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Cannabis and pain relief

There is an article in the Guardian today, about a lady from Brighton who suffers from fibromyalgia and has found that cannabis is helping her very considerably.

theguardian.com/society/201...

Of course some folks might say the most incredible thing in the article is that she lives in Brighton and has a garage!!!

I've posted the above to the fibromyalgia forum, but thought it might be of interest here too. so in effect a duplicate post. Hope that doesn't upset anyone. I feel that the paragraphs about rethinking clinical trials is very important. I don't understand how the establishment in this country can argue that there is insufficient clinical evidence, while at the same time forbidding trials, and preventing use of cannabis to patients who feel that the herb may potentially be of benefit to them. It's wrong, and plain old immoral in my book.

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Hezekiah

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No upset here Hezzy, in fact my wife and I have been discussing this very thing earlier today.

I've just had to up my tramadol from 300mg to the 400mg max as my RA is not good at the minute and getting worse. The new dose does seem to have helped my pain, but not by very much. I can get by as is, at least until I see rheumy in 4 weeks time, but I'm concerned that my digestive tubes, which were already struggling, are getting even more bunged up with the higher dose.!...I've been hitting the laxatives for the past 12 hours with no release so far! I've tried the supposedly good quality CBD oil before but it did nothing for me. I am now seriously thinking of trying the illegal full-spectrum oil with THC. I have been offered some in the past so no problem getting hold of it. My main concern though is how potent it will be as I don't want to end up stuck in my chair for 8 hours semi-comatosed! Those days are long gone!

Blow me, and I thought laxatives were pretty much foolproof and guaranteed to work quickly. Stay close to the toilet bowl Wishbone, as it could be dangerous else.

I see your point about dosage, and reckon that is one of the things that government intervention/management could really help with.

As you say,8 hours of semi-paralysis is not much fun, though I guess you could just use before bed, so it would not matter so much? I find that the thoughts which come swirling through are the most difficult aspect to cope with.

Just before bed is definitely the way to go!..duh, why didn't I think of that! I know what you mean about those thoughts that come swirling through. It will be interesting to see how I cope with them at my age, even more so, with my current frame of mind, which is not exactly great.

Not all laxatives, I had 2 senna tablets at around 10 last night and 4 sachets of movicol spread out through this morning. Movicol is a softener so not as aggressive as proper laxatives. Don't think I'd better have any more quite yet, it's just a matter of sitting back and see what happens. That said, I would not be surprised if I need more later on as I've been having real problems, which is starting to get a bit concerning. Hence why I'm trying to avoid taking a higher dose of tramadol.

Yes, I can understand that it would be concerning. Hope you're continuing to monitor yourself carefully, and will head to the doc if need be? albeit I can see from recent history of yours that you've been to them a fair bit recently...

20 years ago my cousin who also had RA was advised by his consultant ( who also had RA ) to use cannabis which he did and got a lot of pain relieve. Clinical trials must start soon. I hope your situation improves.

Hi wishbone, my sympathies regarding the Tramadol, I feel for you. I can absolutely understand your desire to reduce the dose. I used to mix mine with Oramorph and Paracetamol, which did help, but of course the side effects weren't great.

I'm no expert on CBD oil and have not tried it yet. I've only read about it. The book I've got states that it's best to start with a small dose of a high CBD, full-extract product. (Not the type you buy in high-street shops.)

High CBD means that it has other cannabinoids in it as well, and these minor compounds are often beneficial. This full extract is meant to be more effective than pure CBD - often called isolate.

You start talking a small dose of full extract, building up gradually. If you don't perceive an effect, you can then start adding a small dose of THC, little, by little.

I've written all this as you mention 'good quality' CBD oil and I've seen mentioned a few times the lack of regulation and quality control over some commonly available products. It might be worth making sure your oil is full extract before you go adding in THC -I didn't think you could buy this over here anyway??

I know the Dutch company Endoca make high quality products and theirs is what I'll try...although it's very expensive.

Would you let me know which oil you're trying? I'd be really interested to hear what it is.

Re Tramadol - I suffered the same effect too. I like the coffee solution suggested below. I also eat loads of ground linseeds everyday in cereal.

