Cannibis Treatment for Meniere's

Cannabis is one of the things that kept me from killing myself. Powerful medicine, for many, many conditions.

 

Here are some of the studies that have been done related to cannabis and the herpes virus.

Suppressive effect of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on herpes simplex virus infectivity in vitro.
Lancz G1, Specter S, Brown HK.
Abstract

Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) was found to reduce the infectivity of herpes simplex virus and was without effect against adenovirus type 2 or poliovirus. The effective THC concentration resulting in an 80% decrement in virus viability was dependent upon the presence or absence of serum in the incubation mixture, as a 5% serum concentration decreased the drug activity by approximately 50-fold. THC-mediated inactivation of herpes simplex virus was both time and dose dependent and did not result in virion disassembly or clumping. The THC-related effect was not influenced by the pH of the suspending medium, suggesting that the mechanism of inactivation differed from that associated with the thermal inactivation of the virus. Thus, the data suggest that THC preferentially reduces the infectivity of the enveloped herpes simplex virus, and that this activity is modulated by the presence of serum proteins.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1848937?dopt=Abstract

Inhibition of cell-associated herpes simplex virus type 2 glycoproteins by delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol.
Mishkin EM, Cabral GA.
Abstract

This study was conducted to define the effect of micromolar concentrations of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta 9-THC) on the biosynthesis and expression of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV2)-specified glycoproteins. Dose-related reductions in all species of virus glycoproteins were recorded by one-dimensional SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and autoradiography of [14C]glucosamine-labeled infected Vero cells treated with 10(-7) to 10(-5) M delta 9-THC. A drug dose-related depletion of the mature HSV2 major envelope glycoprotein complex (119-kDa average molecular weight), accompanied by accumulation of immature unglycosylated species, was demonstrated by two-dimensional SDS-PAGE in concert with Western immunoblotting or autoradiography. Light and electron microscopy immunoperoxidase staining revealed that delta 9-THC effected depletion of 119-kDa determinants from the infected cell surface. This depletion occurred concomitantly with accumulation of 119-kDa components at the perinucleus. However, the expression of 119-kDa glycoproteins on the virion envelope was not affected. These results indicate that delta 9-THC inhibits the synthesis, maturation, and cellular transport of HSV2-specified glycoproteins. Decreased expression of virus glycoproteins on the infected cell surface may affect host immune responsiveness to HSV2.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3033681?dopt=Abstract

The effect of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on herpes simplex virus replication.
Blevins RD, Dumic MP.
Abstract

Both herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) failed, in an identical fashion to replicate and produce extensive c.p.e. in human cell monolayer cultures which were exposed (8 h before infection, at infection, or 8 h p.i.) to various concentrations of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Similar results were obtained with a plaque assay utilizing confluent monkey cells. Possible mechanisms for this antiviral activity are discussed.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6255077?dopt=Abstract

And, I've read numerous anecdotal reports of people who have said that cannabis stopped the vertigo attacks, and that when they went off the cannabis, the vertigo returned. So given that and the above research, it seems clear that cannabis has some powerful anti-herpetic properties.

When you add in the anxiety and depression benefits of the plant, the typical emotional makeup of the average meniere's sufferer, and the fact that a lot of the research lately points to a viral cause in a majority of meniere's disease cases, cannabis is a powerful addition to anything one of us is doing to try to regain control of our lives.

And that's just scratching the surface of what the plant can do. My opinion, anyone seriously interested in being in good health should be using it. The propaganda that the world has been fed for years about this stuff is 100% dead wrong. Period.

 

Not to mention cannabis' anti-nausea effects are second to NONE. None of the anti-nausea meds the doctors gave me ever kept me from actually vomiting for hours from vertigo attacks. Usually because I couldn't metabolize them in time for them to be effective. But even the sub-lingual kind never stopped the nausea and vomiting, even with multiple doses.

Cannabis stops the nausea. In it's tracks. My attacks quickly became less severe once I started the acyclovir and the cannabis. But I did have 1 severe attack before they started getting better. I used cannabis as a control medication for that one, and I distinctly remember walking about of my room after having vaporized some of it. The vertigo hadn't stopped, but I found that 2 things had changed. 1, I didn't care. And 2, I wasn't nauseated.

It arrested my catastrophic weight loss and put my health on a whole different trajectory.

The only thing to be aware of is that cannabis can actually CAUSE nausea and vomiting if you get too much of it. Being too high is not fun. Although even being too high is NOTHING compared to the vertigo attacks. I'll take too high over a vertigo attack anyday. But it's still something to avoid if you can. So just go conservative at first till you know how much of it to use to achieve a therapeutic result.

