Medical marajana

Does anyone know anything about medical marajana in reference to RLS

[Shumbah]

Hi Brun

Yes I tried different forms of marijuana for the first time in my life in the last year or so out of desperation.

Smoking works quickly however it is disgusting and does not last long .

Dr Sara Benjamin suggested I try edibles when I was at the John Hopkins she was right that definitely worked much better and lasted all night.

Medical marijuana spray form brand Nanabis Ratio 8.33 CBD 8.33 THC

I found I had to use 12to 16 sprays to stop my legs from moving which worked however the daily vertigo was debilitating.

I still use the spray a couple of times awake for pain it works really well for pain in my instance I have to use 6 shots per dose.

What I found interesting as that I did not get high so weird even occasionally people would ask if I have any due to my condition they would have 2 drops of THC oil and not be able to form a syllable our say things like this is good . I was with 4 people they were stoned I had never ever seen this before and I was sober so to speak it was so weird to watch there behaviour.

The only symptom I ever had was vertigo.

Summary

Edibles were best for RLS

Spray is a great pain killer .

Smoking is quick and will relax the central nervous system instantly great way to cure a stress head ache because your shoulders relax so well .

🙂

[Hidden]

As far as I'm aware medical cannabis (rather than marijuana) is a pharmaceutical product derived from the cannabis plant. I'm not sure about other countries but in the UK it's only licensed for MS and some forms of epilepsy.

It's a specific formulation and has no psychoactive properties.

Medical cannabis can produce relaxation and relieve pain, and prevent seizures, that's known but it's effect on RLS, as far as I'm aware, hasn't been studied.

Even if it were effective for RLS, unless you suffer epilepsy or MS there's probably no legal way of obtaining it. I'm not sure you could get it illegally either.

There are many other commercially produced cannabis derivatives, but they're not licensed for medical use. So they're not " medical".

CBD oil is very popular at the moment, but there's a multitude of different formulations of it so nobody can say "CBD oil" helps RLS, because whereas some formulations are claimed to help RLS, others clearly don't.

There's particularly no consensus about what the proportion of THC needs to be, to render it effective. THC is the psychoactive element and this is the part that can make the difference between a particular CBD oil product being legal or not. This legality also varies between different states.

Cannabis, non medical, non-commercial, is known to help relaxation and relueve pain. Anecdotally RLS sufferers report that it does help with RLS.

I've never personally tried cannabis specifically for RLS. It's a personal theory but I imagine there may be some physiological basis for cannabis reducing RLS symptoms, possibly in a similar way to the way other anti-epileptic medicines relieve RLS.

There is another aspect of cannabis, the psychoactive element which may have an effect on the experience of RLS. Cannabis can change the way things are perceived. E.g. a sensation experienced when intoxicated with cannabis can be very different to the experience of the same sensation when not intoxicated. In this case, you could say, it doesn't matter to what extent cannabis stops RLS symptoms as long as it improves the experience of the symptoms.

I'd say, if you're seriously considering cannabis for RLS, the implication is do that, but forget medical cannabis or CBD oil.

[Joolsg]

If you’re here in the UK there is absolutely no legal way to get medical marijuana. It was legalised for some forms of epilepsy and MS. I have tried to get it legally because I have MS and the doctors and neurologists have practically laughed in my face when I’ve asked for it. Not a single MS patient has been prescribed it since legalisation. There is a cannabis spray for MS called Sativex but that can only be given for severe MS spasm where the usual anti spasm drugs do not work and it’s extremely expensive ( you pay about £500 pm).

The UK continues to make and export medical cannabis to other countries.

I continue to buy it illegally!

[Snowdrop1947 in reply to Joolsg]

I live in the U.K. and a cousin has sent cannabis edibles from BC, and I have slept for about 6 hrs each night, a considerable improvement on years of misery with RLS.

I should tell my GP and KCH consultant but fear they don’t want to hear because it is illegal in the U.K, but if progress is going to be made in the treatment of this condition then listen they must!

[involuntarydancer in reply to Snowdrop1947]

If you can, it would be worth finding out the name of the strain of cannabis you took as it worked so well for you. There is anecdotal evidence (from a consultant working in Israel where cannabis seems to be used/studied more extensively for medical purposes than in other jurisdictions) that it can be very strain specific. On a US based RLS forum where cannabis is discussed more regularly than here (it is legal in many US states), it seems that some strains are more effective for RLS than others. I saw recommendations for ‘medical mass’ and ‘ sensi Star’ (I think I have those names right).

