Multiple sclerosis as a painful disease.

[Alison Myrden]

These are what I live with daily....

 

Love and a squish,

 

 

Alison

xx

 

 

 

Int Rev Neurobiol. 2007;79:303-21.

 

Kenner M, Menon U, Elliott DG.

 

Center, Shreveport, Louisiana 71103, USA.

 

Pain is a common problem of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and

may be due to central/neuropathic or peripheral/somatic pathology. Rarely MS

may present with pain, or pain may herald an MS exacerbation, such as in

painful tonic spasms or Lhermitte's sign. In other patients, pain may become

chronic as a long-term sequela of damage to nerve root entry zones

(trigeminal neuralgia) or structures in central sensory pathways. Migraine

headache may develop as a consequence of MS, and headache can also be a side

effect of interferon treatment. The pathophysiology of pain in MS may be

linked to certain plaque locations which disrupt the spinothalamic and

quintothalamic pathways, abnormal impulses through motor axons, development

of an acquired channelopathy in affected nerves, or involve glial cell

inflammatory immune mechanisms. At this time, the treatment of pain in MS

employs the use of antiepileptic drugs, muscle relaxers/antispasmodic

agents, anti-inflammatory drugs, and nonpharmacological measures. Research

concerning cannabis-based treatments shows promising results, and substances

which block microglial or astrocytic involvement in pain processing are also

under investigation.

 

PMID: 17531847 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

 

 

Curr Drug Targets CNS Neurol Disord. 2004 Dec;3(6):507

Therapeutic potential of cannabinoids in trigeminal neuralgia.

Liang YC, Huang CC, Hsu KS.

 

Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung

University, Tainan 701, Taiwan.

 

Trigeminal neuralgia is a disorder of paroxysmal and severely disabling

facial pain and continues to be a real therapeutic challenge to the

clinicians. While the exact cause and pathology of this disorder is

uncertain, it is thought that trigeminal neuralgia caused by irritation of

the trigeminal nerve. This irritation results from damage due to the change

in the blood vessels, the presence of a tumor or other lesions that cause

the compression of the trigeminal root. The pain of trigeminal neuralgia is

characterized by unilateral pain attacks that start abruptly and last for

varying periods of time from minutes to hours. The quality of pain is

usually sharp, stabbing, lancinating, and burning. The attacks are initiated

by mild stimuli such as light touch of the skin, eating, chewing, washing

the face, brushing the teeth, and exposure to wind. Although antiepileptic

drug therapy may be beneficial in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, up

to one-half of the patients become refractory or intolerant to these

medications. At present there are few other effective drugs. In cases of

lacking effect after pharmacotherapy, surgical options may be considered.

Currently there is growing amount of evidence to suggest that the

psychoactive ingredient in cannabis and individual cannabinoids may be

effective in alleviating neuropathic pain and hyperalgesia. Evidence

suggests that cannabinoids may prove useful in pain modulation by inhibiting

neuronal transmission in pain pathways. Considering the pronounced

antinociceptive effects produced by cannabinoids, they may be a promising

therapeutic approach for the clinical management of trigeminal neuralgia.

 

PMID: 15578967 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[WantDaChronic]

damn alison, i feel real sorry for the amount of pain you are in and wish you the best of luck allieviating it

[Julzi]

Feel sorry that you havent got much response from anyone, but it might be because of the heavy text... Shit, I am a bit scared now.... I was diagnosed with ms a few years ago, and miraclously have no symptoms since that. All I can say is that I believe smoking weed really really helps keep it away I suppose you might already be doing that, but might be good to try some different strains and focus on organic bio stuff. natural herbs are pretty great as well

Wishing all the best

[Alison Myrden]

Thanx WantDaChronic. Thanx Julzi...

 

I don't want you to think I posted this for sympathy. Just thought you guys might wanna know...

 

I smoke different stains and some of the same ones regularly. ALL are organic. Remember my License is for two pounds of cannabis a month when I can grow it or get it from somewhere...

 

I have upped my pill intake by a third lately as I had to go up on more pharmaceuticals when I ran out of cannabis again recently.

I also take alot of natural therapies like vitamins, essential fatty acids (6000 mg of EFAMOL brand evening primrose oil and 2000 mg of salmon oil) AND anti-oxidants. ALL are imperative for good health with MS, including cannabis...

 

In my situation no surgeries will work for me as the pain travels all over my face and head too much. There is no one particular spot to cut... Docs said it would be at least three surgeries on one side of my face just to START! No thanx!

