Lukas’ story: Easing physical and psychological trauma with medical cannabis

Can you tell us about your health journey?

My name is Lukas, and I have been a patient with Releaf since June. My primary diagnosis is peripheral neuropathy, but that is just one of many conditions I am managing.

It all started in early 2018. I was normally quite fit, but I ended up in hospital with a perforated ulcer, which caught me by surprise. I was in there for about a month and nearly bled to death. When I started recovering, I was eager to get back to fitness.

So, I started going out on my mountain bike again. And then I had the accident. I hit a tree, and the tree won. That put me in intensive care for five months, and I was in a coma for over a month. I was resuscitated nine times, and the impact caused a severe traumatic brain injury. 

My brain moved around inside my skull, and while I was lucky to be wearing a helmet, the damage was still significant. Alongside that, my ribcage was smashed up, which resulted in my ribs actually piercing several organs - two collapsed lungs, and my spleen was in such bad shape it had to be removed. This all heavily compromised my immune system, and I developed double pneumonia in the hospital. 

The neurological damage affected so many aspects of my health, which has meant that I have had to see a bunch of doctors and consultants to try and figure out the full extent of it. 

Peripheral neuropathy was one of the first diagnoses, but over time, they realised the damage was more widespread than they initially thought. I also developed osteoarthritis in my legs, which means I do not walk as well any more.

On top of that, I have Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), which means my brain does not send the right signals to my body. I am not paralysed, but if I try to run, I will just fall over because my body does not remember how to do it. Even on a treadmill, I just physically cannot do it. Walking is still possible, but it is awkward.

How did that whole experience - the accident, the diagnoses, and the loss of independence - affect you mentally?

It is a strange one. When you wake up from something like that, you do not believe you are alive anyway. I thought I was still in some kind of dream state, and to be honest, I still do sometimes. It was all very surreal and bizarre. You develop all sorts of delirium when you are in hospital on that many drugs.

A lot of people do not remember anything about it, but I do, and that is one of the problems.

In the end, I was diagnosed with complex PTSD as a result of the trauma surrounding the accident and my time in the hospital.

The PTSD comes from the memories. There was real trauma involved in what I went through. Life took an unfortunate turn for me. There was so much going on, and in the end, I was left on my back for months.

On top of that, I was told there was no real recovery route neurologically, which also had an impact on my mental health.

What treatments had you tried before arriving at Releaf?

If there is a drug in the hospital, I was most likely prescribed it at some point. Some of them are fine in the right situations, but if you are given something that was originally designed for a totally different health issue, and not what you are actually suffering from, you are better off looking into the alternative treatment options available to you.

In my experience, the heavy pharmaceuticals that I was given in the hospital, especially the ones that weren't originally designed to help with my health issues, simply did not help me - They turned me inside out, and the side effects just weren't worth the hassle. 

Some of the other drugs I tried were highly addictive, and I did not like how they made me feel. If I took them at the doses needed for proper pain relief, my state of mind was not very conducive to being productive. It was just not working for me.

At the time, I was told by the doctors that there was no real recovery route neurologically. Now they are changing their minds a little, but back then, they just kept increasing the doses and telling me to take more, but the side effects were really severe.

And, what led you to consider medical cannabis?

In the end, I decided that enough was enough. I wanted something more natural that actually helped me function. 

It was suggested to me through various different routes, including professionals I had seen, that cannabis might be something that could help. I had discussed it loosely with different consultants over the years, including my GP.

They kind of just said, “Well, it might be okay, it might be worth it,” but it does not get prescribed through the NHS unless you have something like MS or another specific condition. That is what made me look into private options.

So, I was looking for a more natural alternative to the medication I had been taking, and I found it through Releaf. When I first signed up for my initial consultation, I thought, “let's see what they come up with.” 

I am pretty happy that I took that first step. While it took a bit of work, and some changes to my treatment plan over the past 6 months, the result has been somewhat life-changing. 

What were your first experiences with medical cannabis like?

I started with the oil first, which was more CBD-heavy rather than THC. It was a fairly low dose, but I did notice a bit of a difference. It was like an introduction to the main act - I did not want to go steaming into it, and I also did not want to be walking around 'off my face' all the time.

I wanted to make sure that I was taking things slowly -  I was looking for something that offered the therapeutic effects I was hoping for, but not cause any heavy intoxication.

The first medical cannabis oil I was prescribed wasn't as effective as I had hoped, but we took it nice and slow. I then moved on to the flower, again at a low dose, just to see if I could tolerate inhaling it. That was okay, but I still was not getting enough benefit from it.

