Perpetual Ruminations

A Fly With A Buzz

I didn't get a blog entry written yesterday. I had every intention of writing one, but when it came down to it, it was like the song, "I got stoned, and I missed it."

I have never been a big participant in the "herbs' as one coworker called it. I tried wacky tobaccy from time to time over the years, but it was always with the same results: an asthma attack. It's difficult to enjoy anything that ends up stealing your breath away, so I never really pursued a stoner's life, even though I did live on Stoner Avenue for a spell.

When I started my chemo, I had a lot of digestive problems. Pain and loss of appetite were high on the list, and my oncologist told me that marijuana could help with both of these problems. But, he also told me that it was a pain in the ass to get it, and most insurance companies wouldn't pay for it. However, since Minnesota legalized it, he recommended I try edibles or a tincture, if I was interested.

I didn't see any reason to spend money on the stuff without knowing if it would help, so I didn't get any. Money was tight as it was, medical bills were already in double digits in the thousands, and things like food and gas held precedence. But when my children asked why I didn't seek out medical marijuana, and I explained the cost issues and it not being covered by my insurance, they decided to help me out and got me a bottle of tincture with a low THC content. It worked wonders, and I didn't feel "high". Of course, I was only taking a quarter teaspoon three times a day.

The tincture was expensive, and one of my children decided to make the tincture to keep costs down. Soon, I had a quart jar of homemade tincture, and it worked just as well, maybe even better than the purchased product. I stayed on the same dosage, but only took it twice a day, in the morning and before bed. Not only did it help with my appetite and digestive pain, it also helped with my back pain, and most nights I sleep all night long.

Over time, it seemed a half teaspoon wasn't always enough, so I increased to a full teaspoon. After my chemo symptoms improved, I took the tincture before bed, but on occasion, I would take half a teaspoon in the afternoon if needed. Yesterday was one such day. For some reason, I was having a lot of abdominal pain after eating, so I took out the jar of tincture. I noticed I had another jar that was almost gone behind it. I took down the old jar and took the rest (there was only a teaspoon left, maybe two). The first thing I noticed was that it was stronger than the new jar, and it was full of particulate material. I also noticed it was a lot more potent, but this didn't hit until about half an hour after taking it.

As the afternoon progressed, so did the effects of the tincture, and soon enough, I was buzzing like the fly in the song by America, "A Horse With No Name". In my weakened and sickly state of health from the chemo, my wife did the honors of tracking and administering my medications. Now, I'm able to do that task myself and have been for over a month. But, somewhere during the transition, I missed something or just forgot that the tincture needs to be stirred or shaken up before using, or it separates, and the good stuff settles to the bottom.

It explains why I had to increase my dosage from a half teaspoon to a full teaspoon over the last month. I wasn't getting all the good stuff; it was building up on the bottom. Yesterday, however, I got a good dose, and my wife, when she got home from work and discovered my condition, got a good laugh.

This song came to mind: