, limited food, and drink options, or motion sickness. Often the combination of these factors leads to a lot of POTS patients avoiding travel. If you do decide to travel I offer up the things that have made traveling bearable for me:

1. Keep All Medications Near You
This applies to traveling by car, boat, plane, or by sled dog. Anytime you travel you should pack a bag that you are going to keep close to you. This bag should stay right below your feet so you are ready for anything that may arise.

Travel creates stress on our bodies and sometimes some of your most rare symptoms or an abnormal presentation of your symptoms will pop up. For example, on a flight to Arizona I decided not to bring migraine medication on the plane. I didn’t have an aura or the beginning of a migraine and it was a short flight so I thought I would be fine. Usually, my migraine onset is very gradual. Change in elevation and pressure, as well as possibly stress, triggered a migraine immediately and suddenly. The entire flight was miserable and I had trouble making my connecting flight.Therefore, I advise you take into account that your body may not react “normally” (like it’s ever normal) and be completely prepared.

2. Hydrate
I know you feel like you are listening to a broken record with everyone telling you to hydrate; this time it is even more important. Airplane cabins are kept extremely dry. This leads to dehydration and is why drinking extra water is especially important. When I have a flight I try to drink 1 liter of water before security. Then, immediately after security I buy another liter for the plane. I try to finish it before the flight attendant comes around for drinks and order another water. So you get the picture- drink a lot of water. Surprisingly, you may not find yourself peeing more often as the body retains water due to dehydration.

I know on car trips it can be tempting to skip the water so you aren’t constantly having to stop to pee. It is absolutely not worth it. You may get where you are going more quickly, but you will feel so terrible you won’t be able to enjoy it. In addition getting up and walking every couple hours is better for you in general. So keep up the hydration- no excuses!

3. Nausea Tips
I am often nauseous even without motion sickness so nausea is a real problem when I travel. Sometimes Zofran and Promethazine are the only things that touch my nausea, but there are some other solutions that you don’t need a prescription for.

I was skeptical about acupressure being helpful for nausea (haven’t found many scientific articles on it), but it either is effective or generates a profound placebo effect. Acupressure is when you put pressure on a part of your body for different effects. Applying pressure at the inside of your wrist right between two ligaments for a few minutes is definitely worth trying as there are essentially no severe side effects. If nothing else it may help distract you from your nausea.

I recently tried GinGins and they were strange, but I felt like they actually did help. Ginger is said to settle the stomach (which is why ginger ale is a common home remedy for nausea) and these candies are essentially ginger in a more manageable amount- well compared to eating raw ginger. I found no scientific evidence to support this claim.

Peppermint is also said to help settle stomachs. I found no scientific evidence to support this claim. If you like chewing gum on a plane I suggest peppermint gum. Otherwise, I would suggest peppermint candies with real peppermint and not too much sugar.

Cold is one of the things that helps me the most with nausea. Taking off a layer, pointing the tiny AC at my face, and sucking on ice all help me be less nauseous. I order ice water to sip on if I am extremely nauseous and it helps me not be sick.

4. Consider Using Assisted Mobility Devices
It took me a while to feel comfortable using a wheelchair at the airport; it helps so incredibly much.  All you do is go to your airlines desk to check in (where you check baggage) and tell them you need a wheelchair. If you have your own wheelchair just tell them you need assistance at the same desk. Then they often have you wait and someone comes and gets you. I look healthy and have never been asked why I need the chair, which is a common problem with POTS. They wheel you past the security line, you stand for a second in the body scanner, then sit back down. Even though you do skip the security line I don’t recommend planning on it and showing up later. Often many people need help with wheelchairs and you have to wait for someone to help you for quite a while.
If you have your own wheelchair you can keep it with you until the gate and gate check it. Unlike literally every single other thing with airlines, checking a wheelchair is free. Traveling is also easier if you get a lightweight wheelchair.

Wheelchairs aren’t boring and lame- look at this guy!

5. Compression Tights
Compression tights can be hot and unattractive, but don’t have to be. Try Rejuva Health or these are the ones I wear. They are so comfy and come in cute bright colors so my tights look more like a fashion statement and less like an old lady in medical wear (although some of those grannies rock it).

Compression tights help with blood pooling from sitting in the car or on a plane too long. On a plane, the cabin pressure is lower which may exacerbate POTS symptoms. After all, even healthy people feel worn out after long flights. The pressure put on your legs by the tights really does help me with POTS symptoms. Compression tights also help prevent blood clots when sitting for long periods during flights or long road trips- two birds one stone.

6. Small meals with a lot of extra salt
Pushing salt is usually important on normal days, but when you are flying it is even more important. I try and get something salty both before my flight and during. I usually choose trail mix, pretzels, or salted nuts. Eating a lot of salt earlier in the day and even the day before you travel may help. Keep your salt up after your flight too.

It is best to keep up your salt through eating many small meals. Small meals keep you from becoming nauseous. When you eat a large meal blood can move into your abdomen and worsen your POTS symptoms.

7. Buffer Days
Buffer days are an absolute must have for traveling with a chronic illness. What I mean by buffer days is that I schedule at least one day before and after travel just for rest. Travel is hard and if I don’t give my body the rest it needs whatever I’m traveling for ends up being a disaster.

