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Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Registered
Joined: 10/21/2010
Posts: 178
Location: aberdeen
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has anybody tried cannabis to help with their RA?
my husband who works a lot in holland got chatting to somebody (a silversmith) who said he smokes one spliff in the evenings to help with the pain of his RA. He doesn't take conventional medicine, though as we all know we are all made so differently when it comes to trying to help ourselves with this terrible disease, that which is sauce for the goose is not necessarily....
Must check out the notes of the meeting which sally advised us took place earlier this month.
(already working out which rooms will become the factory and where to put the poly tunnels in the garden haha!)
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Rank: Newbie
Groups: Registered
Joined: 10/12/2010
Posts: 9
Location: Somerset
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I have also been recommended this by a friend who stopped all his drugs and self medicated with cannabis. He said it helped him more with his pain than anything else he'd tried. Would be good to hear from anyone else as I'm willing to try anything now !
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Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Registered
Joined: 5/19/2010
Posts: 384
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Hi Eve,
Not something I would be allowed to try, as a foster carer I'm sure I'd be struck off.
Anne x
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Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Registered
Joined: 12/4/2009
Posts: 2,127
Location: Thornton Cleveleys
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Hi all! Without wishing to be a stick in the mud, cannabis is an illegal drug in the UK and most countries. Some people are always going to take drugs that have not been prescribed no matter what advice they have been given, medical or otherwise. I would urge anyone who does not feel that their pain relief is adequate to seek further advice from their rheumatologist or GP. There is plenty of medication out there for the asking and people should not be resorting to illegal drugs. I have had RA for 22 years and as a result of poor control for the first 15 years I have a lot of joint damage which causes pain as well as discomfort from the ongoing disease itself. I regularly change my pain relief to meet my needs and have always, without exception, found something suitable. RA is not about pain! RA is about the destruction of joint tissue caused by uncontrolled disease. Pain is a bi-product of the disease. Anyone who stops 'conventional meds' and takes cannabis is fooling themselves by putting their long term health at risk and digging their own grave in the process. Whilst cannabis might ease pain (I wouldn't know!) it most certainly doesn't control Rheumatoid Disease. A pain free body is useless if it is riddled with disease. Lyn x
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Rank: Advanced Member  Groups: Registered
Joined: 2/18/2010 Posts: 1,098 Location: farningham kent
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Hi Lyn
Thanks for that very sound and constructive advice, it is an area I knew very little about.
Julia x
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Rank: Advanced Member  Groups: Registered
Joined: 8/30/2010 Posts: 507 Location: Gravesend
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There is a form of cannabis that is licensed in the UK as of July this year as a spray . It is only used for relieving spasticity in people with MS , and can only be prescribed by MS specialists . Sativex is it's name , however a quick google finds that some health authorities will not use it since the cost of approx £4500 pa outweighs the efficacy (in their eyes). I also remember a news report this year on TV that heralded the first legal indoor cannabis farm (somewhere in the south east) presumably just to meet the demand for pharmaceutical grade extracts. Three are so many plants and extractions that have not been tested or trialled yet that any legitimate investigations into health properties must only be encouraged. Do it yourself is not an option :) R:) "The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."
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Rank: Advanced Member  Groups: Registered
Joined: 12/3/2009 Posts: 3,006 Location: Timperley
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Hi there
I think Lyn's reply is spot on. The rights or wrongs of smoking cannabis don't change the fact that RA is a progressive illness and without the disease modifying drugs, will (in most cases) become worse.
Love Jean
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Rank: Advanced Member  Groups: Registered
Joined: 12/3/2009 Posts: 2,237 Location: nr Southampton
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I am so proud of the way this discussion has been handled by the NRAS forum members.
I have, been in so much pain I would have taken ANYTHING. I talked to the GP about it, he sorted out much better pain relief. The thing is with cannibis or other illegal drugs you have no idea what you are taking. Anything could be in there. Its addictive and leads to other drugs especially as RAers are more prone to depression you would have to be very aware of your personal limits on it.
Taking regular co-codamol and taking zomorph with some big guns back up when Im in real trouble is such a help.
If you are thinking about this, the GP wont be judgemental and can be a real help.
Jenni xhow to be a velvet bulldoser
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Rank: Advanced Member  Groups: Registered
Joined: 11/20/2010 Posts: 244 Location: Cornwall
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OK, I had a mis-spent youth, so I can share some experiences with you all, those were the days etc! Good luck I turned out all right in the end!
Cannabis can be psychologically but not physically addictive. Getting involved in buying it is a miserable, potentially dangerous and tedious business. You also don't know what you're buying and some strains nowadays are very psychotropic and can lead to severe mental health problems particularly in young people. Long term use can also lead to mental health issues. If you do consider getting into this area then be very careful and buy grass not solid. The grass will be more pure, the solid may be cut with something else.
Growing it yourself is illegal, owning the seeds is not, but you are unlikely to be prosecuted if you grow a few plants for personal consumption, this is the only way to ensure you know what you're taking. The active substance THC has a number of known and unknown medicinal benefits which as Rich says are being continually researched. Don't forget that most of the prescribed drugs we all take are based upon plant extracts which can be very powerful indeed. It has been used for pain relief for centuries. Queen Victoria used opium for period pains. As far as I can make out this is because you don't care so much about the pain! This is also my experience of prescribed pain relief, the pain is still there but the trigger in your brain is switched off.
