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 »

Wow. Thank you very much for sharing your success story. I hope it continues. Can you give us any more details on the capsules? I’d love to check out our local dispensaries. This sounds much easier than the tinctures I am using.

Thanks, Peggy

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

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by Rustsmith »

My neurologist was surprised that the MM was working for the RLS. He was familiar with it's effect for insomnia but not for RLS. He was quite inquisitive about dosing, price, obtaining permits, etc so I hope that i've provided him with some education that might be helpful to some of his other patients.


Take a look at the paper in this discussion thread. It is very interesting and would be a useful thing to share with your doctor.

http://bb.rls.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=10388
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.

amandawolf9
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2019 7:14 pm

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by amandawolf9 »

badnights wrote:Do you have any other details on the variety, besides Indica? Is it pure Indica or a hybrid, if hybrid what's it called? Or any other details you might have access to, so others of us might be able to find the same thing.
Indica only strains are the best for RLS and other sleep issues. A hybrid is a mix of indica/sativa. Sativa's are usually more uplifting rather than sleep inducing. I could not use sativa's before bed. Any easy site to help identify what the strains are: https://www.leafly.com/ If you know the name of a strain just type in search box. You can also search for indica only strains.

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

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by NatWest »

Hi Everyone,

I have something new that I have heard about since day one, but didn’t know how to use it. RSO. Yesterday I had my annual appointment with the mm doctor, and he explained it to me. He told me it’s the most effective treatment he knows of. He said to get some organic coconut oil, heat up the amount you want, then add the RSO. It actually dissolves quickly and can then be stored as long as you want. I just happened to have several ‘sticks’ of RSO, so I followed these instructions and heated enough coconut oil to fill an empty tincture bottle, added the RSO then stirred for a couple of minutes, and poured it into the tincture bottle. I woke up every 2-3 hours, took another dose, and went right back to sleep. Not one second of rls all night.

I think I will make the next batch a little stronger, but I actually didn’t mind waking up when there was no rls. The doctor said that getting too much RSO isn’t usually a problem, so he said to go ahead and gradually increase the dose til I get the one that works for me. Wish someone had told me about the coconut oil in the beginning.

Hope this will be helpful to some of you.

Peggy

pinkynose
Posts: 77
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:58 pm

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by pinkynose »

Hi Peggy! So good to see the friendly people still here.
I’m interested in the RSO combo you just posted. Finally, my state is coming around and I read one of the dispensaries are caring it. So, could you please be s little more specific about amounts. I know you’re in the experimental phase but just an estimate would help.

My RLS has been really minimum due to the other stuff I take. Whenever I try to get off any of the pharma or even Kratom then RLS kicks in and I get discouraged.

Off topic, do you have any idea if RSO helps burning pain?
Thanks and I’m glad you’re doing well.
Carol

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

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by NatWest »

Hi Carol,

Yes, I am still here. I got the RSO from a guy here in Eugene who “manufactures” it. Ironically, he is the very first dealer I saw when I first got my license. Problem was, I didn’t know what to do with it. So I spent 4 years trying other things, and I do think there are other products that also work.

But my husband ran into Sean a week or so ago, and we got more info about how to use it. We bought a stick of RSO that was about 2/3” in diameter, and about 8+” long. I also bought a 10 oz bottle of organic coconut oil. We heated the oil and the RSO stick in the microwave, and they combined very smoothly. And I was told it will never separate. An added note, when I went to the medical marijuana clinic last month to renew my license, the doctor there also recommended RSO, and he’s the one who told me about the coconut oil.

Hope this is helpful! What I don’t really know is how much oil to consume for a dose. I have been taking a total of about 6-8 tinctures each night, starting about an hour before I go to bed, but I plan to work on the dosing.

Also, Oregon is working on making it legal to sell out of state, so that would be helpful, I think.

Let me know what you decide to do. Thanks, Peggy.

brossman
Posts: 27
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2019 4:20 pm

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by brossman »

With the help of Lyrica, I am starting to wean off pramipexole and Neupro because of augmentation and impulse control disorders. However, my starting dose of Lyrica (as I titrate up) definitely is not strong enough. I was up most of the night last night. I have some MM that is CBD dominant, 4:1 CBD:THC called remedy. I have not used any type of marijuana since the 1970's so I don't really know when is the best time to take it. I went to sleep right away from the Lyrica but woke after an hour with RLS. Should I have tried it then? This was around midnight. I was on my treadmill, stationary bike and doing stair walking for hours last night. Any hints about when to use MM for a first-time use would be greatly appreciated.