8. Preboard Flights
If you tell your airline you cannot stand they will give you a preboarding pass. That way you are the first person on the plane and minimize time standing. So far I’ve had no problems with airline employees not treating me with respect despite my illness being invisible.

9. Choose Your Seats
Some airlines (Southwest is all I know for sure) don’t assign seats. If you can use an airline that doesn’t assign seats it is amazingly helpful. I always sit in the very front row so I can get off the plane and don’t have to stand waiting for people.

No matter what your means of travel, sit in front or where motion sickness will be the least awful whenever you have a chance. This especially helps me on road trips and my friends and family are nice enough to let me always sit “shotgun.” If your friends and family are less helpful tell them sitting in the back will likely result in you puking in their car. They change their minds pretty fast.

10. Be Ready For Weird Temperatures
I made this mistake at the Dysautonomia Conference. I was really ready for warm temperatures, after all Washington DC is much warmer than Denver. Well, what I didn’t prepare for was the air conditioning being so cold to make up for the heat outdoors. I had to go to Target just to buy warmer clothes. A lot of times those of us with Dysautonomia don’t respond to temperatures correctly so having backups for any temperature is essential.

11. Insurance for Flights & Flexible Plans 
Planning in advance with a chronic illness can be challenging. I always pay more for insurance and the ability to cancel flights, hotels, car rentals, etc. I can’t know how I will feel that day until the day of; this has saved me a lot of stress.

12. Put Your Feet Up When You Can
Put your feet up whenever it is possible. This is difficult to do on an airplane unless you are in the first row, but you can put your feet up before you board and after. This will help minimize blood pooling and help your POTS symptoms.

On road trips it its much easier to put your feet up as long as you aren’t driving. Be forewarned that sitting with your feet up in the front seat of the car may make car crashes more dangerous. If you are worried about this put your feet up in the backseat instead of the front where the airbag is.

The Diagnosis Dilemma

POTS affects between 500,000 and 1,000,00 in the USA alone, according to Dysautonomia International, but isn’t very well known in the medical community. It is more common than Parkinson’s and Multiple Sclerosis- so why has no one heard of it? Some of this is due to that POTS was just recently given the name POTS in 1993. Lack of research and understanding is the largest problem. Research is finally starting to be done, but a lot more needs to happen. Often Veterinarian students will learn about Dysautonomia and medical students hardly gloss over it. A lot of POTS patients many different doctors before they diagnosed. Throughout this process we begin to lose support from your loved ones, support from the medical community, and are told our symptoms are all in my head.

My Experience

My personal experience with getting diagnosed with POTS was an incredibly lucky one. While working as a receptionist at a hotel I fainted after I had been standing for a few hours. They took me to the hospital to make sure I didn’t have another Pulmonary Embolism and (of course) didn’t figure out what the cause was. They sent me home with a referral for a cardiologist. The cardiologist was useless but did do one great thing: he sent me for a tilt table test.

My first tilt table test was ridiculous. When I told them I was going to faint they ignored me. My heart rate went from up over 60 beats per minute and I passed out. Afterwards, I asked them what that meant and they told me it was normal.

If I had listened to my cardiologist and the technician it would have taken much longer to get a diagnosis. Not everyone faints from POTS, but it was lucky I did because I was able to figure out what I had as a result. I googled “fainting after standing” as one of the hundreds of things I looked into. Between that and looking up “increase in heart rate upon standing” I was able to find that I had POTS. I found a new cardiologist, who wasn’t much better, who was able to definitively diagnose me with POTS. My hyperPOTS diagnosis took a bit longer, but that was a few years later at Mayo Clinic.

I did have trouble with getting diagnosed with my gallbladder problems and Pseudotumor cerebri getting diagnosed. Any rare or complicated condition has the potential for diagnosis these problems.

Just How Long Are We Talking?

To best understand what POTS patients go through in obtaining diagnosis we must look at the length of time and the number of doctors seen before diagnosis. Most POTS patients see 3-5 doctors, but there a few who have had to see 36 or more! That is about a day and a half of doctor’s appointments total; which means a day and a half of doctors telling you nothing is wrong and it is in your head. The amount of money for 36 doctors and a lot of testings is incredibly expensive! It is also emotionally draining.

Source: Data from the patient survey on POTS this wonderful website it doing here.

As for how many years it takes to get diagnosed, for the vast majority of POTS patients it takes over five years! For some patients, it takes as long as 20 years. Twenty years of medical tests, doctors visits, and feeling terrible with no answers.

Based on a Facebook poll of 76 POTS patients.

The Emotional Toll

Often when we first get sick people are very understanding and supportive. They want to help and there is a lot of sympathy. However, after months with no answers that sympathy and understanding goes away. Parents demand you clean and do chores, after all doctors found nothing wrong with you. Friends get upset when you have to cancel due to your symptoms. People stop asking how you are and that support turns quickly into judgement. It is one of the most alienating things I have ever been through.

