By Debi Wimberley, Cannabis Educator and Founder of the Effective Cannabis Newsletter

Is Cannabis giving my lungs life? Never could I have imagined, nor did I think, it was possible, and definitely not with my diagnosis. I was living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) (1) and Mac Lung Disease (2), which made me struggle for every breath with zero quality of life. 

To breathe normally without thinking about it is not a luxury I have. With every breath I take, I understand how important each is. For this reason, I examine the quality of each breath. Did I hear a rattle or struggle to inhale or exhale? Every breath I take matters and is crucial to my wellness. I appreciate and do not take breathing for granted, whereas most people never even think about it. It is just natural. 

How Cannabis is giving me a life I never expected!

Chronically Pulmonary Tested

Already struggling with a diagnosis of COPD in 2009, I contracted MRSA (3) pneumonia during a hospital stay, landing me in ICU for a 30-day hospital stay, fighting for my life. My name was submitted to St Joseph’s Lung Transplant Unit for a transplant consequently. The review process was extensive, only to be denied placement on the transplant list due to an FDA-approved drug called OxyContin, a prescribed medication to help control pain from Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) (4). 

This left me to ask: What will happen to my health and life? To sum up, I endured numerous lung exacerbations (worsening or “flare-up” of your COPD symptoms or a lung infection developing in the lungs or airways), hospital stays, and absolutely no quality of life. 

Failing Lungs, Flu, and Rapid Opioid Reduction Collide

In February 2016, I was again rushed to the hospital, unable to breathe. This time was quite different from all the others. Unfortunately, I wasn’t just dealing with a lung exacerbation, which alone is serious and scary. I was in the middle of a forced medical reduction of my OxyContin, pushing my body into withdrawal. Along with a newly acquired illness, MAC Lung Disease, the hospital informed my husband I was positive for the flu. Explicitly, my body was under extreme attack.

I was incoherent, placed on a ventilator, and unaware of anything happening around me. Yet I was very aware of the large, forceful air gushes pushing into my lungs and chest. Nothing was natural or right about any of this. Days later, the ventilator went away as I stabilized.

My prognosis was dismal. No treatment options were available to me that could improve my quality of breathing or life. I was left to ask, what now?

Difficult-to-Treat Infections

I was referred to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) (5), which was always a little scary, no matter how often I found myself there. Even though I was very familiar since first introduced to the CDC in 2009 for MRSA pneumonia and on two subsequent hospital stays with each for a very different severe, hard-to-treat infection. Let’s say I tend to attract unusual, difficult-to-treat illnesses. 

CDC Treatment Plan

I went to this appointment, understanding, most likely, that there were no treatment options to offer. The CDC explained that treatments for MAC today are the same used since the early 1900s to treat Tuberculosis (TB): a cocktail of 3 strong, harsh antibiotics from which I developed severe side effects that were extreme and rare. Consequently, impacting every muscle and tendon in my body as I rapidly dropped over 30 lbs in less than a month.

The CDC doctor was aware that treatment was stopped after months of difficulty. She informed me that no new treatments were being developed or considered. As a result, she said, “to accept that we can do nothing at this point and that living life with MAC would be extremely challenging and harsh.” With a recommendation of doing a CT scan of my lungs every six months to monitor the progression. Just learn to accept, I was told.

One More Medical Challenge

Indeed, I was frightened, fully aware that the average life expectancy living with MAC disease is five years with treatments.

My husband and I looked at one another as we got in the car, driving away from my appointment, saying we would find a way. Once again, I was facing one more medical challenge.

The ride home was silent as I was reciting in my head how I would tell my 85-year-old mom, who lived with us, as I was her caregiver. 

Accept That This is Your Life Now

“Accept” became the usual treatment plan I was often prescribed once I developed a life of chronic illness. At the time of this diagnosis in 2016, at age 58, I had already lived with a life-changing chronic disease for over 27 years.

Acceptance for me meant I needed to work at everything on my own to keep my mind and body as healthy as possible, which was becoming increasingly more complex with each new exacerbation, pneumonia, lung infection, and hospital stay! With every ounce of energy and complete focus, quality of life was a moving target and balancing act.

Accepting Pulmonary MAC, A New Life I Didn’t Want

I was coming to terms once again with a prognosis that did not impact me alone. Therefore, I needed everyone in my family to accept and understand the changes needing to take place if I were to fight for my life.

It was a fight I did not know what it looked like, but I was not giving up. I believed more than ever I was important and my life mattered.

Living to 59... the Goal

Earlier in my diagnosis, I set a goal to live past 58, the age at which my father died of lung disease, lung cancer, and brain cancer. Much of my health history mirrored my dad’s. I never once thought about what I would do when I reached 59.

In June 2016, I reached and celebrated 59 years. My mom was moved to Washington to live with my sister. Now, I needed a caregiver around the clock, no longer capable of caring for myself or being active with my family.

Instead of focusing on age, I set my sights on learning about and understanding a natural plant called Cannabis to help me find support to live.

