Marijuana an Alternative Treatment

I've been researching alternative treatments for a while now as I am interested in finding treatments and medications that don't further damage our bodies. For example I have severe bone and joint damage due to long-term steroid use. Unfortunately I also have Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Class IV Nephritis which mean I am unable to take NSAID's and other anti-inflammatory drugs that would help alleviate the pain I am in daily. For pain relief I only have almost no options other than narcotic pain medications. The fact is the pain medications ease the pain but they do not take it away.  I've been researching things like acupuncture, massage, and water therapy to work in conjunction with the pain regime I'm on.  There is one drug that keeps coming up over and over in regards to pain control and that drug is  marijuana. There are quite a few physicians and patients who believe it can be useful  in treating Lupus. 

In researching it's use for pain control in Lupus one of the first things I've found is that there is ZERO information available on any of the official Lupus websites.  The second thing I've found is that there really isn't much  scientific information available on risks and benefits of using medical marijuana in the treating Lupus but there is information available on its use by cancer patients.  

 Here are some facts that are well known about many of the drugs used to treat Lupus. They can have very serious side effects and cause some of the following:

• Weight Gain
• Weight Loss
• Bone/joint damage
• Diabetes
• Kidney Disease
• Thinning and/or Hair Loss
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Vision Issues
• Cancer

 Marijuana has been used to help with some of these side effects in other illnesses such as cancer. Some of the reported positives are:

•  The effects from smoking marijuana are  felt as soon as THC enters the blood stream and can last up to 4 hours
• THC causes dopamine release which produces euphoria
• Increases appetite
• Can alleviate nausea
• Helps with pain

There are several drawbacks to smoking marijuana; loss of lung function has been reported as well as impairing short-term memory and loss of concentration and coordination. There is also the risk of the person using marijuana will be ostracized by those who do not agree with it's use. There are many who will still treat the drug and the user as doing something illegal despite the fact it may be legal to use in that state. Then the risk that I've read about is addiction and it being a "gateway" drug. In my opinion the narcotic pain medications many of us take have a risk of addiction as well as the risk of being a gateway to another drug. These are  synthetic-opioid based medications and it wouldn't be a huge jump to move on to the real thing. 

The use of marijuana is controversial even in states where the use of it medicinally is  legal. There doesn't seem to be any consensus among physicians and/or scientists as to the efficacy of the drug and even as  State Governments  legalize the use marijuana the Federal Government still considers it illegal.  Tetrahydrocannibol (THC) the central psychoactive chemical in marijuana seems to cause the most worry . There are growers who are now working on plants that do not have THC will control the pain and side effects just like the original marijuana. Would less or no THC be received better by the public, law enforcement, and government officials? That truly remains to be seen.  

 

What I am most interested in is whether or not it can help ease the burden of Lupus and other auto-immune diseases. We need some long term studies to see if it helps with some of the issues we have due to Lupus. If it is proven to be a true medicinal plant and available without the threat of arrest I'd be all for it. However it is important to remember that it isn't a cure all. It would still need to be taken in conjunction with our maintenance medications.  Just for the record it is currently not legal in my state (Texas) and I do not partake as it can result the loss of employment for me. I'd love to see other thoughts on the subject.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Related articles

Marijuana Isn't a Pain Killer - It's a Pain Distracter

Vaporizer makes using marijuana less harmful

Comments

[Julie Jaworski]

My husband has been saying to use marijuana since the day I was diagnosed in 2008. I would love to see the results of a double blind clinical trial!

[Shalonda Garcia]

Julie I would love to see a clinical trial as well as some of the contradictory explained and verified!

[Lauren Stearns]

I have also been re-searching the benifits of using medicinal marijuana & have found out some pretty interesting benifits when used for chronic illnesses such as Lupus, MS, Cancer, Gloccoma, aniety, depression, high blood pressure,increasing brain function ETC... I have also heard that although it is illegal in most states that some doctors can give you a card or paper stating your illness & that medicinal marijuana is part of your treatment method ... Now this paper or card doesn't necessarily make it legal in your state but from what I understand if you had some in your possetion it would prevent you from being arrested & more than likely if you job does drug screens you shouldn't be at risk for losing your job after showing them your card from your doctor ... I myself would love to see & perhaps even partake in a clinical trail of the benifits of using it ... besides dealing with chronic pain I also can go days without eating, sleep issues, high blood pressure, aniety, depression & a few other things ... I am also allergic to NSAIDs & I do feel that narcotic pain medications are much more dangerous to our bodies than marijuana!!! I have never heard of anyone becoming addicted to marijuana, or overdosing on it leading to death & there is no withdrawl when you stop using it ... Now opiods may ease pain for the moment but as you know they carry a very high risk of addiction, they are very harsh to the liver, kidneys & heart, there have been many that have overdosed, & when you have been on opiods for any length of time the withdrawl effects can be quite unbarable!!! I honsetly believe that if it was legal in my state I would try it bcI could probablly cut down or completely cut off quite a few of my daily meds which for me would be ideal ... I do however wish there was another effective way of using it other than smoking it ... Thank you for this very interesting post & please keep me posted on anything else you hear or find out about the use of medicinal marijuana ... Hope you have a very blessed & pain free new year xoxo

[Shalonda]

Hello Lauren,
Thank you for your comment! You've touched on quite a few diagnoses that I didn't get too and I thank you for that. I understand that putting it in edible things is another way to ingest it without dealing with the harshness of smoking. Eating in brownies and cookies or drinking it in tea would not harm your lungs like smoking it would.
There is also a pill available called Marinol, it's made with synthetic THC. I've heard both good and bad about the pill.