My experience of Cannabis on Nerve pain / Neuropathic pain

[TransistorBass]

Seems an under-used area of the forum so here goes with my personal experience.

Years back i did Cannabis for shits & giggles, though for the last couple of years it has been medically prescribed and I'm completely fixing my nerve pain.

I used to have a loads of shooting pains around the side of my head and i was alternating pain killers every day to keep them at bay, I did some experimenting with CBD oils (Full spectrum whole Plant is best) then came across a study on the DrugScience website which talked about Cannabis for Neuropathic pain.
I then set about sourcing some weed, not wanting to meet dealers I decided to grow a few plants and proved the good bud would fix my pains.
I've been seeing docs and Neurologists, tried amitriptyline which gave 18 hours of pain control, but also started to make me a bit of a dick after a few beers, some selective memory loss and very frustrating trying to pee when you get up at night and just stand in pain waiting for things to happen! Tried a GON-Block injection in the back of my neck which lasted all of 24 hours before making me feel very weird, tried acupuncture and massage which were all very nice but did not help, then next drug to try would have been Gabapentin and franckly.... I wasn't going to go there! It just felt stupid to pile myself full of pharmaceuticals and suffer the side effects.

Cannabis / Medical Cannabis gives me a full 24 hours pain free and no side effects.
At first the weed seemed to point out where exactly the pain was before I'd feel it slowly melt away, the more consistently I took the weed on an evening the longer the pain reduction lasted.
Dosing: It has taken me a while to dial in my usage, and I blend my varieties, I'm usually CBD heavy but enough THC to feel like you're getting a warm hug, I vape 0.25g in the Pax Mini after an evening meal, then a little 0.1g hit on the Dynavap later in the evening. *I am pain free, and I hardly ever have regular headaches either now*
I find that if I'm too CBD heavy it disrupts my sleep so sometime I tweak my blend to increase the THC content.
I manage to avoid being forgetful (Easier said than done these days when you've just passed the 50yo mark!)

Secondary benefits I noticed:
Mental capacity is improved, I think faster and can talk more freely without an intrusive mind making me shy. It literally felt like a long extinguished light had been turned back on in my brain and i was working at full capacity again.
Sleep is generally deeper with less waking up.

 

[Jamie01]

Gabapentin sorta sucks ime with it anyway. Some people seem to really like it I guess.

Cannabis also works for me pretty well for nerve pain from spinal inflammation. It’s the only thing I can and have used daily for years without much negative intrusion into my life. It doesn’t even block my dreaming like most people seem to experience.

 

[Thierr7]

Yes , THC works fine against Neuropatics pain . Although i enjoy smoking after a day of duty but i can't stand to get high in the day time ; i'm simply not able to do anything ! I've lost plenty of time in my teen age years this way !

 

[TransistorBass]

It doesn’t even block my dreaming like most people seem to experience.

I definitely don't dream as much as I used to. Though I've now got DMT for that!!

 

[brokedownpalace10]

Pot also works extremely well for myofascial pain, which they also prescribe Gabapentin (and Pregabalin) for.

 

[Jamie01]

Now I’m back in the gabapentin! Well not exactly yet but it’s been prescribed for the next 6 weeks. I thought it was my spondylitis flaring up in my right SI joint but after 15 days of pain that gets unbearable times, I’ve been told it’s a herniated L-5 disk compressing nerves. Can’t work can’t surf can’t anything for 6 weeks.

I don’t like gabapentin…but I tried dilaudid last week and didn’t touch the nerve pain. I’m already on celecoxib for spondylitis and the emergency dr last week told me to take 4 grams of acetaminophen per day with the dilaudid and my celecoxib! lol I don’t really want to live like that for 6 weeks.

I can sleep a bit usually after I take a huge dab and started huge oral cbd doses a day ago. I was out of cbd the day I woke up like this so I think now I will store away a ton of CBD and probly kratom..which I was also not taking at the time so did not have any. For sure kratom has helped with this same pain in the past more than hydro morphone did. I was surprised that weed seems better for this pain than the opioids. The only thing they have given me so far for this that really helped was nitrous. They gave me nitrous at first because I was almost crying from the pain.

All I wanted to do when I got out of there was lay on the ground and inhale as much THC as I could. Quickly!

 

[Voidmatrix]

Pain is one of the main reasons I smoke cannabis daily. I tore some muscles in my left side low back and hip about a decade ago and now have degenerative disc disease, L5-S1, with some other discs being compressed as well. I am also on celecoxib, which helps some, but often not enough. One of the best things, aside from cannabis, is figuring out the right movements my body might need in the moment. For example, I sometimes need to stretch the left side, and when that is the remedy, scar tissue can be heard through my obliques and into my hips and low back. I click and pop everywhere.

So, cannabis and CBD as well as CBG help, as does heat and movement. A godsend is a pain cream made with cannabis and St. John's Wort. Actually puts a decent dent in the pain that lasts for a while.

I find hot baths and cold showers helpful in their own ways too.

