My Journey to Medical Marijuana: A Search for Relief

Living with epilepsy can be complex at time. I have been looking for the perfect medication combination for a year now. I have tried several medications, but it truly has been trial and error.

My neurologist has been supportive and understanding as we navigate this journey together of me getting off of phenobarbital. However, this journey has been a tough at times.

I’m trying to find the right medications and even look at other alternative medications such as medical marijuana. It’s not the most traditional drug, but helps with epilepsy.

Exploring cannabis for seizure treatment

I’ve never tried cannabis before. I recently reached out to my neurologist for support on the matter and she told me to try Epidiolex. Epidiolex is an FDA approved marijuana.

I was excited to try it, until I heard the side effects. It is a cannabinoid in cannabis plants. I had to have a 30-minute consultation with my pharmacist regarding the potential side effects.

It was after this discussion that I decided not to take Epidiolex. My neurologist couldn’t guide me on my journey to get cannabis, so I reached out to my primary care doctor for assistance. He assisted me on my journey.

Coordinating care

When I reached out to my primary care doctor, he asked me why I wanted to try cannabis. I expressed that I wanted to try it as an alternative to my anti-epilepsy medication or as another medication.

I scheduled my appointment. Then, I reached out to my neurologist to let her know about my upcoming appointment with my neurologist.

Whenever I add a new doctor or I’m getting on a new medication that could affect my epilepsy, I like to include my neurologist. My primary care doctor and my neurologist are both playing vital roles in the success of my epilepsy treatment.

I am getting my epilepsy medication prescribed from my neurologist and my cannabis from my primary care doctor. With these two doctors collaborating, I feel like I can get better treatment.

A new journey

My primary care doctor has been receptive. I explained why I wanted cannabis for my epilepsy and why I wanted to try it as an alternative to one of my anti-epilepsy medications.

Honestly, my doctor agreed to go on the journey of figuring out medical marijuana with me as an epilepsy patient. I do acknowledge there are some things I need to learn and things I need to figure out on this new journey.

Becoming a cannabis user, I need to learn more about the daily dosage amount. This is not a journey I’m not familiar with. However, I’m up for the challenge and I am aware that it will involve research and trial and error.

This new medical marijuana is only the beginning for me. I knew I would have to make changes to my medications and I didn’t know how many changes that meant.

I’ve been leaning towards the least amount of side effects. This journey has been a been an interesting one, but I’m hopeful everything will work out just fine.