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Is Medical Marijuana For Fibromyalgia The Right Choice For You?

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Medical Marijuana or Medical Cannabis

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Fibromyalgia is an unceasing chronic pain disorder that is extremely difficult to treat and hard to cure. The prescriptions that are often suggested for treatment of fibromyalgia have too many side effects than the possible healing effects. The treatment option of this disorder does not come with good news to most people and the possible outcome is quite disturbing. The sufferers of fibromyalgia often have to live with sleeplessness, fatigue, headaches, complete body pain and depression as well.

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Is Medical Marijuana for Fibromyalgia the Right Choice for You?
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Women suffer from fibromyalgia more than men and they feel that the doctors do not take this ailment seriously. The available medications for fibromyalgia often give rise to multiple complications rather than curing it completely. Medical Marijuana or Medical Cannabis can be considered as a sole available treatment for fibromyalgia that comes with very less side effects that any other available medications.

A recent study that was conducted amongst 1339 fibromyalgia patients showed that through medical marijuana or medical cannabis, the treatment was more successful that the suggested drugs- Cymbalta, Lyrica, and Savella prescribed to fight fibromyalgia. When the statistics were compared, the rate of success was quite more in the former one as compared to the latter drugs.

These drugs are not only ineffective and expensive, but they come with a host of side effects. Following are the reactions that can be seen on the Lyrica bottle that is available at a drug store:

  • Severe allergic reactions that can be life threatening
  • Thoughts of suicide and fatal actions observed in at least 1% of sufferers
  • Swelling of hands, feet and legs that can cause severe problems to patients with heart problems
  • Blurry vision, trouble concentrating, sleepiness, dizziness, swelling of your feet and hands, weight gain, dry mouth and feeling high.

Out of all these, the observed side effect with medical cannabis is feeling high and strains of cannabis that have lower amount of THC to CBD (a non psychoactive chemical) has been successful in treating the fibromyalgia pain without disturbing cognition.

Cannabis has multiple medical uses and apart from helping with the signs of fibromyalgia it has helped in treating cystic fibrosis, glaucoma, muscle spasms, emphysema, rheumatism, nerve pain, stress, arthritis, insomnia, herpes, tumors, multiple sclerosis, migraines, back pain, nausea and epilepsy. The topical extractions of this course show antibiotic properties that prove to be helpful in treating various skin ailments as well as boost the appetite. The feelings of nausea that often comes as a side effect of cancer and HIV treatment can be reduced with this method.

The History of Medical Marijuana or Medical Cannabis

The prescription of medical marijuana or medical cannabis was provided by the health practitioners till the year 1942. During the following year, it was taken out from the list of available drugs that could be purchased by the people. Why researching on medical marijuana is necessary when its pill named as Marinol is seen in the market?

The Latin name of Marijuana is cannabis and it has an array of components known as cannabinoids. These are known to have some medicinal properties. Marijuana contains 60 or 70 different cannabinoids while Marinol has only one cannabinoid named delta-9 THC in it. When this cannabinoid is extracted from the plant, all the other positive effects are lost from it and this may give rise to other side effects that are caused due to consumption of THC alone.

When a report was made in comparison with Marijuana and medicine, it showed that cannabinoids helped in relieving pain, vomiting, nausea and increase in appetite.

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Is Medical Marijuana Legal?

The drugs that are used for disorders can be categorized into the following groups:

  • Potential for abuse or addiction
  • Medical usefulness
  • Dangers of abuse or addiction, both physically and psychologically

Marijuana, LSD, and heroin are addictive and are very less useful in terms of medicinal contents. There are laws which state its ‘compassionate use’ in treating a variety of diseases. When consuming this drug, one needs to have a proper prescription from a qualified doctor.

The Uses of Medical Marijuana or Medical Cannabis

The use of medical marijuana has been known to treat a variety of ailments and a primary factor amongst it is its ability to increase appetite and decrease vomiting as well as nausea. Medical marijuana or medical cannabis interferes with pain and can work well, unlike all the other medications that are prescribed for pain. It can be considered as a shame while thinking about its restrictions in accessing the medications.