One love

 

[Jamie01]

god damn L-5

Do you get the electrocution zapping down your leg into the foot as well Void? It goes crazy at night to the point where I feel like a truck has crushed my foot or something.

 

[northape]

god damn L-5

Oh my, so I'm not alone with this. I have similar issues, although I never got it diagnosed. My whole right side gets tight because of it, and I need constant stretching to feel fine. Cardio exercises help a lot, too. One needs good blood flow in the region in my experience. My eyesight on the right side has gotten worse through the years, and during every medicine session, I feel the tightness. Without cardio and weight training, I feel like a 70-year-old after a month or two, hehe. Rue helps relax the muscles, but most likely it's for when you feel relatively fine as it is. Good luck to all of us. Seems like it's a weak spot in the human body.

 

[TransistorBass]

I think its L4-L5 with me, though nothing docs or physio will do. Its a bit screwed up, while I function normally I can go through about twice weekly flare ups where my right leg and foot go a little more numb, back pain can happen but before the back pain whatever nerves are trapped mess with my guts to the point of feeling like I need a all night keeping me awake, at its worst I can stand for a pee and its honestly impossible to tell whether I'm gunna pee or should sit down just in case (There's never been a just in case btw, its just the annoying feelings).

Not usually any pain killers needed unless my back is really bad, got some Diazepam in the cupboard for such Spasm attacks but rarely need it.

Yoga and Exercise are good for me, if its not a Yoga, running or Weights night I always do a few Stretches before bed day in day out without fail.
Yoga and Exercise can also be bad for me and make my back hurt or screw my guts up, as does a heavy day's work.... So there's no F-ing hope for m really, just gotta keep doing what I'm doing and spread my Work and only do just the right amount of exercise each week so I don't overload myself. Its taken me a few years to figure this out.
Sometimes i go for weeks feeling totally fine, other times i can go for weeks not feeling fine!

I just carry on!

^^^All that^^^
Is why DMT made me cry, until I realised that was where the emotion was coming from and now the tears have pretty much stopped, but now I know there sometimes needs to be a bit of release.

Btw, Weed doesn't help for my back unless I'm more stoned than I want to be.

 

[northape]

mess with my guts to the point of feeling like I need a all night keeping me awake, at its worst I can stand for a pee and its honestly impossible to tell whether I'm gunna pee or should sit down just in case (There's never been a just in case btw, its just the annoying feelings).

Yes, somehow it tightens the gut, and one needs to be aware of it. Having a balanced diet with enough fiber makes bowel movements easier. I feel the best right after rue cleanses everything from the intestines or when fasting. It's related for sure.

Yoga and Exercise can also be bad for me and make my back hurt or screw my guts up

One needs to find the right movements. Like the usual sun salutations tend to flare up the issues for me. I tried to push through a few times and needed to take a break from all exercises for a while after. Even biking was a chore until I adjusted the saddle angle to fit my body.

 

[Jamie01]

Oh my, so I'm not alone with this. I have similar issues, although I never got it diagnosed. My whole right side gets tight because of it, and I need constant stretching to feel fine. Cardio exercises help a lot, too. One needs good blood flow in the region in my experience. My eyesight on the right side has gotten worse through the years, and during every medicine session, I feel the tightness. Without cardio and weight training, I feel like a 70-year-old after a month or two, hehe. Rue helps relax the muscles, but most likely it's for when you feel relatively fine as it is. Good luck to all of us. Seems like it's a weak spot in the human body.

You can probly do a simple test with a doctor to loosely assess what exactly is going on…because those symptoms could be from a disk issue, an issue with the si joint or piriformis syndrom trapping the nerve.

The reason I assume it’s always just my SI joint is because I also have bilateral sacroiliitis…much worse on the right
side with lesions and bone marrow oedema. That tends to cause more of a dull to intense ache in the joint and can go down the leg but not often dies it go past the knee into the foot..but it can.

There is a simple test they do by getting you to lay down and they lift your leg and move it to activate the pain and diagnose which of these things is going on(or more than one).

This is useful because the recovery is different for disk issues vs SI joint inflammation or piriformis syndrom.

Everything is so close in the pelvis I can’t tell now entirely which sensations are from a hypertonic pelvis from the ankylosing spondylitis and SI joint damage, and what all is from the disks…I have these weird sensations in my bowels too but again I have IBD from the spondylitis so I am always wondering like am I feeling pelvic muscles cramping or is my gut flaring? Luckily I’m not experiencing a loss of bladder or bowel control so I’m probly okay enough.

Anyway, maybe you can figure out what’s causing it for you…if not multiple issues.

