I am in a study at MGH Hospital in Boston MA. for chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. I am not sure if Medical Marijuana is legal in everyone’s state, but I believe it might be. I have suffered from Fibro since I was in my early 20’s and I am now 63 years old with 2 back surgeries and nerve pain down my both legs. I have gone through multiple doctors throughout my life, so at this point, I am willing to try anything to sooth my chronic pain, anxiety and insomnia. I have used everything I could think of in the box, now I am reaching outside the box. I received my medical marijuana card about a week ago after meeting with a certified medical marijuana doctor and will continue to meet with this doctor as long as I am using medical marijuana. I have found pain relief as soon as the first night I took it. My painful muscles have relaxed and feel so much better. My joint pain in my knees, elbows and hips has improved significantly. I take the medical marijuana at bedtime, so that way I do not feel any side effects from it and take my regular pain med during the day. I am lucky my PC Doctor is all on board with this as well as my Rheumatologist. Lots of doctors are frowning at this. I never took drugs unless it was from my doctor. I never used Marijuana as a kid or adult EVER! The side effects for medical marijuana for me is much less than the prednisone I was on for 9 years, all the Advil, Celebrex etc. I am not telling anyone to go out and do this, but I am letting the community know that there is perhaps other options out there. Best to all of you!
I would definitely try it, but it’s not legal in Indiana. I’m so glad it’s providing you some much-needed relief!!! Hugs,
Debbie
Debbie, I am sorry to hear it isn’t legal in Indiana. I am sure in time it will become legal for medical purposes. It is definitely worth a try. Best to you. Hugs Lynne
I used it and it does work real good. I also use CBD oil i use it in vape form and the cream for muscle pain. Or any of my pain that I can use cream on
Unfortunately the marijuana is not legal in my state yet. I had the medical certification when I lived in California.
I am sorry to hear your state does not allow medical marijuana. In time I believe all states will allow it. Just a quick thought about the creams you are using. The medical doctor I saw told me not to waste my money on creams because there is not enough marijuana in it to penetrate your skin. What is helping is the same stuff you buy over the counter like benga’s etc. They use stuff like that to make it work. Of course I have never tried it and no nothing about it so I do as the doctor says LOL
I a. Just about to start on full spectrum CBD (the only legal one I can get on script here in NZ). It’s 25mg per mil and starting dose is 1/2 mil morning and night. When you say medical marijuana is it drops of cbd and thc mix, do you smoke the plant material or how are you taking it?
The cost at this dose for me is 148.50$ for 25 day supply. I have other options to source that are much cheaper but not from phatmacy or on prescription. Unfortunately the cbd is not subsidised at all from pharmac. I don’t have insurance and am now retired.
Currently I’m on a mix of morphine, gabapentin and paracetamol. I have fibro, arthritis and peripheral nerve damage.
It’s good it’s helping you and gives me hope.
Hi Lindy, I don’t know much about medical marijuana but I’ll try my best to explain what I am talking. I am taking Indica marijuana. This contains more TCH than CBD oil. I take anywhere between 10-15mg in the evening. I cannot take this during the day because it would be illegal to drive. They are called Indica dose cubes. They are a gummy edible and it costs $75.00 for 100 gummy dose cubes. This will last me over a month. May I ask what a full spectrum CBD oil is? Does it contain THC? The THC seems to help my pain the most.
PS. I forgot to add. I do not smoke so edibles are the only thing I will use and the last all night.
Full spectrum cbd is less than 2%thc cbd. It’s made by a company called tilray in Canada and suppLied via pharmacy as medication. It’s the only legal brand etc here in new Zealand.
When you start talking your new medication, please let me know if it works well for pain. According to my doctor hear in the USA I was told not to buy CBD oil because it would take high doses to relieve pain and too expensive to use. Plus, he does not feel CBD oil works well on pain. Perhaps you could shed some light on this new subject. Maybe it works better than he thinks. I am open to all ideas and I never believe everything a doctor tells me. Please keep me posted!!
Hey Lindy and Hale,
I’d like to put my 2 cents worth in on this conversation.
When Lindy Loo speaks of 'Full Spectrum CBD" it contains cannabinoids CBN (Cannabinol), CBG (Cannabigerol), and THCV (Tetrahydrocannabivarin), to name a few. And yes, along with these cannabinoids, Full Spectrum CBD also contains trace amounts of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), but in very low concentrations (up to .3%), resulting in very minimal psychoactive stimulation.
The other type of CBD is CBD isolate, which as the name suggests is separated and isolated from the other cannabinoids.
There is some debate in regard to something known as the ‘Entourage effect’. The theory being that components found within cannabis all work in combination with each other to provide a benefit. By isolating individual components the entourage effect is reduced or eliminated. This can be why the inclusion of THC and CBD can be beneficial, for a more holistic entourage effect.
But in saying that the laws that govern cannabis vary greatly and short of going ‘Black market’, when you can never be sure just what you may get, options a fairly limited at the moment. Governments and laws are s.l.o.w.l.y. changing their views, but as we all know the wheels of government move v.e.r.y. slowly. They would much rather dose us up on pharmaceutical concoctions that have quantifiable measures of component ‘A’ and component ‘B’.
Merl from the Moderator Support Team
Meek, thank you for the information you provided. I find it extremely interesting. I am fortunate to live in MA where legalization is in full swing for medical and recreational marijuana. I am involved in a medical marijuana study on Boston MA. I am happy marijuana is finally being studied for the good it can do. I am very aware of how marijuana products can very and the controls are very loose. Hopefully that will change too. Thanks again.
If you go to Colorado, you' will be amazed at the variety of mary jane is for sale. All shades of color, with and without buds, skinny, fat, no way to decide. And the names are unique and plentiful. I would gladly smoke some - but it's totally illegal in Nebraska.
