cannabis

[Jenevewill]

who’s had success with cannabis ? I’ve never done it but after reading side effects of my prescription medication I am tempted to try this route first

[Rayme]

I take cannibis, homemade cannabutter from a friend. I tried oil but it was no use without THC. The THC part is what helps me settle and sleep. This works for a few weeks then slowly I develop tolerance and need a 10 Day break. Then i can start again. I find it soothing and helps with the RL and the awful insomnia too. I wish it worked all the time. I need to find something to cover the awful 10 Days off. All the best in finding what works for you.

[Jenevewill in reply to Rayme]

Thank you , you too

[TheDoDahMan in reply to Jenevewill]

Rather than taking a cannabis holiday to ward off tolerance build-up, just switch to a different strain.

[grassgree in reply to Rayme]

I'm experimenting with 2-3 days on, 1-2 days off, to minimize tolerance. I usually sleep "OK" on the off days before the insomnia kicks in again.

[TheDoDahMan in reply to Rayme]

We used to always just switch strains when we felt that tolerance build-up was diminishing cannabis' effectiveness. Agree that a decent THC content is necessary. Read up on Rick Simpson oil - I find it excellent for inducing sleep.

[DurkaDurka]

Yes I have been on medical cannabis for over a year. I used it initially to successfully reduce the amount of sifrol. Doesn't necessarily reduce the rls but helps me fall asleep quicker and minimise the tossing and turning of rls. I use 30 mins before sleep and rotate through strains to minimise tolerance.

[Joolsg]

Try ferrous bisglycinate last thing at night first. As you're so low on iron, it may be all you need to stop the RLS. You can buy it as 'gentle iron'.Taking once a day, at night time, ensures that the chemical hepcidin will not block iron absorption. So don't take iron more than once a day.

It should start to help after a few months.

In the meantime, cannabis can help. I found it sent me into 'deep sleep' so I didn't notice the RLS for 3 or 4 hours.

Put cannabis, cannabis gummies, in.the search engine and you'll see posts from people and who it has helped.

It's a bit hit and miss.

What works for one, doesn't necessarily work for others.

But I agree, best to try iron and cannabis before lyrica.

And do NOT agree to dopamine agonists ( Ropinirole, Pramipexole, Rotigitone patch) as they ALL worsen RLS severely in the end and withdrawal is brutal.

[Jenevewill in reply to Joolsg]

I cannot tolerate iron bisglycinate. I just started taking iron on Saturday, one a day ferrous fumarante. Thanks ! I’ll look into the cannabis

[WideBody in reply to Jenevewill]

There a couple different formulations for oral iron. Liquid iron sulfate seemed to me to be the most effective but a difficult way to take it. 7ml in a plastic syringe. Liquid iron sulfate stains everything including teeth.

Iron bisglysinate is good, make sure to take enough, this means testing in 3 - 4 months to be sure. If my calculations are correct the dosage for ferrous fumarante is 200mg?

The important thing with iron is to take it on an empty stomach. I was really strict at first. Nothing to eat two hours before or one hour after taking iron. Also taking iron with vitamin C helps iron absorption.

Iron binds with the proteins in the stomach to create gastric distress.

One last tip, if the goal is to increase iron stores consider testing Vitamin D levels. Vitamin D also increases iron absorption.

I found nothing worked for my RLS until I got my iron levels up, for me that included an infusion.

[Goldy700]

I have been on the medical cannabis for many years - I am not on any other drug as find the cannabis is relatively side effect free. I do need a strong dose of THC and I don’t seem to develop tolerance but make sure I go off a few nights every week. My preferred option at this time is to dry vape the cannabis flower as it has an instant effect. It does not stop the RLS but calms it somewhat. It makes me fall asleep quicker and my mind is more chilled. What helps me when I wake up 3 times a night is my exercise bike on hard push, yoga stretches or hot bath. After one of these sessions my legs are calm enough and the cannabis puts me to sleep. (I am getting super fit - only benefit of RLS). I am thinking that there are some very strong cannabis oils, tinctures that I could eventually get ie Rick Simpson’ oil if my RLS gets worse. I feel this is my prefered way forward as I feel well and healthy in cannabis. Like other medications one may need to increase the strength. I do feel we are living in good times as more and more research and availability of cannabis is happening - so much yet undiscovered that may help us. If living in Australia it is important to know you can get free on line consults with a cannabis doctor and your medication can be sent to your door as many people are worried about the high fees some clinics charge. I also incorporate an anti-inflammatory diet and exercise.

[Nikos64]

Cannabis undoubtedly works for RLS. One or 2 vape puffs is enough to put the restlessness completely at rest for 2-3 hours.

Edibles did not work .. at least not for me.

So the only route to get relief is inhaled cannabis. For me this was unacceptable for a few reasons:

1. Since RLS is a daily and chronic condition for me, this would mean daily inhaling of THC vapors which although reportedly safer than smoking cannabis can still cause long term lung damage which itself has not been researched.

2. The relief you get from cannabis is short lived. 2-3 hours later you need more.

3. I found that it disrupted my sleep. I’ve tried cannabis with high CBN which aids sleeping but still the quality of sleep under cannabis was unacceptable.