Molasses....disgusting, but works for me.

Well it can't be worse than the syrup of figs that me mam used to force down my throat when I was a wee constipated kid......can it?!!

Seriously though, I'm having increasing difficulty, and surely it can't be good taking these amounts of anti-constipation meds long term.

I did mention taking laxatives/softeners on a regular basis to my GP when I went to see him about better pain relief yesterday, but he just held his arms up and said - 'what else can you do!'

I've been feeling a bit down of late so maybe I'm worrying too much and should just carry on regardless drinking copious amounts of movicol, plus dropping a couple of senna tabs last thing at night? I don't think that's a very good idea so am willing give your 'disgusting' molasses a try. Do you hold your nose and have a spoonful of the stuff, or dissolve it in a warm drink? Think I'm going to have to put up with a bit more pain and reduce the tramadol as well.

Have it neat...a spoonful. Truly repellant, but watering down just makes the nastiness last longer. Combined with fibrous vegetables and loads and loads of water seems to do the trick. But I don’t take tramadol, so no idea how effective in your circumstances.

Will do!

'Meridian Organic Black Strap Molasses' that Asda sell sounds the business so I'll give that a go.

I'm poor with vegetables, but already drink loads of water due to bladder issues and eat bran type cereals daily.

Thank you helix

Liquorice might help too. We used to use years ago in the hospitals.

You can buy it in powdered form from health food shops.

I love liquorish! The powdered form sounds interesting, which I presume doesn't have any added sugar?

Jeepers, you just watch!...after consuming all this black molasses, liquorice and maybe the odd swig of syrup of figs, my next post will be asking what's the best make of incontinence pads.

Thanks Mmrr

I should have added don't take too much as it can cause heart arrhythmias if taken in large doses , just follow the instructions !

I worked in the leading gastrointestinal surgical ward in Scotland, my first ever ward as a rookie nurse, with an old fashioned sister in charge. The ward featured on a panorama programme as a leader in gastrointestinal surgery, an amazing place. The consultant in charge did not have an office, so a grateful patient gave him a second hand caravan, which sat directly outside the surgical building, no electricity, no running water, freezing in the winter months. No computers in those days, just the patients paper notes, he turned the key and left them there overnight. If he was needed someone, usually the junior nurse had to go out and get him.

The ward sister would not use any of the 'modern' laxatives and preferred licqorice, nice and gentle but did the job (lol).

She didn't believe in starving patients either, they needed energy to recover from surgery. So after we managed to clear out their gut in preparation for surgery instead of starving them the evening before, she gave them eggnog , made with alcohol of their choice, whisky, brandy ....whatever ....with raw egg swished through , she used it instead of a pretheatre sedative and the egg for iron and protien. God help any junior Dr who tried to challenge her and prescribe a sedative. The alcohol and raw egg leave no residual in the gut, totally absorbed. Most of the patients loved it.

The ward Dr signed a prescription for the alcohol and pharmacy delivered it to the ward, a 200 ml bottle with the patients name on it.

Can you imagine all of this now ? !

I can still make a pretty decent eggnog, it's a skill to get it well prepared so it doesn't taste like raw egg (!) btw and gave it to my kids when they were ill, they loved it too.

The days when nurses were nurses eh ?

Egg nog and liquorice for pre and post-op treatment! Definitely a different era there! Your warning about liquorice raises a red flag...do you think it's ok to take it if I had a mild heart attack 15 years ago?

I finally cleared my gut first thing this morning. Not much fun though as my arms are really stiff and painful until the pain relief kicks in, so lots of groans and moans emanating from the bathroom this morning

Maybe you should ask about licqorice, I've found the pharmacists to be the best advisors.

But you would need to take a lot for any effects, better safe than sorry though,

I've got a good pharmacist, so shall do.

Thanks again

That is a lovely story. The demise of the skills and knowledge of nurses and doctors like that are a real loss to society.

Lol - that (incontinence pads) made me laugh out loud. There’s a lot to be said for a sense of humour.

I love liquorice - sadly my favourite liquorice pipes - what I I used to call a penny liquorice now cost 20p in our local sweet shop.

