Medical Cannabis for Pain Management in Cancer

[ThePurplePlace]

I am currently a Stage IV NSCLC Cancer Survivor is looking for guidance and input from anyone who is incorporating Medical Cannabis into their treatment regimen, particularly for pain. NOTE: I personally do not feel there is enough research that shows it can be curative as a treatment cancer and that is NOT my goal. I know this subject can be very controversial and I do not want to get into a debate about whether or not it can treat cancer, that is NOT my intention. I am here SOLELY to find out about the potential benefits of using Legal Medical Cannabis for PAIN Management and to ask others who are using this way to kindly offer input and information based on your personal experiences.

I'm in the process of renewing my State MM Card. I had one when I was originally diagnosed in 2015, but then found the dispensary near me, ONLY sold Smoke and Vape products, and having Lung Cancer, I will not use either of those. By the time they did eventually bring in other products, I had then had progression and was Opdivo (Immunotherapy) which was brand new at that time. My Oncologist was not sure if it would be okay to combine the two, so I chose to not use it with any forms of Cannabis and allowed my card to expire.

I am "currently" stable and "off treatment" but suffering with significant pain including Fibromyalgia Pain, Nephropathy and long term cervical and lumbar spine pain (Degenerative Disc Disease). I do believe the Neuropathy and some of the "joint" pain is a side effect from treatments. It increased quite a bit while on Opdivo and the Neuropathy came on after I stopped Opdivo.

I am looking to others who may be using "Cannabis" (LEGAL) products for pain relief to for those folks to give me some ideas or recommendations of what worked best for you. NOTE: I will not SMOKE or VAPE any cannabis and prefer to try Oils, Tinctures, Edibles and Topical products.

Thanks in advance for any input you can provide.

Lisa

[Denzie Moderator Volunteer]

My brother in law uses a CBD balm on his hip where he had bad arthritis and his wife uses the same Balm in her right hand for arthritis pain there. Both say they get relief from using it.

[ThePurplePlace in reply to Denzie]

Thanks Denzie. I'm hopeful and have read many posts from people who have had a great outcome.

[Disney5]

My son who was diagnosed also with Stage IV NSCLC in October is using medical marijuana...in fact I took him to the dispensary last Sunday. He makes cannabutter. It does help him with pain, increase his appetite and to help sleep. Best of luck to you!

[ThePurplePlace in reply to Disney5]

Disney5,

Thanks for your reply. I've heard that many people make the butter. Happy to know it works for your son. Hopefully it will work that way for me. Pain makes sleep a huge challenge. I wake up all night having to change positions and my legs ache and burn all night. It's miserable. I did try Hemp based CBD salve (From a local health store) but it was useless. Hoping the type with CBD/THC from a MM dispensary will be more effective.

I'm always exhausted and don't get good quality sleep, which I desperately need. 😕

[ynkefan08753]

Hi

I wrote a whole response and then it disappeared 🙄. I use MM edibles daily for radiation fibrosis pain from the radiation treatment. I also have dds and a bulging disc in my neck. I’ve had 3 hip and 2 knee surgeries and was on opiate pain killers for 9 miserable years. That’s why I switched to the edibles. I can give you some of my favorite recipes and dosing estimates if you want to email me. [e-mail]

This way I can attach the recipes to the email. It’s been a blessing for me and 2?years after I started the mm, with no other cancer treatment...I am now cancer free. Was it the immunotherapy trial, the mm or both? I have no idea...but it’s made it possible for me to live my life without constant pain. Good luck and I’ll look for an email from you 😊😊

Deana

[ThePurplePlace in reply to ynkefan08753]

Deana

I would love more info and I'll email you today. Thank you.

Lisa

[Ina3]

Lisa, please keep us updated once you find out. My dad was diagnozed stage iv NSCLC and he is being teated with chemo and keytruda. He got neuropathy and he is more worried about that than about the cancer. He has hard time to walk. I am trying to figure nd out if we can get CBD oil even CBD balm on his legs but not sure how it will interact with chemo and immunotherapy. There are many discussions but never saw anyone saying that together with chemo and immuno they used. Thanks ina

[ThePurplePlace in reply to Ina3]

Ina

If I were still on immunotherapy I would not even consider this because there was a study done that shows that using medical cannabis while on immunotherapy can make the immunotherapy drugs less effective or have less response rates.

I'm currently off all treatment which is why this alternative is okay for me at this time. When I was originally on chemo only back in early 2015 my primary care doctor did first tell me about medical marijuana and its effects for some of the side effects of chemo, like nausea fatigue etc but again at that time I was not using it in combination with immunotherapy. It's just something I would not feel safe and doing if it might lessen the effect of the treatment.

I'm starting very slowly with micro doses. The people at the State Licensed dispensary were very helpful in guiding me as to what they thought would be the most effective for the relief I was looking for. You really need to do a lot of research, particularly if you take edibles because you can really over do it too quickly if you ingest too much as a beginner. Youu have to be very cautious and start with tiny amounts to make sure you don't take too much. I purchased edibles as well as a tincture. Each product contains various amountd of CBD / THC per unit or per dose and it varies with each product too. For instance one of their cookies (baked on site) is actually several doses. You would need to cut it into many pieces to get a small beginner dose.

You can buy hemp-based CBD products anywhere, even a local health food store. However that's not the same as a medical strength of cannabis and it also doesn't contain any THC which in some cases it's what helps most with the pain. The products sold at the dispensary have a combination of THC and CBD. Each product varies and the strengths and the amounts can vary even by type. You really have to document and keep track of everything especially in the beginning until you figure out what the right dose is. I would not do it without a lot of guidance and luckily I have a friend that's also helping me.

PLEASE be sure to discuss this with his oncologist before you consider it as well. I'm not sure if the CBD products that you apply to the skin actually get into the bloodstream and is that something I'd want to know before I would try it if I was on immunotherapy

Hope that helps.

[Denzie Moderator Volunteer in reply to Ina3]

Purple place is right. CBDs can interfere with the immunotherapy.

[Yngerberg]

Cannabis is quite a useful remedy against pain and even mental issues. For instance, I have some problems which contribute to depressions from time to time. So, cbd oils from hempworldstore help me to overcome this issue quite easily.

[Lovey1000]

You know that you and Denzil are my hero’s not to mention my mentors! I have been off treatment since June and I’m suffering with pelvis pain and severe joint pain and I take 600

Mg of Motrin every morning and at night I toss and turn, I won’t smoke or vape but I think I’m going to get a MM card to see what will make this pain disappear. Gummy bear or a cookie is better then Motrin.