4. Tolerance builds quickly especially with daily use. So you need higher doses to cope with the RLS.

In summary, I cannot recommend cannabis as a long term solution for RLS. Having said that, I would add that everyone is different. You might have a better outcome and reach different conclusions so I don’t want to discourage you from trying it. But for me, I prefer to be under the competent care of a sleep specialist who has me under gabapentin and low dose oxycodone. Both work well for me. But I keep cannabis in reserve as a potential backup.

Best luck to you and wishes for effective treatment.

[Picassoro]

Cannabis oil works well - but not over the counter health shop stuff - it isn’t strong enough. It was recommended to me by another person with RLS who found relief from it and it saved my life.

[Dgags]

Hi, I am 80 years old, living in the US. I have successfully ingested 10 mg of marijuana infused sour gummies for almost 10 years. I use Indica marijuana rather than the Sativa strain, mainly because the INDICA strain provides less of a high, which I am less interested in now at my age - but both strains work and have different impacts on your body. I am fortunate that the THC works so well for me, with few if any side effects. The only other drug that helps is 5mg of oxycodone, which also works well for me except for the side effects of itching all over my body right after I take the oxycodone for an hour or so. Oxy is an opioid so it can be tricky persuading your doctor to prescribe it for you, at least here in the US. I tried CBD, without THC ( THC is the marijuana component ) but that didn't work. I was familiar with the use of marijuana as a child of the 60's and early 70's, ie, I smoked marijuana periodically throughout those years. But I want to protect my lungs as I age so I don't smoke it anymore. You can take marijuana in almost unlimited ways - cookies, patches, tincture, sour gummies, gum, etc, and many other ways. I always alert people that if you have never used marijuana in any form you should expect that when you first use it ( and I would start with lower amounts than 10 mg daily, maybe cutting that in half or even thirds until you are comfortable with the use of marijuana ), anyways, when you first use it you might find a little anxiety or light paranoia the first few times you use it. I experience that, even after using marijuana fairly often in the past, as a slight elevation in my anxiety or the paranoid response like "what's that sound I heard downstairs? Is someone trying to break in?". I just smile when I feel reactions like that because I know what it is from. That goes away soon. One last note: The marijuana apparently impacts the hippocampus, where our memory facility is located. So there is some suspicion that prolonged use of marijuana ( THC ) might cause some memory issues. As far as I know I don't experience memory issues, but I am old enough to be losing my memory anyways so I might not notice that. I want to wish you well in your search for some intervention that will help with restless legs. It often feels like a lonely search.

[omyjimmylegs]

I've used weed for 7yrs or so, first for pain before a shoulder replacement, then for RLS. I try not to smoke it too much, but will if I need fast relief. Mostly I use tincture, but also make butter, then make cookies with that. Smoking is fast acting, whereas tincture or edibles take longer. I have been known to do both if I'm having a particularly bad night

[BeachGolfer]

I take Oxycodone for the restlessness but it doesn’t help my insomnia . For that I take 25mg of Delta 8 THC not Delta 9 which is in marijuana. BTW Delta 8 is legal in almost every state in the US. It probably also helps with the restlessness but since I take Oxycodone I can’t tell how much it’s affecting the restlessness. I use a THC Delta 8 vape pen if I get breakthrough restlessness in late afternoon or evening and it works almost immediately to halt it. However, the effect doesn’t last very long. I wish you the best in trying to figure out what will work for you.

[MoxieLake]

There are some side effects with cannabis but mostly just makes you sleepy. It is worth a try to get a good night's sleep but take it slow so at first. Good luck!

[Typicallygaslit]

No, it didn’t help. It gave me some very weird and undesired physiological side effects as well as an increased lack of motivation. The first time I managed to change my poor sleep schedule with it but the second time it did nothing. I gave up.

[maribarosay]

I’m using it. I take minimum amount. It helps me.

[Calliedog]

Every gummy I have tried has made my RLS significantly worse, but smoking or vaping does help me. Just one or two puffs at most is all I will do and it works. It is legal in my state, so I can get it easily. As others have said, different things work for different people. Good luck.

[Irmajs]

Hi. I have been using CBD for about 3 yrs now. 2 hrs before bed I take a 50mg oil capsule and a 35 mg sleep capsule, both through Lazarus Naturals online. All their products are all 3rd party tested for quality. That usually quiets my RLS 95% of the time as long as I can get to sleep quickly. To get me to sleep faster I take a 15mg Sativa THC gummy right before bed. The combination has worked well for me. You have to be carful where you buy your CBD. I had tried CBD from a local shop and it made me really sick, so quality counts.

Prior to finding the above combination, I tried just THC, but to get enough to stop my RLS I found that I was not feeling quite right (a little high I guess) in the morning which isn’t good when you have to drive grandkids around.

Another important fact for both CBD and THC is it affects everyone differently. You always want to start with a low dose and increase every night until you find the right amount that works for you. Unfortunately there is some suffering during this process.

Good luck. I wish I would have tried this sooner without suffering through side effects from Ropinrol augmentation, high doses of gabapentin, etc.