I had a friend who loved syrup of figs. I remember we went camping years ago and she used to drink it straight from the bottle. Don’t think she was doing it because she was constipated.

My mother’s favourite remedy back in the 1950s was stuff called cascara evacuant, see I’m 70 and I can still see the spoonful of black disgusting stuff coming my way - boy was it disgusting!

Cascara evacuant sounds terrifying...think I'd prefer to have an enema!

I've haven't had syrup of figs since I was a young lad about 60 years ago, but can still remember the taste...yuck!! That's a very weird friend you have there! It must have worked to some extent, but would not be surprised if my mother also gave it to me as a deterrent to stop me being lazy and to go the toilet when I needed to. She also used a much more extreme method, I guess when the syrup of figs failed to do the trick, which I won't go into here. Enough to say that she could be a very hard woman on times!

Wishbone - sorry you are feeling a bit down but hopefully some of the suggestions and comments on this thread will have cheered you up. I don’t know what it is with IBS-c but t seems to make me feel sluggish and just dreadful, I go round the house grazing on things I hope will get me moving I find it much worse than IBS -d

If it was legal, I'd take it in a heartbeat!! I've read so much about the advantages of this and now having been anti drug's forever, I've changed my mind!!

Fingers crossed!!

CBD oil is legal, and some people find that’s enough to work.

Sorry I'm talking about full spectrum cannabis oil, with THC.

Ah yes, a different matter! I never liked it as a kid, so doubt I’d like it now.

There is so much research about it, I speak to folk in the USA were it's legal, and they say it's a game changer!! I'm a Prison Officer, so wouldn't dare take it now, but if legal, a different matter. See if you can find "This Morning" on catch up, or turn it on now. A lady telling an amazing story about it!! 🤞🤞

never liked pot as a teenager and young adult in the 70's---BUT now I can tell you it rocks! Usually done around dinner time (on MTX so no alcohol) and it truly aleviates my hand and foot pain. It provides a great feeling of well being. I don't use a lot--just 4-5 inhalations does the trick and have no ZOMBIE effect.

Just to add to this thread about laxatives, I like magnesium supplement. Excellent laxative, safe and it can be helpful for muscle cramping and nerve pain. ☺️

I no know nothing about CBO but do now that molasses is a vital ingrediant in malt loaf which is delicous. I'm sure the recipe will be on BBC food. With that and dried fruit could be a pleasant way to consume. ! lol

I feel a recipe developing here. Small sticky buns, with lots of dried fruit, made with molasses, flavoured with liquorice and perhaps with a chocolate glaze on top?

Anyone ever tried Molly cake? That really moves you!

I LOVE Molly cake - unfortunately it doesn’t move me but I do love it.

Has anyone tried pruned. You can liquidise them and put them in chocolate cake if you don’t like the taste. I have 2 or 3 prunes at bedtimes and it always works.

Forgot them! Yes I have a glass of prune juice daily. Will add to bun recipe!

After major gynae surgery, the pain killers caused bowel issues for me. Of course it’s impossible to push when stitched inside so I was recommended Psyllium husksHighly recommended.

I can well imagine those pain killers causing problems for you.

I had similar when I had a nasty bout of sciatica, plus my RA was flaring, and was prescribed morphine tablets, which bunged me up to an incredible degree! Still can't be as bad as what you had to go through!

Pysillium husks duly added to the list. If I can't get off those over the counter anti-constipation meds after trying the more natural ones on this thread then I must have serious issues!

Some years ago an Indian doctor who was visiting my surgery told me the best way to remove ‘obstructions’ along the path you are suggesting you have here is to make a large pot of very strong coffee (much stronger than you would usually make it,) with no milk or sugar and take it into the bathroom with you. Sit on the toilet (as you probably wont have time to get there quickly from anywhere else in the house, rofl,) and drink by the mug full until the offending blockage removes itself. Once you start this process there is no way to stop it if that makes sense so do it at a time when you have nowhere else to go!

I have used it twice during my lifetime and it certainly worked for me but i had a partner who regularly suffered severe constipation and so i used to make the coffee for him and he sat there enthroned for about half an hour usually but it never failed to clear his system out completely so i think it is well worth a go if you are suffering and have that really sluggish feeling.