If your loved ones not being supportive isn’t enough, the medical community begins to “shun” you. Doctors are terrible at saying “I don’t know”. Instead, they blame the patient and insist it is all in their heads. Here is a notable list of things doctors may say:

1. “It is just anxiety” Or insist it is depression, hypochondria, or another mental health condition.

2. “You are doing this yourself.” They assume it is Munchhausen’s or Munchhausen’s by proxy.

3. “You need to stop doing drugs.”

4. “You are making things up to get drugs.”

5. “You just need more exercise.” Or they tell you to be more active, go back to work, get out more.

6. “You are making up all this to get attention.” Oh ya, I love how much attention I get for POTS.Most of it is negative! I hate being that sick girl- who would want this?

7. “That is normal.” Fainting is normal? POTS symptoms aren’t normal and are a huge threat to the quality of life!

Feeling terrible and hearing these things is incredibly draining. After hearing it is all in your head you begin to wonder if they are telling the truth. Friends and faily may even agree with the doctors and begin to say hurtful things when all you need is their support.

How Do We Fix This?

Advocate and Educate! It can be incredibly frustrating to have to educate a doctor, but it is the only way things are going to get better. The more doctors know about POTS, the fewer people will have to endure misdiagnosis. Those of us with a diagnosis need to help those who haven’t yet.

Here is a pamphlet from Dysautonomia International on Dysautonomia to give to any doctor who needs to do some learning. This is a fact sheet on POTS. This is a POTS overview. Go forth and educate!

And Then She Told Me I Have Cancer

Having Cancer is News to Me

Last week I was diagnosed with cancer by an ultrasound technician before the test even began. I sat down and she sais, “so we are looking at the state of your thyroid cancer.” As far as I knew I was just having a thyroid nodule checked. I was nervous, but her comment terrified me. I confirmed with her that the order did say I had cancer. Did the doctors know something I don’t?

I then proceeded to ask the name of this doctor who said I had cancer. Somehow, the order was from a doctor I’ve never even seen. A doctor I hadn’t even been to yet said I had cancer. My primary doctor is the one who scheduled the test so I was very confused. Maybe this new doctor didn’t care enough to enter the correct code for the technician. I can’t even imagine what happened to make that mistake. As a result, my weekend was stressful. I had to wait four agonizing days before the doctor finally called me back.

At least for now, they have determined that the tumor doesn’t need immediate attention. I don’t understand because it has doubled in size in the past year. I also have mysterious thyroid blood test results. For some reason, I don’t feel relieved yet. Maybe it is taking a while to sink in because I was trying to get used to the idea that I do have cancer in case the ultrasound technician was correct.

I am confused and frustrated over this situation. Patients shouldn’t have to deal with a fake cancer diagnosis. Telling someone they have cancer should never come so lightly! And you definitely shouldn’t have to hear it from an ultrasound technician.

I try to be understanding of people just making mistakes. However, these sort of mistakes happen all the time to me. I’ve been misdiagnosed a few dozen times. In fact, this isn’t even my first time being told I have cancer. The first time I was told I had cancer was by a Gastroenterologist. He diagnosed me without even doing tests. As someone who struggled to get my diagnosis, I am usually all for getting diagnosed. But only is if it the correct one! Incorrect diagnoses are stressful and harmful to patients.

The first time I was misdiagnosed with cancer, I was referred me to an oncologist and they did many painful tests and put me through a lot of stress before determining I didn’t actually have cancer. For months, I thought I had cancer because my doctor didn’t care enough to get all the facts. That stress takes a toll on your mental state.

Too Many Rules

I also had bronchitis/pleurisy last week. I was coughing, hadn’t slept in three days, and was in terrible pain. It is now taking three weeks to get into a Pain Specialist for an appointment. So I called my doctor. She called me in an antibiotic and cough syrup with codeine to the pharmacy to help me sleep. I was excited to finally get sleep and feel a little better.

Cough syrup with codeine is monitored closely under the law. A hard copy of the prescription is required to refill it. So obviously the fax from my doctor didn’t work. I called my doctor at 4:30 PM and they were already closed! So just because of ridiculous rules and regulations I had four pain filled and sleepless nights in a row instead of just three miserable nights.

I understand that many of the rules and regulations in the medical system exist for a reason. However, people who are chronically ill have to deal with all the inconveniences created by rules daily. While I am sure that requiring hard copies may lessen narcotic abuse, but it makes it so difficult for chronically ill patients to get the medication they need. When these problems arise, doctor’s offices take hours if not days to get back to you. The rules and regulations may not stop, but how medical professionals can change to make their patient’s lives easier.

When problems do arise, doctor’s offices take hours, if not days, to get back to you. The rules and regulations may not stop, but medical professionals can change to make their patient’s lives easier.

We Need Change

The medical profession exists to help people. However, when things go wrong the medical system can ruin your day, week, or life. Even small mistakes, like the failure in communication between professionals I experienced, can really make the patient’s experience worse. Dealing with an illness is already a trying time and incorrect information can affect people’s quality of life. Shouldn’t medical professionals be working to make their patient’s quality of life?

It needs to be easier to contact doctors for questions; it needs to be easier to refill a prescription. There has to be a better way for medical professionals to communicate with each other.

