I live in Southern Ontario, between Toronto and Hamilton, and was wondering if any members of this group living in this area know of a Doctor that has assisted in getting a medical card for legalized Marijuana or has prescribed Marijuana for RLS. My Doctor has said she will work with me to get a card if I can show her evidence of Marijuana working or being prescribed for RLS. She knows it is prescribed for other reasons but not RLS. I know it works for me, and have read it works for many others. Is there a study on Marijuana for RLS that I can take to her?
Maybe some one knows of an RLS group in this area that will be able to help me get a card.
Thanks Bill
Help with prescribed Marijuana
I don't know of any studies, but I will try and find out for you.. Perhaps you can appeal to her reasoning that MJ should should. Point out that it functions well as a pain killer sometimes as good as or better than opiates, so it makes sense that if opiates are the most successful treatment for RLS, that MJ should also be a good candidate..
As an aside.. are you currently medicated? Have you discussed opiates? Does she know they are one of the best treatments?
I can provide you with plenty of proof that opiates work great for RLS, if you ultimately can't get marijuana.. I also had to dig up documentation that Methadone had been used to treat RLS in order to convince my doctor to prescribe it..
Click the link in my signature for the Mayo Algorithm and print it out, give it a good read. If you doctor has never seen it, you should bring it to your next appointment and let her know that it comes from The Mayo Clinic in the USA and that it has very reputable information.. It doesn't list MJ, but it discusses opiates and other medications that have high success in treating RLS.
As an aside.. are you currently medicated? Have you discussed opiates? Does she know they are one of the best treatments?
I can provide you with plenty of proof that opiates work great for RLS, if you ultimately can't get marijuana.. I also had to dig up documentation that Methadone had been used to treat RLS in order to convince my doctor to prescribe it..
Click the link in my signature for the Mayo Algorithm and print it out, give it a good read. If you doctor has never seen it, you should bring it to your next appointment and let her know that it comes from The Mayo Clinic in the USA and that it has very reputable information.. It doesn't list MJ, but it discusses opiates and other medications that have high success in treating RLS.
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ViewsAskew
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Bluefin, I'd write to Dr Buchfurer - if anyone knows of what is out there and proven, he'd be the one to know it.
rlshelp.org
rlshelp.org
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
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mackjergens
- Posts: 406
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This info was found on www.rlshelp.org
Under Recrentional medication
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(4) Recreational Medication
Marijuana
This illegal drug seems to have very beneficial effects for RLS. There are no known medical studies on this drug for RLS as the drug is not available even for medical research. There have been many anecdotal reports on the effectiveness of this drug for RLS.
According to the reports from patients who have used marijuana, it often takes only a very small amount of the drug (often as little as 2 inhalations of a marijuana cigarette) to relieve RLS symptoms. The onset of action of this drug can be amazingly fast with complete symptom relief occurring within 2-3 minutes.
This drug should be used with caution as the long term effects of smoking marijuana are not fully known and, of course, since the drug is illegal, legal problems may occur if the user is caught by police.
Currently there is a drug called Marinol (dronabinol) that is FDA approved for the treatment of anorexia associated with weight loss in patients with AIDS and nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy in patients who have failed to respond adequately to conventional anti-nausea treatments. This drug contains delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-THC) which is the active ingredient of marijuana.
The effect of taking oral Marinol capsules is quite different from smoking marijuana. After oral administration, Marinol has an onset of action of approximately 0.5 to 1 hours and peak effect at 2 to 4 hours with a duration of action for psychoactive effects of 4 to 6 hours and does not cause the so called "high feeling". Marijuana, when smoked will onset within seconds to a few minutes with very high peak blood levels compared to the lower steady levels that onset slowly with Marinol.
Patients find that Marinol does not work as dramatically as smoking marijuana. Based on anecdotal clinical patient reports it appears that a minority of RLS sufferers may experience a modest benefit for their RLS symptoms with Marinol. This drug comes in 2.5, 5 and 10 mg tablets that can be taken up to 2-3 times per day with a maximum daily dose of 20 mg.
Under Recrentional medication
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(4) Recreational Medication
Marijuana
This illegal drug seems to have very beneficial effects for RLS. There are no known medical studies on this drug for RLS as the drug is not available even for medical research. There have been many anecdotal reports on the effectiveness of this drug for RLS.
According to the reports from patients who have used marijuana, it often takes only a very small amount of the drug (often as little as 2 inhalations of a marijuana cigarette) to relieve RLS symptoms. The onset of action of this drug can be amazingly fast with complete symptom relief occurring within 2-3 minutes.
This drug should be used with caution as the long term effects of smoking marijuana are not fully known and, of course, since the drug is illegal, legal problems may occur if the user is caught by police.
