My Migraine, My Solution, And My Anger At The State
I got a firsthand understanding of the reason for black markets this weekend.
I don't get migraines as often as I used to, but I suspected one was coming on on Saturday, when I slept after Literary Orange from about 2pm to early evening and then went to be an hour or so later.
Sunday, yes, migraine.
I remembered reading that research had found cannibidiol, from cannabis, helpful for alleviating migraine pain. It was actually the CBD + THC that helped in the research, but I don't like pot and I didn't want to be high.
Also, I'm kind of a lightweight and what gets somebody else a little high could possibly floor me for days.
So my wonderful boyfriend Gregg went to a couple of the legal marijuana places here in So Cal and brought me 10 cannibidiol capsules. They cost $45, with $12 tax added on, which is just sick.
I took one but I remembered reading that 200 milligrams were the effective dose for pain. And again, I was taking a bit of a chance, since the 200 milligrams that worked were CBD plus THC.
But -- hallefuckingluyah -- 200 milligrams of CBD alone, which was two of those $57 worth of capsules, ended up working. It's 4:44 pm on Sunday as I'm writing this.
Reflecting on the price, each of those capsules, with tax, was $5.70. That's $11.40 for me, for one of my infrequent migraines. Consider that some people use these to keep from having epileptic seizures -- taking them daily.
I would love to be able to hack the price -- to get them on the black market, without the ridiculous markup due to decades upon decades of drug war hysteria and what that has done to prices of anything pot-related. Prices and the outrageous taxes on top.
I know that I could grow pot plants of my own, but again that problem: I don't want to get high. I just want migraine pain relief.
Also, it's possible that migraines may cause brain damage, reports Science Daily. I have yet to read the research on this, but neuroscientist Maiken Nedergaard is a researcher I respect (you'll find her research on sleep in "Unf*ckology").
A bit from the Science Daily link above on migraines as potential oxygen-sucking causes of brain damage:
Migraines may be doing more than causing people skull-splitting pain. Scientists have found evidence that the headaches may also be acting like tiny transient strokes, leaving parts of the brain starved for oxygen and altering the brain in significant ways.The scientists say the work makes it crucial for migraine sufferers to do everything they can to prevent their headaches. While avoiding severe pain has long been a motivating factor, the scientists say the risk of brain damage makes it imperative to prevent the headaches, by avoiding a person's triggers for the headaches and by using medications prescribed by doctors to prevent them.
I have a whole migraine ritual...
1) If I haven't already puked I make myself do so
2) I drink a coke and take Tylenol migraine or other over the counter drug.
3) Super hot shower with the water beating on my neck
4) I go to bed in a dark room, with a sleep mask if I need to
NicoleK at April 9, 2018 12:03 AM
How does that price compare with prescription medication - and, since this is a science blog, how do you know what you took was the cure from just one event?
See, the nature, symptoms and remedy for my migraines has changed over the years - one even inducing vertigo.
Radwaste at April 9, 2018 12:32 AM
Can you please provide a link to the primary source material?
The Forbes article you have linked to doesn't reference the primary source either and Forbes is not a scientific journal... nor is the author a scientist.
The lack of a primary source makes it impossible to properly evaluate the rigor and quality of the study in question.
Artemis at April 9, 2018 1:01 AM
When people here start mumbling about "rigor"...
Just say no to drugs.
I only ever had one migraine... It was watching the Led Zeppelin movie in about 1977. It was a bad film.
Crid at April 9, 2018 1:59 AM
Crid,
Do you have an actual objection to my request for a citation of the primary source material so I can read it for myself?
If so what is it exactly?
When someone makes an assertion about a scientific study it is completely reasonable to want to verify the findings.
Forbes isn't exactly known for its publication of high quality medical research.
As a result I will remain skeptical until I can check the primary reference.
Artemis at April 9, 2018 3:33 AM
Well. Have you seen this?
A fine example of YMMV.
Radwaste at April 9, 2018 3:42 AM
I didn't read the research behind the Forbes piece because I had a migraine and was in terrible pain. I know and respect David DiSalvo and figured he hadn't fucked up in his assessment of the research.
And David DiSalvo writes for Forbes, so yes, they are "known" for at least one source of high-quality science reporting. No magazine publishes medical research, and FYI, the New England Journal of Medicine, which has a wonderful reputation, has published terribly fraudulent and methodologically slipshod work.
I also didn't read Nedergard's story. See "terrible pain" above.
"how do you know what you took was the cure from just one event?"
Oh, please. No, this was not a randomized controlled trial with 300 patients. I have had countless migraines and they last all day and into the evening and I'm in horrible pain that does not let up. An hour after I took the first CBD capsule, most of my pain was gone. I took the next capsule an hour later and slept for another hour. I simply felt a little woozy afterward, but I no longer had any pain, didn't need to stay in the dark, didn't feel like throwing up, didn't throw up (nice feature of my migraines!), and was actually able to lie on the couch and watch a movie and three episodes of Fauda. (Needed to kill time before 10:30 pm so I could go to bed at a time late enough that I could sleep till 5 am, when I wake up to write.)
It's possible that this one time, a fairy came in and removed my pain, or that this was the one atypical migraine I've ever had, and the CBD oil did not help. It's likely, however, that it did.
Amy Alkon at April 9, 2018 5:25 AM
Here's a trick I learned in massage with the caveat that I've never tried it (since I don't get migraines) and don't know anyone with migraines who has.
If you feel a migraine coming on, soak your feet in water as hot as you can stand it. This technique, known as "shunting," supposedly draws the blood away from your head, thus preventing the migraine.
Another caveat. This is for people who truly get migraines, not for those who think migraine is a fancy word for "headache." A number of times, people have gotten onto my massage table to complain, "Oh, I have such a migraine today."
No, they don't. They have a headache. Migraines are painful to the point of being debilitating. If they had migraines, they wouldn't be walking into my massage room so casually.
Patrick at April 9, 2018 5:51 AM
As a result I will remain skeptical until I can check the primary reference.
Given that so much of peer reviewed research can not be replicated, I would say skepticism is the correct response.
I posted this in the linkies section yesterday.
http://slatestarcodex.com/2018/04/04/adult-neurogenesis-a-pointed-review/
I R A Darth Aggie at April 9, 2018 6:26 AM
The key thing is we now have in writing a confession of a federal crime. On the bright side the FBI has a busy busy schedule investigating NCAA rule violations (not actually a crime) so they probably don't have time to give Amy a visit.
Ben at April 9, 2018 7:08 AM
> Do you have an actual objection
> to my request for a citation of
> the primary source material so
> I can read it for myself?
Yes.
> If so what is it exactly?
"Primary source material" is goofy & pretentious language for a casual blog. We ain't doing dissertation defense around here.
> As a result I will remain
> skeptical until I can check
> the primary reference.
That's darling. Subdue any drunkards lately? Kiss any girls?
Crid at April 9, 2018 7:19 AM
"Oh, please."
Okay, you just described the limits of your research and how you came to your conclusion. That's what you've asked of others here, and so you have fairly answered the question.
Even though Crid thinks you have a "casual" blog.
Radwaste at April 9, 2018 7:32 AM
Amy, no! Don't do anything until you have Raddy's vitae on file! We don't even know where Orion got his (or her) degree yet! THITH ITHH THERIOUTHHHHHHH!
Crid at April 9, 2018 7:47 AM
Youse guys remember Daffy? Rigorous as balls!
Crid at April 9, 2018 7:49 AM
Ahh, the melody of the morning. 🎶
Crid at April 9, 2018 7:52 AM
About once a year I get a visual migraine. This is a visual shimmery C shape in my case that obscures my vision. No pain but I can't read, use a computer, or drive for an hour or 2. Very weird. Obviously not worth taking meds for. I do get bad headaches sometimes and my sympathy to anyone who gets them worse than me. Pain is the area of medicine barely touched by science, unfortunately.
cc at April 9, 2018 8:04 AM
I'm going to repost Darth's link from yesterday about California driving the now-legal pot customer to the black market with high taxes and heavy regulations. Compare the Golden State's approach to that of Colorado and Washington, where the now-legal pot market has been a cash cow.