Most importantly, we need to value medical professionals who do care about their patients. There is so much focus is on competition and learning in medical school that by the time those students are doctors, they have a hard time seeing them as humans. When intelligence, competition, and apathy are encouraged in medical students is it really any surprise that doctors don’t value their patient’s quality of life.

My largest complaint with the medical profession is that I am treated like a number. I have bounced around hundreds of doctors and am constantly bombarded with tests, but rarely does a doctor treat me like a human being. Treating patients like humans instead of numbers will solve many problems the medical system has. I know a doctor who cared about patients as people wouldn’t accidentally diagnose someone with cancer.

9 Ways to Be Supportive When You Don’t Understand

There are many experiences common to every human. Most of us will go through these, so we can easily relate and empathize. Nearly everyone is affected by the common cold. Therefore, when someone says they have a cold it is easier be understanding and supportive.  Memories of soup, towers of tissues, and feeling miserable immediately come to mind. We know how to support and help each other through a cold because we can remember what we needed. But what happens when you have no idea what a loved one is going through? How do you support them?

1. Realize you don’t have to understand to lend support. As humans we all go through hard times. Two friends I used to babysit, Julia and Evan, were young friends who both supported each other through an incredibly trying year. Julia and Evan show that humans, including children, don’t have to go through the same experiences to support each other. For Julia, the worst experience of her young life has been the loss of her mother. For Evan, the death of his beloved dog has been the most difficult time of his life thus far. So how did Evan support, empathize, or even begin to understand Julia? It is obvious that they couldn’t entirely relate to each other’s experience. However, this doesn’t mean that they can’t support each other. Both children went through an experience that was incredibly difficult for them. While Julia’s mother’s death had a more profound effect on her life, both children felt sincere grief. Sorrow and struggle are real and in the moment. The cause of grief didn’t change the despair either child felt. Because both children went through those hard experiences and felt grief, they can better relate to each other. Even though the causes and degrees of these feelings were different, both Julia and Evan supported each other through their grief.

As humans we all go through hard times. Two friends I used to babysit, Julia and Evan, were young friends who both supported each other through an incredibly trying year. Julia and Evan show that humans, including children, don’t have to go through the same experiences to support each other. For Julia, the worst experience of her young life has been the loss of her mother. For Evan, the death of his beloved dog has been the most difficult time of his life thus far. So how did Evan support, empathize, or even begin to understand Julia? It is obvious that they couldn’t entirely relate to each other’s experience. However, this doesn’t mean that they can’t support each other. Both children went through an experience that was incredibly difficult for them. While Julia’s mother’s death had a more profound effect on her life, both children felt sincere grief. Sorrow and struggle are real and in the moment. The cause of grief didn’t change the despair either child felt. Because both children went through those hard experiences and felt grief, they can better relate to each other. Even though the causes and degrees of these feelings were different, both Julia and Evan supported each other through their grief.

2. Don’t compare experiences, but do relate to feelings. Whatever your loved one is going through, you have at least some experience you can look at and relate it to. We have all felt frustration, despair, hatred, and pain. For example, if you want to relate to someone who is chronically ill look at what you felt when you were sick. You likely felt pain and frustration, just to a different degree. Therefore, you have the tools you need to empathize with them. Just think, how would those feelings change when sick much longer? What else would you feel? What would you need in terms of support?

While searching for common feelings remember to never compare experiences. You would never say to someone who just lost their mom “I understand what you’re going through because I lost my family dog last year.” Instead, you want to consider what feelings that loss stirred in you and what support you may have wanted from others. Then you can adjust your actions accordingly and support them successfully.

While searching for common feelings remember to never compare experiences. You would never say to someone who just lost their mom “I understand what you’re going through because I lost my family dog last year.” Instead, you want to consider what feelings that loss stirred in you and what support you may have wanted from others. Then you can adjust your actions accordingly and support them successfully.

3. Seek to understand and learn. When your related feelings and experiences just aren’t enough to understand what someone is going through, seek understanding elsewhere. Even if your loved one may not want to walk in detail about what they are going through, the internet is a great resource to find people who will give you insight. You can just look up ”

When your related feelings and experiences just aren’t enough to understand what someone is going through, seek understanding elsewhere. Even if your loved one may not want to walk in detail about what they are going through, the internet is a great resource to find people who will give you insight. You can just look up “what it is like to lose a parent” or “what it is like to live with a chronic illness“. Reading these will help you to understand what your loved one is going through. If you still have questions, approaching your loved one and saying “I don’t understand what you are going through but I want to support you” can be enough! This gives your loved one an opportunity to explain what they are going through or, if they do not wish to talk, they will at least know you really care and feel your support.

4. Never judge. The fastest way to make someone feel unsupported is to judge them. Never judge how someone deals with something you have never dealt with. Even if you have dealt with it, avoiding being judgmental is a great practice. For example, you should not say “it has been six months, shouldn’t you be getting back to normal?” Instead offer support and say, “I know these past six months have been hard on you; is there anything you would like to talk about?” Try to understand and support first, judge later (or never).

