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

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by rvjimzhr1 »

So much for vaping THC oil with the latest health issues in the news. I gave up vaping oil 2 weeks ago and am vaping the bud instead. Too bad as the oil cartridges were really doing the trick for me. I suspect they'll find that the problems are only related to 'bootleg' products coming from who knows where. There is all kinds of speculation from both users and our local weed stores about Vitamin E and other additives. Some weed stores are not concerned and others feel like I do........don't take the chance until the CDC figures it out. So we'll just have to wait and see and in the meantime I'm comfortable going back to the plant.

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

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by NatWest »

Thanks for the info. I haven’t tried vaping yet. All that smoke is intimidating!

QyX

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by QyX »

rvjimzhr1 wrote:So much for vaping THC oil with the latest health issues in the news. I gave up vaping oil 2 weeks ago and am vaping the bud instead. Too bad as the oil cartridges were really doing the trick for me. I suspect they'll find that the problems are only related to 'bootleg' products coming from who knows where. There is all kinds of speculation from both users and our local weed stores about Vitamin E and other additives. Some weed stores are not concerned and others feel like I do........don't take the chance until the CDC figures it out. So we'll just have to wait and see and in the meantime I'm comfortable going back to the plant.
Did you prefer vaping oil over buds?

I kinda like handling the buds and just looking at the plant material. I think it looks absolutely amazing and beautiful. After nothing really helped with my terrible insomnia finally Cannabis seems to do the trick. This is just unbelievable when you tried over 50 different drugs already ...

And it is always like magic when I look at the buds and think what they can do for me.

It is horrible that for most people in the world the access to such incredible treatment is impossible and heavily criminalised.

We only got medical Cannabis in Germany because patients who needed it for medical reasons went to court after the police took their plants away. Otherwise it would have taken another 20 years here. But just because a doctor can prescribe Cannabis does not mean they will do it.

Cannabis is regulated the same way as strong opioids (Morphine, Fentanyl etc.). If you want Cannabis from a doctor, you basically have to prove that nothing else helped and insurance currently over covers the costs when it is somehow related to either pain that can't be treated with opioids anymore or cancer related or just in general really really serious stuff. The average patient barely has any chance. They rather give you high potent opioids than Cannabis.

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

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by rvjimzhr1 »

QYX....I agree with you about the medical issues. In my state it seems pretty easy to get a script for MJ and, with that, a "card" from the State. For them it's all about $$. I think the gov't finally realized that people were gonna find a way to get weed and they were gonna use it, legal or not, so the State just gave in and decided to tax hell out of it. I'm not sure if our insurance companies pay anything....I know mine does not. I use the weed to supplement gabapentin when the gaba doesn't quite calm my rls. From there I began regular evening use for insomnia. The weed alone will not calm my legs though. My neurologist would not even consider low-dose opioids and would not prescribe weed. He is no longer around but neither is anyone else who seems to really understand rls.

I don't care to smoke anything having given up cigarettes nearly 40 years ago but vaping is much less harsh, particularly the oil. If our experts figure out that THC oil vape is fairly safe and they are able to chalk up this latest scare to bootleg/unregulated oil devices then I'll go back to it. I don't care about the bud and the oil is so much more convenient and only costs me about $30/month.

Jim

QyX

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by QyX »

Oh wow, this is horrible, that you can't get opioids. I got opioids only a few weeks after my diagnosis because my symptoms were extremely bad and I was in a overall poor condition because of the severe insomnia over many months. So after it was finally clear what I have (after I've been treated with the wrong drugs for 7 years at that point) my doctor wanted to do everything he can.

$ 30 / month is amazing. Because of laws and regulations 5 gram of Cannabis is about 100 EUR in Germany. It is absolutely ridiculous but when insurance agrees to cover the costs it will go down to only 10 EUR / gram and the doctor can write prescriptions for the pharmacy to produce oil extracts, too. In Germany Cannabis gets treated like any other prescription medication.

