Cannabis: Is it Really the Best Fibromyalgia Treatment?

Fibromyalgia is a syndrome that frequently gets misunderstood. It is very commonly misdiagnosed, we cannot understand its causes and even the very fact that the pain does not appear to have any actual answer is a mystery to the entire medical world. Some doctors will go to such extents as to say that fibromyalgia is not even a real medical condition. But for you, for that someone you love and has been diagnosed with this terribly misunderstood syndrome and for other 5 million Americans of all ages, the pain is more real than anyone else can imagine.

Understanding Fibromyalgia: Is It Really Possible?

At the moment, we cannot understand fibromyalgia’s real nature. Its causes remain unknown even today, in the 21st century when so many means of medical exploration are available out there and when so much research has been done. There are, of course, certain factors medical researchers take into consideration, but beyond that they cannot put their finger on the precise cause that leads to the development of this syndrome.

These risk factors include genetics, stressful events (both at an emotional level and at a physical one), insomnia, chemical imbalances of the body and many other things. However, none of them can explain clearly why some people get fibromyalgia, why there are so many symptoms that come with it and why it is so different from one person to another.

the Food and Drug Administration in the United States of America has approved three types of drugs that are proven to be effective in treating fibromyalgia. These drugs are Lyrica, Cymbalta and Savella, all of which work with the neurotransmitters dealing with pain in the human body (serotonin, to be more exact). The first two were initially created to treat other medical conditions (such as nerve pain caused by diabetes, the shingles rashes, seizures, depression and anxiety), but the last one was created from the very beginning with the sole purpose of treating fibromyalgia.

Indeed, these drugs can be efficient in making patients feel better. But at the same time they can be quite tricky. (prescription or not, natural, alternative or traditional), you inform yourself on the side effects that can appear because some of them can make things worse for you.

Few topics are as much debated as cannabis and its legality. More recently, some states in the U.S. have legalized recreational marijuana too, but medical marijuana is now legal in 23 states (to which you could add DC). Even more than that, medical cannabis has been around for a long while.

It was the Chinese that first mentioned it in 2727 BC. Further on, even Romans and ancient Greeks knew of the properties this plant can have. Native Americans used it for spiritual purposes too. And, later on, in the 19th century, many legal medicines were based on cannabis.

It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that cannabis came under the magnifying glass as a potentially dangerous plant and, by the 1930s, all the American states had placed marijuana as illegal. Later on, in the 1990s, medical marijuana was back in legality in certain states. However, this did not come without a scandal, as the laws putting marijuana under “compassionate treatment” for the terminally ill and the laws legalizing it for medical use have been in contradiction with federal laws too.

You can buy medical cannabis only with a prescription and only in the states which allow this. With the prescription, you will get a special card that places you on the list of those who are allowed to buy marijuana and you will be able to purchase it from legal and authorized drugstores.

Medical marijuana has been proven to be efficient in alleviating all kinds of chronic pain.

There are people who are skeptical about the benefits medical marijuana can bring for patients with fibromyalgia or for patients with other diseases and medical conditions. According to these people, marijuana either does not show any actual benefit or its potential side effects are worse than the symptoms experienced by the patients. Among the major concerns the use of cannabis (medical or not) rises, the fact that it is considered to be addictive, to cause hallucinations, increased blood pressure, numbness, panic, lung problems and vomiting – all of which are considered to be unsafe for the patients.

Cannabis was rated best treatment against fibromyalgia

A new survey from the National Pain Foundation suggests medical marijuana may top currently available pharmaceuticals for treating fibromyalgia. 

The survey, conducted online, asked more than 1,300 patients with the chronic pain disorder to rate the effectiveness of treatments that they’ve tried. Medical marijuana was compared with the only three drugs approved by the FDA for fibromyalgia: Savella, Lyrica and Cymbalta.

Just 8% of patients that tried Cymbalta and 10% that tried Lyrica or Savella found the drugs to be “very effective” for managing symptoms of the disorder.

For each of the three drugs, over 60% of patients reported that it “does not help at all.”

On the other hand, 62% of patients who tried medical marijuana found it to be “very effective.” Another 33% said it “helps a little,” and only 5% felt that using cannabis for fibromyalgia “does not help at all.”

“I’ve found nothing that has worked for me, apart from marijuana,” explained one patient in the survey. “Nothing but medical marijuana has made the greatest dent in the pain and mental problems,” wrote another.

 Fibromyalgia is a disorder of the central nervous system that affects 2-4% of the population, predominately females. But while scientists still puzzle over the true cause of fibromyalgia, the latest findings shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

In a 2011 study conducted by Spanish researchers, patients who used cannabis showed improvements in pain, stiffness, relaxation and perception of well-being.

“The use of cannabis was associated with beneficial effects on some fibromyalgia symptoms,” noted the authors.

Likewise, a 2012 survey found that 1 in 8 Canadians living with fibromyalgia relies on marijuana to cope with their symptoms.

“We think that there’s probably a role for that class of compounds, the cannabinoids in general,” explains Dr. Mark Ware, associate professor of anesthesia at McGill University and co-author of the Canadian survey. “It’s just a question of working out how that’s going to be put into practice,” he adds.

An earlier study by Dr. Ware and his team revealed that nabilone, a pill containing marijuana’s active ingredient, THC, could help fibromyalgia sufferers sleep better. Nabilone has also been shown to reduce pain and improve quality of life scores in patients with the disorder.

Still, some patients prefer natural cannabis over synthetic versions, which are known to have more potent side effects.

“I have patients with a range of pain syndromes who have failed all their other treatments and for whom herbal cannabis has been the only reasonable option that they have that controls their symptoms,” says Dr. Ware.