When I was 20 years old, I found out that I was carrying the hepatitis C virus. At that time the doctor told me that we would first wait and see whether it healed on its own. I stayed healthy for many years.
Until the virus started attacking and damaging my liver in 2013. A four-year battle ensued. The first drug treatment did not have the desired effect. Fortunately, the second therapy worked and after a while the virus was no longer detectable in my body. However, I had side effects throughout the therapy - including nausea and loss of appetite. On the other hand, I consumed cannabis regularly, which helped a lot.
From the rain in the eaves
Shortly after the hepatitis C virus was no longer detectable in my body and I had seemingly won the battle, a malignant tumor was discovered in my liver. Because the organ had already been attacked by the hepatitis virus, the doctors saw a liver transplant as my only chance of survival. After intensive medical examinations at the University Hospital Zurich, I was added to the transplant list. A difficult time followed for me, which was characterized by a rollercoaster of emotions.
Anxious months of waiting
Because I wasn't sure whether a suitable donor organ would ever be found for me and there was no other medical option, I tried to treat the tumor with cannabis. But my liver was already so badly affected that it could no longer tolerate THC full plant extracts. So I stopped the attempt again. It would have been very important for me at the time that a doctor would have given me competent advice and support in this self-therapy. But unfortunately there are still no appropriately trained medical professionals in Switzerland.
Things continue to go downhill
In 2019, my health deteriorated. I had fluid retention in my stomach, lungs and legs. I once had to go to the hospital because of it - around 5 liters of water were removed from my body. My gallbladder also had to be removed. My digestive tract also no longer worked properly and I was able to tolerate fewer and fewer foods. Meanwhile, other small tumors had formed in my liver. Fortunately, they were successfully destroyed through minimally invasive procedures. Nevertheless, my health was reassessed and I moved further up the organ transplant list. As was the case during the hepatitis C therapy, cannabis consumption also helped me greatly in this phase of my illness: Cannabis took away my fears, made me more mentally stable and also regulated my appetite.
The longed for news
On February 28, 2020, a suitable donor organ was finally found for me. The six-hour operation was successful. After just three days I was able to leave the intensive care unit and move to the normal ward. But I had severe pain that even high doses of painkillers weren't effective enough. I wasn't feeling well mentally either - partly because of the beginning discussion about Covid-19. During this time I persuaded the doctors to allow me to take CBD drops, which they did after some back and forth. And I asked a colleague to bring me THC-containing grass to the hospital: I smoked it on the hospital roof from the third day after the operation. With positive consequences: The pain largely disappeared, the psychological stress subsided and I was able to reduce the painkillers more quickly than usual. I was allowed to leave the hospital on March 16, 2020. The first few weeks at home were difficult because I now belonged to a high-risk group and therefore had to limit contact with other people to a minimum. Within a short time, I was able to reduce the immunosuppressants that were supposed to prevent my immune system from rejecting my “new” liver by three quarters - which I attribute to taking CBD oil and CBD grass
My wishes
Thanks to my donor liver, I feel almost as physically fit as I did before the outbreak of the hepatitis C virus. I can eat a normal, balanced diet again and do regular physical activity again. Since the transplant, I have also been attending the Medcan patient meetings more often and would like to get more involved in the Association as far as I can.
As far as cannabis legislation is concerned, I have a suggestion: I would legalize home cultivation for people like me. And I would be in favor of setting up cannabis social clubs that would have the task of offering, on the one hand, many varieties of cannabis, but also a lot of knowledge about how they work. Of course, a club like this would also need a mass spectrometer in order to be able to determine the varieties and offer “clean” medicine. My hope is that one day the expertise of these clubs will have increased to the point where they could provide advice to medical professionals.
