Medical Marijuana

Here you can share your experiences with substances that are ingested, inhaled, or otherwise consumed for the purpose of relieving RLS, other than prescription medications. For example, herbal remedies, nutritional supplements, diet, kratom, and marijuana (for now) should be discussed here. Tell others of successes, failures, side effects, and any known research on these substances. [Posts on these subjects created prior to 2009 are in the Physical Treatments forum.]

Important: Posts and information in this section are based on personal experiences and recommendations; they should not be considered a substitute for the advice of a healthcare provider.
NatWest
Posts: 162
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:06 pm

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by NatWest »

Hi pambb, good luck with stocking up! I hope they'll be able to meet the demand, but sounds like we'll have to wait to find out. But it's definitely good that they're planning to expand. Keep us posted on how it goes! :)

Oozz
Posts: 217
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2017 8:09 pm

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by Oozz »

Wow, this is an incredible thread. Thank you everyone for sharing your knowledge.

I have been using edible MMJ for the past 3 nights w/a lot of success; however, when i wake up in the morning, i feel as though my sleep is not as restful. Is this what you are referring to as the hangover effect? I don't get headaches when waking up, i just feel fatigued.

I read that THC inhibits REM sleep, making your sleep less restorative. This could be the reason my sleep is not as good as it is naturally.

Rustsmith
Moderator
Posts: 6476
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:31 pm
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by Rustsmith »

Oozz, when I was using a bit too much MMJ, I would still feel just a bit groggy and unsteady first thing in the morning. When I cut back to my current level of 5mgTHC, I wake up feeling about like I did before my RLS became severe. The local dispensaries only sell the stronger strengths for medical purposes (they sell the lower strengths on the recreational side, but I have to pay extra taxes over there). So, I have been cutting up the gummies to get the dose that I need.
Steve

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
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.

Oozz
Posts: 217
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2017 8:09 pm

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by Oozz »

Got it. I'll have to dose down then.

Oozz
Posts: 217
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2017 8:09 pm

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by Oozz »

Worked much better last night. 4 nights with 6-8 hours.

NatWest
Posts: 162
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:06 pm

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by NatWest »

That’s great! Hope it continues for you. Please keep us posted. :)

Oozz
Posts: 217
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2017 8:09 pm

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by Oozz »

I thought I would provide another update. It has been three weeks since I started using edibles for RLS/WED and my quality of life has improved dramatically. I cannot recommend it enough. I hope this keeps up for the long-term.

badnights
Moderator
Posts: 6259
Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2009 4:20 pm
Location: Northwest Territories, Canada

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by badnights »

oozz, what is the THC:CBD ratio or what brand or type are they? and do they actually stop the movements, or the urge to move?
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
Click for info on WED/RLS AUGMENTATION & IRON
I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

Oozz
Posts: 217
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2017 8:09 pm

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by Oozz »

For me, it stops the urge to move. Its quite remarkable how effective it is. The caveat is that it is hard for me to fall sleep if the THC kicks in while I am awake. Therefore, I must fall sleep before it kicks in. Previously, this wasn't an issue, but is now because have had trouble fall asleep as of late.

Unfortunately, I don't have a medical marijuana card yet, so my thc:cbd ratio is unreliable. If i could guess, I would say 7-12mcg thc.

badnights
Moderator
Posts: 6259
Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2009 4:20 pm
Location: Northwest Territories, Canada

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by badnights »

I should try this again. Someday when I know how to access it, that is.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
Click for info on WED/RLS AUGMENTATION & IRON
I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

KySue43
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2018 10:53 am

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by KySue43 »

Unfortunately, I live in a backward state that will probably never legalize medical marijuana. So, I have to do illegal things. I've made marijuana-coconut oil and I plan to try it tonight. Read somewhere on here where someone had a peanut butter and cannabis sandwich at night before bed. However, I'm not sure how much to use and how long I need to take it before bed.
My sleep is getting worse and worse and I'm to the point where I'll try anything. I'm pretty sure that I'm in augmentation as I'm up to 2 mg of mirapex and my entire body is jerking and jumping.

stjohnh
Posts: 1284
Joined: Sun Feb 14, 2016 3:13 pm
Location: Palo Alto, California

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by stjohnh »

KySue,
welcome to the RLS Community. There are lots of very smart, empathetic and knowledgeable folks here so I'm sure you'll get lots of good information.