No disease can be cured using medical marijuana or medical cannabis. However, medical marijuana can be used for relieving the symptoms and the pain associated with the disorders. Here are a few of them:

  • Increased intraocular pressure from glaucoma
  • Vomiting and Nausea from chemotherapy for cancer
  • Insomnia, pain and muscle spasms from spinal cord injury
  • Muscle spasticity, pain and stiffness due to multiple sclerosis
  • Loss of appetite and Weight loss due to suffering from HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)

There was a study published, which suggested the use of medical marijuana in treating a variety of disorders and its symptoms. Smoking of cannabis was considered to be useful for fibromyalgia patients and it did not affect their immune system. This, in fact proved to be beneficial for the immune system in the later stages.

The Pros of Medical Marijuana or Medical Cannabis for Pain

All the major organizations in the world use medical marijuana or medical cannabis for treating unceasing pain as they show lesser side effects compared to the ones that are usually prescribed for treating chronic pain.

Chronic pain is associated with a variety of ailments and often worsens due to various psychological and environmental conditions. This pain stays for a long time and often stays even after various medications are prescribed. Patients face a variety of hassles due to chronic pain and especially when a patient is suffering from 2 or more chronic pain conditions simultaneously like:

  • Fibromyalgia
  • Endometriosis
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease
  • Interstitial Cystitis
  • Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TJD)
  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  • Vulvudynia.

Science has speculated the medicinal pain relieving properties with the use of cannabinoids and some evidences also suggest its use in treating or alleviating to some extent. Cannabis also helps in relieving the pain in cancer patients and other patients who suffer from severe cases of chronic pain. While some people find it difficult to walk, there are others who cannot eat when they experience pain. Cannabis can help in dealing with continuous chronic pains and the doctors may only add cannabis to complement opiates medications.

A combination of medical marijuana or medical cannabis and opiates can help in reducing the dosages of opiates alone. The number of Americans who are suffering from chronic pain are more as compared to the ones suffering from heart diseases and blood pressure.

The use of medical marijuana or medical cannabis is supported by many medical institutions and helps in managing the pain as well. Various researches have been made available by the scientists about the use of medical marijuana or medical cannabis for treating chronic pain. The benefits that were seen due to the use of medical marijuana or medical cannabis outweighed the risks that are available with its varied uses.

The therapeutic properties of medical marijuana or medical cannabis cannot be replicated by any other medications and the side effects that are associated with cannabis are far less than any other drugs that are available in the market.

Why Medical Marijuana or Medical Cannabis Sometimes Helps With Fibromyalgia?

Endorphins that are known to be natural pain relievers are often found in the body. Apart from this, they also make other substances that can help in relieving pain with the ‘endocannabinoid system’. This structure is accountable for the way a body experiences pain and can be modulated depending on the severity of the pain as well. The cannaboids that are found in medical marijuana or medical cannabis can be similar to the ones that are naturally produced in the body.

The sufferers of fibromyalgia experience pain throughout the body and take many drugs for relieving that pain that come with a host of symptoms like insomnia, depression, restless legs syndrome and anxiety. Most of these symptoms can be treated by using medical marijuana or medical cannabis and some significant changes were seen in patients too.

The question that was raised by many users was regarding the use of medical marijuana or medical cannabis, even when the drug was legally approved. There are two major problems associated with the use of herbal cannabis and the primary one is that it has 60 compounds that can be used for treating pain which may interact with one another. The second major problem is that the compounds and its amount vary depending on the growth of medical marijuana or medical cannabis.

Suggestions have been made by various health practitioners about the variations in need of all these compounds in treating pain that is found in the sufferers of fibromyalgia. The use of all these constituents has to be studied and it is only after this that cannabis will be used for treating these ailments in a legal manner.

Is Medical Marijuana or Medical Cannabis for Fibromyalgia the Right Choice for You?

When in need of using medical marijuana for treating the pain in fibromyalgia, it is necessary for you to find a doctor that is qualified for writing its prescription. You can then schedule an appointment and begin with the necessary treatment.

It is important for you to understand the prescription completely before relying on the medication that will be suggested by the doctor. Once the doctor has given the medication that consists of cannabis, you will have to find a legal distributor of this herb and follow all the necessary legal obligations that come with it. While this is the case, be sure to understand all the laws that come with the use of marijuana.

Choosing an experienced and knowledgeable provider will be of great help as you will get complete knowledge about its cultivation, transportation and the use of marijuana under legal laws as well as terms.

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Team PainAssist
Team PainAssist
Written, Edited or Reviewed By: Team PainAssist, Pain Assist Inc. This article does not provide medical advice. See disclaimer
Last Modified On:March 20, 2019

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