My medical records are really sparse – where do I start?

[Spongecake]

Hello lovely friends. I would really appreciate some advice on my eligibility and how to get started on this journey.

I'm 56 and I have anxiety, agoraphobia and insomnia. One of my major anxieties is a phobia of anything medical (not to mention social anxiety), and so I hardly ever go to the doctor! I'm very reluctant to use conventional medicines and have had some awful reactions to them in the past, so I prefer to use holistic options instead. Consequently there's almost nothing in my medical records ... I haven't seen my GP for around 15 years.

I have been self-medicating with cannabis for over two decades and it's amazing. It keeps my anxiety under control to the point where I no longer have panic attacks. It has calmed my agoraphobia to the point where I can actually go out of the house every day. I just vape a bit every evening and it seems to keep me on an even keel. With 20-odd years of experience I know how much cannabis truly helps me, so I really ought to be eligible. But the requirement for two previous treatments is a sticking point.

There's only one relevant thing in my medical records. Around 2005 I had a very serious panic attack which caused me to have a seizure while driving. My GP wanted to prescribe me Seroxat (an SSRI antidepressant). I wouldn't touch the stuff with a bargepole due to the side effects, so I didn't take up the offer of a prescription. He told me I wouldn't get better without it, but I did – because I used cannabis instead, and it has kept me free of major symptoms ever since. (Though I never went back to tell him so.)

I now find myself in a position where I need a legal cannabis prescription. To cut a long story short, the police took away my meds but recognised that I was a genuine (if informal) medical user and advised me to get legal stuff from a clinic. I'm now suffering a lot more anxiety in the aftermath of dealing with the police, so I really feel I need to get this sorted out.

What do you suggest I should do as a first step? Do I go to my GP and tell him I've been self-medicating successfully for years but that my symptoms have flared up following the police incident? I don't really want to have to take the doc's meds just for the sake of it, but it seems that this is a requirement.

Or should I try contacting one of the clinics, tell them my circumstances and just see what they say?

I've been leaning towards Alternaleaf but am also looking at Cannabis Clinic Cardiff because they seem to be such great people. Any suggestions welcome.

 

[Joshyy]

So;

Its quite difficult to obtain a prescription for cannabis based products, if you haven’t got a direct diagnosis for an illness, and tried 2 other alternative medications. This can be physical medication, or forms of therapy.

However some clinics take it on a case by case basis. I would recommend trying Medicann

 

[GrownHealth]

Hello lovely friends. I would really appreciate some advice on my eligibility and how to get started on this journey.

I'm 56 and I have anxiety, agoraphobia and insomnia. One of my major anxieties is a phobia of anything medical (not to mention social anxiety), and so I hardly ever go to the doctor! I'm very reluctant to use conventional medicines and have had some awful reactions to them in the past, so I prefer to use holistic options instead. Consequently there's almost nothing in my medical records ... I haven't seen my GP for around 15 years.

I have been self-medicating with cannabis for over two decades and it's amazing. It keeps my anxiety under control to the point where I no longer have panic attacks. It has calmed my agoraphobia to the point where I can actually go out of the house every day. I just vape a bit every evening and it seems to keep me on an even keel. With 20-odd years of experience I know how much cannabis truly helps me, so I really ought to be eligible. But the requirement for two previous treatments is a sticking point.

There's only one relevant thing in my medical records. Around 2005 I had a very serious panic attack which caused me to have a seizure while driving. My GP wanted to prescribe me Seroxat (an SSRI antidepressant). I wouldn't touch the stuff with a bargepole due to the side effects, so I didn't take up the offer of a prescription. He told me I wouldn't get better without it, but I did – because I used cannabis instead, and it has kept me free of major symptoms ever since. (Though I never went back to tell him so.)

I now find myself in a position where I need a legal cannabis prescription. To cut a long story short, the police took away my meds but recognised that I was a genuine (if informal) medical user and advised me to get legal stuff from a clinic. I'm now suffering a lot more anxiety in the aftermath of dealing with the police, so I really feel I need to get this sorted out.

What do you suggest I should do as a first step? Do I go to my GP and tell him I've been self-medicating successfully for years but that my symptoms have flared up following the police incident? I don't really want to have to take the doc's meds just for the sake of it, but it seems that this is a requirement.

Or should I try contacting one of the clinics, tell them my circumstances and just see what they say?

I've been leaning towards Alternaleaf but am also looking at Cannabis Clinic Cardiff because they seem to be such great people. Any suggestions welcome.

Welcome to the community @Spongecake and your medical history with meds or lack of them is very similar to my own and I very rarely visit my doctors but the first meds I tried I stopped very quickly as they didn't agree with me but this is a tried medication and also like you I have used Canna for my symptoms successfully for over 30 years and this will count in your favour with certain clinics as you are just trying to carry on your treatment legally so really should be embraced .
Reading this you are making the right decision here I would say getting a prescription and would personally I'd recommend CCC highly as they are the clinic I'm with and excellent and I wouldn't think your medical record would be a concern as you would have a thorough consultation with the specialist and he'd would fully understand the situation from what you have described above .
Other clinic's are cheaper to join so it depends on your budget and Alternaleaf cost £10/month and Medicann is free to join and free consultations in the future and many patients use the clinics successfully but each have there limitations with meds access and and are more volume/budget clinics than CCC .

I would definitely contact a clinic first as they will tell you and assist with exactly what you need to do going forward