Philippa Fleming Activist

Day 1 Friday 25 March 2022 12 pm – Noidecs T25:C25

I started the new oil today. It didn’t really smell or taste of anything in particular was quite neutral to me so i wouldn’t be able to fathom a guess at the terpenes. By 3.30 pm i was getting a little giggly from the flower that i happened to be vaping. I wasn’t laughing at anything in particular in fact if i didn’t know the effects of cannabis then i would have no clue as to why i was laughing at all. Luckily i didn’t decend into a whitey (resembles a panic attack) of course i am now armed with the knowledge that black pepper (caryophelene) can stop the whitey in it’s tracks. Vaping flower at 130c will also produce this terpene if you haven’t got any black pepper to hand. Of course you might have a strain that isn’t abundant in this terpene but it’s worth a try i say.

4 pm – Well it looks like the game is a foot. Now that i have had time to study this medicine and am somewhat starting to understand it i can give you a blow by blow commentary of what i am experiencing & how the cannabis plant is helping me. So my pain today has been more like a gentle pins and needles type of pain after starting the day in screaming muscle pain & joints feeling like they were going to colapse any minute. Now i am not pain free because it takes time for the meds to build up in your system which is why the flower is prescribed to offer short term relief. I’m also getting on better with the EMT 2 (Cairo) flower that i was prescribed. With the previous oils i really wasn’t keen on this flower at all. It will be interesting to see what happens with the other flowers that i have access to.

5 pm – The pain around my shoulder blades area which often feels like i’m on fire is starting to subside so the oil and the flower together have helped this pain today. The prescription states that i can take this medication 3 times a day but i am going to try twice a day at the moment, as i think considering i’m getting a little giggly on my first dose when i vape flower i probably shouldn’t push it but i think it’s safe to say that my mental health is now well supported again. The doctors admit that they are all learning about this medicine as are the patients so i will ring the clinic on Monday to let them know what i have decided. I predict that i will be on the twice a day at 0.2ml twice a day for without having to up the dose for quite sometime but only time will tell.

My joints at this stage are still clicky especially the thoracic spine area between my shoulder blades. Well i guess I wasn’t built in a day so i won’t repair in an instant. I think i will leave it there except to say i feel more mellow now that i am well medicated again as the last couple of weeks has been a bit of a roller coaster mentally.

9 pm update – scrap what i said earlier about not taking the 3 doses a day. I started getting hot flushes (which have been quite bad this last few days) which started at about 7 pm my second dose of the day is due at 6 pm. So day 2 will see me take all three doses. Because no matter how mild or how short they last they are still very uncomfortable and i’m sure that it is this that is sometimes causing me to get dehydrated no matter how much i drink. My acidic stomach has also cleared up & i can probably stop taking the naproxen now.

I thought you might be interested to know that before i went off to sleep I decided to have a smell of all the flowers that i currently have in the house. I was pleasently surprised when i smelled the Khiron 22% flower (Hindu Kush) I remember it smelling slightly of citrus, when i had a smell of this flower after starting the new oil the citrus smell became much stronger. So now i reaally am looking forward to trying this flower although with limonene terpene involved which is a stimulent i may have to avoid the limonene temperature if i want to get some sleep. But looking forward to the experimenting all the same.

I do hope anyone reading my story will have the confidence to try to carry on with the medical cannabis or indeed seek a prescription in the first place. I know there are a lot of teething problems but there always is when a new service starts up. Especially when we are relying on other countries for our supply. But i do agree that patients should be given the option to grow our own. I like the fact that i can get my oil from the pharmacy as i’m not sure i would have the ability to produce that for myself but i would like to try and grow my own for vaping. One plant would possibly last me a year unless i were to start making edibles. I do look forward to that day.

Day 2 Saturday 26 March 2022

I forgot to take my regular pain medication last night so i woke at about 6 am in agony. My lower back & hips felt like they were on fire when i woke to use the bathroom. However, i lay awake or an hour or more before i thought to look at my medication dosset box before i realised this. So i took the pain medication and filled a new Volcano bag & manage to get some more sleep. I woke at about 11.30 am with the pain in my back being more like a strong aching pain. I took my regular meds at 12 pm which was, 15mg morphine, 250mg naproxen, 50mg losartan (high blood presure), 25mcg levothyroxine and 2 paracetamol. I’m hoping that by Monday I won’t require the naproxen again but that may take a little longer. I also finished the vape bag that i had filled earlier.

