Cannabis Oil Questions Answered, No. 8

The early days, Sophie aged 5

Do you ever use straight THC as a rescue medication? Do you worry about her getting high?

Yes, I do. And no, I don't. In fact, just this morning I woke to the awful sound of Sophie seizing in her bed. The awful sound includes grunts and thrashing limbs, sometimes a scream. I dashed from my room to hers and was assailed, immediately, by the smell of seizure. A certain type of tonic-clonic seizure induces not just a pungent body odor but nearly slick-with-sweat palms and feet. I don't know what this is other than a response from the autonomic system, but it makes my heart sink because it often stays for days. I actually hate this state more than anything, other than the seizure itself. I have no idea why my reaction to it is so visceral, but I imagine it has to do with powerlessness. Sophie has been doing quite well with the new strain of cannabis. She's going many days and sometimes even more than a week with no big seizures. I also give her THC at night, but only a tiny amount. I'll leave a discussion of that for another post, but suffice it to say that THC is very necessary for most kids with seizures and is the reason why CBD-only laws are often counter-productive. Whole plant medicine, ya'll.

I've gotten off track, as usual.

The answer to the question is, again, YES. I give Sophie extra THC, straight, as a rescue medication and it works. This morning, after that first seizure she had another, and after that, when she was still in a post-ictal state which means there was a bit of jerking and weird posturing, I drew up a small amount of THC oil into a syringe, shot it into the side of her mouth and massaged her cheek. She had already stopped seizing, so I wasn't giving it to her in a status state, but do you know that the clamminess and body odor -- the things that would ordinarily persist for days after such a big seizure -- disappeared? Her palms were dry, no body odor and everything hunky-dory. No more seizures, either.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

As for worrying about her getting high, cue the Mrs. Braddock laugh.



















*My cousin Maria sent me the photo above along with the ones below. There's something so sweet and nostalgic about them. I hardly remember those days, but then -- I do.

Henry, 22 months old

Me and Henry, aged 22 months and my father's foot