Apparently many people in Asia dont have the facilities to buy the remedies and drugs we all use over here so this is the tried and tested method they use.

Happy coffee drinking!

X xx

That sounds incredible - will definitely remember that tip. Would it be ok to copy it over to the IBS group - people on there are always looking for help with IBS- C?

Of course if you think it would be helpful. It’s not a secret in the Asian community anyway so we are just sharing things to help us all. Lol.

I have raised this with my mp several times and the fact that a cannabis derivitive has "quietly" been available to MS patients on PRESCRIPTION in the UK for many years and the same drug i believe also available as part of some heroin withdrawal programmes!.

Then add the fact that in somr areas of the UK police chiefs have agreed that they will not prosecute or even investigate reports of anyone in their area growing small amounts for personal use "unless they get reports of anti social behaviour etc".

The whole thing is as ridiculous as the brexit debacle and given the freedom of use in so many EU countries, so many US states and even the Commonwealth country of Canada it will only hopefully be a matter of time before Cannabis availability is taken away from the criminal fraternity who are making BILLIONS from it and made legally available as a choice for those of us who MAY benefit ftom it.

Hi Hezekiah

With the intention of not self-incriminating on a public forum, I will tell you about a ‘friend’ of mine (who happens to have an identical diagnosis to myself 😉)...

After many years as a recreational user of MJ he stopped a few years back as he figured it probably wasn’t that appropriate for a middle-aged father of two.

Fast forward a few years and he was struggling (to put it mildly) after having some fairly serious spine problems (Degenerative disc disease, scoliosis, spondylolisthesis, etc) which resulted in physical deformity (noticeably altered posture and gait), severe loss of mobility, partial paralysis, severe pain etc. All the ‘usual’ issues that can occur when 8+ of your discs prolapse and one of your vertebra slips forward (spondylolisthesis). Following surgery (twice) and lots and lots of physical therapy, he has permanent ‘issues’ relating to nerve damage (mobility, loss of motor-function, neuropathy etc).

He found this mentally and physically ‘challenging’. His relationships suffered, adding to the emotional load. Tough times. He developed insomnia due to being under a constant barrage of stress, pain and more stress.

Out of desperation he ended up using sleeping tablets (very occasionally) and being on bucketloads of pharmaceuticals — as seems to be par for that particular course. Not a sustainable approach. He tried therapy (helpful, but hard to access without paying privately and not a ‘cure’) as the emotional side of things was becoming really tough. He developed anxiety to go with the depression that had manifested as a result of all of the above.

He didn’t want to (and wasn’t offered) any pharmaceutical options (and let’s face it benzos are no solution), so what to do?

As luck would have it he has a friend that grows top quality MJ. He bought a ‘magical butter machine’, and made a tincture from flowers / bud (decarboxylated first), MCT coconut oil, and lecithin.

The first night he tried some about an hour before bed time. Not enough to end up pinned to the chair for hours, just a few drops initially (tolerance is a thing with MJ too). That night he slept for 7 hours for the first time in about 8 months.

Anyone that suffers with pain and anxiety will know the feeling of waking up about an hour after you fall asleep and lying their with every negative thought possible surfacing (why does it happen so much in the middle of the night 😡) — wide awake.

Since then he has been a regular user of MEDICAL marijuana. He doesn’t use it to get high, he uses it for sleep, pain and anxiety — and it works. It works as well as any of the pharmaceutical options in fact, without (m)any of the side-effects.

In truth it does have some of the same issues as pharmaceutical options, such as sudden discontinuation resulting in a return to the 3am blues and also tolerance. But that doesn’t happen often and is preferable to it being every single night.

Taken this way it has a different effect than smoked or vaped. For him it just helps to relax and enable a good (ish) night’s sleep. Actually sleeping helps in so many ways.

He also has a friend who has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS / ME) and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). He is also now a convert.

Now, I’m (he’s) not sure if clinical trials would provide the evidence that the NHS requires to actually change their policies, but realistically it wouldn’t make that much difference for him. Legal MMJ is not cheap and is not necessarily ‘better’ than what one can create given a reliable source (and growing your own provides that), a little research and a bit of effort.