 

Vitolony - this is interesting information. How do you use cannabis? Smoke, edibles, or oil? How much do you take to help the symptoms?
Thanks for this thread. It is legal where I live and I may look into it.

 

"Beer & grass you're on your ass. Grass & beer in you in the clear." Mutatis mutandis for hard liquors.

Moreover it has a lot to do with tolerance levels or lack thereof, the potency of the stain you're consuming, it's purity (purchased from your local & dodgy street or high school dealer cannabis if often laced with other drugs &/or chemicals), drugs you may be using in combination, your genes, synaptic wiring, personality type etc. I've known many who are simply cannabis incompatible, while for others, it seems to be nothing but beneficial. Then, of course, you have a vast spectrum between these two polar extremes.

Grant a newbie, particularly a newbie with a certain type of incompatibility, whether it be physiological or psychologic, a high dose of highly potent pot & troubles insured. As an Aussie, I have little idea of how legalized cannabis is prescribed or sold for social consumption, though I would assume any dispensary would walk you through these points, inquire about your medical history, personality type etc. If not, I'm sure they would be happy to if asked.

Glad to hear you're feeling better, Vitolony. Are the strains prescribed for nausea indicia dominant? 60 - 40, 70 - 30 ish? What strain, or strains, were you personally prescribed? Are you vaporising bud or concentrate?

 

Vitology - I just saw your reply on the other thread. Thanks for responding....I am still figuring out this site. Anyway, I copied and pasted your reply so you don't have to repeat yourself. Thanks again!

 

Nice. Thanks, Muff.

 

What do those using cannabis think when people say it effects your memory? Particularly your short-term memory?

 

Also, what do those using cannabis think when people say it effects your memory? Particularly your short-term memory?

 

, Nathan!

 

A friend of mine takes 1 edible candy per night to relax for sleep. He has a demanding job and doesn't have memory issues. He does take a low dose by "getting high" standards but that is not his intention.
I haven't tried it yet but I plan to go talk to the local dispensary about the vaporizing method and the info that Vitology gave us.

 

I don't drink, so I wouldn't know. I'll never drink again. I never was much of a drinker to begin with, but alcohol kills brain cells. Cannabis doesn't. It's actually a neuro-regenerative agent. Alcohol is a poison and I don't like consuming poison. I truly see cannabis as medicine. The effects since I have started using it are hard to quantify, even harder to articulate. But suffice it to say, I almost consider everything I went through with Meniere's disease to be worth it because the desperation I felt at needing to be able to control the attacks forced me to consider things I never would have otherwise... almost. I could go on for days about how it has positively impacted my life, in every conceivable way. I doubt everyone will have the same experience as me, as there are some very specific reasons that are not common to everyone that meant my use would turn my mid-life medical crisis into a mid-life awakening. But that is exactly what it did for me.

Doctors where I live don't prescribe specific strains, they just write a prescription for cannabis generally and you go to a dispensary and buy whatever they have, or if you find word of a strain that helps your disease, then you find it and try it.

So I wasn't prescribed a strain. So far, I've used half a dozen different strains, and as Muff quoted above, the heavy indicas are the ones that have helped me the most. Death star, specifically, is the one that I have found the most beneficial. It really takes a lot of the stuff before I start feeling queezy, but my tolerance is a lot higher than it was when I started. I'm not totally sure of the genetics of death star, but I do know it is decidedly an indica dominant. There is some sativa in there as well, but mostly indica. Leafly is a good source of information about different strains.

No problem. Let us know how and or if it helps if you decide to try it. Just go slow, especially if you've never used it before. A bad trip can make you think it won't help you, when it actually REALLY will if you just took less of it. At first, I got a therapeutic effect out of just the tiniest amount of the flower. Although if I'm being honest, my first one I did way too much(beginner ignorance). I specifically remember standing at the bathroom sink, filling up my water glass about to go to bed, and suddenly thinking, "Why am I in the bathroom?" It's pretty funny in retrospect, but at the time, it can actually be a little disconcerting when you can't string together a train of thought and you forget what you were doing right in the middle of doing it. That affect mellows out over time, at least it did for me. So another piece of advice would be to make sure your affairs are in order and that you have nothing left to do for the evening, before you try it. That way, you don't have to think. The ability to think returns after you've built up a little tolerance. That's when the fun really begins. Cannabis alters the way you think. It's hard to describe. At first it is so foreign, so alien that it will seem a bit strange. But once you get used to it, it can open doors emotionally and mentally that have been locked for years. I found myself having the most profound revelations about my life on a regular basis.