1 pm – I am just about to start a fresh flower dosing capsule with the Noidecs T16 (LA Amnesia) which i have not tried yet since switching to the new oil (i was still vaping with the EMT 2 yesterday). I am now feeling really hungary so for breakfast I am going to have Lactose Free Cathedral City cheese on gluten free crispbread with my homemade hemp seed butter/spread. I will leave it here for now because i now have to clean up the cat litter tray before my breakfast. Catch you later. Oscar is begging to go outside.

4.30 pm – I have just come in from the garden having done about 30 minutes of weeding in the garden. I am vaping a capsule of the Noidecs T16 at 157c (boiling point of delta 9 THC) it’s the first time i have felt my muscles relaxing without the use of tobacco. I have really missed this type of feeling and have been craving this a little bit. In fact i almost caved in about a month ago and was going to ask a neighboour for some baccy so that i could smoke a spliff. But i have held out and now the cannabis is doing this job on it’s own possibly because I am at or very near to my sweet spot dose. Disapointed that i’ve not had anymore giggly moments yet today.

Day 3 Sunday 27 March 2022

I had a friend visit me today which is why my diary is late being produced today. I woke up at about 6 am today for a bathroom break and my legs were feeling a bit stronger than they have of late & the pain in my lower back & hips is subsiding. I still have the occasional hot flush, my stomach acid has been bad today. Shoulder blade pain is intermitant. I’ve even had a few moments where my i can’t be bother gene dared to raise it’s ugly head. I can’t remember which strain i was using at the time but i almost started getting a full on relaxation otherwise known as couch lock. However it was very short lived. I have the occsional slight headache but i’m sure it’s me trying to get used to the new oil. Hopefully i will have more to say tomorrow although i maybe getting another visit.

Day 4 Monday 28 March 2022

The start of my day was rather sluggish I had taken meds at 12 pm as usual and was laying down trying to relax and waiting for the pain killers to start working. It got to about 1 pm and i was just about to fall asleep again when suddenly i got a knock on my door. It was my friend Jonathan who surprised me (gosh i seem to be miss popular this week lol & it’s not even my birthday yet) so we had a chat in the garden for a little while and he persuaded me to go on a trip to tesco with him. As it was a nice day I decided i would go as i had not left the house for anything for quite sometime (i don’t even leave my house for medical appointments now). There is a new Subway (sandwich shop) at the Goldington Tesco so we had lunch (breakfast for me). I didn’t really require anything from tesco other than some tissues as i usually do my shopping online. But i did want to go to B & M across the road to buy some compost and some large plant pots. They have kindly let me pay for the items and have stored them for me until i can get someone who has a car to pick them up for me (I really do miss having a car).

By the time we had finished with B & M my pain levels were sky high again so it was time for me to get home plus my wheelchair battery had just enough charge to get me home. Jonathan and i parted ways on Church lane as he was also on the last dregs of his battery and i got home to Oscar either wanting to go outside or wanted to be fed. I let him out for a few minutes but it turns out it was the food he wanted more than outside time.

I really enjoyed both surprise vists i have had this week but i really am after some quiet time now. I think i have pushed myself too far, so i am definately having a lie in tomorrow. If my door gets knocked i think i might have to ignore it. Slightly more difficult to do in a bungalow.

Day 5 Tuesday 29 March 2022

First i would like to start by saying that last night i tried the Khiron 22% flower (hindu Kush). It was absolutely brilliant from almost the first inhale. I started at 130c which is for caryophelene which is a componant used for pain I then went up to 157c for the THC then to 176c for limonene and 220c for CBC & THCV. I started to relax before i had start vaping at the THC temperature and i was feeling like i was almost ready to go of to sleep. The pain in my shoulder blade area almost disapeared and is still (at 1 pm the following day) pretty much under control. I did wonder if i would lose control of some bodily functions but i’m happy to report that i didn’t wet the bed (lol) & i woke up when i became aware of the requirement. I did manage to get back to sleep quite quickly and i have woken up feeling quite refreshed & well rested. I’m also happy to report that the limonene content did not work as a stimulant. The pain that i get around the right kidney area seems to have also gone away for the most part so i’m now wondering that since the scans on my kidneys have come back clear that this is not infact kidney pain but muscle pain instead. I do have a bit of a side effect today which i’m not sure what to think of at the moment but lets just say i hope i don’t end up being back on the imodium. Apologies if that is TMI.