Learning to Be My Own Health Advocate

I spent every moment I could muster up the strength to study medical Cannabis to help reduce my pain and opioids (6), taking online classes and attending virtual talks. 

My determination to learn how to relieve my pain with an understanding beyond just relying on others required me to call upon my medical technologist education. I needed to be successful at this, or I would never be able to fight MAC.

First, I established that I needed to reduce opioids at a slower, healthier pace to protect my lung health. 

Luckily, I convinced my doctor that I would only reduce my OxyContin at a slower pace by taking a stand for my health. To clarify, the risk the medical community was putting me in with my current health status was not healthy or helpful.

 I was still struggling to understand how a doctor (7) could force me to reduce my medication when I was so critically ill. I was genuinely fighting for my life from moment to moment, day by day.

Establishing My Treatment Plan

First, I began establishing a proper medical Cannabis treatment plan for my pain with the appropriate knowledge of cannabinoids and terpenes. Second, I learned how to use an herbal tabletop vaporizer to consume Cannabis that did not harm my lungs so I would have faster onset for pain control. Third, I focused on the skill of listening to my body beyond pain. I became aware of each moment and what was happening by learning to sit with my body and Cannabis, to listen to how my body speaks to me.

Breathing Changes and What They Mean

By late spring 2017, I began to notice I would forget to take my breathing treatments and medicine, something I had never forgotten. They were my lifeline. Over the next month, this continued to happen. It finally became clear that I was taking the medication out of guilt to follow the doctor’s orders.

By the end of November, I realized that maybe I no longer needed these medications as I was breathing better without them. Was Cannabis giving my lungs life I never expected?

Research As My Guide

I began looking for research on COPD and MAC with treatments of Cannabis. Most articles state that inhaled Cannabis is harmful to the lungs, and a few say that Cannabis administered correctly might help. Was this a medical breakthrough and Cannabis giving my lungs life?

According to my doctors and the CDC, I should not be doing this well with no treatment. At this point, there was only one thing I could conclude. Cannabis was the reason my lungs no longer required the prescribed breathing medications. I was breathing better without them than with them.

Once again, I began to trust my body and what it was telling me.

Dropping Medications Safely

By December 2017, I decided to stop all breathing meds to see how my body would respond. This was when it was becoming clear medical Cannabis just might be helping my lungs and breathing.

I reviewed with my pharmacist how to safely stop taking each medication. Always check with your doctor or pharmacist before stopping any prescribed medication. Now, I have become more curious, is Cannabis giving me a life I never expected?

My curiosity concerning the benefits of Cannabis grew!

Evaluating If Cannabis Is Quality Treatment for Lungs

January 2018 rolled around, and I had not had one lung exacerbation, infection, or hospital stay since January 2016, which was not normal for me. I could not recall when I last had a year without at least one illness impacting my lungs before I introduced Cannabis. Surely, the doctors would see that Cannabis was giving my lungs life.

Doctors’ Reaction

December 2018 was one year with no traditional breathing meds and still not one lung exacerbation, illness, or hospital stay.

Doctors didn’t understand why or how and couldn’t explain it. They were shocked at how well I was doing. Saying I was one person, they could not conclude it was due to medical Cannabis. Yet they would encourage me to “keep doing” what you are doing.

CT Scans and lung health 2017 to 2019

All lung CT scans up to July 2019, to our surprise, confirmed my lungs were stable with no advancement of MAC. 

My search for education and research intensified while reaching out to physicians to see what they might know or if they would help me understand. No one really understood or was willing to help me. I became more determined to understand Cannabis and the role of the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) in lung health.

Encouraging and Rewarding Results

In July 2019, I received a phone call I never expected or thought possible. The nurse said that my CT Scan in June (2019) showed my lungs were improving. Wait, I heard you wrong! Did you say my lungs are improving? “Yes, this is what the doctor told me to tell you.”

I hung the phone up in shock. I just knew there had to be a mistake. Lungs don’t improve without treatment, and generally, not at all.

I cannot find adequate words to express how this made me feel. Indeed, there are no words strong enough or powerful enough to capture the magnitude of this news. I was born with asthma and struggled to breathe my whole life. No one had ever told me that my lungs were improving.

Is Cannabis Really a Quality Treatment for Lungs?

You Tell Me

Is Cannabis giving me a life I never expected? How have I lived with COPD for over a decade, riddled with landmines of exacerbations, with many blowing up into serious lung infections? One after another, until I began Medical Cannabis and now none, zero for six years.

Since 201,9, I have reflected on how I live without one lung exacerbation, lung infection, or hospitalization. Not what doctors told me to expect! It is truly life-changing. I am far from a healthy person, but this is sure a life I like and want to continue.

Something I am sure everyone who lives with COPD or MAC wishes they could have.

I no longer have to ask if Cannabis is giving me a life I never expected and was told was impossible. I know Cannabis has saved my life thus far.

What is the Current Status of My Lungs?

Nodules developed from the Pulmonary MAC are starting to shrink and disappear. My lungs are sounding clearer than they have since 1998. I no longer wheeze or sound like a cat purring. It is actually strange not to hear that wheezing sound. I have been doing it since I was a little kid with asthma.

