Intros Newbie from Cheshire

[tomfretwell]

Just wanted to say hello. I have not navigated my way around the forum yet so I imagine most of my queries have been covered elsewhere.

I have had poor health for around two years now and a big part of this is insomnia and anxiety. It's kinda like the chicken and egg though, not sure which comes first. I took on the role of stay-at-home dad to my two kids, both under five and one with I suspect undiagnosed ADHD. Currently exploring lots of tests to get to the root cause of my issues, one might be a magnesium deficiency, but I can't take magnesium as it gives me insomnia, so it may be a slow road to reversing it. I have been put on two different kinds of anti-anxiety meds at different times plus two different kinds of sleeping medication - found some relief but not to the degree I need and the side effects aren't great. So I believe I would be eligible for medicinal cannabis!?

I would love to find a strain and dose that can help knock me out at night and maybe something for the day that's gentle and takes the edge off the stress that the kids cause. Ideally I would use MC as a way to get off the prescription medication too. I used to smoke recreationally when I was younger, when I was 18, now nearly 40 and not had it since then.

The things I am trying to find out, so any answers or links to threads would be much appreciated:

- which are the best clinics, striking a balance between cheapness but enough quality?
- how much on average, would an anxiety and insomnia user get through each month, in grams?
- what are the ball park costs per month for this amount of usage?

 

[GreenRed]

Welcome! I have ADHD, and if I am not medicated, I have anxiety and insomnia too. I am medicating for years and only had attacks when I ever run out, and I don't have any issues sleeping anywhere anytime anymore!

I really can't comment on strains, these will be unique to you. Lots of ADHD patients seek Myrcene heavy relaxing bud, but I myself need the Limonene heavy uplifters and avoid the relaxants. I can still go to sleep no problems in the evening if all I am taking is "daytime" bud during the day.

I take 30-40g a month, and I keep my strain choices under £6.5 per gram, only occasionally I order anything in the 7x range. Sometimes with discounts to £30-40, I can sort out a month under £200.

Since you haven't smoked since 18, try to keep your tolerance down. You could be fine with half what I am taking. It's very easy to push up your tolerance by "over enjoying" meds and then that shows in the wallet.

 

[GreenRed]

Also, very important: since I am properly medicated through the day, I take absolutely nothing else, literally just the bud. No side effects, no chemicals, no regrets. I think you will find great benefit, as cannabis for me evens out the ADHD adrenaline/dopamine highs and lows, resulting in less "distracted hyperfocused angry mania" and less "i just can't be bothered with anything and i need peace and quiet, and everything is annoying and wrong" situs.

 

[tomfretwell]

Welcome! I have ADHD, and if I am not medicated, I have anxiety and insomnia too. I am medicating for years and only had attacks when I ever run out, and I don't have any issues sleeping anywhere anytime anymore!

I really can't comment on strains, these will be unique to you. Lots of ADHD patients seek Myrcene heavy relaxing bud, but I myself need the Limonene heavy uplifters and avoid the relaxants. I can still go to sleep no problems in the evening if all I am taking is "daytime" bud during the day.

I take 30-40g a month, and I keep my strain choices under £6.5 per gram, only occasionally I order anything in the 7x range. Sometimes with discounts to £30-40, I can sort out a month under £200.

Since you haven't smoked since 18, try to keep your tolerance down. You could be fine with half what I am taking. It's very easy to push up your tolerance by "over enjoying" meds and then that shows in the wallet.

Hey, thanks for the quick response and useful info.

A few folk around me suspect I may have adult autism but not sure if that has any impact on sleep and anxiety etc. But my son, we've not explored any medical route with him but friends of ours who work in this field say he has ADHD, he can be so so challenging.

It's good to hear that you are finding relief from this and I appreciate the financials you have given me. So in theory I could come in at around 80-100 pound per month.

 

[tomfretwell]

Also, very important: since I am properly medicated through the day, I take absolutely nothing else, literally just the bud. No side effects, no chemicals, no regrets. I think you will find great benefit, as cannabis for me evens out the ADHD adrenaline/dopamine highs and lows, resulting in less "distracted hyperfocused angry mania" and less "i just can't be bothered with anything and i need peace and quiet, and everything is annoying and wrong" situs.

Yes, I'd love to taper off the meds I am on as they are notoriously tough to come off. I am hoping MC will give me the ability to do so. I have got the ability to go to the streets if ya get me but I want to keep things above board, despite the cost. Which clinic are you with?

 

[GreenRed]

£100 sounds reasonable. There are definitely decent choices in the £4x-5x range already. As a decades-long consumer, have never bought anything above £75 and I am mostly very satisfied. There are some misses sometimes of course (bad profile for your needs or just a random weak batch) but that's bound to happen anywhere, the streets too.

I am with Cannabis Clinic Cardiff, but that's a more expensive (but very flexible and personal) clinic, if you're looking for a more budget one this is not it. I just pay to receive the extra level of service and full access to all pharmacies, so it takes away from the monthly ordering stress

I initially thought about having autism as well and went to therapy to a specialist back then, but he identified the ADHD instead, then sent me to the psychologist for official diagnosis. You never really know lol

 

[tomfretwell]

£100 sounds reasonable. There are definitely decent choices in the £4x-5x range already. As a decades-long consumer, have never bought anything above £75 and I am mostly very satisfied. There are some misses sometimes of course (bad profile for your needs or just a random weak batch) but that's bound to happen anywhere, the streets too.

I am with Cannabis Clinic Cardiff, but that's a more expensive (but very flexible and personal) clinic, if you're looking for a more budget one this is not it. I just pay to receive the extra level of service and full access to all pharmacies, so it takes away from the monthly ordering stress

I initially thought about having autism as well and went to therapy to a specialist back then, but he identified the ADHD instead, then sent me to the psychologist for official diagnosis. You never really know lol

I may get assessed one day - it took me until the age of 40 to realise that I cannot look people in the eye when I am talking to them haha, apparently that is a classic sign. But I just need to get on top of my sleep first.

Yeah, I am just trying to get my head around all the variables in this market, the clinics, the pharmacies, the strains. I have just checked a thread about good strains for sleep, there seems to be a few standouts. Can I check what strains a clinic prescribes before signing up? And I have noticed something about clinics using different pharmacies, like can they decline doing this, I imagine they charge more!? Basically what I want to avoid is going for a cheap clinic and then not getting access to a good variety of strains and then being locked in to a membership!

 

[GrownHealth]

Welcome to the forum @tomfretwell and from your last question you will not get locked into membership at most places unless you pick annual membership but you are still free to leave and if you want the option of using different pharmacies most clinics allow this as the law is on our side when requesting this but also bare in mind if your usage will be lowish say 20-30g /month then most pharmacies will offer a big enough selection to cater for this and then it all about having access to reasonably priced products and Alternaleaf I'd say could work for you and even Integro which may cost a touch more per annum but will give you a greater range to choose from and the possibility of using other pharmacies and a fair time with the doctor ,there is also Medicann which is similar to Integro without being able to use outside pharmacies and not much contact with the consultant which suits some and not others but you only pay for your meds and postage,

Prescribing UK Medical Cannabis Clinics Directory

Which clinics prescribe medical cannabis in the UK, and how much do they cost over time?

MedBud.wiki

On the pharmacies page you can see what stock a few of the main pharmacies hold and Alternaleaf's pharmacy is called Montu whilst Integro's is called IPS Pharmacy

Dispensing UK Medical Cannabis Pharmacies Directory

MedBud is a 100% independent organisation tracking the UK medical cannabis industry with impartiality.

MedBud.wiki