Conan the Grammarian at April 9, 2018 8:31 AM
> Pain is the area of medicine
> barely touched by science,
> unfortunately.
Aw, c'mon.. Progress has been fantastic. A few years ago, I was welcomed to late middle age with a colonoscopy. The anesthesia, the Michael Jackson drug, was incredible... An absolute square wave of consciousness, with no transitions:
And they did something really naughty to me during that sleepy part, something I'd never have put up with if I'd known it was happening. But if I'd been behind the wheel of a car on the freeway when consciousness returned, it would have been cool. Zero transition. Never been through anything like it.It's a shame that not every moment of our lives can be as readily modulated by inexpensive technologies, but let's go easy on the "barely touched" stuff. There've been wonderful, life-saving strides.
Crid at April 9, 2018 8:33 AM
David DiSalvo writes for Forbes, so yes, they are "known" for at least one source of high-quality science reporting. No magazine publishes medical research, and FYI, the New England Journal of Medicine, which has a wonderful reputation, has published terribly fraudulent and methodologically slipshod work”
I guess Peer review isnt all that great, is it? If the New England Journal of Medicine can’t suss out bad data, what hope is there for a journalist at Forbes?
And no word of course, on David DiSalvo’s lengthy credentials in the areas of math, statistics and medical research.
Why, due to the absence of any scientific credentials in any of his bios, do I get the impression that he is another journalisim major mascarading as a scientist?
Glad your cure worked this time Amy. Good thing you didn't have an allergic reaction to the ingredients. Next time you might not be so lucky.
Isab at April 9, 2018 9:03 AM
In discussing why we can't trust science, here's an interesting article - by a professor of geoscience (whatever that is).
Conan the Grammarian at April 9, 2018 9:21 AM
I'm going to assume you actually know what geoscience is Conan. For the record my father is a geophysicist.
Ben at April 9, 2018 10:38 AM
I had a pretty good idea, but wanted to poke fun at such a vague title.
Conan the Grammarian at April 9, 2018 11:39 AM
Isab: Glad your cure worked this time Amy. Good thing you didn't have an allergic reaction to the ingredients. Next time you might not be so lucky.
The same thing applies to any treatment, medication, natural remedy or alternative therapy. If it works try it again. If it kills you, don't.
Ken R at April 9, 2018 12:57 PM
Amy, get a medical marijuana card. With that you don't pay the 25% recreational tax. You can get a card for about $40. Look in the back of the LA Weekly, or the OC Weekly. There's always ads back there. That's what I do for my CBD oil.
sara at April 9, 2018 2:14 PM
That is the technical name Conan. The school of geosciences is a common label. And yes, it is the study of rocks and dirt. Mainly of interest in the mineral extraction industries. Dad spent most of his career working on acoustics in non-homogeneous medium. It is quite fun watching a multi-ton truck hop to send acoustic energy into the earth. Makes the hopping cars look quite puny. And of course no one can beat the Russians. They were crazy enough to set of nukes as acoustic sources. Freaked everyone out when they did that but the data they got back was unparalleled.
Ben at April 9, 2018 2:19 PM
cc: "About once a year I get a visual migraine. This is a visual shimmery C shape in my case that obscures my vision. No pain but I can't read, use a computer, or drive for an hour or 2... I do get bad headaches sometimes and my sympathy to anyone who gets them worse than me."
I used to have very similar symptoms that got progressively worse and more frequent over about 7 years. The visual shimmering would come on quickly, was painless, and lasted anywhere from a few hours to a few days, during which I couldn't read or drive. The headaches were excruciating, and lasted from 20 minutes to a few hours. The headaches and visual symptoms didn't usually come at the same time.
