News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis
A recent question on the MS News Today Facebook page generated some buzz about getting a buzz on to treat your multiple sclerosis (MS). The question was, “What helps you the most to manage your daily life with MS?” Many people with MS said the thing that helped them most was using cannabis. A survey in 2020 reported that nearly half of people with MS in the U.S. said they…Continue Reading
From what others have told me, it seems a fair number of people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) also live with a gun. When I wrote about this a few years ago, I discovered more of these folks than I expected. Additionally, many people with MS use some form of medical marijuana. So should a person using medical marijuana to help ease their MS symptoms be allowed to have a…Continue Reading
Will your doctor approve a medical marijuana (MMJ) card for you? Two of mine will and one won’t. The doctor who won’t, a primary care physician who works within a medical group, told me it’s the group’s policy. The problem, she explained, is that there are no guidelines. How do you know what to prescribe if you can’t determine the marijuana’s potency or understand how the balance between THC and…Continue Reading
People with MS who are using cannabis take heed. A research letter published in May in JAMA Network Open reports that calls to poison control centers about people using cannabis products have been increasing over the past several years. Public health officials are concerned. According to the letter, written by various health experts in the U.S., one problem is that a growing number of retail sales involve manufactured cannabis products…Continue Reading
Could a cannabis spray be just what the doctor ordered to treat our MS symptoms? I’m talking about Sativex (nabiximols), which has been developed as a treatment for moderate and severe MS spasticity. Sativex combines THC, the chef intoxicant in marijuana, with CBD, marijuana’s nonpsychoactive component. It’s sprayed under the tongue or inside the cheek several times a day. The treatment has been approved in several countries, including the U.K.…Continue Reading
If you’re using marijuana and have surgery scheduled, take heed. In Colorado, where medical marijuana was legalized in 2000 and recreational use was okayed in 2012, medical personnel are discovering that marijuana may complicate that surgery. The concern, according to an article in Kaiser Health News, is that marijuana use may “affect patients’ responses to anesthesia on the operating table” and “either help or hinder their symptoms afterward in the…Continue Reading
The other night in bed my calf muscles started cramping. Again. Usually, it’s just my left leg, but that night it was both. The pain wouldn’t ease with my usual stretching routine so I reached for my little bottle of cannabidiol (CBD) oil. I’ve been experimenting with CBD oil on and off for a few months. I rub it into my left calf muscle before bed and on many nights…Continue Reading
I’ve written before about medical marijuana (MMJ) and its use by those of us with MS. I’ve also written about how MS can affect a gun owner. This column is about MMJ, guns and the federal government. Thirty-one states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam have legalized the use of marijuana for medical use. From everything I’ve read, written by people with MS and healthcare professionals, medical marijuana can help alleviate…Continue Reading
The state where I live has legalized medical marijuana (MMJ) and it’s getting ready to open state-licensed marijuana dispensaries. So, I’ve been thinking about using MMJ to treat some of my MS symptoms. How can MMJ help MS patients? A 2012 study by researchers at the University of Plymouth in the U.K. reported improvement in the muscle spasms and pain of MS patients. There have been other reports of reduced…Continue Reading