Opioids don't help 100% with the pain, even in combination with Cannabis and Oxcarbazepine I don't get 100% pain relief every day but I normally get up to 80% ... sometimes even 90 to 90% on a really good day. But opioids are just the best drug to calm your legs, 100% relief in that area. If you still have serious problems with getting your legs calmed, don't give up on finding a doctor who is willing to prescribe opioids.

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

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by NatWest »

I found something yesterday that seems to work very well, looking forward to seeing if it continues to do so. I had been using Critical Mass in a vapor pen because I couldn’t find anything else. It worked, but smoking makes me cough so much, I was kind of doing it as a last resort. Plus, it seemed to wear off in about 90 minutes, so I wasn’t getting much sleep. But yesterday I bought a 2 oz bottle of 100% THC tincture, and a second smaller bottle of 50/50 THC/CBD. The 100% THC worked really well, and it made me sleepy very quickly. Looking forward to seeing how it goes tonight. I got more sleep last night than I’ve had since June. I’m happy to hear others are finding things that work for them. Thanks for sharing.

wantok
Posts: 101
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2016 3:14 pm

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by wantok »

It is only a bit over two weeks but I have had a significant improvement of my sleep starting on progesterone (100 mg at night before bed). It makes me tired within an hour, so much so I have given up the marijuana (THC 1:1) that I was using to get to sleep. I still have been taking 3 droppers of THCA two hours before bed because I don't want to have PLMDs as I fall asleep. And I have to be careful about triggers. My problems started with menopause (so hormonal changes made sense or at least correlated with my sleep issues) and five years ago I went to a marijuana doctor and she said my sleep problems were caused by my progesterone loss. At that time, I had already tried topical bio-identical progesterone and had had terrible depression so I thought progesterone was out for me. Five years later, after reading old notes about that appointment -- and having been told by Stanford sleep doctors that I should be sleeping through my PLMDs -- and having cycled through dozens of meds including 5 or so opiates unsuccessfully -- I thought maybe there is another form of progesterone I could tolerate. Which, at least so far, seems to be true. Oral micronized bioidentical progesterone has caused some side effects, including daytime sedation and listlessness, but I can tolerate it so far. After the sedation methadone caused, this is nothing (and I would have tolerated that sedation if methadone hadn't caused terrible depression as well). Interesting (but unfortunately not so unusual) to me that I was the one to think of trying progesterone again in another form, not the other nine or so specialists I have seen during the last decade. I had said to them: "I lost my sleepy juice". Now I have it back. (Note on triggers: for me they are often hidden in food preparations/additives -- like emulsifiers, even "natural flavors" seem to be a culprit. It makes eating out difficult.)

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

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by NatWest »

Thank you so much for your post. I’m really happy to hear that you have found something that works for you. I have wondered if there might be a connection between some of the symptoms. I don’t know that my symptoms are the same, but I talked my doctor into giving me a prescription for hot flashes, Prempro, and it does help with the hot flashes, which were disruptive to my sleep. Don’t know if this is related, but might be. I appreciate your post.

XWelcome
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2018 8:06 am

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by XWelcome »

I live in Florida and was recently in Maryland and the subject came up about Medical Marijuana and it seems that it is very easy to get in Maryland for arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, insomnia and no problem to obtain. I talked to my doc in Florida and she said it was available but expensive and i might be able to get it for seizure disorder that I have. Do you know if they would approve it for RLS? Do you know if Medicare covers the cost. Nothing is working for me and I am desperate. I had a terrible problem with gabapentin and I am getting off under Neurologist’s supervision. I was feeling like a Zoombie all the time. I am feeling better but my RLS and PLM has gone through the roof. I use the Neupro Patch and CBD Oil. I haven’t slept in two days. I am trying to decide if i should try to get a marijuana card (I saw it and it was an actual card, my friend had it for rheumatoid arthritis and all the kids ( they are 50 and still kids to me) where saying cool hook me up. They were joking about everyone having one, could it me that easy? do different states have different rules? If anyone has a cardI would like to hear about the process and what costs a lot means.

