7 ms·

Damn, I know of a similar story, but very different ending. I had a family member with depression try to get help. He started on Lexapro, and ended up committin

Damn, I know of a similar story, but very different ending. I had a family member with depression try to get help. He started on Lexapro, and ended up committing suicide a week later. I had to sit there and read testimonials of people that lost friends and family attributed to taking lexapro to the mother of the deceased while she was beside herself, yet in insistent that I read. I self medicate with marijuana. And more than just using it to make me happy, smart, excited and hungry. I grow pot medicinally as well and that makes me feel really happy. There is loads of scientific evidence that points to having a garden and lessening depression. From my experience, I can say that growing marijuana really lends itself to a lot of the benefits of having a garden. Because you can harvest 5 to 6 times/year it makes it something you need to work on every day. Progress is relatively fast, and if you do a good job, you can take it to a shop and get enough spending cash for that new macbook apple just announced. And if you are a champion, you can find your nugs in magazines. (my ghost og kush is featured in culture this month...) But ultimately nothing feels better than smoking my own herbs on Friday night after a long week of gardening and programming. Just throwing it out there as another alternative for someone that is struggling. Been there, you just gotta find the light.

robg 13y ago
Thank you for openly sharing here. The biggest concern I have about self-medication is a doctor isn't involved to know when helpful uses turn problematic (consider more challenging drugs shown to help brain health). In the case of marijuana the ridiculous regulations mean that the pharmaceutical companies have had a monopoly on validation studies for over 50 years. That looks to be changing and hopefully soon.
Einstalbert 13y ago
Eerily similar to a family member's journey, though without the gardening bit (just yet!), so I am glad you shared this. Self medication isn't always bad, but there's certainly a lot less data to work with in trying to find out the proper dosage and the legal gray areas for certain states or countries.
jon-wood 13y ago
> He started on Lexapro, and ended up committing suicide a week later. I had to sit there and read testimonials of people that lost friends and family attributed to taking lexapro. I don't want to belittle you're experience, because losing a friend to suicide is always brutal, but I do feel that its important to look at reports of anti-depressants causing suicide with a critical eye. Almost all ant-depressants carry a warning that they can cause suicide, but there are a couple of factors in that: 1. Almost by definition, people who are prescribed anti-depressants are more likely to commit suicide in the first place. 2. I can't find the source on this one, but I've certainly been told by psychiatrists that the first few weeks after going on anti-depressants carries a higher risk of suicide than before going on them. The theory is that during those first few weeks you've been given enough of a kick by the drugs to provide a bit of motivation, but you've not yet had the chance to address the actual cause of the problem. That combination can result in having just enough motivation to carry out your desire to kill yourself. Unfortunately you'll often see doctors prescribing medication without then following it up with the necessary therapy to help their patient move on from whatever got them into the situation got them to this point to begin with.
- rickdale 13y ago
  Nah, I don't think your comment belittles my experience at all. You bring up all the points that people were talking about around the time of the tragedy (last October). The point of my comment was to show there are windows open when doors seems closed, if you know what I mean, rather than sensationalizing what happened to some random guy x I that I know. Good points!
- drzaiusapelord 13y ago
  >That combination can result in having just enough motivation to carry out your desire to kill yourself. Have we ever had a testimonial from a failed suicide in these circumstances? In my case, as my depression and anxiety issues started going away, I suddenly realized how much of a complete weirdo others must see me as and felt shame comparing myself to others in my peer group who, without depression holding them back, have become much more successful. It was a brutal eye-opener for me. I guess when I was depressed I really didn't consider these things or they simply didn't bother me. It really brought up a feeling of hopelessness, like I wasted my youth and thus will never catch up, or will always been seen as defective in some way. I guess it doesn't bother me much anymore, but given sudden clarity like that can be intimidating. I imagine if someone is already suicidal, it can be a tipping point.
orblivion 13y ago
Also (to those reading this) be careful to look up the fact(?) that for some psychological profiles, marijuana can actually aggravate existing tendencies for mental disorder. I have no idea of the rates, so maybe it's very rare, but I've heard of it happening. One basic example: I've heard some with anxiety say it calms them down. I've heard others say it makes them freak out.
- kaitai 13y ago
  For some folks it can cause a psychotic episode; this happened, for instance, to an acquaintance who was also bipolar. Carl Hart's book "High Price" had some interesting anecdotes about how drugs interact with underlying brain chemistry, environment, and cultural expectations to give different experiences.
  - orblivion 13y ago
    > For some folks it can cause a psychotic episode; this happened, for instance, to an acquaintance who was also bipolar. I believe I've also met a bipolar person who had a psychotic episode from pot, though the dude apparently was doing an insane amount; claimed to be having THC flashbacks, which I'd never heard of.
  - jon-wood 13y ago
    With bipolar stay well away from mind altering substances unless its under professional supervision. The combination of an already delicate brain chemistry, recreational drugs, and quite probably a cocktail of mood stabilisers and anti depressants isn't a pretty sight.
  - jon-wood 13y ago
    With bipolar stay well away from mind altering substances unless its under professional supervision. The combination of an already delicate brain chemistry, recreational drugs, and quite probably a cocktail of mood stabilisers and anti depressants isn't a pretty sight.
- canadev 13y ago
  I'm one of those people for whom weed brought about psychosis (requiring a three week hospital stay -- I was certified). I smoked for ~13 years before this happened; I definitely had other negative side effects but nothing nearly that drastic. I don't smoke anymore. I do do a lot of other stuff (meditation, CBT, ...) and life is pretty good these days.
rmrfrmrf 13y ago
As a counterpoint, there are a lot of problems with marijuana use for depression treatment. 1) It's inebriating, so you shouldn't drive or operate heavy machinery after using marijuana. It's definitely possible to control your dosages a bit using a vaporizer or pipe, but it takes a fair bit of experimentation to determine your tolerance level. 2) It's short-acting. Whereas the contemporary antidepressants affect baseline mood over a period of time, the mood-enhancing effects of marijuana will largely wear off after 3-6 hours. 3) It's illegal to grow in the US without a license and has varying legality regarding consumption, buying, and selling throughout the world. This might not matter for some people, but it should be a strong consideration for people with families or people who work in environments with routine drug testing. As a child of a parent who used to grow marijuana illegally, it stressed me out as a kid learning to be anti-drug in school yet dealing with the drug-using and growing parents every day.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
shin_lao 13y ago
Are you not worried about the relation between marijuana and depression? Although studies on the topic are inconclusive, it's a real concern.