No,w I can take a deep breath, which does not hurt. I no longer cough and gasp for air when I do a pulmonary function test. I do not recall when I could breathe so easily. The doctor says my pulmonary function is still declining due to COPD, but I cannot tell that at all.

Health and Life Before and After Cannabis

It is really hard for anyone unless you have lived this life, to fully understand the positive impact of Medical Cannabis on one’s health.

Sadl,y I lost my ability to take care of my mom. I was no longer the wife, mother, or daughter my family once depended on or knew. I was constantly sick with tons of restrictions as friends all faded away.

Being chronically challenged was interrupting life for everyone around me.

Pre-Cannabis Medicine

When I first introduced Cannabis into my daily routine, I struggled to breathe, lived in constant chronic pain, was on oxygen 24 hours a day, and needed a wheelchair giving up more of my independence each day. Consequently, I could no longer manage personal care, cooking, or household duties.

My family felt like they could not leave me home alone. Not even for 10 minutes. Nor could I be around people now that my immune system was no longer working, caused by a combination of prescribed medications and the severe infections I had endured.

Doctors’ appointments had become my only outings and were like playing Russian Roulette. So scary! The fear of picking up a germ that could be the bullet that ended my life, germs that most people aren’t even aware they have and are of no harm to them, is my worst nightmare. I am always at high risk.

I Refused Just to Accept

Doctors left me on my own to accept this new life with little to no support or advice on how to learn to live this existence. I refused to accept this. I began learning everything I could, therefore, about Medical Cannabis and how to apply it to my health.

Post Cannabis Medicine

Today I can breathe better than I have in over a decade. The wheelchair is no longer necessary. I can breathe most of the time without oxygen while sitting. Surprisingly, I no longer feel like an elephant is crushing the air out of my lungs. Equally important, I have returned to doing some things for myself and my family.

If I had just followed the CDC and my doctors’ recommended treatment of acceptance, I would not have the life I enjoy right now. Yes, Cannabis is giving me a life I never expected, and I want to keep it. Finally, how do I share and use what I have learned and experienced with Cannabis to educate others?

Enjoying a transformation I never once thought possible, Cannabis is giving my lungs, famil,y and me a better life.

Advancing Health and Cannabis

I am now a Health Quality Advocate speaking and educating about the benefits of Cannabis as medicine.

No,w it is time to ensure that others learn so they can improve their health and life. It matters what we do when we are ill. To emphasize, it is your life, your health, and you are the one living it.

Invest in yourself by learning how medical Cannabis might help you. Nothing has ever been more critical or vital in improving my quality of life.

References

1.  Mayo Clinic Patient Care & Health Information Diseases & Conditions, COPD, www.mayoclinic.org/. Corporate Headquarters. 400 E. Van Buren St., Suite 600 Phoinex, Az 
2.  University Of Texas Health Science Center. “What Is MAC (MYCOBACTERIUM AVIUM COMPLEX) and How Is It Diagnosed and Treated,” www.maclungdisease.org/, 11937 US HWY 271 Tyler, TX, 
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP), “Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)”. Page last reviewed: February 5, 2019, 
4. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. National Institutes of Health (NIH), “Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Fact Sheet,” NINDS, Publication date September 2020. NIH Publication No. 20-NS-4173.
5. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “CDC Organization,” www.cdc.gov/about/organization/cio.htm, May 7, 2021
6. Wimberley, Debi, Effective Cannabis, “On The Inside of CRPS and Opioids” Updated on 1/29/23
7. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), “FDA identifies harm reported from sudden discontinuation of opioid pain medicines and requires label changes to guide prescribers on gradual, individualized tapering.” Safety Announcement, April 9. 2019

Additional Resources

1. NORML, “Study: Cannabis Smoke Exposure Not Associated with Impaired Lung Function,” https://norml.org/news/2023/01/26/study-cannabis-smoke-exposure-not-associated-with-impaired-lung-function/, January 26, 2023 
2. NORML, “Cannabis Exposure and Lung Health,” www.norml.org/marijuana/fact-sheets/cannabis-exposure-and-lung-health/,

About Debi Wimberley:

Debi Wimberley is a staunch, tireless, and caring advocate for Medical Cannabis education and self-empowerment in healthy living. A survivor of decades of chronic, debilitating pain and lung disease, she never gave up hope, even when doctors bluntly declared there was nothing more they could do. Taking matters into her own hands, Debi drew on her background in medical technology, oncology, and hospitals as tools to learn, understand and thrive. Being adaptive and agile allowed her to obtain certifications in Medical Cannabis applications, Patient Care and become a certified professional communicator and content creator specializing in Cannabis. Debi is blazing new territory. Her mission is to centralize quality, accurate, fact-based education through collaborative work with other certified Cannabis educators, health coaches, and professionals.

Effective Cannabis Newsletter is a platform to educate on the vital role of the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) in one’s health. The information is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and informatio, contained in or available through this newsletter is for general information purposes only. It is not medical advice; it is health awareness.