Marijuana and Meningitis
For
several days before I went into the hospital I would smoke marijuana at
night and the pain and the pressure on the eyes almost instantly went
away. This is something a bottle of aspirin and whatever the doctor
prescribed could not accomplish. I
spent about a week with the meningitis infection, not knowing that I was
really sick, before waking up at 4am to vomit and going to the emergency
room later that morning. My life was mostly normal until the day I went to
the hospital -- the headache moved up on me slowly and I learned to move
more slowly and adapt. I still hauled rowboats and motors around until the
day I went into the hospital. My
physical condition was excellent and I had been a varsity swimmer. When I
went into the hospital, because of fear, I said nothing about my "extra"
activity of burning weed or it's helpful effect on my symptoms. The
diagnosis revealed stiff neck, stiff legs – stiffness to all major muscle
groups -- and severe pressure on the eyes. I was unable to put my chin on
my chest or bring my knees close to my chest (I had the flexibility to do
a split back then) because the muscles were tightening.
The
first of three spinal taps confirmed meningitis. The white cell count in
the cerebral spinal fluid was over 10,000. It was visibly cloudy when it
should have been clear. The
days in the hospital were by far the most excruciating. Since I was no
longer treating myself, I was dependent upon what the doctor served up. I
believe it was shots of morphine and it did nothing for the pain but make
my butt sore as well. Moving
in the bed by rolling from my left side to my right took almost a minute
because of the pain. Think of this:
Ever have a mild headache, forget that you have it, bend down to
pick up something and the sharp stabbing sensation reminds you the
headache is still there?
Multiply that pain by many times and you may have an appreciation
for why it took a minute to roll from the left to right side in bed.
My
eyes hurt. To look left, right, up or down required deforming the eyeballs
due to the pressure from behind them. Imagine pressing on a sponge ball
and rolling it around while maintaining the pressure on the ball -- attach
nerves and a cornea and you get the idea. While in the hospital another
symptom cropped up: I got
shingles. An annoying rash that initiated from one of the thoracic nerve
bundles that itched and hurt. That is a common symptom of viral
meningitis. The second spinal tap had a far better count, down to 600+.
That may have been the day I left. I would not support a claim that
medical marijuana would cure meningitis. With the viral forms, recovery
takes time. With the bacterial forms, the antibiotics are required. What
medical marijuana does offer to the meningitis patient is to instantly
alleviate swelling and related pain and the symptoms that cause damage.
This will buy the patient time for antibiotics to work, and the body to
heal without the threat of death or long-term disability.
It
is a mixed blessing that I was unwittingly treating myself. Had I been
under medical supervision from early on, things probably would have been
better. The use of marijuana hid the symptoms of the onset of the disease.
It may have delayed the full force of the infection long enough for my
system to begin to fight back thus shortening the recovery period.
If there is some poor SOB suffering
a meningitis attack and someone handed them a lit joint and said "You are
now 30 seconds away from being pain free and this may save your life as
well," it should be done immediately and in front of the doctors. They can
use their lights and look at the retinas a few minutes after and see the
difference, see that the stress on the optic nerve is reduced. That
patient will tell them that they do feel much better. The patient will be
able to roll their eyes again and move their head without the excruciating
pain. |