My friend is now off almost all of the pharmaceutical options that he was on, and is working on the last one (apart from the biological he’s on). Sleep is still an issue, but much less so when using the ‘magical oil’.

If one decides that they might need long-term assistance with pain, insomnia etc then for me the effects of taking that are far preferable to taking the drugs that would be prescribed to get the same effect.

And in his opinion it isn’t addictive in the way that, say, opiates are. It can cause dependency (meaning sudden withdrawal can induce sleep issues mainly), but it is not in the same league as morphine, codeine, the ‘z’ drugs (i.e. zopiclone), benzos or SSRIs when it comes to discontinuation. Sleep seems to be the main issue when stopping.

He is happy with the moral / legal aspects of the situation. He never believed the ‘reefer madness’ bs that has been so prevalent for the past 40 years, and now that he uses it solely for medical reasons and has zero desire to get wasted all day he is happy to continue as needed.

He also wakes up with a clear head (no ‘hangover’), apart from maybe if he takes a bit too much and then it’s just a warm ‘fuzzy’ feeling, not the horrible alcohol type.

Just thought I’d share what my friend does as it might be of interest to some, YMMV.

🙏🏻

Definitely not upset & agree with everything you say,I think one of the main problems with getting this sorted is that the majority of the people with the clout to get things moving have firstly no concept of the pain people are in. (I’m sure many of us could not believe the pure agony we were suddenly experiencing) & secondly can’t get their heads around the fact that those needing it are not closet junkies! They just hear the word cannabis...& switch off.

When I listen to supposedly intelligent men...it does seem mostly men who pontificate .....I despair at their closed minds. They don’t understand the diseases that could be helped...but should they contract such a disease they would be the first to beg to be given it,

Why aren’t clinal trials being run with consenting adults?

Money I guess.....these trials are expensive....but against how much they might save in expensive prescribed drugs they should should definitely be considered....but until somebody with authority understands and cares.....people like the lady in the article will be stressed out......Helping themselves ......as we constantly encouraged to do.

Clinical trials cost £££s and who will fund them? There is no profit in a plant that can be grown at home for very little outlay (heck, it will even grow in the garden in the UK over the summer).

Now, if one could isolate a specific ‘bit’ of the plant and put a patent on it (i.e. Sativex) then the pharmas can charge a fortune for it. It would be interesting to do a trial that compared the efficacy of sativex (say) compared to the whole plant, but again — who would fund it? Certainly not the makers of Sativex! (GW pharma).

🙏🏻

If only common sense could prevail & the grey suits who reign supreme had the humility to actually admit they are not scientists & they DON’T UNDERSTAND what they read.....they just don’t appear to understand the difference between CBD oil & THC....& the general, public certainly doesn’t know the difference,

Even though the Medicines & Healthcare Products regulatory agency ruled in 2016 that products containing CBD used for medical purposes are a medicine......no progress has been made between government & medical bodies to actually set up any sort of Coordinating body....to set up rules governing the actual prescribing of medicinal strength CBD......the will just doesn’t seem to be there.

No, it’s a political ‘hot potato’, unfortunately. Until people (read: voters) are significantly in favour the ‘risks’ politically are considered too great by the muppets that ‘rule’ us.

It should be a medical / moral / public health issue, instead it is largely political.

Even when they have a highly qualified neuropsychopharmacologist (yes it is a word 😀) adviser telling them that the ‘harm’ from certain drugs is actually way, way lower than alcohol or cigarettes they still ignore them (look into Professor Nutts’ government advisory roles for example) but obviously leave the cash-cow currently legal but massively harmful drugs freely available to anyone willing to pay the extortionate taxes on them.

Such a shame as a properly regulated and taxed cannabis industry would raise billions in tax, cut out the black market / organised crime aspect of it and provide a much safer (and potentially cheaper) product. And who exactly would ‘suffer’ as a consequence? Apart from the criminal groups currently running a lot of the market, of course. Pretty much anyone that wants it, with a bit of effort, could get hold of it now. You can easily order seeds online for example and growing it, although harder than your average houseplant, isn’t rocket science.