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

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by NatWest »

Hi, with what I’m using now, the hemp tincture, I take it around 11:00 pm, and it activates in about 15 minutes. And one dose is enough, but I know that it’s different for everyone. When I first started (when the prescriptions no longer worked) I was given something called Critical Mass in a vapor pen. It worked great for 2 years, then stopped. That was two years ago. I have struggled since then until about 3 1/2 weeks ago when I started using the hemp tincture, mentioned above. It works GREAT! I smoked mj in the 70s, too, and when I got my license in 2014, a person at the dispensary recommended Critical Mass and I thought I was set. Problem is, mj just keeps getting worse. So, if you’re just starting, and if you can find it, you might try it. The hemp tincture works so well, for me, that you might want to go straight to that. I’m starting my 4th week, and so far, one dose at bedtime lasts all night and all day. But, the one thing I do know is that we’re all different.

There’s also something called Rick Simpson Oil (RSO) that is highly recommended, even by the mm doctor I see, but it only worked for me about a week.

Hope some of this is helpful to you. Keep in touch and let me know how you’re doing, okay?

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

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by badnights »

brossman wrote:With the help of Lyrica, I am starting to wean off pramipexole and Neupro because of augmentation and impulse control disorders. However, my starting dose of Lyrica (as I titrate up) definitely is not strong enough. I was up most of the night last night. I have some MM that is CBD dominant, 4:1 CBD:THC called remedy. I have not used any type of marijuana since the 1970's so I don't really know when is the best time to take it. I went to sleep right away from the Lyrica but woke after an hour with RLS. Should I have tried it then? This was around midnight. I was on my treadmill, stationary bike and doing stair walking for hours last night. Any hints about when to use MM for a first-time use would be greatly appreciated.
You might have a hard time getting any cannabis product to control withdrawal symptoms from dopamine agonists. If you have fast mail delivery, you could order some kratom - depending on where you live - to get you thru the first two weeks. Red vein Borneo or any of the red strains are said to be sedating as well as symptom-relieving (use at night); and Maeng Da and any of the green or white strains are said to be alerting as well as symptom-relieving (use for daytime). Places to buy kratom, verified as good by various board users (compiled by me about a year ago):
So Cal: https://www.socalherbalremedies.com (search for speciosa, a tea)
Velvet Soul Naturals: https://www.velvetsoulnaturals.com/ (search for Mitragyna. Always finely ground and fresh)
Kat's Botanicals: https://katsbotanicals.com/
Valkyrie Botanicals: https://www.valkyriebotanicals.com/
Tea Time Botanicals: https://www.teatimebotanical.com/
Mystical Island: http://www.mysticislandkratoms.com/ (no one on the board has tried it but a number of people have heard on Reddit that it’s good)
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.

rvjimzhr1
Posts: 101
Joined: Thu Mar 16, 2017 7:46 pm
Location: Medford, OR

Re: Requip & Erectile Dysfunction ???

Post by rvjimzhr1 »

I'm not sure whether I should post this to another thread or not but here I am. It's been nearly a year since I've posted but during that time I've finally gotten my sleep problems under control.

I've been on gabapentin, 1200mg after dinner and then 600 more about 2 hours later. That last dose is usually within an hour or so of my bedtime. I've given up alcohol almost entirely in the evening though I'll have the occasional drink late afternoon or early evening. I've cut down on sweets, especially in the evening. My rls symptoms have lessened considerably and when I do have symptoms they are much milder now.

A year ago I started using CBD oil hoping for relief of arthritis pain, back pain and rls. For the entire year I dosed daily with my morning coffee and for about a 4 month period I also dosed in the evening with my last dose of gabapentin. I never felt that I was getting any benefits from the CBD oil and I gave it up recently.

Up until a year ago I had experimented with weed and found that smoking it would immediately eliminate rls symptoms. I don't like to smoke it so tried to vape it instead. That worked. Then I tried vaping oil and found that there was little or no relief when my symptoms were bad but that for mild symptoms oil vape works well. I tried vaping cbd oil with no relief at all so now do exclusively thc oil. Most times my symptoms will occur before I go to sleep for the night but occasionally symptoms will wake me up. Sometimes just getting up and going to my recliner will take care of the symptoms and I'll go back to bed in an hour or so. Other times a little vape will calm things but if not I vape the bud.

