[Nihola and Bernard]

Bernard has been using mj for a while now, thanks to the help of his physician and the great work of the BC compassion club, and it definately assists in making the day and night more tolerable in regards to pain. He's eaten and smoked it and both work. Smoking doesn't last as long, but begins sooner. Make sure that you have access to try a variety of types. Pure Indica strains are the only ones that help him, because the other strain, or blends, cause him to worry too much (he's a thinker). He also only takes a very small amount, much less than most people would use recreationly. Taking more just brings greater awareness of the pain. I'm not sure if this is true of all conditions, but for back and nerve pain, it certainly seems to be the case. It does make him less of a go getter, so we try to get something accomplished, however small, before he takes it. It does make him happier, because the body relaxes a bit and doesn't constantly tell him all about the pain that's going on. He's still on other pain meds, the max. daily's of Gabapentin, Ibuprofin and Acetaminophen, although often enough he can reduce the amounts now that he uses mj too. The other things we've tried this winter is a full spectrum light, just to try to keep depression from creeping in too much and causing even more pain. We bought a 10,000lux SAD light, and it does seem to help (but that's another story).

Good luck