Another thing to be aware of is that it is a POWERFUL vaso-dilator. The proverbial "red-eye" effect. It happens throughout your entire body. That's another reason it is a big help with this disease. It helps mitigate the ischemic conditions in the diseased inner ear. The down side is that it can cause your blood pressure to plummet when you haven't used it before. The second time I used it, and before I figured out that I was still using way too much, I remember standing there in the kitchen, talking to my wife, when I was suddenly on the floor, asking her to grab a barf bag. I ended up not throwing up on that occasion, and it's the last time I got knocked off my feet. So another piece of advice would be... in addition to making sure you are done with all your chores for the evening, make sure you have a chair or bed nearby for your first couple trys. You don't want to fall over and hit your head because your blood pressure fell. The high won't really hit you for several minutes after you first inhale. So do the stuff, then go sit down. Plan on being there for an hour.

Sounds like I'm trying to give you all the reasons not to use it. I'm not. Just trying to be honest and trying to help other potential newbs not make the same mistakes I did. Basically, go slow at first, and you'll have a better experience.

However. I would do it all over again in a heart beat. It has given me a measure of control over my life that I have never known before. That sounds counter intuitive. How can being out of control (high) offer control to someone's life?

In addition to Meniere's disease, I also have tourettes and aspergers. Anxiety has been my life long constant companion. Fear and worry. Through cannabis use, I've seen what it can be like to have a calm, quiet mind. There is suddenly all this room in my brain, all this unused bandwidth. Where in my normal state, my brain is NEVER quiet. It's always moving and churning on something. That can be a good thing in certain contexts. But then it becomes a liability when you can't make it stop. While I'm at working facing a challenging technological problem... over active brain is a good thing. When I'm sitting down to dinner at night and my children's high pitched squeaky voices start to bore into my skull, not such a good thing.

I habitually cannot see the beauty in everyday life. I have no vision to see it. I have no capacity to stop and smell the proverbial roses. The other night, I was having a fairly bad day. Very off balance and half nauseated, and stuck inside the record player in my brain telling me I want this to go away. I told my wife, "I don't know how much longer I can keep living like this." I didn't mean it in a, I'm thinking of ending my life kind of way, though I've had that thought too during the really bad days last fall. She said I should go do some stuff, so I did. I came back down stairs ten minutes later, walked into the kitchen, and my wife and my 2 girls are in the kitchen laughing about something, and the late afternoon summer sun is streaming through the window, and it struck me as a perfect moment of serene beauty. 10 minutes... what a change 10 minutes can make. I don't see the "late afternoon summer sun" streaming through the window as a thing of beauty normally. Normally I think... damn window needs to be closed cause the sun is hurting my eyes! Makes me more grouchy. All of life freaking makes me more grouchy, especially over the last year.

Not any more. Life is a beautiful occasion for joy, even with all the horrific things I've been through. I was never able to see that before.

 

It ABSOLUTELY affects your memory. However, only while you are high. And, there are strains that you can use that have positive effects that don't even make you feel high. The strains with lots of CBD, as opposed to THC. Those strains are ACDC, harlequin and cannatonic and a few others.

And, the memory issues go away once you've built up a little tolerance. I did have a couple instances when I first started using it that scared me. I remember one day I went to a chiropractor appointment, and when I was done, I walked out into the parking lot to get into my car to go home, only to realize that I had parked right in front of the door of the office and had walked right past my car. Again, funny in retro-spect, but not so funny in the moment. It scared me. How could I forget something like that? Again, my overly anxious brain typically keeps meticulous track of details like that. I NEVER forget where I park. But. That effect has abated over time. I don't have memory problems except a little bit while I am intoxicated.

 

I re-read this and it sounds like I was high when I went to the chiropractor. For the record, I was not. That was part of why it scared me at the time. What probably happened is the fat tissue in my body released a little bit of THC, not enough for me to truly be impaired, but enough to screw with my memory a little bit. That, or I just had an honest to goodness brain fart and nothing more. But I haven't seen any of that since.

 

I really enjoyed Carribeans threads and we interacted well together.

I have a question or two.
I am NOT in any way being judgemental or meaning to insult you!!