robg 13y ago

Thank you for openly sharing here. The biggest concern I have about self-medication is a doctor isn't involved to know when helpful uses turn problematic (consider more challenging drugs shown to help brain health). In the case of marijuana the ridiculous regulations mean that the pharmaceutical companies have had a monopoly on validation studies for over 50 years. That looks to be changing and hopefully soon.

Einstalbert 13y ago

Eerily similar to a family member's journey, though without the gardening bit (just yet!), so I am glad you shared this. Self medication isn't always bad, but there's certainly a lot less data to work with in trying to find out the proper dosage and the legal gray areas for certain states or countries.

jon-wood 13y ago

> He started on Lexapro, and ended up committing suicide a week later. I had to sit there and read testimonials of people that lost friends and family attributed to taking lexapro. I don't want to belittle you're experience, because losing a friend to suicide is always brutal, but I do feel that its important to look at reports of anti-depressants causing suicide with a critical eye. Almost all ant-depressants carry a warning that they can cause suicide, but there are a couple of factors in that: 1. Almost by definition, people who are prescribed anti-depressants are more likely to commit suicide in the first place. 2. I can't find the source on this one, but I've certainly been told by psychiatrists that the first few weeks after going on anti-depressants carries a higher risk of suicide than before going on them. The theory is that during those first few weeks you've been given enough of a kick by the drugs to provide a bit of motivation, but you've not yet had the chance to address the actual cause of the problem. That combination can result in having just enough motivation to carry out your desire to kill yourself. Unfortunately you'll often see doctors prescribing medication without then following it up with the necessary therapy to help their patient move on from whatever got them into the situation got them to this point to begin with.