Any mind altering drug will accentuate your current mood so if you're down and you get drunk you'll get even more down, this is the same with cannabis. If you're tired and you take it you'll be asleep really quickly but at least asleep not in pain but what a waste of money! In my opinion it will do nothing to help with your RA especially if you decide to smoke it. Self medicating with anything is not a good idea, as Lynn says the medical profession are there to help with this and they should know their stuff!
Jenni, I would go to see an old witch with a magic stone if I thought that would help (and there are plenty who may claim to be that here in Cornwall) but as you say there are no magic wands and the GP is always the best bet.
So that's my two penneth on this one. Things aren't going so well at the minute but not really up to posting about any of it. I'm trying to hold on to the idea that within 4 weeks I'll have done 12 weeks of the MTX and then like a miracle I'll wake up in the morning and feel brilliant, can't think about it any other way. But to cheer myself up we've booked a flight to Sri Lanka for February and keep everything crossed that I'll be up to enjoying it. If not up to running around and riding elephants at least I can get a quick dip in the Indian Ocean followed by a massage!
Happy New Year to you all, 2011's going to be fantastic!
Sara
x
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Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Registered
Joined: 12/5/2009
Posts: 119
Location: warrington
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Hi all
Iwould be very careful of going down this route I've seen at first hand what cannibis can do and I for one would not want to try it even though some times it would be very nice to be painfree with no cares. my son was addicted to it and it has led to lots of problems in his life. He can not hold down a job. his concentration is very bad he forgets things his mood swings are all over the place and he admits he couldn't function without it. He started smoking it a young age and over the years problems have been ongoing we even had our home raided by police looking for drugs and weapons. early on we wanted to kick him out the house especially my hubby who is so anti drugs being ex military,and this was so close to happening but for a police seargent who said he didn't think that our son was big time just easily led and he'd seen it so many times when parents had given up on them they turn to the streets and get so much worse so we gave him another chance. He is a lot better now and has calmed down so much He lives with his partner and they have a daughter our first grandchild. We let him know we would never give up on him. But it's down to him now to make the right choices and there our other more precious things to think about. So I agree I think I'll stick to the more conventional meds but thats just my feelings.
sue v
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Rank: Advanced Member  Groups: Registered
Joined: 12/3/2009 Posts: 3,157 Location: Huddersfield
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So sorry to hear that Sue, it must have been hell for you and I'm so glad he's getting his life back now.
I agree with all you say. For me it is just not an option, my daughter is 21 and ,having brought her up to say no to illegal drugs, what message would I be giving her if I brought cannabis into the house?
Like you, I'll stick to the conventional drugs.
Doreen xx
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Rank: Advanced Member  Groups: Registered
Joined: 3/8/2010 Posts: 914
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I agree totally with Lynn's post, illegal drugs never have or ever will be the answer. The doctors are there to help with pain relief. I know things can be bad, I too have had my share of pain so bad I never thought I would be Normal again where pain was not an issue.
But I believed in the RA drugs I was given and still do and I keep so well now all things considered. In fact at my RA appointment recently the nurse there said she could not forget just how bad I was in the beginning, I could hardly walk or move and was so ill with RA. She had said it was good to see me as well as I am now. Long may it last.
Do ask your doctors or RA team for advice on pain relief, that's what they are there for. Don't take things into your own hands and go down a route you may live to regret.
Try to be positive I know it is difficult when the pain is so bad you can hardly move, you cannot sleep at night for crying at what tomorrow will bring..... You already know the answer to that one, but live in hope just the same. It does get easier I have been there, and I never give up hope.
Best wishes to all for pain free days ahead. Lorna x
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Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Registered
Joined: 10/21/2010
Posts: 178
Location: aberdeen
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thank you to everybody who's posted about this topic in a candid manner, sometimes about very personal experiences with the drug. I did wonder afterwards whether anyody might think I was advocating the use of cannabis which I know is illegal (sara has outlined the details) in this country (and sara I do hope things are better with you just now) I just wanted to share my husband's chance meeting which I did find interesting. I appreciate that the responses from members demonstrate that this is not a route that the majority of posters would consider, finding that conventional drugs for pain relief are without exception preferable and the cannabis-based sativex which Rich wrote about, and was mentioned on the bbc programme on cannabis last night, was something I knew nothing about prior to this discussion. There are many days that I cannot bear to accept that I have RA and don't want to know anything about it, on other days I am eager to read and discuss anything and everything. So let's all keep at it.
.....eve xxx
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Rank: Member
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Joined: 1/28/2010
Posts: 10
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Never tried cannabis myself but who really knows if it would help with the pain. Conventional drugs are fine for pain relief if your system is able to tollerate them (many people such as myself are allergic to all sorts) but I was offered and took them up on the offer to have accupuncture (not sure of the spelling) although being a sensitive soul (unfortunately) I was one of the unlucky ones who had problems with the pain signals being all switched on instead of off, however it might be an option for those who want to try something different, and it's not illegal. I do know of some people who have said it was amazing and kept them pain free for ages, I had mine done at the hospital on the nhs so make some enquiries and give it a go, what is the worst that could happen !  
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