NICE medicinal cannabis guidelines

[FMA_Reece]

Fibromyalgia Action UK firmly believes that clinical practice must be based on good quality evidence. As a charity responsible for advocating on behalf of people with fibromyalgia experiencing chronic pain, we support Pain UK’s recent statement, calling for further investment into research in this area, in order to ensure that we have the clinical evidence required to help people with chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia.

We have heard from many people with fibromyalgia who reacted positively to the Government’s announcement in September 2018 (gov.uk/government/news/gove... about Cannabis-based products for medicinal use. There were expressions of hope that people may be able to legally access a treatment that they were currently benefiting from. We also recognise that the current draft scope guideline formulated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on Cannabis-based products for medicinal use does not include the Cannabidiol (CBD) food supplement area, which we anecdotally know that many people in the UK are using in hope of helping to manage their chronic pain. Fibromyalgia Action UK have registered as a stakeholder with NICE when developing this guidelines, to ensure that the voice of people with fibromyalgia is recognised.

Rather than bringing clarity and hope that may have been expected, the recent rescheduling of legislation by the Government to allow for the medicinal use of cannabis-based products, prescribed by specialist doctors listed on the General Medical Council’s (GMC) specialist register, has led to people with chronic pain feeling more isolated and confused. We support Pain UK’s urgent request of Government and all agencies providing healthcare to consult with stakeholders to address this confusion in a proactive and timely manner.

PAIN UK: POSITION ON MEDICINAL CANNABIS 16/11/18

(painuk.org/blog/2018/11/our...

[rosewine]

Yes it would be wonderful to be able to access these drugs as until enough people with fibromyalgia are allowed to try them there is no way of knowing what the success rate would be. If they were successful it could actually save the NHS money as I am sure they would be cheaper than many of the drugs prescribed. I think new need large organisations putting their voice forward as individuals tend to be ignored.x