And from a public health perspective (I’m totally aware of the link between cannabis use in juvenile brains and psychosis, for eg — but it’s not as simple as it seems) those that abuse cannabis to any extent can get it anyway. It is easier for kids to get drugs than cigarettes and alcohol in many cases, because it is sold by people already prepared to break the law, selling to minors is no big deal. I guarantee you that most 15 year olds in the UK can get hold of cannabis if they want to.

🙏🏻

Having been around in the ‘60’s & seen what scrambled brains are around now from the indiscriminate use of Marajuana I would only want to see the CBD legalised for prescription by specialists in their field....leave the other stuff to those who think they can handle the side effects 30+ years down the line.

But as you say - until we get some muppets who can “understand” what is spelled out to them....it ain’t gonna happen.

If they can’t manage the B word, all we can hope & see what Mr F’s brigade,if elected, make of the subject.

See, I don’t see that so much, and believe me when I say I have known plenty of long-term, heavy cannabis users.

And ‘my friend’ has found that even after 20 years of constant use his brain has been affected far, far, far (third one for emphasis 😀) from pregabalin, SSRIs and possibly opiates (legally prescribed and taken) than ever was / is by THC.

Obviously there will always be those that go to extremes with anything, and maybe seriously heavy use (and with 60s hippy types maybe too much LSD!) has an effect.

Most of the ones with addled brains have spent 20 years abusing far more than just cannabis IME. Check out the effects of methamphetamine, for example. Now that really does screw you up.

🙏🏻

This is a general observation not just to reply to PFKAAde

Somebody is definitely hacking in to this website.

I personally have no interest in CBD.

I have never googled it or discussed it anywhere except on HU.

I have just looked at my inbox and there are emails telling me where I can buy it and what it can do for me...which after today’s discussion I find that most disconcerting ..... as somehow they obviously have my personal email address .... which let’s face it is one step away from knowing your actual postal address.

Very creepy.

I have just gone back into my email inbox and that email has disappeared. What is happening here ?

Out of curiosity are the email’s addressed directly to you (in the ‘To:’ bit on the email)? And do they have a picture as the main body of the email? Also are they saying the cost in $ rather than £?

I get spam emails all the time for CBD, life insurance, ‘auto’ insurance etc. Once your email address is out there — spam will follow.

I wouldn’t assume that it is anything to do with this site or this thread necessarily, and I doubt it has anything to do with this site being hacked. They have a legal responsibility to inform you if they have been, and they have never done that AFAIK.

Email addresses are not secure. An email is a bit like a postcard in terms of how secure it is. Not at all in other words.

Spam is inevitable.

As for the disappearing email - check your spam / junk folder

🙏🏻

I can’t tell you after I wrote that on this site when I checked back into my inbox they had disappeared .

Next time I get one I’ll screen grab it .

Realistically spam emails are not something to be over concerned about (it really is just like those pesky leaflets that get stuffed through your letterbox every day, in electronic form).

Just delete and ignore. Never click!

🙏🏻

Sorry to hear that AgedCrone, and sincerely hope that you are not getting spam related to CBD because of this thread.

Well I haven’t been discussing it anywhere else..but what annoys & puzzles me is how do they get my personal email address?

It doesn’t appear anywhere in HU....in fact you couldn’t email me to my private email could you?

Holy Jemima, Batman, you speak the truth

Later edit: just to clarify this reply was in response to PFKAAde's post above which started "Clinical trials cost £££s and who will fund them? ". Unfortunately, it shows up in the wrong location.

I dont take CBD oil or cannibas... I believe it helps some and not others depends wether it is medicinal or recreational. In nz it's going through at the moment... I'm of the same thoughts tho that not enough trials on how effective it is... I would be careful as to how much thc in it... you could end up stoned for half the day... lol. Anyway that's my thoughts only... Best of luck

I think a lot of the drugs that you get from the doctor are more harmful in the long run.

Agree, also have my doubts it's the wonder drug that it's often made out to be, especially for more serious pain, although it may well help reduce the effective dose of prescription pain relief if used alongside. That said, I'm willing to give it a go. My concern is the potency of the cannabis strains that the natives tend to grow in these parts, hence my reluctance to accept previous offers, as it's an entirely different kettle of fish to the the weed that was about 30 or 40+ years ago. It could well be wipe out time for an old crutch like me, which I can really do without as indicated in my initial post. As you say, proper trials are urgently needed. Dunno about NZ, but I hope your politicians are not like the self serving, idealistic cronies trying to run the UK, many of whom have shown their true colours via brexit!