Anyway i have started the day well but i have a meeting this evening that i am quite apprehensive about but I’m afraid i can not explain in more detail as this has been classified. So i think i will leave it there for now by saying “No Comment”

Some of my sore skin on my left leg feels a bit better today. I also noticed in the last couple of days my stomach does actually reach a capacity now whereas before I started this oil i wanted to eat all of the time. I’ve also noticed that my hairline (which was starting to receed last year) is starting to grow back & become thicker again. Here is a selection of articles to choose from to see how this works. But i am convinced that it is the medication, foods and the body wash & shampoo that has been working together to help my hair regrowth.

I also have to report that i got a message from Liam at Leafie after contacting them to request permission to display the link to their website on my links page. Here is what he said –

Really appreciate your kind words! Great work on the website, and the political work, I think the Green Party has the best policy when it comes to cannabis, I was really impressed to see a minimum CBD content in recreational cannabis, certainly makes a lot of sense.

Keep up to good work, and let me know if there’s anything we can do to support you through leafie. 

Thanks,

Liam

I also received an email from James at Drug Science –

Hello Philippa,  

Apologies that it has taken so long for us to get back to you on this. We have just come out of an extraordinarily busy period and we are playing catch up on emails. 

Anyway, I think your website is fantastic and please feel to share our website on yours. 

Many thanks 

James 

I am of course delighted with the response i have had from both these UK organisations who are working extremely hard (behind the scenes) to raise awareness of how cannabis can help the world not just as a medicine but as a tool to sustain life on earth.

Day 6 Wednesday 30 March 2022

I got to sleep fairly quickly last night without finishing off a full capsule of the night time flower. So i am starting the day with the Khiron 22% at 220c. I have to take small sips because at this temperature it can be a bit harsh. It is illegal to make edibles or tinctures from the AVB (Already Vaped Bud) (a selection of YouTube videos of people from around the world making tinctures or edibles with AVB) so to get the THCV i have to vape at higher temps rather than vaping to lower temps and making something else out of the flower so as not to be wasteful but it is still illegal to do so in this country.

I was forced to take some imodium today. I know this will take me a few days or even weeks to figure out, but i’m wondering if the khiron 22% is relaxing me so much that I’m going to be back on the imodium permanently or if the very thin slice of Irish wheaten bread that i ate last night has caused this. I may have to research a gluten free wheaten bread but i’m not sure if that will be possible or if my grandmother would be turning in her grave at the thought of a gluten free Irish bread. I already make a gluten free potato farl which i absolutely love and this is the bread i would have over any other it goes so well with an Ulster breakfast. (Looks like i forgot a recipe on this post but i make up a good batch and keep in the freezer).

Day 7 Thursday 31 March 2022

I’ve never been good with keeping a diary. I have a lot of pain on my right side near kidneys today but this should be better when i actually try to start my day (it’s no 3 pm). I have had a very lazy & sluggish start to the day so have only just sat up to start this diary entry.

I am actually very cold at the moment i may have to put the heating on until i get a hot flush. No the hot flushes haven’t stopped yet and i’m already starting to wonder if i need to up my dose of oil. However, if i do that i will already be at the maximum dose without having to see the doctor again so i’m trying to wait to see if things start to get better over time as i’m only a week into this new oil.

The skin on my legs is still ok which i’m happy about as it can get quite sore. The pain around my shoulder blades is for the most part kept at bay unless i am cooking or cleaning. I have had some intermitant hip and knee pains. But at the moment i am feeling a little groggy. Again i fell asleep last night before i had finished a full capsule of the Khiron 22%. I may have a full day on this soon as i have not had a full day of switching off for quite sometime. I also have some shopping being delivered late this evening so i should conserve some energy.

11 pm – I had been thinking the last day or so that my skin is feeling particularly healthy at the moment the areas of dry eczema skin seems to have cleared up, the greasy patches on my face seem to be less greasy & I haven’t had a teenage zit lately. But I spoke too soon I have just noticed one on my chin. I guess Kevin is back lol.