I went to several doctors over the years, including two ophthalmologists, an internist and a neurologist, and got several different diagnoses, including serous retinopathy, cluster headaches and uncontrolled hypertension (because my blood pressure went sky-high one of the few times the headaches and visual symptoms happened at the same time)
Turns out I had a brain tumor that caused the visual symptoms and headaches. It also wreaked havoc on my endocrine system causing a multitude of other health problems. By this time the tumor had reached a size and condition that it had nearly blinded me and would have soon killed me. After surgery to remove the tumor the vision in my left eye came back enough to be functional; luckily only my right eye ended up completely blind.
The person who finally figured out what was wrong with me and very likely saved my life was a very young, pretty, medical assistant with blue eyes and short blonde hair, from a temp agency. As the doctor who'd just advised me to "wait and see" and "come back if it gets worse" was about to rush out the door that medical assistant grabbed his sleeve, pointed to a chair in which the doctor then obediently sat, and then pointed out to him some things in my chart. The doctor's demeanor then became quieter and more ominous, and he ordered an MRI. Two weeks later I had surgery to remove the tumor and was on my way to recovery.
I think that young medical assistant was some sort of an angel. She had a very sweet and quietly confident manner and was only there on that one day.
Ken R at April 9, 2018 2:28 PM
I'm sorry you had to go through that Ken. I've got an uncle with a brain tumor. He's always been weird. Asking questions with no connection. Severe anger issues with his eldest son because he isn't a duplicate of himself. Issues with empathy. I can't say how much or what is related to the tumor. I think there was also fetal alcohol syndrome and 70s era heavy drug use. So what came from where is a muddled mess no one may be able to unravel.
Ben at April 9, 2018 4:06 PM
✓ sara at April 9, 2018 2:14 PM
Sara comes thru like a Sister... Actual, helpful unpretentious good advice.
Crid at April 9, 2018 4:08 PM
> that young medical assistant
> was some sort of an angel.
Find her. Hire a guy to track her down, if necessary, with hounds. Take a few weeks to compose your dispassionate, crisp expression of gratitude... A very brief anecdote, or no more than five lines of prose + a floral arrangement with chocolates. Bring your wife or a loved one and present it to her in a public setting (around her friends/peers). Do not drink beforehand.
Crid at April 9, 2018 4:15 PM
And comb your hair and tuck your fucking shirt in.
Crid at April 9, 2018 4:17 PM
And don't dally... Tell her what she needs to hear and then leave her alone, so she can do it for the next patient.
Crid at April 9, 2018 4:19 PM
As a stroke patient, my primary risk factor was a history of migraines. My doctors told me that there is a link. Ironically, as a migraine sufferer, you get used to pain and less likely to take it seriously. My mother always advised me to tough it out. That turns out to be the worst thing that you can do. An atypical migraine can actually cause a stroke in and of itself.
Jen at April 9, 2018 7:55 PM
"Amy, no! Don't do anything until you have Raddy's vitae on file! We don't even know where Orion got his (or her) degree yet! THITH ITHH THERIOUTHHHHHHH!"
Don't do that. You're scaring your cats.
Radwaste at April 10, 2018 2:47 AM
"Amy, get a medical marijuana card. With that you don't pay the 25% recreational tax. You can get a card for about $40. Look in the back of the LA Weekly, or the OC Weekly. There's always ads back there. That's what I do for my CBD oil.
sara at April 9, 2018 2:14 PM"
And then she (as sara is now forbidden from owning firearms or ammunition) would have relinquished her natural right to own firearms or ammunition:
https://www.atf.gov/file/60211/download
"The current version of Form 4473 reads: “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?” Since gun sellers are relying on their customers to tell the truth — and because lying on a U.S. government form is equated to committing a federal felony crime — the ATF added a more explicit warning to the newly revised form, which goes into circulation on Jan. 16, 2017:
“Warning: The use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medicinal or recreational purposes in the state where you reside.”
Jay J. Hector at April 10, 2018 9:08 PM
Guns or marijuana? Firearm-owning cannabis users facing a choice
https://www.thecannabist.co/2018/01/15/marijuana-users-gun-ownership/96741/
Jay J. Hector at April 11, 2018 12:15 AM
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