Political rant over...once again.

One of the benefits of taking an edible form (assuming consistency when preparing) is the ability to control the dose more precisely.

There are many strains of high CBD low THC plants available, and even the high THC versions are ok if not over done. But too much THC combined with low CBD may not be ideal for medical purposes.

I agree that it isn’t a strong painkiller as such, but it helps calm the mind and facilitates sleep and relaxation, along with mild pain relieving properties. These aspects of it do help with pain, because being tired and stressed tend to make everything worse.

🙏🏻

It will be the edible form for me so that's something. I'll have to find out exactly what the situation is regarding medical cannabis with the locals. I did suspect that whatever pain relief cannabis brings is more to do with the calming effect it has with the most, but not all people it must be said, and helps take someone's mind off the pain rather than dwelling on it. I can assure that with the skunk types of weed they are growing in these parts 'pain' is the last thing someone will think about!

Yeah, most home growers are more interested in the strong stuff, but there are folks around that produce for medical reasons (and believe it or not sell online through platforms such as Instagram and the ‘dark web’).

My friend recently found someone that produced full-plant co2 extracted (which is the best method for purity but expensive) oil, supplied in either edible / vape form or in a syringe for easy ‘application’. I’ll leave it to your imagination in which orifice the syringe is supposed to be used, but suffice to say it was for lower-body medical purposes rather than recreational.

Another friend’s father recently sadly passed away from cancer and left behind his supplies of carefully produced medical oil that he had been using for help with the chemo side-effects (for which there is actually evidence of efficacy). He wasn’t a user in his former life, so it shows that it is available in the UK.

I have also seen professionally produced (imported from the US) pre-packaged, lab-tested vape tanks with THC and CBD content listed on the packaging doing the rounds.

Kind of inevitable that it will make its way here I guess, but was a little surprised to see that so easily available.

I think eventually the recent change in the law in the UK will be extended to include other conditions and some of the ridiculous restrictions will be removed, but I feel that the US style dispensaries are some way off, if ever here.

One other thing is I seriously doubt you will ever get it on prescription here and it can be very expensive for medical grade stuff.

🙏🏻

None of it seems very strong to me.

Yes I know re thc... but some are buying illegally. So how would you know how much thc and insectisides and other material is in it. I'm not against medicinal pot as it is regulated so you know what is exactly in it or should

It is not the THC that is used in medicinal cannabis ...it’s the water distilled.....CBD OIL....which has no hallucinogenic affect.

If you go online you can read up on the different properties if each......& see which one is technically legal to use on prescription in the UK...but as there are no definitive guide lines doctors are not prescribing it.....some neurologists did prescribe it but their governing body body refused to back them.

Medicinal I have no worries about.. it is regulated ... but buying off the streets... beware unless you dont mind getting stoned out of your brain

Luckily I have no issues needing it,but if I did I would only entertain thinking about it under the guidance of a neurologist who really knew what he was talking about.

I was in NY in the '60's & was scoffed at because I would'nt try any magic potions! I wanted what brain cells I had to remain intact.

Went across to Haight Ashbury too.......hoping to see all the happy white clad hippies floating around clutching flowers ....not quite how it was. More dirty smelly people off their heads on dope being really unpleasant.

The opportunities with CBD with more research do look promising, but for now I'll pass.

I’m 55 years old and I have only used cannabis once a few years ago when I slipped a disc. I hadn’t slept for 10 days straight and was on copious amounts of morphine which bunged me up and didn’t help me to rest. Got to say the cannabis worked like a charm my pain was reduced massively and I finally got some sleep. I think it’s nuts 🥜 that it’s illegal and when someone is in dire agony as I was, it should be available and more commonly used than all the opioids that are prescribed. Just my thoughts got to say I was terrified that someone would find out though.

Yes, fear is a wonderful control mechanism, isn't it?

