In Focus

In honor of the recent “holiday” for certain individuals, I have a story about how my body has no tolerance.

Last summer, I was struggling with pain and fatigue from Lyme disease. Tylenol wasn’t touching it, and thanks to Crohn’s disease, there wasn’t a whole lot else I could take. I quickly lost focus on my work. It would have been better to go home and sleep it off...but I am stubborn.

I use CBD gummies at times for pain, anxiety, and insomnia. It does a decent job, but I don’t use them every day, and if I do, it’s only at night because they make me tired. So, my pain and fatigue swelled. I thought a CBD vape would help, shouldn’t tire me, and would work faster than gummies, so I bought one.

When I got back to the office and started my tasks, I took the vape out of the box and used it. I didn’t feel anything, no sensation of inhaling anything. So, I tried it a few more times before I had an odd, burning taste in my mouth. A few short minutes later, I would regret it all.

My hands started to tingle violently, and my body suddenly felt heavy, very heavy.  I grabbed the box and looked at it. To my horror, the box said Delta-9...THC. I thought, oh, crap! 

My body, against my will, melted to the floor of the office. My limbs were so heavy I couldn’t move. I lay on the floor for several hours. I was so paranoid someone would come in and call the ambulance. I didn’t want to deal with that. I swore I could hear footsteps, but thankfully, nobody ever came into the office. 

I didn’t want to try to explain to a customer why I couldn’t move when I could barely talk. After what seemed to be an eternity, I could move enough to grab my phone. I couldn’t focus well on words, so I sloppily texted a few friends nearby to see if they were home. The first one to respond, I explained my situation. It took a few tries but I finally found the words to say that I accidentally bought a Delta-9 vape and needed help getting home. 

I looked at the time and realized I had been on the floor for three hours. By the time two of my friends arrived to rescue me, I was able to sit up. My friends thought the whole thing was hilarious, and were sad they missed it as they are more “seasoned” in these matters. 

I didn’t think it was funny at the time, but looking back on it, yeah, it seems funny now. 

My wonderful friends got me and my car home, where I crawled into bed until I could feel my body and fully function again, which was still several hours later. 

Me and THC do not mix. But I can tell you, I was not tired and felt no pain, even hours after it wore off, so it worked great in that regard. 

Now, if I ever get to that level of pain again, I go home. Lesson learned!