Last week I had a patient who suffered from Transverse Myelitis come in for a medical marijuana recommendation. She was the first patient that I have taken care of with this problem. However today I had a 61 year old women who came in with a 10 year history of Transverse Myelitis and she complained of a burning pain in her left leg that makes it extremely difficult for her to sleep. She also has complete numbness to pressure in that leg. It wasn’t until recently, after her sons begged her to try, that she found cannabis not only reduces the pain but allows her to sleep through the night! Amazing.

Today I evaluated a 54 y/o HIV+ male who suffered from diabetic peripheral neuropathy for medical marijuana as an alternative to Lyrica (pregabalin) He reported that he had developed the diabetes as a result of treatment with protease inhibitors for his HIV. He has been experiencing numbness and tingling in both his feet for the past 6 months as a result of the neuropathy (pain originating from damage to the nerves themselves). He stated that he wanted to stop taking the Lyrica because of a 50 lb weight gain associated with the medication (weight gain is a common side effect).

As medical director for Medical Cannabis of Southern California I often evaluate patients who suffer from neuropathic pain as a result of diabetes. Neuropathic pain means pain that is associated with direct pathology to the nerves themselves. This is in contrast to pain in a muscle whose signal is transported to the brain via the healthy nerves. In diabetes the elevated levels of sugar in the blood actually cause damage to the nerves leading to chronic pain. Cannabis has been shown in several studies to reduce the pain associated with various causes of neuropathic pain including HIV neuropathy.

Today I evaluated a 59 year old male patient who has been sober for the past 15 years. He still routinely takes Antabuse 250 mg which is a drug that will cause severe nausea and vomiting if he consumes alcohol. Unfortunately he developed permanent nerve damage to his right arm as a result of his Antabuse medication. So he only uses it in emergency situations.