Smoke for pain

[Mealfredo78]

Question I have smoked at night that not only helps me sleep but also numbs the lupus flareups... Is that ok? Only cause to many meds my stomach is so messed up

[AnnNY]

What are you smoking? If tobacco, no. I can't see anything good coming from smoking tobacco. When I first got sick, nausea was a huge symptom. No medications really helped. So I did use marijuana for the nausea in small amounts. I just wanted to calm the nausea, not go around stoned. It was helpful.

Joint pain started later. If I used marijuana then, it made me hurt more, so no good for me, except for sleep.

[Mealfredo78 in reply to AnnNY]

I have been smoking marijuana.... Ive taken pain meds even had injection for pain... But lately nothing helps only marijuana so that I can try to sleep and not feel pain

[AnnNY in reply to Mealfredo78]

Well, medical MJ is available in some states in the us. I was in CO and would have been curious if I could find a pain relieving strain. Unfortunately, I take codiene and things have gotten pretty insane here if you take opiates, including being drug tested. However, most people recommend not smoking it to avoid bad chemicals that come from combustions. Something called vaping is discussed. I don't know what that really is. Some say eating it, but carefully, since it is slow to feel the effects. It hasn't been tested for lupus that I know of. But when I had constant nausea, if I controlled the dose it actually helped me to function. I'm glad you find something that helps, just don't get arrested if it's illegal where you live.

[apexx]

Hi there AnnNY; I think I'd rather not comment on the use of marijuana as a treatment for Lupus, as I don't have any experience there - and whether it is legal or illegal where you are is a whole different story as well. What I would like to comment on is the dangers of combustion, like Mealfredo pointed out. Marijuana itself may be helpful to you, however, the act of smoking it (or anything) can cause a whole assortment of other problems, just like smoking tobacco. If you intend to continue using mj for symptoms, I would suggest looking into either edibles or vaping. I used vaping (nicotine) as a way to quit tobacco use several years ago and it has remained a hobby for me ever since. As well as nicotine, there are also vapes for marijuana, which would be less hazardous to your health. There are some great communities out there with lots of information (perhaps you could look into the Reddit community /r/vaporents - I believe they deal with this sort of thing) Like I said, I do not use marijunana or any other type of drug, whether they're legal, illegal, pharmaceutical, alcohol, or tobacco - but I just wanted to caution you on the effects of smoking (combustion) on your health, as I believe that is sometimes overlooked. Good luck and hope you get your medication situation figured out!

-Apex

[Paul_Howard Partner LUPUS UK]

Hi Mealfredo78 ,

Cannabis (marijuana) treatments have not yet been clinically shown to be safe or effective in lupus. In addition to being illegal in many places it has also now been shown to be addictive for many people using it regularly and it can cause a lot of damaging effects on health such as being harmful to your lungs, being harmful to your mental health and it may affect your fertility. You can read more about cannabis us here - nhs.uk/Livewell/drugs/Pages...

Have you spoken with your doctor about your stomach issues? Sometimes these can be resolved by changing the way/time you take your treatment, switching from uncoated to coated tablets and/or being prescribed a proton pump inhibitor such as omeprazole.