That's good to hear Liecs. That morphine is a right bowel blocker! Disappointing pain relief with it too I found.

But the point is - CBD is made from the marajuana plant vie steam distillation & unlike THC....the most abundant cannbinoid ....it does not have an intoxicating effect....it the seems to relieve painful muscle spasms in people with MS, & other conditions that cause unrelenting pain.

Unfortunately, although legal, only very low concentration CBD oil is available in the UK as a “Health Supplement”.

Cannibas has its negatives to with the amount of thc in it... . I'd say be very careful if not buying legally... psychosis is one...

I'm going to copy/paste a post I made some months ago as it is just as relevant here:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Legalise for medical AND recreational use. The story of my illness goes a little like this:

Me: Nothing helps the pain in my body, let's see if smoking dope helps.

Police: If I catch you with that again, you'll be charged. Marijuana is illegal. Go to the GP and insist on proper pain relief.

Me: Doc, my body hurts. Nothing helps. Marijuana did help but I don't want to get into trouble.

Doc: You have RA. Here, take this codeine.

Me: Doc, the MTX isn't working, nor is the SSZ. My body hurts.

Doc: Here, have some stronger codeine pills.

Me: But Doc, they don't help.

Doc: Take more of them. And try this Tramadol too.

Me: Doc, I'm sweating and shaking like Renton in Trainspotting.

Doc: That's because you're an opiate addict, just like he is.

Makes no sense to me at all. I'm dependent on really dangerous stuff because the most effective painkiller (and the least harmful) I ever tried is illegal. The mind boggles...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since I made that post, I spent five months on Metoject. My God, I've never been so ill. Three courses of antibiotics, ALT through the roof and WBC/neutro/lympho lower than whale crap at the bottom of the ocean. I'm still an opiate addict and my mind is still boggling. Someone pass the dutchie please!

Makes no sense, does it?

🙏🏻

Hi Hezekiah

I did try 2 months worth of the 600mg cbd oil drops costing £40 each from a well known company and it did not work as I had a bad flare on my hands as I have RA. A good friend of mine who has studied cbd tells me it can work for some with people with fibro but the stuff on sale today just is not strong enough for RA as it can be agressive. The THC cbd is the answer he tells me but its illegal to sell in the U.K. because it can have effects like psychosis and thats just the tip of the iceberg.

Definitely agree that it should be available, but for myself, I'd be reluctant to try it as the situation stands at the moment without much regulation. As a former heavy cannabis user in the 70s, I eventually had to stop because it started to cause panic attacks, so I'd want to be very sure that I didn't get that effect with the medicinal stuff. Having said that, it's ridiculous to withhold a potentially useful treatment that helps so many people.

it never helped me and I am against drugs

So you're against cannabis just because it didn't help you? Well, there are plenty of people who suffer from various diseases, and smoking weed is the way to reduce their pain. Honestly, I think that your argument is pretty self-centered. I've been smoking cannabis for three years, and it helped me stabilize my mental state, especially in stressful situations. However, I decided to quit smoking cannabis several weeks ago, and I think it was the right decision. However, I discovered the existence of marijuana kush edibles on getkush.io/product-category... like weed gummies or weed chocolates. It seems that the effects of using them could be similar to those of smoking.

A mere 9 words for us - are you sure you don't want to tell us more?? We'd really love to hear about your experiences in detail. Thanks

Yes, I'd agree with you there attatel, it seems ridiculous to withhold a potentially useful treatment. Like you, I used it in the 70s, and also stopped. I didn't like the cannabis oil that was being sold, and it almost seemed as if the drug had changed. Either that, or I had. Have used very few drugs since, except when I had a severe bout of crippling back pain, when I needed all sorts of prescription meds to help me get over it. That took a couple of months, but nowadays I manage my back issues with yoga-type exercises, a device called a Flexibak, care in how I move and what I do which could stress my back, and regular walking.

Perscription drugs seem to have more side effects than cannabis and make you feel really ill. Some of the side effects tell you they can sometimes cause heart attacks and strokes , make it difficult for you to breath, all sorts of stuff. Amazing that that is legal when cannabis isn’t.

Cannabis helps me to reduce chronic pain

NRAS

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