Does My Body Know?

My doctor has often told me that he is more than a little impressed at how "in tune" I am with my body.  He has witnessed time and again incidences when I will present to him with really very little evidence of something, suggest what the difficulty is, we test my theory and voila!  I was right.

So he has learned, in the more than 30 years he has been treating me, to approach with caution when we are introducing new drugs and/or adjusting dosages.

My body will tell me very quickly if we are on the right path.

Obviously, Cesamet levels are something that my body responds to quite readily.

• At 5 mg per day, I was virtually pain-free at home and I was able to pretty well function insofar as day-to-day activity was concerned.  On "out and about" days, I would take an additional 1mg in the morning, meaning I had taken 6 mg on those days (I was on day four of the higher 6 mg level while in 'travel status' when I had my seizure).  But at 5mg per day, I had already stopped eating and my weight loss was significant.
• At 4 mg per day, which is the level the doctor reduced me to upon my return from Nova Scotia, my hip pain quickly increased and my sleep became disturbed (I returned to waking every two hours which is what I used to do prior to taking Cesamet).  However, 4 mg per day, I started eating again, even having periods of 'feeling hungry.'  Although I wasn't eating very much, at least I was eating.
• At 4.5 mg per day, which is the level the doctor increased me to once he established that all my bloodwork was OK and the EEG was normal, I have not yet seen any significant hip pain relief and I still woke every two to three hours all night last night (it's only been three days after all).  Yet already this morning, I could not choke down a piece of toast for breakfast!

So it is clear that the Cesamet is affecting my ability to eat.

I will continue at the 4.5 mg per day for the next few days and see (a) if I get any pain relief for my hips, (b) if my sleep pattern improves, and (c) if this inability to eat continues and/or worsens.

The answers to each of these will dictate what my options will be with respect to Cesamet.