Posted by wendy b. on November 21, 2001, at 10:33:02
In reply to Re: the Evil Killer Weed » JohnL, posted by Joy Robins on October 3, 2000, at 0:42:37
This thread's been quiet a long time, and we've all had PLENTY of time to look for the answers (JahL, Cam, Mitchell, etc). Soooooo -
I'm wondering about the following:
Does Marijuana/cannabis/THC interfere with the mechanism of drug action of other prescription psychoactive drugs? If so, what is that mechanism? Is it true, as JohnL's doctor claimed, that smoking weed can increase dopamine levels 6-fold?
The reason I ask is because I had a terrible session yesterday with my therapist (who also prescribes meds, she is a nurse practitioner specializing in psychiatry). Besides not having much patience with my depression ("I'm not going to sit here and allow you to become a victim of this illness"), she won't alter my medication AT ALL until I am THC-free - no pot-smoking for at least one month since this is how long THC stays in the body. She is adamant that the THC is "interfering" with the other drugs at the receptor sites. I'm presently on Neurontin and Wellbutrin, with alprazolam (Xanax) as needed. I don't take much of the latter at all.
But as I have read, like in Mitchell's post in another cannabis thread, there other other compounds in marijuana. So if we only talk about THC, aren't we missing some other receptor sites?
Has any study found out how many THC receptor sites there are in the body?
The only reason I mentioned marijuana use at all to the therapist was because I was trying to explain to her the way smoking it made me feel, and I was asking her: isn't there a legal way to do this? When I am depressed like I am now, with anhedonia and lethargy, it produces energy for me, makes me interested in things ("oh, there's some laundry to fold! lovely!"), gives me a feeling of well-being. I ask you: aren't there drugs for this? Is it my dopamine levels that need a boost? What prescription drugs would anyone suggest?
I feel she is being punitive in not helping me by prescribing something right now, so I precisely DON'T HAVE TO smoke the weed, because I am already feeling that better to begin with. I feel like I'm in this Catch-22, where I take the pot to give me the desired effect, but I won't be given anything else to help me feel better until I QUIT the pot... Does anyone get this? I don't understand why I have to suffer needlessly. I am using the pot to self-medicate. So why can't I be given something legal so I don't have to? Or is this just pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking?
Questioningly yours,
Wendy
> I was interested in what you wrote about Marijuana increasing dopamine levels 6 fold. My psychiatrist prescribed Seroquel for me at a low dosage to raise my dopamine levels--mostly I felt tired taking it, but sometimes felt as if I were stoned--may have just been tiredness. My question is if there is any antidepressant medication that would closely resemble or match the qualities of pot. I find the day after I have smoked pot I usually am much more relaxed, creative, positive, appreciative of life, open, sociable--I wish this were my normal state--marijuana is too draining for me to use on any kind of regular basis though--similar to caffeine in its effects for me--I can't handle caffeine either. Also, I don't like the lack of clarity with pot--but it certainly relieves any social anxiety I might have, and often makes me feel relaxed and more grounded. Any ideas input would be appreciated. Thanks, Joy
poster:wendy b.
thread:1748
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011113/msgs/84845.html