Marijuana and CFS

Having quit cigarettes in 2006 I worry about smoking anything just in case - I was a very addicted smoker who lit up before opening my eyes in the morning and was known to wake in the middle of the night for a smoke and go back to sleep.  I have, however, eaten some laced brownies and it does help with pain.  Mostly, however, I just giggled and fell asleep.  It was a pretty good sleep which doesn't happen often these days!

I'm a ex smoker also gave up a 30+ a day ha bit five years ago & would be very reluctant to smoke anything & even though I take so many drugs a day ( from the dr !) I'd be afraid to use an illegal one !  But I've herd that the spay form for under the tongue is good for pain ??? Has anyone tried that ???

I once thought about doing this. I certainly have no ethical or moral problems with it. But then I realized that ME/CFS is a disease that affects the brain, so I decided the risk was too great  I've seen cases where marijuana can actually excerbate anxiety instead of relieving it. And since getting this illnes, I'm more prone to anyxiety. For instance, last year a doctor put me an an anti-anxiety med, and it caused new symptoms that still exist. 

I tried it a few years ago, more to treat my pain than anything else.  (I'm also an ex-smoker and was concerned but didn't get hooked.) 

Without smoking marijuana, I'm stuck to the couch due to pain. After smoking marijuana, I was stuck to the couch stoned AND unable to drive anywhere if necessary.  It helped the pain but didn't really improve my quality of life.  I also tried eating it in some cookies but it's a labour intensive process.  Tried several different strains and there were definitely differences, but I was still stoned.

I tried it for a couple of weeks but overall it was a thumbs down from me.

I have recently been prescribed Tramadol for degenerative arthritis; it is a synthetic analgesic medication. The exact mode of action of tramadol is unknown but it is said to work like morphine. Tramadol binds to opioid receptors in the brain - receptors that transmit the sensation of pain throughout the body. It has helped my ME loads, I even sleep at night when I take it and I don’t feel too bad in the morning either.

 

Yeah! Smoke it when you're relaxed to begin with, feel sweet and get a lovely night's sleep! Wake up feeling not so bad as usual.

I've read research about it and apparently it's useful for numerous health conditions. Thumbs up. Smoking it right now listening to music.

I've just read these comments regarding smoking marihuana and notice that all except one are ex-cigarette smokers.  I smoked between 30 & 60 cigarettes a day for 50 years and gave up completely in 2007.  Instead of feeling good and healthier after giving up, I started feeling ill and seriously wondered whether all the effort was worth it.  I did have IBS and lower back pain (which I've had in varying degrees since 1968 after giving birth to a head down but back-to-back baby!) before giving up, but started with this terrible fatigue and a lot of the other usual symptoms of CFS started over months quite soon after giving up.

I'd been on the usual pain killers, but about 4 years after giving up I was put on Tramadol, as well as Paracetamol, in increasing doses as the pain got worse and have now progressed to Morphgesic SR 10mg tablets twice a day with liquid morphine as a backup in between, also with Paracetamol, and am still in some pain.  However, various X-rays and MRI Scans have not found anything unusually wrong with my spine, just 'age related'.  I have thought of marihuana for the pain but have been too scared to do anything about it with it being illegal.

I wonder though if giving up smoking cigarettes is a common factor amongst ME/CFS patients?    It's a thought, isn't it?  If everyone who follows this 'Fatigue' discussion gave up smoking shortly before starting with this illness, please comment to this effect here, and we may be able to help the medical gurus to understand more about this CFS as it may not just start after suffering a viral illness.  I'm pretty sure mine didn't!

I'd given everything up before this illness, several years clean, very clean, as in healthy diet, full of energy, happy life, studying for my degree (still am), suddenly run over by the ME truck, seemingly for no reason at all.

Almost 10 years later and learning to cope, still here, motorbike back on the road next week, yeah. I smoke pot!

I'm more concerned about the pharmaceutical drugs prescribed to people with ME. They do a great of harm and give very little help. You want an antidepressant St John's Wort. I can advise about herbs if anyone would like to ask.