# Anyone else have this problem with the VA???



## longshot8541 (Aug 7, 2012)

First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Mike and I am a combat disabled Marine Corps veteran. My problem is that the Department of Veterans Affairs puts me on this drug for anxiety, this one for depression, this one for pain, etc... Well, long story short, I got hooked on all of the meds and realized that bud can reduce my pain, anxiety, depression and insomnia just as well if not better than the toxic medications. Since realizing this about 3 months ago, I have since discontinued Morphine, Klonopin and Cymbalta (my doc doesn't know) and I feel GREAT. Believe it or not, the Cymbalta was more painful and aggitating to detox from than the Morphine (30mg every 8 hours). I'm in fact still detoxing from the Cymbalta and it sucks! I'm still on one anti-depressant because every time I try to ween down and go off of it, I get crazy sick. I really wish that the VA would tell you about the withdrawal side effects before they get you hooked on this s**t!!! I told my treatment team that I wanted to get off of my meds and smoke an occasional bowl and they looked at me like I had a dick growing out of my forehead... F**K EM!!!  
Anyway, I've decided to grow my own and have had good luck so far. My setup is as follows:

4x4 grow area
8 - 50w 5100k 2800 lumen CFL's for the main grow space with supplemental 35-40w 2700k 2800 lumen CFL's on the sides running 18/6.
2 - Oscillating fans to circulate the air and strengthen the stems one full time and one 18/6
Very open air room, so ventilation shouldn't be an issue
2 Blue Widow (fem), 2 Ultra Lemon Haze (fem, supposedly auto, but really more photo) and 5 quality bag seeds, just to see if I get a male to know what to look for
Soil Medium (Scotts moisture control) (6.7 pH)
Tap water is good at 6.3 pH and I make sure to let it sit out for 24 hours before watering to evaporate any chlorine.
Miracle Gro plant food 20-20-20 for veg (started at 1/4 strength)
Miracle Gro big bloom booster 15-30-15 for flowering

Right now I have 3 bag seed (girls) doing really well as they were started about 15 days prior. My two other bag seed look great too, second set of leaves forming. My BW and ULH just sprouted. Once my shortest plant is about a foot tall, I'll transplant them to 3 gallon pots (they're in 1 gallon pots now) and I'll throw them into 12/12 veg.


Any advice that any of you can give me would be AWESOME, both on the synthetic medications and withdrawal from them (mainly the anti-depressants) and on my grow options. I'm thinking about getting a 400w HPS for flowering while keeping some of the CFL's as supplemental side lighting. Are there serious disadvantages to using CFL's the whole time? I've heard that the bud density is decreased which isn't a big deal because it's all for personal use, but I want to get the biggest yield possible. Don't think I'm missing anything... Pics soon.

Thanks for your help and hope to hear from you!!


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## bigsourD (Aug 7, 2012)

pics... now!


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## longshot8541 (Aug 7, 2012)

bigsourD said:


> pics... now!


Ok, so I started out with some quality bag seed and those are the 3 biggest ones in 1gal containers. The largest and oldest one is about 18 days from seed. The Blue Widow and ULH just sprouted yesterday. The CFL's seem to be doing their job.


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## AP2K (Aug 7, 2012)

Best of luck man. I'll be following along


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## longshot8541 (Aug 7, 2012)

How do you guys think the larger plants look? I personally think they look outstanding for less than 20 days from seed, but ya'll probably have a lot more experience than me.


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## Dirty Harry (Aug 7, 2012)

I am a retired Air Force Master Sergent, also doing half my time in the Army. Thank you for your service and sacrifice to this nation.
My wife is being detoxed from morphine and is going to get a neural stimulator implant for her back pain. Cannabis worked better for her than the morphine, but after being on it for more than six years with little pain relief and it messing with her ability to even carry on a conversation, they are getting her off of it. Mostly because she was caught with a dirty UA, but they are actually doing her a favor getting her off that shit. The test drive of the implant moved her from pain level 9 to 1 immediately after it was turned on. She gets the fully functional implant in a few weeks and other than the morphine withdrawal, she is happy to be off that shit because cannabis, when needed, relieved her pain and still allowed her to be function able. She was on levels of morphine where doctors said she should not be driving.

I wish you the best of luck sir.