[Leemiki2]

Hi. I've had RLS for almost 15 years or so. I have my medical marijuana card. The medical grade quality does mouthing for my RLS. however, there's a tree that is made into a powder form called kratom. That stuff is a life saver! 2 to 3 teaspoons mixed in a water bottle with orange juice and all symptoms are gone in 30 minutes. I suffered for nearly 5 hours one night. My son begged me to try it and i was amazed. Nothing, repeat, nothing has worked as efficiently. With no after effects the next day like you vey from opiates. This kratom is opiate like but not addicting, at least not with me. Good luck!

[Lunamoth1917 in reply to Leemiki2]

What strain of Kratom?

[Leemiki2 in reply to Lunamoth1917]

I use the green but it can tend to keep you awake. I've tried the red but not with the same results.

[Lunamoth1917 in reply to Leemiki2]

Okay Thank you! Going to try it..

[jimmcar in reply to Leemiki2]

I use edible forms of marijuana with great success.

But you need to watch out for developing tolerance over an extended period of time.

Kratom is also effective but I need to take it with marijuana to counteract it's stimulating effects.

[Zbirth1 in reply to Leemiki2]

So happy that this works for you. Where do you find it? Quite a few people on here have mentioned it

[Rescuemom]

Been use marijuana at night in edibles for about 4 months now, RLS has gone, it's wonderful.

[TeddiJ in reply to Rescuemom]

Hi! Could you tell me what kind of edibles? The strain and the ratio or mg's? I tried 4 edibles for the first time last night with THC of 10 mg each. It made me dizzy but I did not sleep well nor did it seem to help RLS one bit.

I had massive chips cravings and also made spaghetti at 4 a.m.! Omg-not a good start.

[Rescuemom in reply to TeddiJ]

I use about 100 mg per night, its a guessing game regarding potency, it makes me dizzy also so i take it at night as i get into bed. I would play with the dosage. It took a week or so for thr RLS to go away. I had a 1000mg cookie, it lasted 10 days, that how I am guessing I need 100 mg per night.

[TeddiJ in reply to Rescuemom]

Thank you! Very helpful.

[Snowdrop1947 in reply to TeddiJ]

That’s a very high dose of THC. I take one edible of THC which means I sleep for 6 hours. Bliss.

I live in U.K. so relative sends from BC but hardly convenient.

[Zbirth1]

Good Morning! I have been using medical marijuana going on 4 1/2 years now. Where are you located? Luckily I am in Illinois where both medical & recreational cannabis are legal although with the pandemic right now they are only selling medical since supplies are low. I have used everything, flower/weed, spray tinctures, oils, edibles, vapes & A few other things. I have found some strains will lessen the intensity of my symptoms while I’m awake but don’t stop them entirely. However, and this is a BIGGIE, I have found several different strains that knock me out completely. For the first time in over 15 years I am now able to sleep anywhere from 4-7 hrs almost every night. For me this is a lifesaver as I used to go anywhere from 3 to 5 days with no sleep!!! My sleep specialist is a nationally known RLS researcher & he told me I’m one of the most intense cases he’s seen. I’m glad the spray gives Shumbah relief but using 12-16 sprays at a time would put me in the poorhouse very quickly plus the sprays are usually pretty low dose. There are times I will smoke a bowl & supplement with 1-2 sprays but that’s more for the other chronic pain issues I have. I had pretty severe augmentation Last year & went through 10 months of the most horrific agony. I really felt like I went through hell & now a year later I finally feel pretty much like my old self although I do have some residual brain scrambling. I did hours of research on Mirapex withdrawal plus luckily found this site which was invaluable in its support, info & suggestions. I see Manerva & Joolz have also weighed in with their sage wisdom. Both helped me tremendously & I will be forever grateful. 💖 shumbah hit it on the head when he/she talked about the psycho active effect. I found that the head high took the edge off so that the kicks were more tolerable. The downside of medical cannabis is that it can be very expensive. It seems like as soon as you find a strain that works well the supply of it is gone so you have to sometimes do a trial & error to see if it works for you. That’s where the dispensary comes in to make recommendations that may or may not work. Being a child of the 70s, and being very poor, my budtenders know That if I’m going to get something it at least needs to be fun even if it doesn’t work. I am an old nurse & did tons of research before my withdrawal started & I’m not afraid to be assertive with my care providers. Luckily I had earned their trust & respect from years of working with them & they were open to my suggestions. They wanted me to go on methadone but I wanted to save that as a last resort. Along with medical pot I am currently on 5mg of Hydrocodone (very low dose which is the key, higher doses don’t work for RLS) & 4 mg of Tizanidine (muscle relaxer for the muscle damage I had due to the withdrawal) every 6 hrs & a high dose of Neurontin for diabetic neuropathy that also may help RLS. Although the withdrawal almost cost me my life I can now say....cue up the brass band please...

