• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

Marijuana and CFS research summary

Messages
1,055
I've eaten a hash brownie every night for 4years+ to help maintain my sleep. It stops me waking up for every REM portion of my sleep (which was getting a bit annoying to say the least) but it hasn't improved my function or condition in any other way.
 

GhostGum

Senior Member
Messages
316
Location
Vic, AU
Just as it relieves symptoms in many other serious conditions, epilepsy, Parkinson's, MS it is likely to also probably help in ME, probably even more so Fibro, but to what degree for each patient will probably vary. The big problem is access to medical grade cannabis, like the mostly CBD oils they use for epilepsy, or oils and quality edibles in general from the right plant genetics which are much more likely to help than some random gear off the street.

It is certainly worth a try if you are lucky to live in the right country/state. Just do some research and try to source some higher CBD oil/edibles, because higher THC stuff might ruin your experience with it and your day. If you do not have any access to it and are relying on acquaintance's it is probably going to be much more hit and miss.
 

Skippa

Anti-BS
Messages
841
Hmmm... I don't think a decrease in motivation will help me.

Which is what effect weed has on me any time I've tried it.

And weight gain from ordering 2 pizzas 'cos 1 just isn't enough when you're stoned...
 
Messages
1,055
Hmmm... I don't think a decrease in motivation will help me.

Which is what effect weed has on me any time I've tried it.

And weight gain from ordering 2 pizzas 'cos 1 just isn't enough when you're stoned...
I eat one small brownie when I take my night time meds so the effects only kick in when I'm asleep - the aim for me is not to wake from dreaming. I really hate it if I don't fall asleep on time after eating one because my thoughts get so paranoid - not healthy at all! It took a long time to get the dosage right, too much and lying awake 'rushing' isn't pleasant either.
I'm hoping to swap to a 'medical grade' strain to avoid the nasty side effects... I don't like feeling out of control, just desperately want to sleep!
Before I tried the brownie solution I was waking up at least 6 times a night and struggling to get back to sleep. Nothing the doctors offered was working.
I've got to admit I think a lot of these 'cannabis oil cure my cancer' stories strike me as woo/magical/hopeful thinking - there's a lot of stoners out there that are hoping to justify their habits when in reality they are self medicating emotional pain.
 

panckage

Senior Member
Messages
777
Location
Vancouver, BC
higher THC stuff might ruin your experience with it and your day
My experience mirrors the anecdotes from the article, that is sativa (cerebral high = THC) really helps me. I get crippling brain fog where I can't even watch TV or do pretty much anything. About the only thing I can do is lie on the couch and listen to music, but then I take 0.05 - 0.1g of marijuana in a vaporizer and my brain fog clears pretty good. I become able to do hobbies and some exercise. With marijuana it makes me functional around the house again. I think I'm often still pretty dizzy but I can still manage it. It is most definitely the THC effect that is helping here.
 

GhostGum

Senior Member
Messages
316
Location
Vic, AU
I've got to admit I think a lot of these 'cannabis oil cure my cancer' stories strike me as woo/magical/hopeful thinking - there's a lot of stoners out there that are hoping to justify their habits when in reality they are self medicating emotional pain.

Except that there are already studies and real evidence around to suggest it can help directly in tackling cancer, it combined with radiation for brain tumours is the more obvious one off the top of my head. Cancer is complicated and there is no cure all but the anecdotal and real evidence for some cancers should be of great interest, but of course to the institutions and industry, not so much.

Seriously if cannabis was never illegal and no one ever knew about it, it would be a massive revolution in medicine, name me anything ever that comes close to treating the array of ailments and symptoms we can already see that cannabis can. Ask yourself why the US government kept this mild recreational drug at Schedule 1 for so long, where scientific research is not allow, or ask yourself why scientific research is not allowed on anything period. The money that is involved here and threat to prescription drugs is massive, many which are very inadequate at treating serious conditions.

No offence but this stoner notion is the exact brainwashing and stereotypes that have helped maintained the status quo for decades. I hate sounding like some fanatic but people really need to clear their heads of the negative connotations that has been used for decades and really see what is going on here, and what has for so long. Here in Australia we actually have trials going on for children with epilepsy, but with a synthetic CBD. The conservatism and efforts to still prevent people from doing it themselves, while placing it in the hands of big pharma is a sad joke. Anyone can probably already access medical grade, CBD low THC genetics, from a single seed planted in your yard for nothing; lets see how long this will still remain illegal in most countries.

The prevention of what is happening with it in medicine now for so long is deplorable, the same thing is happening with psychedelics as well, they are coming back out of the wood works because of their ability to create rapid changes for different mental health issues and PTSD. Of course psychedelics have all been placed at Schedule 1 for decades as well, even though none are addictive, while meth, crack and heroine, not so bad apparently at Schedule 2. I hope the pattern is obvious enough here.

Edit: Sorry heroine is actually schedule 1, but cocaine/crack and meth schedule 2.
 
Last edited:
Messages
93
Location
PA/NJ
I've experimented with it in the past. I am very sensitive to it and only took a little bit at bedtime. It seemed to help and I went off most of my other sleep meds. However I ran out and had to back on all my sleep meds. I was thinking about driving to Colorado this spring And renting a house and staying for a couple of months to see if there were any dispensaries that would work with me but the logistics of it all seems to probably not be worth it. I'm on the east coast and the drive is close to 30 hours. that would KILLLLL me. And honestly, how much could it really help me? If I had proof it was highly beneficial I would move in a heartbeat. I have interest raw non psychoactive thc-a as well as thc and cbd-a. It seems pointless to get stuff off the street without knowing what the canabanoid profile is, where it came from. I'm not interested in funding the Mexican cartels or ingesting pesticides. Maybe one day it will be legal on the east-coast for those of us who are interested in experimenting.
 

meadowlark

Senior Member
Messages
241
Location
Toronto, Canada
I'm in Canada, where we have medical marijuana nationally, and after even morpiates failed to help me, I was given a prescription. The aim was to help me endure this migraine I've had every day since 1980 (and which I assume is related to my ME/CFS). It doesn't change the pain, but the buzz it creates does help me endure it. It's hard to describe--it's sort of like living in two parts of your body, the one with the agony and the one with the glow. On the other hand, marijuana does help the pain of my fibro and PEM--just a little, but I'll take any help that I can get.

CNN had a two-part documentary on medical marijuana that they re-run occasionally. It was very convincing on the issue of marijuana helping many conditions, including seizures in children.