How Medical Marijuana saved my Veteran father
By: Sharon C Wilson
Tags: PTSD, Medical Marijuana, Mental Health Awareness, Veterans, Mental Health

This is the story of my father, Jason Christian Ramos, who is now a 56-year-old veteran of the Panama war. Currently, he is living with my brother and nephews. My father was diagnosed with PTSD before the demise of my mother. She kept him together, he had a couple of episodes but she took care of him and his condition was quite controllable. But after the sudden death of my mother, he was left all alone and had to take on the responsibility of solely taking care of his two grandchildren. Raising his grandkids was the only thing my father started to look forward to daily.

He felt as he was all alone. Although I visited him all the time he lost that smile, that spark which he had on his face. His PTSD got severe and the physician increased the recommended dose of his medication, this lead to severe side effects like headaches, jittery feelings, and nausea. The sudden demise of my mom hit him hard, and the medication didn’t seem to work.

As time passed his health started to deteriorate as he was not doing well both, emotionally and physically. He started to experience flashbacks quite often. Most of them were about the traumatic experiences he went through during the war. He was full of fear, anger, sadness, and was always gloomy and irritable. As much as my father tried to control these episodes, the situation seemed to be getting worse with each passing day.

What made us scared was the event of 23rd March 2020. He was not feeling good that day as it was the death anniversary of our mother. He was unable to sleep the night before and had severe insomnia. As he hardly slept the previous night, he took a nap during the day. About thirty minutes into the nap, he woke up screaming and sweating profusely. He was also out of breath. My nephews were terrified and were unable to understand what was wrong with their grandpa.

That night My brother search the web for a solution and came across the use of medicinal cannabis to treat neurological diseases. He immediately set up an appointment with the doctor. The next day they went to the doctor and after getting a detailed overview of his condition, a thorough treatment plan was devised. The doctor told him that pharmaceutical drugs were not an option for him now. He prescribed him medical cannabis!

My father is an old-fashioned American, he made it quite clear that there was no way he was going to smoke marijuana. Because according to him marijuana was addictive and that it was a gateway drug. The doctor told him to take his time and read testimonials from other veterans who had used medical marijuana to control PTSD. Once he read some articles, his perception totally changed. Once he was diagnosed he easily got a medical marijuana card. All of this was taken care of online.

My father was advised to avoid triggers and limit the consumption of alcohol. During the initial 2 weeks of the statement, there came a few umps as once he missed his dosage and on another instance he PTSD was triggered as he walked into a room and found his grandson playing a shooting video game. He had a minor episode as he hurriedly left the room before much damage was done.

After two weeks, the doctor made instructed that it was necessary to hold a meeting to check the progress. On hearing my father’s voice, the doctor thought that he was speaking to a different person. My father sounded energized, his facial glow had returned and he himself admitted taht he felt like a completely different person. The doctor guided him to continue with a few regular activities and to keep in touch and provide a monthly update on how he was doing.

After those 2 weeks, all of my father’s symptoms were either gone or had become very mild. The nightmares were occurring less frequently and he was happy that he could enjoy his sleep now. This stable sleep cycle was good for his physical health. He wasn’t experiencing any more violent flashbacks. His interactions with the community were no longer estranged, and he was comfortable during family get-togethers.

We got our PopPop back to the way he was before the passing of our mom. I am so thankful to the doctors at MMJDoctor that they have helped my father when he needed it the most. If any of your loved ones are going through the same thing I would suggest that you have an online consultation so that you wouldn't have to see your loved ones suffer anymore.