To directly answer your question I use 15mg THC edible approximately an hour and a half before bedtime. But it is only part of the way I treat my difficulty sleeping. I also use kratom and gabapentin before bedtime. I don't think there is any way of knowing how much of your homemade marijuana extract to use without just trying it.

On your current dose of mirapex you're almost certainly augmenting. Before you work too hard on addressing the Sleep issue you need to get either off or seriously reduce your dose of mirapex. This is not easy to do, it will help a lot if you have access to an opioid. Using the opioid for a week or two can make it much much much easier to get off the mirapax. Some commonly available opioids are Vicodin, hydrocodone, Oxycontin, or Percocet.
Blessings,
Holland

NatWest
Posts: 162
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:06 pm

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by NatWest »

Hi KySue,

I'm so sorry to hear of the trouble you are having, though, I think all of us who are posting on this topic can easily understand how you feel. In 3+ years, and a lot of sleepless nights, I've found that a 50-50m THC-CBD mixture, perhaps a little higher on the THC, does a pretty good job, but there are so many areas it doesn't seem to cover. My own rls seems to ramp up after 2:00 am and it can take me 3-4 hours to get back to sleep sometimes.

I agree with Holland, that getting off of Mirapex will be an important step, because it does sound like the augmentation is a large part of the problem at this stage. I started on Requip about 10 years ago, then augmentation forced me to keep changing, tapering off each one for about a week before starting something new. I found I could only get 2-3 years of relief from each drug, then augmentation would set in.

Only Requip and Mirapex worked really well (about 100% effective) on their own, and each was effective for about 2-3 years.

But it is important to get off of one drug before moving on to a new one, and that involves some withdrawal pain. I wish you the best, and hope you will check in and let us know how you're doing. There are a lot of helpful people here, and we'll do our best to answer your questions and offer suggestions, based on our own experiences and things we've learned from our own Medical Marijuana doctors and the helpful people who work in the dispensaries.

Peggy

Rustsmith
Moderator
Posts: 6476
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:31 pm
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by Rustsmith »

KySue, I think that most everyone here has been in your situation with respect to augmentation. The normally recommended maximum dose for Mirapex is 0.25 to 0.5mg when treating RLS. Higher doses are allowed for treating Parkinsons. So, you are currently taking almost 10 times more Mirapex than the current recommended max for RLS.

The fact that your doctor has increased your dose to 2mg is a pretty good indication that he/she is not very familiar with treating RLS. This could make getting off of Mirapex very difficult, which you need to do if you are going to improve your sleep. If you think that your doctor would be willing to learn, there are documents that we can point you toward that you can share with your doctor. If you don't think that your doctor would be flexible enough to learn from information that you provide him/her, then your only option will be to find another doctor who either already knows about how to treat augmentation or who is willing to learn. We can also provide you suggestions on how to go about finding one of these doctors if you want to go in that direction.

As for getting off of Mirapex, there are two ways to do it. Holland mentioned the "easy" way, which is by using an opioid medication to help you through the withdrawal process. The problem is that with the current "opioid crisis", many doctors are not willing to write these prescriptions anymore. The other, and much more difficult way, is to stop taking the Mirapex and go through the withdrawal process "cold turkey". But since you are currently taking 2mg, DO NOT suddenly stop taking it. You need to gradually reduce your dose down to about 0.5mg before actually stopping. Suddenly stopping from you current dose runs the risk of causing Dopamine Agonist Withdrawal Syndrome (DAWS), which can cause permanent damage.

If you end up reducing your dose and then stopping cold turkey from a lower dose, you can expect your sleep problems to get even worse than they are now during the time that you are reducing and stopping.

So, as you can see, it will be very important to either find a doctor who already knows you to treat augmentation or to educate your current doctor before your try it. DO NOT do this without help. If you try, you are almost guaranteed to fail and end up back on Mirapex and not better off than you are now.
Steve

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
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.

KySue43
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2018 10:53 am

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by KySue43 »

Thank you Holland, Peggy and Steve for all your information. I must admit that I’m extremely nervous about going off of mirapex as i’ve been on it for a long, long time. My doctor wanted to change my meducation but I almost refused since I’d not had good luck with requip. She was put out with me as I told her what was wrong with me and what I needed. Probably not smart thing to do.
Steve, please gear me toward the information that I need to give to my doctor about RLS, augmentation and withdrawal from mirapex and the need for an opioid to help a little.
I joined today and already you all are helping me. Thanks so much

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