Hi Everyone,
Firstly, thank you all for this wonderful forum and the great support.
Diagnosed with PMR and RA about a month ago.
I'm from Adelaide, Australia.
Started on 30mg Pred and am now on 25mg
Also on 20 mg Methotrexate weekly and 5 mg Folic Acid weekly [the day after]
I haven't seen anything regarding use of Medicinal Marijuana and would love some thoughts on this. My husband uses it for pain from a different condition and finds it very helpful.
I appreciate your freedback.
Thanks
Hi and welcome.
The reason you haven't seen much about it is that the general consensus is that cannabis doesn't do anything much for PMR itself although it may help other aspects such as sleep and mood. For most of us it isn't an option - PMR isn't listed as a condition for which it can be used in the UK. I asked the local pain specialist when it was approved here in Italy for pain management - she says it is a pest because patients demand it but the reality is that it really doesn't do what they expect, And it is VERY expensive.
PMRCanada has used it, she will tell you her experiences I'm sure.
Ditto to PMRpro's comments - might be worth a try - and good that it helps your husband, but as you say he doesn't have PMR
PMR does not really respond to any sort of things that help the pain apart from steroids. Marijuana being one of them. A good diet helps and on the other hand there are things that can exacerbate the problems.
I am from Poland where medical marijuana is allowed. Since May 2021 I have been diagnosed with PMR, at the moment Prednisone 2-2.5 mg. For 3 months I have been on THC drops and additionally CBD 30%. I can't take methotrexate. From October 2022, I stopped at 3 mg and every attempt to reduce the steroid ended in terrible pain. I opted for medical marijuana because the opioid drugs stopped working for my pain. In general, THC i a little anti-inflammatory, while CBD mainly has anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic and a little analgesic effect. In the morning I take a dose of CBD and in the evening before bedtime THC, which has an analgesic and sleeping effect. THC drops are very expensive. It is a big surprise for me and my rheumatologist that I started reducing Prednisone so quickly without pain. I'm curious if any of you have had such therapy and whether thanks to medical marijuana we managed to end steroids.
I started using CBD oil back in 2018, but it did absolutely nothing for PMR pain. It did help somewhat with mood swings. Originally I took it for lower back issues, and it did help a little for that. I do live in Canada and it is legal, but expensive. I don't bother with it at this time, but may as the Pred dose is a little lower. Always worth a try and is, as most things, different for everyone. Frankly, combined with the Prednisone, and for whatever reason it made me act very stupid. LOL.
I had pmr almost 8 yrs. After year 1 my Dr prescribed medical THC/CBD. I'm in Canada and was on this prior to legalization in Canada. If on medical THC/CBD you can write it off on your income tax.
As to it's benefits: for me I needed it for sleep as well as the strongest sleeping pill. With the THC and pill I may get between 5-7 hrs sleep. As for the CBD it was about mos 3 that I realized it really helped the mood swings brought on by prednisone as well it helped in my reduction.
I've been off prednisone since January 2023 and still take both.
I hope this helps
Consuming indica dominant cannabis here in Canada worked well to combat sleep disturbances I was experiencing from workplace induced PTSD. It helped me get to sleep and go back to sleep if I has a night terror in the middle of the night. I would wake up in the morning with no grogginess (something I couldn't achieve with prescribed sleeping medication).
When I developed PMR later on I found sativa-dominant cannabis helpful with mood stability, especially at higher doses of pred. It was calming and helped to address anxiety and sometimes panic in response to my diagnosis. Consuming sativa in the daytime and indica at night (as pred caused some insomnia early on), did the trick.
It really has not helped with pain/inflammation for me. There is also the consideration of how CBD and THC react together, therefore I purchase (legally) strains of flower that have very low or no CBD.
Also smoking anything is not good for your lungs, so other ways to ingest it should be considered, as well some mental health diagnosis and the effect THC may have on the patient. Going to medical route ensures supervision by a medical professional and specialists who can take your history/symptoms and suggest which strains may be most effective for you specifically.
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