 

[Jamie01]

Something like this

 

[northape]

We have free healthcare, and honestly it's a joke. The usual response from them is "take a paracetamol when needed." It became a kind of meme here. A few years after the injury, I went to a physiotherapist, and he said that it's scar tissue around the disc pushing on the nerve. I doubt that they will do much for me, so I self-medicate. Some years are better than others, but a proper lifestyle and exercise help the most. Maybe I'll visit a doctor and see what's up. There is no real trust in them, though. I saw how they treated my mom when she almost died, and it's beyond neglect. I trust only the ER, and they are pretty good at that. With any chronic illness, you'd be stuck at the diagnosis stage for years. I manage for now. Thank you

 

[Mitakuye Oyasin]

Cannabis is a godsend for dealing with pain and inflammation. I buy pure CBD and CBG and mix up my own pills with MCT oil, then vape Indica honey oil when I need some additional relief.

 

[Jamie01]

We have free healthcare, and honestly it's a joke. The usual response from them is "take a paracetamol when needed." It became a kind of meme here. A few years after the injury, I went to a physiotherapist, and he said that it's scar tissue around the disc pushing on the nerve. I doubt that they will do much for me, so I self-medicate. Some years are better than others, but a proper lifestyle and exercise help the most. Maybe I'll visit a doctor and see what's up. There is no real trust in them, though. I saw how they treated my mom when she almost died, and it's beyond neglect. I trust only the ER, and they are pretty good at that. With any chronic illness, you'd be stuck at the diagnosis stage for years. I manage for now. Thank you

Sounds exactly like our Canadian free medical system lol. Don’t get me wrong I’m glad it free but it took me years to get diagnosed with AS. I had doctors laugh at me telling me I was too young, or I can walk too well. I’ve dealt with a lot of stupid asshole doctors and visits to hospitals where they mostly did nothing for me. I honestly wish I could have sued one guy for not listening to me and not referring me or doing any MRI. If he just did his job it could have saved me a lot of trouble and I think if I was paying doctors myself I would have been diagnosed way faster. I’d also be in terrible medical debt possibly too so I’m not bashing universal health care. It has major problems though that many people coming from other systems don’t see from the outside.

I had to go in begging and almost crying to convince a doctor to order an MRI finally, which then took 9 months to get. This is because free healthcare. Then suddenly they are calling me wanting me to come in telling me I have AS like it’s the end of the world. To me I was thank god you idiots. I told you I have it, my mom has it and I have the antigen.

It’s a god damn nightmare and I don’t care how great it looks from the outside. Try and get real care here. They make you go so far out of your way for every step that most people give up and don’t even try to see a doctor here anymore unless they feel they are dying. It’s frustrating for sure. I don’t even have my own doctor I can go see.. just specialists you have to beg a random clinic to refer you too but so many people here are refused referrals. It’s nice when stuff is free but also when you need help you tend to actually need it and it’s nice to be believed.

 

[northape]

Cannabis is still a taboo topic in Scandinavia. These people are very conservative. It's strange when there is a lot of research and they praise themselves as a science-oriented society. You can find CBD legally, but it's so expensive that I can't afford it. Amanita would be easier to work with, but I don't respond well to that fungi. My mom uses an aloe-honey tincture for her back pain and it works so far. We went through a cycle of topical amanita tincture and she responded well, although there are enough side effects there to not use it again.

 

[northape]

Sounds exactly like our Canadian free medical system lol

Indeed. After reading your response, you could as well be living next door

 

[Jamie01]

Cannabis is still a taboo topic in Scandinavia. These people are very conservative. It's strange when there is a lot of research and they praise themselves as a science-oriented society. You can find CBD legally, but it's so expensive that I can't afford it. Amanita would be easier to work with, but I don't respond well to that fungi. My mom uses an aloe-honey tincture for her back pain and it works so far. We went through a cycle of topical amanita tincture and she responded well, although there are enough side effects there to not use it again.

CBD is so damn $$ here at dispensaries now. Luckily I’ve found one place with it in bulk and like 10x cheaper.

I don’t even bother with flower anymore either unless it’s my plants or stuff from my mom. The legal market is so $ it doesn’t cater to my frequently of medical use and esp not when I’m eating it daily as well. On the other hand bags of trim the dispensaries don’t want are almost free so I just make concentrates and then I spend almost nothing really. Without our legal market tho that wouldn’t be so easy.

I tried CBG and it’s great…a COX-2 inhibitor. Problem was I ate a whole $$ bag of it in one night last week lol. CBG is interesting tho and maybe useful for inflammation more so than CBD/THC.

I love how we have all this new stuff here but I dislike how they treat it like alcohol. I went into one dispensary and a guy was comparing cannabis strains to fine wine. Everything was priced like gold and the atmosphere/ presentation turned me off so much. What can ya do when they let the liquor board get involved with weed. Of course they would do that. lol

 

[northape]

Alcohol is sold through a government-controlled store chain here, and they could easily add cannabis to the mix. I'm not saying that it's a good solution, but it would work without many problems. Otherwise, you buy illegally from some local low-crime punk from the Middle East who thinks he's the new Pablo Escobar or something like that

Growing it yourself in the Nordic climate is a chore, and for any real yield, you need to grow indoors with good LEDs. Electricity prices are at an all-time high because of the geopolitical situation. My journey with cannabis ended a long time ago for a number of reasons.