Currently there is a drug called Marinol (dronabinol) that is FDA approved for the treatment of anorexia associated with weight loss in patients with AIDS and nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy in patients who have failed to respond adequately to conventional anti-nausea treatments. This drug contains delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-THC) which is the active ingredient of marijuana.
The effect of taking oral Marinol capsules is quite different from smoking marijuana. After oral administration, Marinol has an onset of action of approximately 0.5 to 1 hours and peak effect at 2 to 4 hours with a duration of action for psychoactive effects of 4 to 6 hours and does not cause the so called "high feeling". Marijuana, when smoked will onset within seconds to a few minutes with very high peak blood levels compared to the lower steady levels that onset slowly with Marinol.
Patients find that Marinol does not work as dramatically as smoking marijuana. Based on anecdotal clinical patient reports it appears that a minority of RLS sufferers may experience a modest benefit for their RLS symptoms with Marinol. This drug comes in 2.5, 5 and 10 mg tablets that can be taken up to 2-3 times per day with a maximum daily dose of 20 mg.
I think you should print this out and show it to your doctor, and explain to her that Dr. B is one of the foremost experts in RLS we have in the USA. He has been working with RLS patients for something like close to 30 years now.
If he says there is a good chance marijuana will help patients, I think he should be given some credibility on the matter.
If he says there is a good chance marijuana will help patients, I think he should be given some credibility on the matter.
RX for MJ
Saw my neurologist this afternoon, to check in. He's the one who suggested Methadone to me. He's the one who sends me 3 months supply by mail. He's the one who raised it to 20 mg without a hassle. He's also the one who's retiring in the fall....aaarg! Before I left, I said: I'm also still taking a few puffs each night. He has absolutely no problem with that. He said: I've written prescriptions for some other patients to get it, but it was for people with MS, Parkinson's. He said apparently RLS doesn't qualify. We live in Colorado, which seems really liberal. Three times city voters have said to either de-criminalize it or stop enforcing the law. Yesterday, about 5,000 sat down in the civic center park and lit up-- I guess it was a national day for pot legalization or something. Nobody was arrested. I just think it can't be too long before it's legalized. Imagine trying to legislate a weed, especially one that can relieve people of pain and suffering.
I wish they would. It makes no sense to me that alcohol and THC are considered so differently under the law. I know they're very different drugs, but people use them for pretty much the same purposes recreationally, and it seems to me that if you have to make one of the two illegal, the wrong one is illegal right now.
I'm not holding my breath, though. Too many powerful people don't want it legalized, for various reasons that usually don't have much to do with making people comfortable and happy. It'll take quite an impetus to get the ball rolling over that hump.
I hear the feds have at least stopped barging in and arresting medical marijuana users in California. I guess that's a start, if it's true.
I'm not holding my breath, though. Too many powerful people don't want it legalized, for various reasons that usually don't have much to do with making people comfortable and happy. It'll take quite an impetus to get the ball rolling over that hump.
I hear the feds have at least stopped barging in and arresting medical marijuana users in California. I guess that's a start, if it's true.
Disclaimer: I often talk about what I do and what works for me, but these are specific to me and you should always consult a healthcare professional before trying these things yourself, lest you endanger your health or life.
laws
I don't know -- stranger things have happened (the Berlin Wall did come down...). There was an AP story in the paper last week that said it was all but legal in California.
I had a ridiculous conversation with two cops a few months ago as I was sitting in the park, eating a sandwich. They told me half of Denver was on dope, and they thought it should be a felony, even for a tiny bit!! I asked if they knew of anybody, anywhere, anytime who had gotten in a fight, hurt someone or themselves, after taking a few tokes. Well, no, they couldn't think of anyone. But we keep passing laws to tell them not to enforce the law, which apparently is easier than changing the law. If I could have gotten a prescription from my doc (and it really doesn't sound like that's too far off), I could go down to an emporium in Colorado Springs (of all places) and just pick out what I wanted. Someday soon, I hope.
I had a ridiculous conversation with two cops a few months ago as I was sitting in the park, eating a sandwich. They told me half of Denver was on dope, and they thought it should be a felony, even for a tiny bit!! I asked if they knew of anybody, anywhere, anytime who had gotten in a fight, hurt someone or themselves, after taking a few tokes. Well, no, they couldn't think of anyone. But we keep passing laws to tell them not to enforce the law, which apparently is easier than changing the law. If I could have gotten a prescription from my doc (and it really doesn't sound like that's too far off), I could go down to an emporium in Colorado Springs (of all places) and just pick out what I wanted. Someday soon, I hope.