Day 8 Friday 1 April 2022

I should probably let you know that my love affair with lemons has sadly come to an end. The acid in my stomach was getting worse this week so i decided to stop putting the lemon juice into my drinking water/squash and i’m glad to say that the acid has calmed down again. Hopefully, my weight will start to even out soon with no lemon and sugar pancake cravings.

My bones also feel less painful again. However, some of my joint pains are playing up today, the shoulder blade pain is also getting worse & the clicky joints are back. I think i’m going to try more with the vaping i know i keep saying that but it’s hard to get through one capsule when there are so many temperatures to use. My skin also feels a bit stronger although a little itchy, but that may be due to requiring a shower.

I had a phone call from Dispensary Green just before 7 pm to do an after care call. This is a welcome service considering there are still some issues to iron out. This again was a very productive phone call. I will be getting a call next week from a nurse at my clinic as i have decided that i am going to have to up my dose of the oil to 0.3ml (starting tomorrow) which means this will be the maximum dose that i can take without seeking medical advice.

Just before 8 pm i had a text from the friend that visited me last Sunday wanting to visit me again. So he came round for a couple of hours, helped me have a shower & hair wash. There’s more that i would like to talk about but this information has had to be filed under the catargory classified/no comment. But fun was had by all in attendance. But i can tell you he enjoyed watching me weigh my cannabis flower into the vaping capsules.

Day 9 Saturday 2 April 2022

I decided last night after my phone call with Dispensary Green that i was going to increase the dose of oil to 0.3mls today. My shoulder blade area is a very painful today (moreso when i’m active rather than at rest). I had run out of the hemp spread/butter that i use, so made another batch this morning before breakfast.

Having a much quieter day today although Oscar has been pestering me to go outside. I guess i’m going to have to teach him how to read the weather app on my phone cause it says it’s going to rain today. Plus it’s just too cold for me otherwise i would be outside doing some grdening/weeding. I think i’m overdue a day with music.

Day 10 Sunday 3 April 2022

Woke up with very painful knees today almost to the point of my requiring both knee splints, hips also a bit painful and just generally feeling very unstable. I think today is the day i am going to try a full day on the khiron 22% because so far that is the only flower that has given me good pain coverage. I like the other flowers because of the uplifting abilities of the flowers even if some of them aren’t great for pain they are good for the anxiety and fatigue. But as i have said before this is all trial & error for everyone, patients and medical staff.

Day 11 Monday 4 April 2022

I have had a very slow start to my day mainly because of how much pain i have been in for the last few days. But i think i may have figured it out. I have recently been skipping passed the 180c for CBD and 185c for CBN temperatures and skipping straight to 220c for THCV and CBC. At 4 pm i’m still finishing a capsule of Khiron 22% (Hindu Kush) capsule from last night. There is less than 1% CBD in this flower which was the reason i decided to skip the temp. The temperature for this capsule to start at today was 176c for Limonene, i would then skip to 220c from this point. But instead of skipping passed the CBD & CBN temp I decided to try these temps again. I am currently vaping a bag at 220c and my body has really started to relax now and the pain is starting to melt away again. I’m also staring to feel a little euphoric. So my conclusion to this discovery is that whoever coined the term “you must eat all of your Greens” was probably correct in their assumptions, but maybe I should coin the frase “You must vape at all the temperatures to benefit from the entourage effect”. Because I am now feeling very relaxed with less pain. So i won’t be skipping past these temperatures in future & this goes to show that even though there is ony a small amout of CBD in this flower is is still a vital componant for medical use.

I have discovered a website that sometimes includes lab results of the levels of cannabinoids and terpenes included in the strain information. There was no information for most of the strains i have been prescribed, however, I found the following examples. Here is an example of the strain Super Lemon Haze which is one of my favourite strains. Here is the strain Exodus Cheese which is a strain that is very popular in my area but is unfortuneately not a suitable strain for me as it gives me a headache.

The flower makes me quite creative sometimes so i got to thinking i should probaly go back through the lineage to see if i could get more information about what the levelt of cannabinoids & terpenes might be so here is my previous post Strains that I have been prescribed. With the LA Amnesia i have only been able to find the full profile of one of the grandparent strains Jack Herer but it will give you some idea of the strains abilities. In this post “Philippa’s experience with cannabis part 5” I explain about the different componants of cannabis to the best of my ability given that research into medical cannabis is still in it’s infancy.

