The Blogging Platypus

Cannabis has been a part of my life for the last couple of years. I started out with my medical card when we lived in New Mexico. I still remember the first strain I bought. Let me tell you, after not having used cannabis in a decade or two, starting out with Gorilla Glue may have not been the best idea, but it gave me a good couch lock. For those outside the chronic illness community, couch lock may sound like a boring vegetative state, without the artificial life support. However, for me, and I would guess many others, the couch lock effect is exactly what I need at times. In some of the research I have been doing to figure out what exactly is going on with my body, I stumbled across something that made total sense. In addition to Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and hypermobility, there’s something called autonomic dysfunction, or dysautonomia. The autonomic nervous system regulates so many of our automatic responses that keep us alive. From breathing and blood pressure, to digestion a...

Disclaimer: I live in a state where recreational and medical cannabis is legal. I have lived with the symptoms of several chronic pain conditions for a number of years. From fibromyalgia and scoliosis, to neuropathy and connective tissue disorders, my body is in pain daily. The only thing that seems to change about my pain are the locations and intensities. Unfortunately, very little can be done in regards to effective pain relief. I have tried a variety of pharmaceutical prescription medications, often experiencing significant side-effects, which preclude me from even reaching the therapeutic dose. I often get gastro side-effects, but also have experienced a total mental numbness, lack of appetite, and swelling of my hands. I recently started a new medication for my ice pick headaches, which I hope will help to alleviate those annoying and painful sensations. Before it is suggested, I have completely changed my life after getting sick. I switched to my current diet of gluten free...

For the past few years, I have been getting what I can only describe as headaches that feel as if a sharp ice pick is being plunged into my head. These headaches typically last less than a minute, so it is hard to take something, because as soon as I do, the pain will be gone. But, more will come. They always do. I also get hatchet-type headaches, which sound just how they feel. Living with chronic pain, we become used to pain 24/7, with some pain easier to ignore than others. When it comes to my ice pick headaches, I would get, on average, a dozen per day. They are brief but incapacitating. They literally make me stop what I’m doing for a brief period of time. A visit to a neurologist confirmed what I had described. I have now been diagnosed with ice pick headaches and have a prescription for indomethacin, which should help to reduce the severity and frequency of such attacks. So, what exactly is indomethacin? According to the trusty WebMD, it is a medication that can help to reli...