5. Offer more than your prayers. Prayer is the most common support offered to loved ones going through a hard time. Letting someone know you are thinking about them is great, but what are you really doing for them? Even if you believe in the power of prayer, you telling them you are praying does little for them as far as feeling supported. Letting them know that you are there to listen, cooking them a meal, or cleaning their place is much better. If you want to let someone know you are there for them, do something! Actions speak louder than words. These helping actions will lead to your loved one feeling much more supported than they would with a prayer.

6. Reach out. Don’t assume they will ask for support. Asking for help is not my strong suit. Asking for help isn’t easy for a lot of people. When people are going through a hard time it may be even more difficult. Vague offers for help with “anything you need” begin to feel empty and contrived. So if you really want to help and support someone ask, specifically, what you can do. Reach out to them whenever you think of them or wonder if they need anything. Even if they don’t need help, they will feel much more supported.

7. Suggest specific ways in which you may help. Suggesting specific ways in which you may help will make your loved one feel even more supported. Even if you aren’t aware of exactly what they need, offering concrete ways in which you want to help shows your support. Suggesting tasks also gives your loved one an idea of what you are willing to do and gives them an idea of what they can ask for comfortably. When I need help I ask people who have offered some specific help in the past. I assume people who say “if you ever need anything just call,” are simply being polite.

8. Listen and empathize; hold the advice. If you have no idea about what going through a situation entails, please don’t give advice on it. I can’t tell you how many people have given me unwarranted medical advice because I have a chronic illness. It isn’t being supportive. When you give advice on something you know nothing about you minimize what your loved one is going through. I have spent the past six years bouncing around the medical system, confusing doctors. My complicated medical problems are not going to be resolved by an ignorant jerk with no medical background who is convinced I just need to cut out gluten.

This of course only applies when you aren’t asked for advice. If you have been asked, give your advice with as little judgment as possible.

9. Don’t pull away just because you don’t understand. Just because it is hard to be there and support someone through a hard time doesn’t mean you should give up. Even without similar experiences you can enrich their lives through supporting them through this hard time. Seek understanding even if it isn’t the easiest thing. They need your support especially now. Even if someone doesn’t ask explicitly for your help and support, they may really need it.

It is possible to support someone through something you don’t understand. Ask questions and try to understand what they are going through the best way you can. Offer specific suggestions for how to help them, and don’t offer unwarranted advice. Just listen and love. Good luck!

Cake is Infuriating: Chronic Pain in the Movies

For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, Cake is a movie with a Jennifer Anniston about a woman in chronic pain. When my partner first downloaded the film I was really excited to watch it. Chronic pain is a real struggle for so many people. Our story will finally be told!

I got my hopes up, but Cake was absolutely infuriating. They had such a great opportunity to share our story and fell entirely short. Not only is Cake a terrible representation of what it is like to live with chronic pain, the film seems to go out of its way to make us look bad. This is a common issue. People with chronic pain are commonly treated like criminals for being in pain. Our entire struggle is diminished as “drug seeking” and society basically shames us for the pain we have no control over. Cake is making these misconceptions worse.

Chronic pain does not equal addiction!

Claire, the main character of the film, falls short in so many ways. Claire is an abrasive addict. She is obviously addicted to opiates. She likely is actually in severe pain, but she is not responding in a healthy manner. There are people who take opiates for chronic pain and get help the correct way. Claire does not. She lies to her doctor to get medication. She drives to Mexico to get medication. She steals from her dead acquaintance to get medication. She drinks in excess while on medication. She takes an incorrect dose of her medication. She even overdoses as a response to stress!

For these reasons, Claire is an ideal character to represent addiction. The problem is that, for many, she represents someone with chronic pain. She fails us.

Pain isn’t Passing

In Cake, Claire’s pain begins as a part of a car accident in which she lost her son. Claire is in physical rehabilitation to make improvements over her condition. We are shown an aqua therapy session in which Claire gives up quickly due to pain and the therapist complains about her lack of improvement. Eventually, when Claire begins to try harder; things begin to magically go her way. This upsets me greatly. The most frustrating misunderstandings people with chronic pain endure are perpetuated by this horrible movie.

For example, chronic pain is not on a timer. Chronic pain isn’t usually pain from an accident that should continue to improve in time. For a lot of us our problems will get worse with age or stay the same. That “you aren’t better yet?” mentality is so frustrating! Explaining that this is the state of your health and it isn’t going away anytime soon is incredibly taxing.

Hard Work… Impossible Work

You just need to “work harder and you will be better!” This mentality, encouraged by Cake, is also harming those of us with chronic pain. In my condition, (Ehler’s Danlos III) hard work and physical therapy are often required to heal from injuries. However, no amount of determination or hard work is ever going to magically fix the collagen in my joints. I will continue to have problems. My control over my recovery is limited by my underlying condition. Just like many other chronic pain sufferers.

At one point in the movie Claire decides she is done with drugs. She even dramatically tears out her IV. I seriously can’t roll my eyes at this enough. In Cake, Claire’s determination was enough to stop the meds and deal with her pain drug-free! This is far from reality.

For me, pain meds are the last thing I try. If I am on pain medication for an extended time it is because I would not be able to function, survive, and/or live in the amount of pain I am in off of medication. There are too many side effects for me to be on them unless it’s a necessity. Opiates aren’t some nice crutch you start and stop on a whim!