I discussed this all with my Releaf specialist during my next follow-up consultation, and that is when I moved on to my current prescription, which is working really well. I can confidently say that I am happy with it. 

It doesn't space me out and has given me an option that actually works without all the horrible side effects of the medication I was on before.

What changes have you noticed since starting medical cannabis treatment?

For me, the biggest change has been around my stress levels. It keeps me calm, and I don't tend to suffer from the same level of anxiety that I used to. In terms of actual pain relief, it is difficult to say because I have chronic pain - nothing I have tried so far takes that away completely.

I usually medicate in the morning, and that sorts me out for about four or five hours. Then I take a little bit in the afternoon, and sometimes a little more at night, and it just tends to relax everything, which makes life so much easier for me.

I don’t get ‘spun out’ by it, and I do not necessarily treat it as a strict routine. Some days I won't really take any at all, I just know that if I start getting anxious or things feel like they are getting out of control, that is when I need it. A lot of that comes from trauma. When things pile up, and I feel overwhelmed, I am normally not able to cope particularly well.

Using medical cannabis helps me put things into perspective. It changes my attitude slightly. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, I can see that whatever is happening is not worth worrying about. It just makes things easier to deal with, and has increased my quality of life far more than I was expecting, because I’m in a more relaxed state of mind. 

There are many different medications out there, and this is just one of them. But, for me, it has been very effective - it has actually had a twofold effect.

It helps me manage my psychological response to my condition, rather than just being about pain relief. Some people might use it and find that it instantly takes their pain away, but that is not really how it works for me.

It relaxes me, especially at night. That is when a lot of the problems arise - when I am lying on my back, and my legs start going like I am possessed. That is when it really helps.

It does not completely take the pain away, but it helps because my body is not fighting against it as much. I don’t have to overcompensate all the time, which makes a huge difference. When everything is relaxed, it stops me from constantly using other muscles to try and compensate, and that has a knock-on effect in terms of pain.

Have you spoken to others about medical cannabis?

Yes, I talk to people all the time about their experiences. After I left ICU, I became somewhat  of an ambassador for the ICU at this hospital in South London. I go to monthly meetings and speak with survivors about their experiences, trying to give them strength and hope about their situation.

Within those groups, a few people have come to me saying they don't know how to handle certain aspects of their treatment journey, similar conversations I had with myself when I was still in the thick of it all. I have mentioned medical cannabis a couple of times, and some people have shown interest.

Would you feel confident proving that you are a medical cannabis patient?

Absolutely, I would not bat an eyelid. If a police officer stopped me and asked, “Is that cannabis?” I would just say, “Yes, it is. It is legal. Here is my Releaf medical cannabis card. Here is the QR code. You can look it up.”

I could always carry a copy of my prescription as well, but I would just log into the Releaf Patient Portal, where my current and all my previous prescriptions are easily found, and show them that I am legally entitled to have it.

Obviously, should I be driving a car for example whilst clearly impaired, that would be a separate issue.

Would you take your prescription abroad?

It depends on the country. If I were travelling to Ireland to see my family, I would just take it with a copy of my prescription and say, “This is it, I am legally entitled to it.”. I know I'm not doing anything wrong, so I'm not too fussed.

I have also seen that there are travel certificates available in the Patient Portal, which seems like a great idea to have. 

What would you say to people considering medical cannabis treatments?

I think it is worth pursuing for anyone looking to find a more natural way to address their health needs - especially if they have already explored different treatments and been given the bog-standard drugs that consultants and GPs always seem to hand out. 

It should not be judged as something to frown upon because its use would normally be considered as illegal. At the end of the day, some drugs are illegal unless they are prescribed, and this is just one that is controlled differently. I was a police officer for many years before I retired, and I am aware that there is a stigma attached to it, but, from a personal perspective, I do not feel that at all.

There is nothing about Releaf or how it presents itself that makes me feel like it is some dark web operation. It is all transparent, clear, and super legitimate. Sure, the website and all the information displayed focuses on the positive effects, but does so without making exaggerated claims. It is not saying it’s for everyone - it just shows that if it's prescribed by a specialist for certain conditions, it can have great benefits. 

I also appreciate the safeguards that are in place. It is not like they are handing out unlimited amounts for people to sell on the streets. It is real, genuine, properly grown medicine, and you cannot get much better than that. I feel like I am in the right hands.

For more information about medical cannabis treatments for this condition, please see medical cannabis for peripheral neuropathy.