Hi, I have to say, besides the fact you are in a study in Boston for chronic pain, your story sounds something like mine. I’ve also tried medical marijuana, I also find it’s affective for me at night tIme, it helps me sleep. I use the tinctures, called Dream, so I get a good night sleep.
I tried other stuff but didn’t like the way it made me feel, I don’t like feeling of being stoned.
I also take something for pain in the morning. And throughout the day. It’s an extended release. I have had 2 back surgeries as well. And I also get the pain down my legs and arms. I’m pretty sure this is why I have fibro.
I’m now getting a lot of pain and inflammation in my feet. I don’t know what that is. I was on prednisone for my neck, cuz I have a bulging disk there and it helped. It also took the inflammation down in my feet. But everything went back to the way it was after I was done with the series of prednisone. I’m having so many issues now. I’ve had fibro since 2007 and I’m also 61. My husband and I just came back from a lovely vacation on the Thousand Islands we stayed in a nice cottage on the river. The first day or two was nice but everyday after that was awful pain and fatigue. We even came home a day early. That was 2 weeks ago and I’m still suffering. I’m either in a lot of pain or I’m terribly fatigue. 
I don’t know what to do anymore. I feel like I’m never going to get well again. It doesn’t help that we’ve been getting rain every other day just about.
This is the first I’ve been on here in a long time. I’ve been so disconnected with the world. I’ve been canceling several appointments. So hopefully I can find some comfort in relating to others like I have with you.
Thanks,
Lori
Lori, I am so sorry to hear about your pain and what you are going through. I felt and sometimes still do, like I will never feel well again. Yes, you and I do sound so very alike. I do feel my fibromyalgia is caused from the spine issues, too. I also have foot pain, so bad, many times I didn’t think I could stand up on them. I am not sure how long you took the medical marijuana when you did; you said you used the tincture, which I was told by my medical doctor that was not the most effective way, but still good for some people. The edibles are what was suggested because of their longer duration of working time (8 house) I use what is called “5 mg Dose” cube gummies.These are made specifically for medical use, but anyone can buy them. I have never been stoned, I don’t even drink. With the gummies, you can take small nibbles throughout the day, keeping small enough amounts in your system to help with your pain and you will not feel the affects. At night you can do the same thing, but I tend to take larger bites at closer intervals to help bring on sleep. Sometimes, I have a little vertigo, but I go to bed and sleep it off, waking up with no problems at all. For me, this is worth the pain relief. My foot pain is so much better, as well as my mobility. I do take pain meds during the day, as well, because I cannot take the marijuana and drive. A little marijuana goes a long way for me, (10 mg per day/night) so this is a great way to relieve pain. There are medical marijuana seminar’s I would like to go to on medical marijuana, but they are not near me. So, I haven’t gone. My medical marijuana doctor is awesome answering my questions. I am sure it doesn’t work for everyone and if you have to take too much, then that would be aweful. I am experimenting myself with different strains of marijuana that are 5 mg cubes, and they do give different results. I am learning and that as all we can do. As far as your trip went, that is what happens to me. The more active I become, the worse the symptoms appear, making me feel worse and not able to function for days afterwards. Using the marijuana has helped me rebound back from an active day much faster, therefore increasing my activity levels. I wish you the best, take care. Hale
Thank you for the information on the CBD oil. I agree, government would rather fill you up on chemical drugs instead of herbal medication. I am happy my state is allowing full use of marijuana, and it is helping many people with chronic pain, anxiety, PTSD, insomnia, and an added bonus for me is my allergies! They have been great and I have cut way down on my use of allergy medication as well. My asthma has even improved. It took about 2 months for me to figure out how much marijuana has helped me in multiple ways. The laws are changing and more research and development needs to be done to find better ways for people to take marijuana with little to no side effects. It is going to happen. I just wish it was faster!
Hale
Hey Hale,
I’m in Australia and our present conservative government do not support it’s use. I am now, presently, involved in a trial but again it is with pharma derivatives of cannabis and not whole plant. I know (from personal experience 
) that whole plant does have it’s benefits, but here it is STILL illegal. Hence me being involved with this trial, it is not cheap, in fact street weed would be cheaper BUT you can never tell what’s in it. At least with the trial I may be able to obtain a refined profile of what does work for my specific needs.
Merl from the Moderator Support Team
I live in Colorado so have no problem getting it but I was hesitant because of the thought of “fogging” my brain anymore than it already is. I tried hemp CBD tincture first but it ended up giving me worse headaches than usual. A month or so later I decided to try a C B D tincture with THC and got one with the least amount of THC possible. It didn’t cause any headaches and i think started to do some good. Unfortunately after about 4 weeks I noticed I had been eating a lot and had gained over 10 pounds. I stopped taking it and my hunger returned to normal. I’m sure like anything else how the THC affected me will not be the same for everyone but it turns out “the munchies” is a real thing with marijuana so it’s something to keep in mind. For those of us who deal with weight issues and this thing that keeps us from getting any real exercise it can make a big difference.
You said it, big pharma is so corrupt, lining the pockets of just about every politician that is any position of power. Obama took the highest $$ kickback of all time!
I know a few folks that have Med. Marijuana cards here in PA, and go to the dispensary and get to choose all types of weed with different proportions of THC to the other cannabinoids. You guys probably know that we humans already have receptors for these chemicals. I love that its natural and has helped so many people with a variety of conditions, some serious. I know of a fella who suffers with terrible colitis and this has helped him more than any drug. Good for IBS, and colitis which I know a lot of us suffer from.
oops, I meant Crohn’s disease, and then,Colitis. I thought I had one or the other, the pain was so terrible, but ends up it’s just IBS.