You would never praise a diabetic for suddenly forgoing insulin. If Claire needed the amount of opiates she was consuming, suddenly stopping is unrealistic. Stopping opiates suddenly after an extended amount of time is simply a bad idea. That should have been a decision she made with her doctor. Cake continues this belief that opiates are only for those who aren’t mentally strong enough to handle pain. Taking medication for severe chronic pain is not a sign of weakness. Stop stigmatizing treatment for chronic pain!

Chronic Pain and Suicide

The single thing that I appreciated was that Cake approached topics of depression and suicide ideation. Physical pain can have a huge impact on mental health. It is under-addressed that a lot of people in chronic, severe pain think about suicide and self-harm. It is actually quite natural for these thoughts to come up in chronic pain patients.

What about it wouldn’t be natural? If you were in pain constantly would you too not wonder about escape? Patients who feel this way should be offered support and therapy; under no circumstances should someone in severe long-term pain be shamed. Whether patients disclose depression, suicide ideation, worries of dependency, or ask for a pain medicine there is no reason they should ever be treated as a criminal. Any open and honest communication should be encouraged.

If the pain is severe enough that suicidal thoughts are occurring then coping mechanisms need to be enhanced. Often chronic pain patients do not ask for help with these coping strategies despite medical professionals being equipped to help. Both the act of admitting depression or suicidal thoughts as well as requesting additional pain relief are extremely stigmatized. Therefore, patients aren’t talking to their doctor and getting the help they need before suicide becomes the only viable option left. This is a topic that needs to be talked about more and I appreciate Cake addressing it. Addressing depression and suicide ideation really is the only thing that movie did correctly!

I also believe that it is necessary for patients to be able to be honest about worries of dependency, tolerance, and addiction to opiates. By criminalizing opiate addiction, we have made it so that these patients, like Claire, cannot get the help they need. If Claire wasn’t worried about being judged or treated like a criminal she may have been able to get the treatment she needed for her opiate addiction.

Cake is Just Wrong

This movie genuinely had me in tears, and definitely not because it was a truly moving. So many people who were in my life have treated me like I’m Claire. They treated me like a drug addict for being in pain. This is how a big part of the world sees us. It already is terrible to be in pain every waking moment. Those around you seeing you in pain and still treating you like a drug addict due to the stigma behind opiates is even worse. I know for a fact that a portion of my family would rather see me screaming, crying, and writhing on the floor in pain rather than have me take opiates. For me, that is the most heartbreaking part.

So to Cake with all its misconceptions: Not all of us are in pain due to an accident. Not all of us are in pain because we aren’t working hard enough at rehabilitation. Not all of us will get any better. Some of us will get worse. It will not be because we weren’t trying hard enough.

We are nothing like Claire. We want to get better. We want it more than anything. We hate taking the drugs. We avoid them when we can. We don’t lie or manipulate doctors. We are not weak because we take medication. We are strong from the pain we have fought all these years.

Most importantly, we are in pain and every day is a battle. So give us your support, not your judgement.

History of POTS

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome is a type of dysautonomia. POTS has just recently begun to be recognized within the medical community. Patients with POTS commonly go undiagnosed for a year or more. Some doctors don’t recognize POTS as a genuine condition and claim it “isn’t real”; even more doctors simply do not understand. POTS just recently gained its name so it is just beginning to show up in television and pop culture.

Names

In 1993 researchers led by Dr. Philip Low at the Mayo Clinic coined the term “Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome”. POTS was previously referred to as Postural Tachycardia Syndrome in 1982 by Philip Low and Ronald Schondorf at Mayo Clinic.

During the American Civil War Jacob Mendes Da Costa described a condition which may have been what we now call POTS. Da Costa called the condition “irritable heart”. Because Da Costa was the first one to describe the condition it is also described as Da Costa’s Syndrome. Da Costa’s syndrome is unique in that there are profound symptoms, but physiological abnormalities are usually absent. Because of this description many people assume Da Costa was describing a form of anxiety, but some of his patients may have actually had POTS.

Da Costa’s syndrome is also called cardiac neurosis, chronic asthenia, primary neurasthenia, effort syndrome^[2][3], and neurocirculatory asthenia^[4]. Da Costa described the symptoms of “irritable heart” to include palpitations, shortness of breath, chest pain, and fatigue upon exertion ^[5]. POTS is commonly misdiagnosed as an anxiety disorder. I think it is entirely possible that this “exertion sickness” was, at least in some cases, indeed POTS.

I have recently heard POTS called Astronaut Syndrome. When astronauts return to gravity from a lower-gravity state they may experience POTS-like symptoms. This term has not gained traction. I have also heard POTS called Grinch Syndrome because in some cases POTS is due to deconditioning and the heart is too small. Thankfully, this term has also not gained traction because it is simply inaccurate for most POTS patients.

