I'd like to open a dialog about treating fibromyalgia pain. Of course, everyone's welcome to discuss, but I'd really like to hear from those of you who've used opiates to treat your pain. Particularly if you've ever used marijuana as an alternative to ease your symptoms, or if you choose not to use opiates at all.
As FM sufferers, we all know there are an endless array of symptoms we have to endure. But in this, we are just discussing the painful ones, which treatments/techniques are most effective, and most importantly, which ones are in the best interest of our long-term health and wellness.
Everyone knows Marijuana is still illegal in many states. Many still believe its ethically or morally wrong to use the herb for any reason. But most sufferers probably have never even entertained the idea of using marijuana as an alternative to opiates or non-narcotic pain relievers. To those readers, I'd like to ask for just a moment that you read with an open mind and try to leave preconceived notions aside.
I have suffered with pain for decades and after trying all OTC and non narcotic pain meds, several years ago, I was started on and became dependent on opiate pain relievers. I went through the full gamut, everything that came along with it, complications, side effects, etc. I'd just like to say, for those of you that don't know, opiates are derived from the same plant as heroine. Opiates can kill and are extremely addictive. Marijuana cannot kill a person, no matter how much they use, but opiates absolutely can.
So now, I'd like to hear feedback regarding these two different treatments.
hi. i think it is not a ' one size fits all ' deal. i think we have to try what works for us. I read some articles about dependence and addiction and they are not the same. 95% of persons who are seeking relief from pain for legitimate pain conditions do not become addicts. An addict is one who seeks to get high and will steal and do just about anything for that. The thing with dependence for chronic pain is that one can get 'rebound pain' where the actual pain can come back worse than the original which is what happened to me and the narcotics were no longer helping me much. I did have a physical dependence so i weaned off them and went a different route with my a neurologist i found about a year ago and trust him. i have been on a bunch of different drugs including lyrica but got off that cause of too much weight gain. there is more to my story but i am a bit tired now to go into more. But since you mentioned marijuana i think it can and has found to be useful for some and has not proven to be addictive etc. I didnt benefit because it actually intensified all my feelings and just amplified the pain. But as i said there is no 'one side fits all' so one must find what will work for them with least amount of added issues.. best of luck on your journey.. i send love to you .
I think everyone is different and should see what works best for them, My husband died from liver and pancreatic cancer and the last 6 months were horrible. The only relief he got was when he smoked. His doctor new he was smoking pot and that it helped him.
I thought that pot would help with my symptoms but as suzie said it intensified my pain. I think mainly it was more of a head high than body and that could have something to do with it. I am open to trying it again and discussing with medical marijuana locations in my area to get an experts advice on what to try.
Opiates versus marijuana....Of course the end decision of what to use to deal with the insidious pain associated with FM. BUT....each of them have their own demons associated with them. Most everyone is aware of the good the bad and the ugly associated with taking one of the many opiate medications.
Yes, it is unlikely that you will die from ingesting marijuana, even in high doses. I would not want to deal with the psychoses and mental impairment persistent marijuana use can give you. You could get hurt because marijuana will alter your judgement to the point you could do something to hurt yourself. Assuming you are smoking the marijuana you have all the same issues as smoking cigarettes. you can get addicted to marijuana the same as the opiates. From what I have read over the years of my experience as a forensic chemist, withdrawal from either is a wicked option.
Personally, I would not use marijuana to address my symptoms of FM.
FACT: It'll take 800 joints to kill someone and they would die from carbon monoxide poisoning! I recently wrote a report on cannabis dependence and how cannabis can help numerous different medical issues. Said report is attached if you'd like to read over it. :)
Thank you for the clarification. I will have to look into this more and decide if it is a good option. I would rather be dependent on marijuana than the tramadol I take which is the only med that doesn’t produce horrible side effects.
I live in Colorado, in which pot is legal. I gave it a try for about a year. Many different strains, edible, tiniture drops, vapor, smoking. I got the same result every time, no matter what. It made my muscular pain worse. I do have some neurological chronic pain issues, and, as an absolute last resort, before a visit to the ER, I will give the pot a try again. Sometimes it works some, sometimes not. But,as I constantly have muscular pain, I do that with a price.
I have no idea why it would cause greater muscylar pain for me, but I'll go from a consistent ache to a throbbing incapacitating pain.
I therefore, have to stick to the opiates for the Fibro relief.
It just an idea, but the THC content maybe too high. My husband and I have been researching it and found that plants that are a lower in THC and higher is CBD don't have those nastier side effects less or no "high" and are actually more therapeutic. Not always the case, some do well on the THC, but there's more research being done on the CBD that has none of the negative side effects of THC.
