fortune.com
the fda approved the new medicine epidiolex for difficult to control seizures in two rare diseases
lennox gestaut syndrome and dravet syndrome
only those two
however
as we know in the medical world when things are approved they get used off label for other reasons
so
im sure you will see epidiolex being used in kids and adults who dont have those diseases but who have seizures that are difficult to control
i have two people that were my patients that had hard to control seizures that come to mind when i read about this approval
one was a middle aged dad a professional in the tech industry who couldnt control his seizures despite multiple combo of meds to slow them down and all the side effects that entails
he eventually had seizure surgery that zapped the focus in the brain that was one of the sources of seizures
it sort of worked for him
but what if this drug was available back 8-10 years ago when he was going through all this
the other was a child who had uncontrolled seizures that was on multiple meds that didnt work
she was seen at several major medical centers in texas trying to find some way to slow the seizures down
the meds made her real sedated and affected her teeth and led to obesity and other side effects
i always wondered if this drug would have prevented her from having a ruined childhood because of all of her seizures
i remember having to sign the orders for her to receive oxygen during her seizures since her oxygen levels would drop so low during her episodes
i will always wonder if her life would have been more normal if this drug or one like it was available
now we have this new drug which is expected to cost $2500-5000 a month to use
doing the math thats $30000-60000 a year
what is epidiolox
its a purified form of cbd or cannabidiol oil from marijuana
marijuana has cbd which doesnt make you high but seems to help some neurological diseases like these hard to control seizures
the other component is thc which makes you high
up to now these drugs are illegal on the federal level
these cbds including thc is classified as a schedule one drug by the dea along with heroin
meaning its harmful and has no medical benefits
wrong of course
is that the definition of hypocrisy
apparently since the fda has approved this drug the epidiolex
its expected the dea will declassify marijuana out of the category schedule one
its about time i must add
29 states plus the washington dc has legalized medical marijuana
now its 30 since oklahoma made it legal yesterday
folks understand this is all stupid so they are voting it to be legal
now marijuana has over 80 cbd chemicals in it
the epidiolox is a purified form of one of these cbds
what will probably happen is that folks will seek out the non prescription cbds since the prescription one will be so expensive
the medical dispensary cbd ones will only be around $100 a month
but will be made up of several cbds mixed together
i have taken the cbd at this mg dose recently
since there may be evidence it decreases amyloid in the brain and stimulates anti inflammation also
its legal to do so where i live
but the question will be will it stop seizures in folks
if it does why wouldnt you use the non prescription one
if it works i guess that will be ok
its about time
here is a link to an article on a 10 year old who was started on epidiolex
it was life changing for her
the organicgreen doctor
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