Popular Culture

POTS doesn’t have a huge place in popular culture. It has been mentioned in House, MD. In the episode The Choice, POTS is suggested as a possible condition. However, in the end the patient does not have POTS but rather Chiari Malformation. Chiari malformation is seen in a number of POTS patients. In House, the orthostatic element of POTS (which not all patients have) is the focus of discussion.^[6]

POTS has also been addressed in Mystery Diagnosis. Marissa Irwin was featured in an episode of Mystery Diagnosis. She has POTS, Ehler’s Danlos, and Arnold Chiari Malformation. Patients have expressed frustration with how Mystery Diagnosis frames these cases. While POTS and EDS get exposure, the show likes to wrap the story into a pretty bow. This ignores the fact that these are chronic incurable conditions. Marissa is now a model and has been on the cover of Seventeen and Bridal Guide.

Some news stories have also featured or mentioned POTS. These stories are far from satisfactory in their understanding of POTS. For example, POTS is mentioned in 2010 by ABC News^[7]. This terrible article claims that POTS is “curable”. This is simply false; some people grow out of POTS or cure an underlying condition, but there is no known cure.

In 2011, the American Heart Association did an article on POTS that was picked up by some news channels ^[8]. Frankly, this article grossly oversimplifies a complex syndrome. It claims that most POTS patients have a heart “two sizes too small” and call POTS “Grinch Syndrome”. A small subset of POTS patients have the condition due to deconditioning. Some others with POTS get worse because of deconditioning as a result of their POTS. In this case their heart may be smaller than normal. However, this is not the case in many POTS patients.

In 2013, the Huffington Post wrote an article addressing America’s Next Top Model contestant Alexandra Agro. ^[9] Alexandra Agro states that she has POTS and was too sick to compete. Alexandra Agro also expresses unhappiness with Huffington Post not understanding her condition and made a video to raise awareness^[10].

This is a running list. If you find another mention of POTS in pop culture please message me and I will add it.

1.  “Neurasthenia”. Rare Disease Database. National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc. 2005. Retrieved2008-05-28.
2. Paul Wood, MD, PhD (1941-05-24). “Da Costa’s Syndrome (or Effort Syndrome). Lecture I”. Lectures to the Royal College of Physicians of London. British Medical Journal. pp. 1(4194): 767–772. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
3. Cohen ME, White PD (November 1, 1951). “Life situations, emotions, and neurocirculatory asthenia (anxiety neurosis, neurasthenia, effort syndrome)”.Psychosomatic Medicine 13 (6): 335–57. PMID 14892184. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
4.  Paul O (1987). “Da Costa’s syndrome or neurocirculatory asthenia”.British Heart Journal 58 (4): 306–15.doi:10.1136/hrt.58.4.306.PMC 1277260.PMID 3314950.
5. Selian, Neuhoff (1917). “XX”.Clinical Cardiology. New York: MacMillan. p. 255.; cited on “Da Costa’s Syndrome”. vlib.us. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Choice_%28House%29
7. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/teen-finds-cure-mystery-illness-mayo-clinic-mother/story?id=11142991&page=2
8. http://newsroom.heart.org/news/1356
9. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/07/americas-next-top-model-contestant-too-sick-elimination-video_n_4055887.html
10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8kqxvOY7M8

Medical Marijuana

Medical marijuana is a hugely controversial topic, but it doesn’t need to be! Much of the current research is biased towards finding the dangers of marijuana instead of looking at possible medical use. Researchers who have studied cannabis have found many uses for marijuana (in adults).

Where is it Legal?

Recreational and medical use is legal in Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and Washington DC. In these places you can get marijuana without a red card, or medical card. However, if you have a chronic illness I strongly recommend getting a medical card. You don’t have to pay as much in taxes and the people who work in medical clinics are even more helpful.

Medical marijuana is largely separated from the medical world. I have never even had it suggested for pain by a doctor. I had to seek it out information on medical marijuana on my own. Some medications have made it through trials and are prescribed, primarily by oncologists, for severe diseases such as cancer. If you are interested I recommend speaking to your medical doctor about it.

One reason medical marijuana is so separated from the medical community is because marijuana is still a scheduled 1 drug. This means it has been found that cannabis “has no medical use”, “high potential of abuse”, and “cannot be safely used under medical care”.

To give you a better idea of what this means, both meth and cocaine are Schedule II. That means these dangerous drugs have been determined to have medical use as well as being highly addictive. I think this is a huge misclassification and agree with John Gettman who pointed out, “Cannabis is a natural source of dronabinol (THC), the ingredient of Marinol, a Schedule III drug. There are no grounds to schedule cannabis in a more restrictive schedule than Marinol”. If we are making medicines from cannabis then how can we say it has no medical purpose?

 

Is it Safe?

Marijuana has no recorded incident of overdose. Not only does marijuana have fewer deaths than alcohol, but health costs for alcohol outweigh the costs for marijuana by eight times. Both alcohol and tobacco are legal but are considered far more dangerous than marijuana. A study was done on the link between marijuana and hospital visits. They found that marijuana did not increase the chance of going to the hospital.

Alcohol, and many other drugs, are neurodegenerative. This means drinking alcohol kills brain cells. Research suggests that marijuana may have the opposite effect.

To reach the lethal threshold of marijuana someone would have to consume 1500 pounds of marijuana in fifteen minutes. Therefore, marijuana users don’t have to be worried about overdose. That isn’t to say that all marijuana use is safe.