my RLS is under remarkable control. Often

times I can go a week or more with barely noticeable symptoms! One last thought. I also get iron infusions. I showed my hematologist info on higher iron levels being investigated for RLS so we are now trying to keep my iron levels around 300. This needs to be done under close supervision Since toxic range is 388. Hope this helps. Sending hope for peaceful zzz’s

[Zbirth1 in reply to Zbirth1]

Oops. Meant to say ferritin level around 300

[TeddiJ in reply to Zbirth1]

Hi, Zbirth1 and thank you for the info! I am in IL also; could you tell me the strain or strains that DO work for you overnight? Thanks and congrats.

[Zbirth1 in reply to TeddiJ]

Hi Teddi! I just now saw your post and I had just about finishing answering when my battery died and of course I lost everything. I’m going to be busy all day but I will try to redo it tonight or tomorrow

[TeddiJ in reply to Zbirth1]

Sorry you have to redo it all and thank you so much!

[billy_in_slo in reply to Zbirth1]

You wrote "(very low dose which is the key, higher doses don’t work for RLS)", I assume you meant for you, I have been using Hydrocodone 10/325 for 15-20 yrs after nothing else worked. I admit I had to keep increasing the dose over the years but have now settled in at 4.5 doses total. 1 every 5 hours and another 1/2 at bedtime. I supplement with gabapentin, 300mg 4x/day. I dislike the gaba but needed it when I reduced the hydro at my doctors request.

[Zbirth1 in reply to billy_in_slo]

Hi Billy, I was told by my sleep Doc that the higher the dose the less it works for RLS/augmentation. 5mg is what he recommends 🙃

[Debsamuels]

Would be very interested to see whether this is useful or not

[Bill33]

If you live in the United States the variety of medical marijuana that you can obtain legally should be sufficient to help you. I live in New York State where they have not yet approved edibles but I have vaped Marijuana and at times it does help. At least it makes the night go quicker.

It sounds like I should try the edibles when it finally becomes legal in New York.

I would give it more than one time try and if you are able to do the edibles it sounds like it Should be of some benefit to you.

I presently have Parkinson’s, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. But on a given night RLS can be the worst I have to deal with. Good luck and be safe.

[intermk]

I did two trials of cannabis products such as CBD & CBN oils with and without THC, edibles with THC, tincture and vaping. The latter was the most miserable thing I've ever done. Even on the lowest setting the smoke burned my lungs and nasal passages and it took up to 15 hits to get enough into me where I felt something was happening. That something was vertigo, so bad that I couldn't walk around without help. And yet the RLS symptoms were still raging. The edibles are all over the place. Some do absolutely nothing at a dose twice as great as another that will knock you on your butt. I recall eating 1/3 of a gummy that had a decent amount of CBD but only 0.5 THC and within 30 minutes I thought I was dying. Vertigo came on followed by temporary blindness, whole body shaking, general pain in the chest and abdomen, etc. One thing stood out above all this and that was unabated RLS symptoms. Cannabis products are expensive and I just don't think there is any benefit to their use with RLS patients whom are on the severe end of the continuum. And do you truse the people selling you these products? What do they know about your overall health? Do they know anything about RLS? Do they know which of their products will work for you? NO they don't but that doesn't matter to them. They want the big sales and it's okay to them if you keep coming back in to get more to try. Don't waste your money. If you want all but guaranteed relief from Severe RLS symptoms, find a doctor that will write you a Rx for narcotic pain med. There are several that work just fine. Lately, many people are touting the benefits of Buprenorphine. Many say Kratom works well. I've tried both and agree that they do work.

[Joolsg]

If only! I live in hope.

[Leemiki2]

I get my kratom at a smoke shop here in USA.

[kirash]

Hi. For the past 6 weeks I have been using CBD in hemp oil. It has been very successful and cost effective. Night before last night I thought I'd try without it and it was OK but last night legs were pretty jiggly so it is working very well.