Day 12 Tuesday 5 April 2022

I thought i was doing better with the pain but it turns out i am virtually in the same place i was before i started this legal medical cannabis. The pain around my shoulder blades is so bad that i can’t barely write this blog. It feels like an acidic type of pain moreso on the left hand side. This pain is usually worse when i have overused my arms or i have some sort of virus. I think i might require more CBD than i am currently getting. I sometimes shop at ocado and they do this drink called Trip (i’m not sure why they have called it Trip) but this drink contains 15mg of CBD so i will see if that starts to help the pain. But this is also the type of pain that can make me feel very nauseous.

Day 15 Friday 8 April 2022

This oil really isn’t working for my pain or hot flushes anymore. I can stay lowish pain if i don’t try to make a meal or do some cleaning but I have to vape the fllower virtually continuously to achieve this. Of course i can’t vape contiuously when i’m sleeping so i wake up having not taken any meds for at least 8 hours, which means the effects of the vaping would have worn off. All my joints are very clicky again and i don’t think it will be long before my thoracic spine will be threatening to dislocate again. I have just taken a naproxen i will be back on the 2 omeprazole also and i have a feeling that i will need to speak to my regular doctor about upping the dose of morphine soon. I am getting very depressed about al of this and i’m getting tearful again. Just a month ago I was almost ready to start thinking about lowering my morphine dose.

I got my courtesy call from Dispensary Green the pharmacy that sends the medication. But i never got the call from The Medical Cannabis Clinics to discuss the dose of the oil. I am now on the maximum dose according to the prescription directions. I will now have to ring myself on Monday.

This is a service that we are paying hundreds of pounds a month for it really isn’t good enough. It’s almost like they just want to take our money and run. I can honestly say that i get a better service from the black market. But i’m actually starting to think that the black market actually cares more for their patients than the so called legal market. I am now with every other medical cannabis patient i want to grow my own. Learn how to make my own oils and edibles. But in reality the whole illegal/legallity of a plant is just ridculous to begin with. The human race is truly stupid and maybe we don’t derserve to be here at all cause we have truly fucked up this planet.

Day 19/20 Tuesday 12/Wednesday 13 April 2022

I have started to feel a little stronger again in the last couple of days but not completely stable as i still have clicky joints, slight pain in scapula area, loss of balance and i’ve just had a dizzy spell when stretching. I have also changed or added Boveda 2 way humidity packs into the pots of flower I have. The packets contain a gel which becomes hard when they have reached the end of their usefulness. This has made a big difference to how the flower is now working. It seems to have refreshed the flower and brought the components of the flower back to life (& i didn’t even have to do CPR lol). My pain has been a little more controlled in the last couple of days & is much better while I am vaping. I’m still having hot flushes which seems to be worse in the morning before my first vape of the day. I think it might be THC that would be stopping the hot flushes as THC works with the CB1 receptors which is for supporting the central nervous system.

I still haven’t heard back from the clinic about the oil I have been prescribed. But I am researching other flowers that i might be able to get. I thought a flower with a higher CBD content would probably be worth a try as this binds with the CB2 receptors which is for perripheral areas of the body like the ligaments and tendons, so i am searching through the Cannabis Pages stock checker to see if there would be anything suitable. But i am also researching for other strains i would like to try since the LA amnesia is now not available and could very well be a discontinued strain. I’m really sad about that as i really like this strain. Can’t wait until i can grow my own as this would be a strain i would like to grow. It’s still my favourite strain so far but Super Lemon Haze is a very close second. I would like the opportunity to try other strains of course but that is a bit difficult in such a restricted market. I’ve never been to amsterdam & not sure if i’ll ever get there now but i do hope so. It’s a good job i have plenty of flower at the moment as it’s looking like there is not much available that i fancy trying and the 4 that I found are not on Project Twenty 21 and are very expensive almost black market prices and would possibly be over with the cost of a medical appointment. Adven EMC1 however there is not much information on this strain but it has 14% CBD 10 grams £60. There is also Khiron 1/14 God Bud with 14% CBD 10 grams from £85.