Possible side effects of marijuana use include dry mouth, paranoia, increased heart rate, tiredness, confusion, or memory problems. Because cannabis can raise your heart rate, I recommend being under care of a doctor if you have POTS and want to try marijuana. These side effects may be worse in people with mental illness.

There haven’t been many studies about medical marijuana and how it relates to driving safety. We do know that people should avoid consuming marijuana and operating any machinery. Driving accidents are a real problem with any drug usage and are potentially the most dangerous threat widespread marijuana usage holds.

As of now, evidence suggests marijuana as relatively safe for adults. However, when used regularly prior to turning 18 marijuana can cause problems. Research has shown that there is a drop in IQ associated with teen marijuana use. There have also been studies that suggest teen marijuana use may lead to memory problems.

Pain Management

Doctors are cracking down on drug seekers and those of us with chronic pain are taking the worst hit of all. It is true, many people abuse these drugs. Opiates have the potential for addiction and tolerance is a real problem. Despite these problems, researchers are taking their sweet time looking at marijuana as an alternative pain relief method. Instead of looking into a drug that has been proven beneficial (enough to make medical marijuana legal) politics is getting in the way of researching marijuana more and potentially helping many people.

Surprisingly, I have found that medical marijuana has less of a stigma than opiates (at least in Colorado). I have been to too many doctors with kidney stones only to have them tell me I’m drug seeking and turn me away with no relief in any form. The pain relief you get from marijuana is extremely helpful, but they won’t treat you like a criminal (unless you want to get into the whole federal crime issue). People who work at dispensaries are generally very caring and knowledgeable about their product. They have treated those of us with chronic illnesses with more kindness that most doctors have. They can make great recommendations as to tinctures, concentrates, edibles, and flower. Don’t worry if you don’t know what these words mean; they will be happy to explain them to you.

Cannabis has a lot less of a chance of addiction than opiates. There is a chance for addiction, but not due to physical dependency. Addiction occurs due to psychological dependence. More research needs to be done into the relationship between marijuana and addiction.

 

Medical Purpose

Medical marijuana comes in many forms. There are edibles, smoking, capsules, vaporizing, and now even juicing the plant. What works best medically depends on the type of symptoms or just personal preference. Different strains are better for different things. The two primary types of cannabis are Sativa and Indica. Sativa is more energizing while Indica is more relaxing. Indica is best used for sleep problems and pain. Sativa works best for depression and fatigue. Depending on the strain, both Indica and Sativa can stimulate appetite.

After a study on cannabis from the Institute of Health concluded that marijuana should not be used to treat any disease. However, the study concluded that marijuana can be valuable at controlling symptoms of these diseases. One such symptom is paresthesia. Marijuana is especially good for this “pins and needles” pain where opiates commonly fail. Marijuana also works as a muscle relaxer, and can help with multiple sclerosis, HIV, Tourette’s, and cancer.

While Marijuana may cause respiratory symptoms and side effects, the research that has been done indicates that smoking marijuana doesn’t cause lung cancer. In fact, the opposite is thought to be true. Research in its infancy suggests that marijuana may have cancer-fighting properties. While only anecdotal evidence in humans is available, this could have huge implications on marijuana’s scheduled status. Harvard researchers found that when mice with lung tumors were given cannabis cancer growth was cut in half. Nearly one in four of the mice were completely cured and the remaining saw a decrease in tumor size.

 

Cannabidiol (CBD)

It is possible to get marijuana’s health benefits without getting high. THC is psychoactive, but CBD (Cannabidiol) is not and has more medical uses. Cannabis with high CBD causes less memory impairment due to competition for the CB1 receptor. Strains with high CBD have significantly more medical value than the typical strains used for recreation. CBD is also completely legal in all 50 states without a medical license.

Despite the fact that marijuana may have negative effects on a child’s brain, some parents choose to give their severely ill children cannabis. Charlotte Figi, a young girl with Dravet syndrome (a severe seizure disorder), went from having hundreds of seizures a week to a single seizure a week. Charlotte used a strain of cannabis with high CBD content. There is now a similar strain named after her called Charlotte’s Web. Using strains that have a high amount of CBD and not THC may keep the negative memory and intelligent side effects at bay. Therefore, we may see research suggesting medical marijuana is useful to children and teens.

In addition to helping with seizures, CBD has also shown to have antimicrobial properties. One study found that cannabis may even help with acne. Studies have also found that cannabis may reduce the spread of HIV as well as decrease the risk of developing diabetes.

While cannabis may be dangerous in mental illness, CBD has potential use in mental illness as well. Cannabidiol (CBD) has been shown to work as well as traditional antipsychotics used in schizophrenics. Additionally, there are far fewer side effects in patients who were taking CBD than these antipsychotics. Cannabis also is helpful in anxiety and depression.

 

 

Any drug that has the potential to improve someone’s quality of life should certainly be researched more. Keeping marijuana as a schedule I drug is preventing us from seeing all the potential medical use marijuana has. While many of these studies are small and new, there is definitely hope that medical marijuana will be helpful to treating a variety of ailments.