Adam’s Story: Sleeping naturally for the first time in twenty years

How was life before medical cannabis treatment?

I have PTSD and anxiety. My job as a chef is quite pressured and anxiety often kicks in at work, making it difficult for me to think and communicate properly. I was finding it hard to manage myself in those situations, let alone other people.

My PTSD comes from childhood and I've been on antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs since I was about 12 or 13 years old. So, I feel like I’ve always been on medication. 

Had you tried other treatments before joining Releaf?

Before joining Releaf, I was on a lot of SSRIs, antipsychotics, antidepressants and things that would help me sleep. They never worked, always tasted bad and left me with a fuzzy feeling. 

I didn’t want to be around people and I didn’t want to communicate with my family or friends.

What made you interested in medical cannabis treatment?

A few years ago I had a breakdown, and after that I just felt that I was on too much medication. I was on sleeping pills that weren’t actually helping me sleep and that were working against my other medications.

I started to research medical cannabis and how it could help me. I realised it can help you get longer sleep with REM cycles, and the benefits can be instant when you vaporise it. 

How has your experience with medical cannabis been?

It was kind of an instantaneous change the moment I found medical cannabis. I vaporised it and felt relief almost instantly. Now I can speak to people, and things feel calmer around me. 

When I’m stressed or anxious, everything feels faster than it is. But with medical cannabis, it’s almost like the world slows down to a normal pace. 

I think a big benefit of medical cannabis for myself is being able to really adapt to a situation after using it, being able to think more clearly and being able to communicate more effectively. It’s also much better for things like relationships at home, or even friends in general.

How has medical cannabis affected your sleep?

When I started to take medical cannabis, my sleep became a little bit more natural and I started to wake up a little better. I didn’t wake up with the haze from the sleeping tablets, which is the biggest plus. 

I don't have the night terrors anymore either. I barely remember my dreams, and the dreams I do remember are all good. That’s only been since taking medical cannabis. 

Being able to sleep is probably the most important gift I think I've been given. Since I joined Releaf, all my sleep has been natural, which hasn't happened in 20-plus years. 

How did you find the sign-up process and your first consultation with Releaf?

I mean, it was super easy. The doctor was very knowledgeable. He walked me through what I'd already been researching, how it could help me, and the differences between the oil, the vape pods you have, the pastilles and the dried flower itself. 

We then settled on a treatment plan for the oils and flowers.

How was the process of receiving your first prescription and learning how to take it?

It was great!

The prescription came in like a well-presented box with a Releaf card that you could scan with a QR code. That takes you to a patient portal that breaks down how your prescriptions work, how you order them, how long they take to arrive and how they're delivered. 

It's discreet – you would never even know what was in the box. There's no packaging to say where it's from or anything like that. 

It's all been seamless, to be honest. I can ask for my prescription online and then it just turns up at the door within a couple of days.

How has your treatment plan been going so far?

Yeah, it's been going really well, and the follow-ups have been really good. 

During one of my follow-ups, they walked me through some of the terpenes and what they do. 

Since then, I've been using the Releaf blog posts to learn about the different terpenes, and that's actually affected what I now choose to order as part of my prescription. So, I've settled into a nice balance after working with the clinicians. 

Have you told your friends or family about the treatment and if so, how have they responded to that?

Everyone's been really supportive, except my GP, who I think was a bit uneducated about the situation. They wouldn't even fully speak to me about it. 

But the mental health team that I'm involved with were supportive and offered to provide me with a letter of support in case my Releaf clinician needed it. 

Have you faced any stigma or challenges as a medical cannabis patient?

Absolutely not. In fact, since I started with Releaf, I have completely stopped smoking tobacco, so now I don't even smoke anymore. I only use the vaporiser that the doctor told me to use. So Releaf has kind of changed my whole life, really.

If you were speaking to someone considering medical cannabis, what advice would you give to them?

I would definitely recommend it if you're taking medications that you’re not getting on with. I’d say to absolutely give medical cannabis a go because it's changed my life. 

I’d been taking medication since childhood, and sometimes it felt like my whole brain had been wired wrongly for the past twenty-odd years. Now I’m slowly getting to a place where I can accept therapy. 

I've now accepted a therapy programme through my mental health team that I would have never accepted before. My outlook on everything has changed since deciding to join Releaf.

To find out more about medical cannabis treatment for PTSD or anxiety, our dedicated pages on medical cannabis for PTSD and medical cannabis for anxiety have all the information you may need.