Researchers from the USA have published a study showing how fibromyalgia patients who deal with symptoms including pain, fatigue, and anxiety are using cannabis.
A total of 1336 responses from patients at the specialist Integrative Medicine & Health at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota were analysed as part of the study. The average age of respondents was 48, and most were female.
Just under half (49.5%) of the respondents said they were using cannabis to help them with their fibromyalgia. The most common reason for doing so was to deal with pain, nearly all patients who responded (98.9%) said cannabis helped their pain symptoms.
Cannabis use was reported to help with other symptoms too, 96% said it helped with fatigue, 94% used it for stress, anxiety, and depression, and 94% also used cannabis for insomnia.
Using a standardised assessment, researchers discovered that using cannabis improved pain symptoms in patients by 82%. Improvements were also seen in other areas, “Most cannabis-using respondents reported that cannabis also improved symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression and of insomnia,” the study said.
Although cannabis use is shown here to be helpful for those with fibromyalgia, establishing the correct cannabis product, and the correct dosage is important, which is why scientists, in an editorial attached to the study, suggested that more research is needed in this area.
“The therapeutic effects of cannabis products are influenced by the ratio of THC to CBD, which should be tailored to the individual patient’s needs and treatment goals… Given that chronic pain constitutes the primary characteristic of FMS and recognizing the potential effectiveness of MC in pain management, cannabis is increasingly emerging as a viable treatment option for fibromyalgia,” said the article’s author.
Fibromyalgia is a long-term health condition that affects around 2.5 million people in the UK, according to The Institute of Applied Health Sciences at the University Of Aberdeen. Medical cannabis is available for the condition, but only through a private prescription, and only where two previous treatments have failed to relieve symptoms.
The study concluded that doctors and carers of fibromyalgia patients should increase their knowledge of using cannabis as a tool for symptom management to be able to offer a wider range of treatment options.
“Considering that cannabis is a popular choice among patients for managing fibromyalgia symptoms, clinicians should have adequate knowledge of cannabis when discussing therapeutic options for fibromyalgia with their patients,” researchers said.
This story first appeared on leafie, view here
Author: Kevin Dinneen