While I was 'getting a handle' on my rls, I still had problems with waking a couple of hours after going to sleep and then not being able to go back to sleep for sometimes several hours. I began vaping oil regularly late in my evening. I turn off the tv and read for about an hour before I want to try to sleep. When I doze then I go to bed and go to sleep fairly quickly. If I don't go to sleep right away then I get up, read some more until I doze and then try again. I finally arrived at where I am now.....vaping nightly, late within a couple of hours of bedtime. I am mellow every night and sometimes a little higher than other nights but I tend to start dozing about the same time each night and it is now unusual for me to wake after I go to sleep. Insomnia is unusual now. I'm getting 7-9 of sleep and waking gently to an alarm about 6 each morning. I love it! My sleep is better than it's been in 40 years. Yes, I'm vaping thc nightly which some might say is extreme. I probably would have said the same in years past but at 76 years of age and far too many years of sleep issues I am finally at peace.

The cost of my 'alternative meds' is about $30/month which is about how long a vape cartridge lasts me. For me, that is cheap for a regular, good nights sleep and suppression of occasional rls symptoms.

Life is very good around here these days!

Cheers!

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

Re: Requip & Erectile Dysfunction ???

Post by stjohnh »

rvjimzhr1 wrote:I'm not sure whether I should post this to another thread or not but here I am. It's been nearly a year since I've posted but during that time I've finally gotten my sleep problems under control.

...
Cheers!
Welcome back and thanks for the report. Yup, probably better on another thread, since you don't mention ED.

Your lack of improvement with CBD fits with most RLS patients' reports, I didn't find CBD helpful at all. Its the THC that counts. I'm happy you are doing well. If things start to go bad, there are developments in the past year you might consider:

RLS is caused by BID (Brain Iron Deficiency). Many people with RLS can have their symptoms markedly reduced or even eliminated with IV Iron treatments. This is the only treatment that gets at the basis for RLS (low brain iron). It has almost no side effects. The International Restless Legs Study Group has elevated IV Iron treatment to first line therapy. This means that IV Iron is one of the first treatments doctors should try, not one of the last (as has been done for many years). If you can get your doc to prescribe IV Iron treatment, that is the way you should go. Unfortunately this is fairly new information and most docs, even those that frequently treat RLS, are not aware of it. Note that the blood tests doctors usually do (ferritin test) to check for low iron only check for low BLOOD iron, there is no test available for checking for low BRAIN iron. Oral iron usually doesn't provide a high enough blood level increase to help, folks need IV Iron infusions. Here is a link to the recommendations:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... via%3Dihub
Blessings,
Holland

rvjimzhr1
Posts: 101
Joined: Thu Mar 16, 2017 7:46 pm
Location: Medford, OR

Re: Requip & Erectile Dysfunction ???

Post by rvjimzhr1 »

Very interesting Holland and thanks! In the past year the Neurologist I was seeing left the region and I'm unable to find another on up to date on RLS. I'll keep doing what I'm doing while I stay tuned in to current info.

Jim

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

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by badnights »

Hi again Jim! I'm pleased to hear you're sleeping so well.

What kind of bud or oil do you buy?
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.

rvjimzhr1
Posts: 101
Joined: Thu Mar 16, 2017 7:46 pm
Location: Medford, OR

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by rvjimzhr1 »

Beth, I haven't bought any bud in a long time and what I occasionally use is old and from a friend.....not sure the strain but whatever it is, it doesn't seem to cause any issues with insomnia. The vape oil I am using now is Jedi Kush (also called Jed-High Kush) , Indica, THC 66.21%. I'm on my 3rd Jedi cartridge. Mfg. Green Star Naturals.

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

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by NatWest »

Hi, I’ve recently started using a hemp product, after nearly two years of unsuccessful experimenting with different strains of mm. What I’m using is called RA HEMP Herbs Enlightened. It’s been working great for over a month now. It’s almost all cbd, with tiny percentages of CBC, CBG, and 1.11 mg of THC per serving. It activates in 15 minutes. After the prescription meds stopped working in 2014, I successfully used Critical Mass in a vapor pen for 2 years, then it disappeared from all local dispensaries. For the last 2 years I’ve been floundering around, pacing around for 6 or 7 hours every night. About 5 weeks ago my husband came home with this. I will warn you, it tastes horrible! The first time I tried it, I involuntarily spit it out, all over the wall! Now I put 2 tinctures into a cup with about a teaspoon or two of coffee, and swallow it in one swallow. I usually take it during the 11:00 news, and am asleep 15 minutes into Colbert’s monologue, and wake up around 7 am. I feel like a new person. Those of you who are still struggling, might give this a try. It doesn’t need to be coffee, I’m sure juice, tea, or any other liquid that can dull the taste will work. Peggy

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