I have also figured out what the pain on the right hand side area of my ribcage (what i thought might be kidney pain). Thanks to Oscar. I was lying on my left side and Oscar decided to come & sit on my ribs. This area is extremely tender and must be as a result of the dislocation of the front lower floating right rib that was quite difficult to relocate which happened approximately 2 years ago. It could also be due to the MGUS as my collar bone used to be tender to touch also. It maybe possible that once I am on a stable dose of cannabis this will also correct itself. But this area is still prone to dislocating especially if i overstretch, which is how I did the injury in the first place.

1 pm Wednesday 13 April 2022. I just made a phone call to The Medical Cannabis Clinics it seems they knew nothing of the phone call i was suppose to receive from my after care call from Dispensary Green. So i have just had to book my own appointment for a call back which will be 2 weeks since i was told i was being referred back to the clinic to discuss the prescription that is not working fully for me. i definately believe that i require more CBD than o’m currently getting. All my flowers have 1% or less so i really don’t get the amount of this componant that i require for both immunity and structual support. If this is what private medical treatment is then i don’t want it taking over the NHS. It’s time to start doing your bit ladies and gentleman. Stop thinking that the govenment of this country has your best interests at heart they don’t it’s all about there & their mates pockets and how full they can make them. They are corrupt to the core. I say again patients are paying hundreds some are paying thousands of pounds for a service that is not sustainable as it stands. If you look on cannabis pages you will see that there is barely any stock. Which of course was bound to happen because there is no growing infustructure in this country because of the set up time constraints, cost and licencing procedures. LET US GROW OUR OWN, NOW.

Day 21 Thursday 14 April 2022

I finally have a visable symptom. When i woke up this morning I first had one of my electrifying pains on the left hand side of my left knee, proceeded by a muscle spasm in my left thumb as shown in the video below. Usually these symptoms appear around my upper legs. I believe this to be a lack of CBD. I have had great dificulty with walking and physical activity today. I did however repot my wild strawberries which was long over due. I have a lot of weeding to do and some seeds to sow so i better get on with the job. Although that is very difficult when your body feels like it is going to collapse any minute.

I have had cats defecating in the front garden vegetable patch (not Oscar as he doen’t go out the front he defecates in the pebbles in the back garden) so i’m going to see if the purple sprouting broccilli will go to seed so that i can plant some in pots later in the year maybe. My Medical Cannabis clinic appointment has been changed to Tuesday as Monday is a bank holiday. I think i will order some more oil and request a CBD flower at this appointment.

Day 35 Thursday 28 April 2022

I have had 2 days with the over the counter CBD flower. Although i am not completely pain free i am very low on the pain scale at the moment. I’m still looking forward to getting the Noidecs T10:C15 oil which should be with me very soon. The portal at Dispensary Green is still saying we’re preparing your medication. But it said this the last time and i got a surprise delivery so i’m hoping that the meds will be delivered tomorrow. I’m getting low on the T25:C25 but now that i have the CBD flower I should be able to manage without the oil for a couple of days if i should run out now that i have CBD flower.

I am really happy with the harlequin flower it has a lovely aroma and taste. I ordered some more yesterday along with some cannatonic to aid with sleeping which I shall be trying this evening.

I have also run out of Levothyroxine & haven’t taken any since monday this week. It wasn’t on my list of repeat medications so i thought i wasn’t due to order. But when I tried to find some more I had run out. It seems that the medication requires reviewing so i have no idea when i will get re-supplied. But the surgery knows i have now run out. I don’t feel any symptoms coming on yet like depression, hopefully the cannabis will cover me until the meds arrive.

It turns out that if i don’t have adequate support from CBD then it doesn’t matter how much THC i take i will still be in pain. This is possibly due to my status as immunocompromised. CBD works with the immune system and peripheral central nervous system. So i require this to support my immune system and help the collegen in my body become stronger to support my joints, skin and any other area that has collagen. This then helps the THC and terpenes do their jobs like fighting the the cancer, stopping the spasms and electrifying pains and helping with fatigue among other things.

It’s amazing what i am learning about this incredible plant. I have to tell you that setting fire to the flower really is not the wy to go. Vaping or using sublingual oils is definately the way to go.

I may do one or two more updates to this diary before i bring this one to an end and start a new one with the favoured oil.