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

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by Rustsmith »

The answer to your first question of whether they will approve medical marijuana for RLS varies from state to state as well as the doctor. Some states are still very restrictive and only allow it for specific conditions. Others have vague wording in the laws that provides wide discretion to the doctor. I live in Colorado and was approved. Thankfully the MJ doctor that I consulted was very familiar with RLS. The process for getting a card also varies from state to state. For me, it simply involved visiting a MJ doctor (not my own doctor) and then completing a few application documents online. Although recreational MJ is legal in Colorado, having a card allows you to be exempt from the substantial taxes of recreational MJ and it also allows you to buy more at each visit to the dispensary.

The answer to whether Medicare will cover the cost is an emphatic No. Marijuana is still illegal at the federal level and since Medicare is a federal program, marijuana is still illegal for them.

As for cost, it varies widely between products. I use a small amount of an edible product that is high in THC and enough to cover me for a month costs about $25. My wife uses a very high CBD tincture for her MS and a bottle with enough to cover her for a month costs about $200. And everything (doctor and purchases) currently has to be done in cash since banks will not process checks or credit cards for any business associated with marijuana.
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.

wantok
Posts: 101
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2016 3:14 pm

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by wantok »

I am guessing one thing is universal: whatever you get the card for doesn't impact what happens when you go to buy the marijuana. In other words, if you get the card for insomnia, it won't matter that you are wanting it to help another condition. The card doesn't say "only good for insomnia" or whatever. For me I had to realize I have two problems: not being sleepy AND PLMD/RLS. THC (or the psychoactive part helps with sleep) and for me, THCA (non-psychoactive) helps with PLMD. The THCA costs me about $100/month or more. Be sure to get product that is "full-spectrum"--that means all of the terpenes and healing components are in what you are purchasing. Also, I still have to be careful about triggers; if I eat or drink something that really sets off the PLMD, the THCA won't be as able to help. Be careful not to take too much psychoactive product and build up your dosage slowly.

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

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by NatWest »

Thanks! This is great info that I didn’t know. I will take these things into consideration next time I go shopping for mm.

yawny
Posts: 264
Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2015 4:20 pm

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by yawny »

Wantok, your form of RLS/PLMD seems very similar to mine. You mention using THCA successfully and that it’s tempermental because it easily degrades. Have you tried CBN (for anyone thinking I meant to type CBD, I didn’t :wink: )?

I haven’t tried just THCA and am wondering how it helps/controls your PLMD? Thanks.

wantok
Posts: 101
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2016 3:14 pm

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by wantok »

THCA is a miracle (almost always) for me. It's not that changeable--you need to keep it out of the sun, refrigerate if you can and be careful not to heat it up in a warm car, etc. Yes, I tried (expensive) CBN. Did nothing for me. But then, as we all know, everyone is different.

I use THCA full spectrum tincture. Took a dropper full subilngually last night when my legs start going off in the evening. Stopped it. Then, like it or not (and it does not taste all that good) I take 3 droppers full an hour or two before bed, and sublingual dropper full when I go to bed and every time I wake up during the night, whether or not I have PLMD or RLS. Waiting until it starts is not as effective.

As I said elsewhere, this has not changed my necessity to watch triggers; i.e., I cannot drink wine and have to watch my sugar and additives, limit caffeine.

wantok
Posts: 101
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2016 3:14 pm

Re: Medical Marijuana

Post by wantok »

One more thing: to repeat myself. I have had to address two problems: insomnia (not getting sleepy enough) AND PLMD/RLS. For me, progesterone makes me sleepy. I actually think I still have some leg movements during sleep but I sleep through them. I was using THC for sleepiness and it helped but was more difficult to work with (and possibly not as good for my sleep) than progesterone.

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