Here's two articles and then a documentary if you want to look more into it.
Butterflydragon is correct. There are different strains of mj, just as there are of otc pain relievers. there are mmj's grown for different conditions; sleep, headaches, crohns symptoms. These medical mj;s are not grown for the high, but for the illness individuals suffer from So, if anyone is getting mj illegally from people who are just growing it to sell for the purpose of getting high, you could be getting anything.
I live in Oregon; a medial marijuana state and I live 1/2 mile from Washington state where it is legal recreationally. My son (33 yo) uses mmj for crohns disease. Many doctors here are starting to recommend the herb for fibromyalgia. Mine included. She recommends a cream that is rubbed on the temple to help with sleep cycles and pain. And I have found a grower that manufactures it. Its kind of hard to find the cream. I have the paper work completed and signed I am just having difficulty sending them in because of the stigma attached.
The other thing we need to think about is the fact that it's ok to use opiates and become addicted to them and go through hell to get off of them or to let them kill us. Why would the addiction to mj be any different? If it helps us to live and not withdraw from the world in pain. I used the heck out of opiates for a few years when I was assisting my Mom and Dad in their end of life transitions. And it was hell to quit when the opiates stopped working. Hell! But, I was not willing to step up to something stronger than vicodin, like the oxy's. I am grateful I had the vicodin and it got me through a really physically and emotionally hard hard time. Those that have been here awhile know my Mom and Dad passed away 16 months apart and we kept them in our family home. It was tough. So that said, and after withdrawing, vicodin does not work for me anymore. I use it about once a month if I have to, but am sick for a couple of days after using vicodin. So, with no pain relievers I am not social, sad most of the time, in pain all of the time, go through bouts of irritable bowel and many of the other magical things that come with fm. So, why would it be any worse to use mmj? If it helps me be happier and relieves my pain and helps me sleep?
I appreciate this thread so much jdixon as I am in the choosing phase. Thank you.
But the question is, will we be judge more taking Opiods or doing Mariguana? We’re already been judge as drug addites just for for taking meds for our pain.
I feel like it's important to understand the difference between "an addict", such as a meth, opiate addiction brought on by recreational use, and physiological addiction. Physiological addiction is caused by the body becoming addicted to any drug. Not the choice of the user. Many people with fm and other illness' take the opiates or marijuana knowing they are addicted to it. But, do not stop using because it's their only way of functioning without pain.
If this topic is still open for conversation I would like to add…
I am a FM patient and currently on Oxycotin and Oxycodone and know that I am already addicted to them. I have been through the withdrawal symptoms of Hydrocodone and would not wish it on my worse enemy. That said I recently had the opportunity to test pot as a means to reduce my FM pain and 100% of my body pains were gone after 4 hits. The effect lasted 4 hours and I did not get high. What was also interesting was that I had no desire for pain medications for the rest of the day. Additional research has lead me to believe that the two go hand in hand for pain patients. The pot can be used in small quantities to greatly reduce pain AND up to 60% of your daily pain medications. I think that is a win win. You can than start the weening process off the pain meds while controlling your pain with a herbal plant. You just need to be careful not to use more than what it takes to take away the pain. However, everyone is different and this was my experience.
Hi there. I just read your post on marijuana and am puzzled because I've never heard of those symptoms before. Maybe more up to date info is available on pot but i thought it was only problematic for those with the propensity to have schizophrenia. I heard a conservative show on a conservative channel that my mom watches say that it causes brain damage to everyone who tries it but I'm not sure if that was just scare tactics or hard science.
A friend of mine heard from another friend of hers that marijuana took away all of her lupus pain and she can go around and have a real life again. My friend knows the lady so i know the story is true. Somehow or other I ended up with a joint so i'm going to try it and see if it helps or not. Of course, everyone's different, so what's good for me might not be good for you. Fibro especially seems to be tricky, as not all meds work for everyone.
I haven't tried any opiods except when I had a nerve in my back burned and I don't think it helped any with my fibro pain. Fibro pain is nerve pain and I don't think it responds to opiods.
Char, that is a chilling account!! i honestly didn't know that pot could do this to a person. That's beyond creepy. I'm glad your baby was ok and you were ok once you got some fresh air and sunshine.
After reading that, I'm kind of hoping that it doesn't help me at all.
If people with all of those diseases use it, though, it must help them. God bless 'em, I'm glad they found something because we all know how terrible our pain is.