rickdale 13y ago
Nah, I don't think your comment belittles my experience at all. You bring up all the points that people were talking about around the time of the tragedy (last October). The point of my comment was to show there are windows open when doors seems closed, if you know what I mean, rather than sensationalizing what happened to some random guy x I that I know. Good points!
drzaiusapelord 13y ago
>That combination can result in having just enough motivation to carry out your desire to kill yourself. Have we ever had a testimonial from a failed suicide in these circumstances? In my case, as my depression and anxiety issues started going away, I suddenly realized how much of a complete weirdo others must see me as and felt shame comparing myself to others in my peer group who, without depression holding them back, have become much more successful. It was a brutal eye-opener for me. I guess when I was depressed I really didn't consider these things or they simply didn't bother me. It really brought up a feeling of hopelessness, like I wasted my youth and thus will never catch up, or will always been seen as defective in some way. I guess it doesn't bother me much anymore, but given sudden clarity like that can be intimidating. I imagine if someone is already suicidal, it can be a tipping point.

orblivion 13y ago

Also (to those reading this) be careful to look up the fact(?) that for some psychological profiles, marijuana can actually aggravate existing tendencies for mental disorder. I have no idea of the rates, so maybe it's very rare, but I've heard of it happening. One basic example: I've heard some with anxiety say it calms them down. I've heard others say it makes them freak out.

kaitai 13y ago
For some folks it can cause a psychotic episode; this happened, for instance, to an acquaintance who was also bipolar. Carl Hart's book "High Price" had some interesting anecdotes about how drugs interact with underlying brain chemistry, environment, and cultural expectations to give different experiences.
- orblivion 13y ago
  > For some folks it can cause a psychotic episode; this happened, for instance, to an acquaintance who was also bipolar. I believe I've also met a bipolar person who had a psychotic episode from pot, though the dude apparently was doing an insane amount; claimed to be having THC flashbacks, which I'd never heard of.
- jon-wood 13y ago
  With bipolar stay well away from mind altering substances unless its under professional supervision. The combination of an already delicate brain chemistry, recreational drugs, and quite probably a cocktail of mood stabilisers and anti depressants isn't a pretty sight.
- jon-wood 13y ago
  With bipolar stay well away from mind altering substances unless its under professional supervision. The combination of an already delicate brain chemistry, recreational drugs, and quite probably a cocktail of mood stabilisers and anti depressants isn't a pretty sight.
canadev 13y ago
I'm one of those people for whom weed brought about psychosis (requiring a three week hospital stay -- I was certified). I smoked for ~13 years before this happened; I definitely had other negative side effects but nothing nearly that drastic. I don't smoke anymore. I do do a lot of other stuff (meditation, CBT, ...) and life is pretty good these days.

rmrfrmrf 13y ago

As a counterpoint, there are a lot of problems with marijuana use for depression treatment. 1) It's inebriating, so you shouldn't drive or operate heavy machinery after using marijuana. It's definitely possible to control your dosages a bit using a vaporizer or pipe, but it takes a fair bit of experimentation to determine your tolerance level. 2) It's short-acting. Whereas the contemporary antidepressants affect baseline mood over a period of time, the mood-enhancing effects of marijuana will largely wear off after 3-6 hours. 3) It's illegal to grow in the US without a license and has varying legality regarding consumption, buying, and selling throughout the world. This might not matter for some people, but it should be a strong consideration for people with families or people who work in environments with routine drug testing. As a child of a parent who used to grow marijuana illegally, it stressed me out as a kid learning to be anti-drug in school yet dealing with the drug-using and growing parents every day.

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

shin_lao 13y ago

Are you not worried about the relation between marijuana and depression? Although studies on the topic are inconclusive, it's a real concern.