by Billee Sharp

The Synergy Wellness archives hold many testimonials from members who have generously shared their positive experiences using CBD-rich medications. These records are a testimony in themselves, attesting to the wide range of conditions and injuries that can be alleviated or resolved with a protocol of medical cannabinoid supplements.

Even chronic disorders can be treated successfully with cannabis, our case in point, Synergy member Leenie, who has been living with a Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis for nearly thirty years. Leenie took her health into her own hands and through her open-minded curiosity and tenacious spirit she found CBD and has triumphed over many of the debilitating symptoms of her illness.

When Leenie was first diagnosed with MS she followed her doctor’s orders and took the conventional medications. Unfortunately, as time went on, her condition deteriorated. At that time, Leenie was working as a district manager and her job involved a good amount of driving. MS was affecting Leenie’s eyesight, giving her double vision which compromised her ability to drive safely and ultimately to do her job.

Eventually, her doctors suggested that she pursue permanent disability to minimize the deteriorating progression of her disease. With the elimination of her work-related demands and by changing her main MS conventional medication Leenie’s double vision cleared up. However, as time went on, her MS-associated “whole body”pain level began to ramp up and her doctors tried to mitigate this with increasing opioid dosages. This didn’t help, resulting in Lennie being adversely affected by the opioids while continuing to suffer debilitating pain.

After a discussion with one of her doctors who suggested Leenie try CBD as an alternative therapy, her partner, John, became determined to find it for her. So Leenie and John began to search in earnest for a reliable source of CBD. They were hearing all sorts of favorable reports about the newly discovered cannabinoid and the great results it was having with a number of conditions. It took dedication and a long time searching the internet to find the information they needed and most importantly to find a reliable provider.

When Leenie and John found Synergy Wellness they struck gold. Leonard was already working with several CBD-rich strains and making tinctures, oils and salves for Synergy members. Leenie was Leonard’s first MS patient, he remembers how compromised Leenie’s mobility was when they met in early 2013. His initial recommendation for Leenie was to take 20:1 CBD-rich tincture three times a day mixing in a few drops of THC in a moderate dose to alleviate pain as needed.

Leenie doesn’t like the ‘fuzziness’ that she associates with THC but she appreciates the way that it mitigates her pain. To avoid the ‘fuzzy’ sensation Leenie has figured out, by trial and error, her own optimum dosages avoiding the unpleasant side effects. Given that CBD offsets the psychoactive effects of THC, she has learned that she can take a little more THC in her tinctures on bad pain days as long as she also takes a little more CBD as well.

Leenie has taken a holistic approach to managing her MS, she avoids foods that exacerbate her symptoms, in particular, gluten and excessive carbohydrates and she makes sure to exercise regularly and get the sleep that she needs.

It would be easy to conclude here that Leenie’s story is simply another CBD success story but there is another crucial component to her success, namely her methodology. From the onset of treatment, Leenie has kept a careful record of her medications, dosages and the effects that she felt. In this way she has been able to experiment with various strains and dosages to get the best results from her protocol. In the early years she was writing in notebooks but now she keeps her data on spreadsheets which shows her clearly how her medications and corresponding dosages are performing.

This close attention to cause and effect has given Leenie the ability to try out different blends of cannabinoids at various dosages and track her responses. Leenie is closely in tune with her condition and at this point can make informed adjustments to dosages when her symptoms flare. She also varies the combination of strains she uses about every 2-3 days so that her body does not become adapted to any one particular strain or combination of strains, which can diminish the efficacy of that particular dosage.

Leenie’s meticulous record-keeping guides her protocol and it has also revealed certain facts about her condition. Living in the Sierra Nevada mountains, the weather can change quickly and temperatures often drop considerably when a low pressure system comes through. Leenie realized that her pain symptoms invariably flared when there were low pressure weather conditions approaching. Now she monitors the weather reports closely; if she sees a storm coming her way she increases her dosage in advance of her symptoms flaring, often managing to alleviate most low pressure related pain.

MS is a degenerative condition which often compromises mobility and is associated with chronic pain, prior to starting her cannabis regimen Leenie’s MS- related “whole-body” pain and her prescribed opioids noticeably affected her mobility. Too frequently she was unstable walking, especially on uneven ground and she fell often. Further, this resulted in a lack of confidence regarding her ability to walk and do other physical activities safely. Consequently she limited her activities fearing injury. As Leenie evolved her cannabis regimen her pain diminished and her walking improved significantly. Without the daily pain, she is able to do stretching and strengthening exercises for her legs and she is now able walk daily ( on average 2-3 miles ) and periodically she can enjoy kayaking and paddleboarding!

Leenie strongly believes that the anti-inflammatory properties of CBD have been key to her improved health. To maintain this improvement Leenie keeps a relatively constant amount of CBD in her system by taking either an alcohol-based tincture or an infused oil about every two hours.

Leenie’s experience shows that cannabinoid medications can alleviate the debilitating symptoms of MS and her excellent results have been assured by her own close attention to her cannabis regime. Leenie and John have witnessed the healing power of cannabinoids. Before starting her cannabis regimen, Leenie’s “whole body” pain was relentless. Now she typically only suffers a “bad pain” day once or twice a month. For these “bad pain” days, if her tincture regimen doesn’t sufficiently alleviate the pain, she uses one of Synergy’s 8:1 vape pen cartridges. The couple have seen how both CBD and THC tinctures and oils have improved Leenie’s health, restoring her vitality and giving her years of active life that she might never have had. She continues to take several of the conventional treatments for MS, but has eliminated the opioids and lives a relatively pain-free life.

As Leonard concludes; When I first met Leenie her health was severely compromised and her walking was unstable.. Fast forward to the present, she is full of energy and takes daily hikes. If you didn’t know that she has MS you wouldn’t suspect it at all. Leenie is vibrant and full of life, she is also full of love and gratitude, add CBD and this is a winning combination.