Medical Marijuana Survey Finds Fibromyalgia Tops Lists of Conditions Improved

Resource Medical Marijuana Survey Finds Fibromyalgia Tops Lists of Conditions Improved 2015-12-14

Resource Type
Survey
Care by Design, California based medical marijuana supplier, recently completely a medical marijuana effectiveness survey in California.

The survey asked three questions:
  • Why they were taking CBD-rich cannabis
  • The ratio of CBD-to-THC they are using
  • The impact of the CBD-rich cannabis therapy on pain or discomfort, energy, mood, and overall well-being
Seven hundred and three (703) people responded and 621 survey reports were included in the analysis. This survey, however, only reported on the results from people using CBD-rich cannabis - the type of product that the survey producer sells. (That dropped the survey participant base down to 119 people.)

The largest percentage of patients were using CBD-rich cannabis to treat cancer related pain. Twenty-percent were taking it for mood disorders, patients taking it for inflammatory disorders such as arthritis and then pain disorders (15%) and central nervous system disorders (MS, Parkinsons, epilepsy).

Effectiveness

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Pain-Cannabis-Survey.jpg
[/fright]Pain
- Pain was probably the most effectively treated symptom. Most patients (72.6%) reported a decrease in pain or discomfort and all patients (100%) with headaches and migraines, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and spinal cord injury reported a decrease in pain or discomfort.

Well-Being - Almost 90% reported their overall sense of well-being was improved. People with fibromyalgia, headaches and migraines, PTSD and
anxiety reported the most improvement in general well-being. None of the surveyed patients with these diseases reported they did not benefit in some way from medical marijuana.

Mood - Sixty-four percent of all patients reported an improvement in mood.

Energy - People using CBD-rich marijuana to treat inflammation (64.0%), fibromyalgia (57.1%), and PTSD (55.6%) were the most likely to report increased energy. Patients with headaches or migraines were the most likely to report reduced energy levels (37.5%).

CBD vs THC levels

The idea that increased cannabinol/THC ratio's are better was not substantiated by the survey. Instead, the survey suggested that some conditions may respond differently than others to the amount of CBD present.
  • Lower levels of CBD/THC (2:1) were associated with greater levels of well-being
  • Somewhat higher levels (4:1) were associated with the greatest reductions in pain or increases in energy
  • Higher levels (8:1) worked best with people with central nervous system or mood disorders.
  • The highest levels (18:1) were most often associated with reductions in energy.
Conclusions

This the second survey this year to suggest that medical marijuana can be quite helpful in fibromyalgia and other disorders. The survey, however, employed rudimentary statistical analyses and did not employ validated questionnaires. It wasn't possible, for instance, to determine if the results were statistically significant. The ratio of CBD/THC used was self-reported as well. The survey was also produced by cannabis supply company and only concerned those using CBD-rich products.


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[/fleft]Still, the results were good. While it wasn't possible to determine the extent of the pain relief achieved side effects were low and anecdotal reports of medical marijuana's effectiveness abound. Few pain specialists would probably argue with the idea that this is a field that needs much more research.

FM Awareness recently posted this fibromyalgia success story using cannabis oil
"I started taking CBD Hemp Oil drops 3 weeks ago. For about a year I read everything I could on what to look for in an Oil and decided on Highland Pharms [based on the recommendation on FibroToday.com].

This Oil has changed my life, no exaggeration! My pain has gone from a 8-10 most of the time, to a 2-4. I am sleeping better, mood is greatly improved and my family can't believe how much better I am. I have had fibro for 25+ years and nothing has come close to helping me like this Oil.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping those of us who really had no hope for relief."

KweenPita on the Health Rising Forums experienced similar success.

It's been two weeks. My hands and feet no longer have the burning and prickling feeling. My body doesn't feel like I have fire ants crawling on it. I haven't had a TMJ incident in a few days. I have had to take Migraine medicine in a few days. I am not taking pain meds as often, and even forget to take my medicine during the day, when I used to watch the clock and count the minutes.

My muscles used to jump and spasm with meds, now only my shoulders and my neck are still giving me problems. In fact, my spine is my big hurt now. But you can't really count that because last night I had SEX! AND ENJOYED IT! No bladder pain! No aches! It was first in sooooo long!...

So it's working and I am happy. Really happy... because I think this might be answer to cutting down meds, getting better everyday and maybe as I heal and my poor body gets a break...ENERGY

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Cort
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