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## longshot8541 (Aug 7, 2012)

I couldn't agree more, Harry. I broke my neck and have a fusion at c 3-7 and t 2-3. I also have bad PTSD coupled with depression. I was on levels of medication so high that my doctors had the DMV put a restriction on my license. Cannabis is a miracle cure for me. It's safe, I can function and I'm happy for the first time in a long time. Good luck to your wife and thanks for your input, Top.


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## cindysid (Aug 7, 2012)

My husband is also a veteran. The VA prescribed meds for blood pressure and pre diabetes. We have replaced both these with healthy diet, exercise, and cannabis. His bp and bs are normal now. He is taking hash oil daily for stage 4 prostate cancer. The VA removed his prostate 2 years ago. They screwed up the initial surgery, and it has gone downhill since then. Now we wish that we had treated with the hash oil instead of surgery, but we only became aware of the treatment after his surgery. I grow my hubby's medicine and it has become a wonderful hobby for me. I hope you produce a great crop. Those are very nice plants! It is so nice to be able to make your own natural medicine.


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## longshot8541 (Aug 7, 2012)

Thanks so much, Cindy. I thought the plants looked good for their age, but wasn't sure. It is awesome being able to GROW your own medicine! It's a great hobby, it takes my mind off of other stuff and I learn a ton about the life cycle of the plant. I'm sorry to hear about your husbands cancer, that's tough. Do you make your own hash oil?? The VA medical system sucks -- "Oh, you have a headache? Try some of this barbiturate". They get you hooked on real drugs and then give you ZERO help trying to get off of them. Thanks again.


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## longshot8541 (Aug 15, 2012)

Just reset my grow area. I'm now in a 5x5 space, temps stick around 81-85 because it's Africa hot where I live, but that'll change soon enough. RH is good between 45-55%. The plants are looking great and I'm going on vacation in November, so I threw them into 12/12 and re-potted everything into 3 gallon containers. Two of the plants already had staggered nodes and two were at their 6th node. The others had two true sets of leaves and I'm assuming they'll mature under 12/12 before flowering. I would have waited, but I don't trust anyone to plant sit while I'm gone. I should be able to harvest by the beginning of November if my math is right. Today is my first full 12/12 day. Any input? Also if someone can move this thread into the CFL section, I'd appreciate it!! Semper Fi!!


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## longshot8541 (Aug 18, 2012)

Bump... Anyone??


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## bigsourD (Aug 20, 2012)

they looked ok, but you def need more than cfls man


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## scotchtape51 (Aug 20, 2012)

bigsourD said:


> they looked ok, but you def need more than cfls man


You can sure CFL lights and if you do read up in the CFL section. I prefer t5 over CFL, but they are pretty much the same beast. Thank all of you for your service. My father is an Army vet who toured in Vietnam and we can't even get him a new wheel chair cushion. Sorry you have to deal with the VA


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## longshot8541 (Aug 20, 2012)

Thanks, scotchtape. I'm doing just fine with the CFL's, the plants look great, but I had to throw them to 12/12 early due to a vacation and nobody to trust with my girls. I'll throw some pics up later... Speaking of which, anyone know how to post pics from an iPad?


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## Dirty Harry (Sep 13, 2012)

My wife was implanted with the neural stimulator. Other than for the surgical pain, she is up and moving, almost pain free, and quite happy. No more morphine and very little pain. She is running all over the place now but still under limited lifting orders. The jacked thing is she had to do all the research on that device and convince pain management that was the right choice. They didn't seem interested in it and even put her through a mental screening before they gave it to her. It almost feels like they wanted to keep her on those hard drugs instead. She actually had to school them on what the device was and the benefits of having one.


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## longshot8541 (Sep 13, 2012)

Thanks for sharing, Harry. I'm glad that you won the battle with the VA, not many do. They usually wanna give you opiates for pain and forget about you. I'm happy for you and your wife that she is virtually pain free now.

Well, since my last update, I have 7 ladies... I'll add pics as soon as I'm not mobile. Speaking of which, RIU mods, why can't I post pics from my iPad?


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## longshot8541 (Sep 13, 2012)

Here ya go... I'm on the third week since the first preflowers. Let me know how you think they look. Sorry about the dog hair, my Yellow Lab got into my room and he sheds like a prom dress.