 

On the other hand, opiates (LOTS of dilaudid - 8 mg) and copious amounts of cannabis when I have it seems to do okay so far....

 

 

No worries that people haven't really seen this...if they're interested they will check if not - no worries... I post these things EVERYWHERE! ...

 

 

 

Ali

xx

[buddy.g]

Hi Alison

My wife suffers from Trigeminal neuralgia, she will always get it at least once a year sometimes more and it stays with her severely for about 3 days and then for about 1 month after but not as bad. (I know there are much more severe cases out there)

She went on those horrible epileptic tablets the first time and was bouncing off the walls she was so out of it. We found the after effects to be worse than the symtoms.

Whats dilaudid? What does it do? We haven't heard of that.

What we do use to combat it is "Tissue Salts", Ferr Phos, Mag Phos, Kali Phos . She will take 1 of these every day and if there is any sign of pain or just feels that sensation you get she ups it to 2 or 3 a day.

Since taking these tablets there has been a deffinate improvement in the frequency and severity of the condition. I can always tell when she has not taken them because her left eye closes up and her check bone swells up.(Classic sign of something wrong with her).

Any help would be much apprectated.

Cheers

Buddy.g

[WantDaChronic]

Whats dilaudid? What does it do? We haven't heard of that.

its a fairly strong opiate so im really sorry to read that alison is on them because taking opiates all the time is no way to live but in all fairness i believe that taking heaps of opiates would sure beat the kind of pain she'd be experiencing

[Alison Myrden]

Hi Alison

My wife suffers from Trigeminal neuralgia, she will always get it at least once a year sometimes more and it stays with her severely for about 3 days and then for about 1 month after but not as bad. (I know there are much more severe cases out there)

She went on those horrible epileptic tablets the first time and was bouncing off the walls she was so out of it. We found the after effects to be worse than the symtoms.

Whats dilaudid? What does it do? We haven't heard of that.

What we do use to combat it is "Tissue Salts", Ferr Phos, Mag Phos, Kali Phos . She will take 1 of these every day and if there is any sign of pain or just feels that sensation you get she ups it to 2 or 3 a day.

Since taking these tablets there has been a deffinate improvement in the frequency and severity of the condition. I can always tell when she has not taken them because her left eye closes up and her check bone swells up.(Classic sign of something wrong with her).

Any help would be much apprectated.

Cheers

Buddy.g

 

 

Hi Buddy. I'm so sorry to hear of your wife. It is awful at the best of times...

 

WantDaChronic is right. Dilaudid IS an opiate and I take up to 30 thirty - 8 mg Dilaudid everyday when the pain is REALLY bad... This is the strongest medication known in Canada and the U.S.

 

This medication and cannabis are the ONLY things that give me relief. THAT is why I o what I do. Mine is around the clock - 24 hours a day unless I smoke TONS of cannabis and take trmedous amounts of Dilaudid. No other medication in Canada or the US has worked for me without terrible side effects so far, but I'm NOT giving up. Smoking the proper strain of cannabis hrlps the most. When I have that, I can cut my intake of Dilaudid by two thirds.

 

Don't give up trying cannabis for her. Dr. Lester Grinspoon from Harvard University in the U.S and Dr. Ethan Russo also from the U.S. told me NEVER to give up using cannabis. I haven't and it is more bearable now than it was ten years ago....

 

Hope this helps...

 

To learn more go to http://www.themarijuanamission.com

 

Good luck.

 

Love and stuff,

 

 

Alison

xx

[buddy.g]

Smoking the proper strain of cannabis hrlps the most. When I have that, I can cut my intake of Dilaudid by two thirds.

 

Hi Alison, thanks for replying.

Could you name a few of the "Proper Strains" That have been helpfull for you.

and thanks for the link.

Cheers

Buddy.g

 

p.s. make sure you look into those tissue salts.

Edited November 10, 2007 by buddy.g

[Alison Myrden]

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you doll....Didn't see this until now...

 

The strains that help me the most are strains called William's Wonder, Freezeland , Chemo Grapefruit and most strains of Blueberry - all for the facial pain. A strain called RED Herijuana (which really helps with the other MS issues like fatigue) and William's Wonder are my favorite choices. Didn't know until many years after using William's Wonder that it was one of HIGHTIMES Top ten favorite strains! I can totally see why. Not a big yield, takes longer to grow, but potent and TOTALLY worth it....

 

Hope this helps...

 

 

Ali

xx