Sour Diesel - A Nerd's Journey

About three weeks ago, out of seemingly nowhere, I stepped down and felt a blinding, white hot pain in my ankle. It felt like a nerve frayed and exposed while it's sizzling electrical threads blew in the breeze.

As much as I tried to manage the pain, it seemed to spread all the way up my leg, landing at the Hoover Dam of it's power source located in my lower back.

Fucking Sciatica.

I am not a doctor. However I was a massage therapist for many years. Before that, I was a medical assistant and billing specialist. 

I have taken Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology three times. I have a bulging or herniated disk (who knows which one because my insurance wouldn't pay for the MRI without 6 months of "conservative treatment" first but that's another story.) 

So, I am at least familiar with sciatica. 

Who knows? I may have been abducted by aliens and the nerve was damaged during experiments.

*Note* Full disclosure, I smoked right before writing this.

Unless you've been living under a rock, or are Jared Leto, you've been painfully aware that everything and everyone is now cancelled because of Covid19. 

This also means that doctors have very limited availability if you come down with a run of the mill illness or injury. 

After three days of being laid up on the couch in wracking pain, no doctor's office with availability for new patients, and being too much of a coward to take the Gabapentin I have for fibromyalgia, I decided to call a dispensary. 

Disclosure: Recreational marijuana is legal in Nevada where I live. However, I do have a Medical Marijuana card from Pennsylvania where I visit often. 

I'm covered either way. So, chill out narc.

I called a local dispensary, talked to someone for a bit, and within 2 hours, I had a delivery of Sour Diesel brought right to my door.

I am not a pot smoker. I have actually had 2 bad experiences in the past with panic and paranoia from smoking, so I figured it just wasn't for me. I literally thought there was one kind of weed. 

I read the label on my vape oil and it said "Sour Diesel".  I had literally no idea what that even meant. I turned to the interwebs for more information. Sour Diesel has many wonderful properties. It can enhance focus, help with pain, increase energy and support creative thinking. Because I already take Lexapro for anxiety and depression, I was less afraid of the panic I'd experienced in the past.

Another fucking disclaimer: When I got my MMJ card in Pennsylvania, I had to see a doctor a few times first. I was taking Lexapro then as well and my doctor told me it was safe to take both. I moved to Nevada before I could even visit a dispensary there because the process in PA took more than a year.

Check with your doctor if you're taking medication first please. Do your research. Call a dispensary. Don't get in trouble.

I started the slowest a human being can possibly start without just leaving the vape pen in the bag. Holy hell. I took one puff with the battery on the lowest setting. Apparently, concentrates can hit you harder, because I felt "something". 

It was extremely subtle.  But the pain subsided and I was able to walk for the first time in almost a week. 

I went out for a walk. Yes, yes, I practiced social distancing. Jesus Christ.

I repeated this dose every 4 hours.

Day two I took slightly more. Two puffs. I noticed my vision got way clearer. Like, focused. I was super interested in details. I stared at shit a long time, fascinated.

Here's some actual event footage:

I went for a walk again. In fact, I have been walking about a 1/2 mile to a mile a day since I started using marijuana. The pain is manageable and on most days, I can move normally. The positive effects it's had on my Fibromyalgia has been a pleasant bonus. 

I will see a doctor as soon as this quarantine is over (I know the weed is not a cure) but in the meantime, this is helping me tremendously without side effects and without dependency. I use what I need for the day and, according to my family, I don't seem stoned in any way. There is no "couch lock" and no panic or paranoia at the doses I am taking. 

It did make me hungrier though. 

And because I just wrote that, I am now starving.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. 

Oh! If you'd like to support legalization in your state, check out Norml.org for ways to be an advocate for cannabis reform.