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## longshot8541 (Sep 13, 2012)

scotchtape51 said:


> You can sure CFL lights and if you do read up in the CFL section. I prefer t5 over CFL, but they are pretty much the same beast. Thank all of you for your service. My father is an Army vet who toured in Vietnam and we can't even get him a new wheel chair cushion. Sorry you have to deal with the VA


Not sure where you are located, but I have a few wheelchair cushions now that I don't use my chair anymore... PM me, I may be able to help you out! Also, the CFL's are working great. I have about 600 actual watts running on 7 plants, Home Depot had some killer 68 watt 2700k bulbs that throw out 5000 lumens a piece... Think I will invest in a 1000 watt HPS for my next go round though, just need better ventilation before doing so.


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## longshot8541 (Sep 13, 2012)

One more thing... I've decided to do a 12/12 perpetual grow. Since putting a couple more reg (not fem) seeds started at 12/12, I haven't gotten any males. I've been looking at some other 12/12 perpetual grows and they don't seem to get many males either. Wonder if this might be the best way to grow considering the male:female ratio. I know I won't get the yield I would if I vegged for a couple of weeks, but a 6 plant perpetual grow averaging 20-30 grams per plant is nothing to sneeze at, and I'm sure it'll just get better once I get the HPS in there. Thoughts??


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## longshot8541 (Sep 14, 2012)

My biggest plant hermied on me... Luckily I caught it in time and pulled it. Drying some now to do a smoke test.


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## longshot8541 (Sep 20, 2012)

Starting to fatten up a little...


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## longshot8541 (Sep 20, 2012)

Bump 

Can I get some feedback?


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## Desr (Sep 21, 2012)

wow small world..i am also a disabled usmc vet..and lmao i was hooked on klonopin (clonazepam) and diazepam (valium) for like a year and a half..they never tell you how addicting things actually are until they want to take you off of whatever it is..the va sucks, but hey when its midnight and youre bleeding everywhere and need stitches but dont wanna pay..the va is there to serve you.. kind of a love hate relationship...and ive found smoking is alot better than popping all sorts of shit for anxiety..i mean its not gonna feel like a 2 or 3mg bar would but it helps alot..


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## longshot8541 (Sep 21, 2012)

It is definitely a love/hate relationship with the VA. Good to know there are other USMC vets who are in the same boat I'm in. Semper High, brother.


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## Desr (Sep 21, 2012)

rah.kill. semper.


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## Caregiver2 (Sep 21, 2012)

I spend most of my days at the VA now. My husband is also a veteran with STAGE IV Bone Metastatic Cancer that spread from his prostate. He has tumors from his jaw all the way down to his hips throughout his skeleton. So I am researching as much as I can to probably grow my own and make him some oil. There's a lot of information I have to go through, makes my head spin LOL. Thank you for your service all of you and ice job on your plants


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## longshot8541 (Sep 22, 2012)

Caregiver2 said:


> I spend most of my days at the VA now. My husband is also a veteran with STAGE IV Bone Metastatic Cancer that spread from his prostate. He has tumors from his jaw all the way down to his hips throughout his skeleton. So I am researching as much as I can to probably grow my own and make him some oil. There's a lot of information I have to go through, makes my head spin LOL. Thank you for your service all of you and ice job on your plants


I'm really sad to hear that. I've learned a ton in this growing process, so if you need any help please feel free to ask. Best of luck and warm regards.


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## calimedds (Sep 24, 2012)

Thank you for your service Sir.your grow looks great btw


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## tumorhead (Sep 26, 2012)

The whole medical system is completely fucked, I'm not a service member and have never been to a VA, but I've had $30k worth of tests done over 3 months for some rare debilitating disease in the normal system and it's just completely fucked. I have health insurance and all that from a white collar job I get so many bills, lack of answers, untreated pain, income drying up, etc. I'm on 5 drugs right now as of recently and was just explaining to my gf the differences between the old me from 2+ months ago and the new me which completely sucks and is clearly different......

I do think growing is 100% a positive impact on life. Consuming herb has a positive impact on my attitude, regardless of what I'm doing. Keep it up!


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## longshot8541 (Sep 27, 2012)

Growing has had a huge impact on my life! I wake up ready to check on my girls and give them whatever they need because I know in the end they're gonna give me what I need. Thanks for the replies. I'll post some more pics on Saturday!


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