Okay, so are you toasted when you post here?
If you're not and you smoked before you posted, would it be in the same vein as your posts now?
Have you ever smoked and had your heart race, have a mega Menieres attack and a panic attack at the same time and found it worse than any other attack you've had before?
Is it just a question of how much?
Weed today is MUCH stronger than it was years ago, does that affect how much you smoke?
Have you ever smoked and before the Menieres kicks your ass you experience nausea which the weed is supposed to help?

I'm sure I have more, but I think that's a good start.

PUFFFFF, LOL

 

I never really experienced what others refer to as brain fog. I mean, I was depressed off my ass for quite a while, and truly wanted to harm myself, but mentally, I always felt more or less normal. At least, normal for me. Perhaps my predisposition towards anxiety has something to do with that. I don't know. All I know is that I never forget where I park. Normal people do on occasion. It's often not regarded as important enough information to remember, but I don't really think like that. So that's why I was fairly certain it was a side affect of my early cannabis use. I could of course simply be wrong. Maybe my mind was somewhere else for other reasons. I don't know.

 

Given my tone in this thread, which is a result of the amount of research I've done on this subject... I'll assume you are addressing your questions to me? If not, I'll answer them anyway and anyone else with experience can answer them too.

Once or twice I've posted here after I'm coming down and in coasting mode. There is a period of time after the high where you are still slightly altered. That is actually becoming my favorite times from using cannabis. I feel remarkably whole and healthy and very clear minded. Calm. And totally myself.

Yes. It would. I'm stone cold sober right now, and my feelings on the subject are unchanged. It doesn't alter you THAT much. I don't feel like a different person when I'm high, more like the best version of myself. If that makes any sense at all. Normally, I'm a very angry, frustrated, easily agitated person. I don't like feeling like that and I have OFTEN wished I could be different. Now I can. While high and for hours after the high, I feel calm, quiet, collected and clear. For someone who has been so used to anxiety his whole life that he basically doesn't know anything else, it's like I've been walking in the dark for my entire life, and someone finally turned on the light switch.

No. That has not happened to me. I suppose it's possible. I never had vertigo attacks associated with stress. My attacks always seemed to happen whenever the heck they felt like it. Major fight with my wife... no attack. Sitting down at my desk at work on a Tuesday morning... bam. Room spinning like a top and I'm making my way home trying not to puke on the way.

If something like what you described were to happen, it would probably be dose dependent. Getting too much kinda freaks your body out for a little while.

No idea. Prior to April of this year, I had never touched the stuff. I'm 37 years old. If I were starting today, knowing what I know about the potency of the material available in my area, I would start with half the volume of material that would take up the space of a dime. Like, @1/4 inch in diameter and less than a millimeter thick. Half that volume in cannabis, which will seem like a ridiculously small amount. Start there. Vape it and observe how it affects you. Wait a couple hours at least before trying again if that was an insufficient quantity. Forget the images you have in your head of the guy exhaling a plume of thick white smoke after taking a deep hit off a smoke filled bong with half an ounce of cannabis in the bowl. That guy has a tolerance that is WAY, WAY higher than someone who hasn't ever used, or hasn't used in a while.

Also. Generally speaking, your second hit of the day won't affect you quite as powerfully as the first, but in terms of nausea, will actually make you more nauseated if your first one did. So go even easier on the second round than the first. I use probably only half to 2/3s on the second hit of the day, and a similar amount for every additional hit I do. Newbs will be high for hours though, so you won't need another one for quite a while, assuming the first was sufficient.

Then on your second day go up a little if you need more effect.

Regarding the mechanics of vaping. I usually vape the same material until I don't see anymore vaper when I exhale. Given the amount I suggested above, assuming your vaporizer's temperature is set correctly, that will only be about half a hit, half a lung full of vapor. And I hold my breath for 5-10 seconds after taking it in. Then, you want the expended material to be golden brown. Not burnt looking, but no longer the green/white color is was when you started.

I have had nausea from cannabis use. Though I've never vomited. It is usually dose dependent. Though I do find that some strains make me more disposed to feeling nauseated. The sativas do that to me. I suspect because of the damage done to the inner ear by this disease.

Cannabis does often result in a little bit of dizziness. It's not even remotely the same kind as a meneire's vertigo attack. Vertigo from this disease always felt mechanical to me. Like the room is physically spinning around me. The dizziness from cannabis is more the pleasant, euphoric kind. Though if your ears are already jacked up, like ours typically are, that effect can turn into nausea more easily... at least, thats my hypothesis. But. I just dose it accordingly. I still get a VERY powerful therapeutic results sans nausea from simply going easy on the stuff.

Pufffff indeed. lol