Transverse Myelitis is a disease that affects the spinal cord.   MRI’s demonstrate lesions in the spinal cord which cause pain in the areas of the body affected by the nerve root (or brach of nerves that leave that segment of the spinal cord).

There are many reasons that patients can develop injuries to their spinal cord.   The most common are a decrease of blood flow (acutel or chronic) which causes the affected area of the spinal cord to die.  Patients can also have inflammatory disorders such a SLE (lupus), Sjogrens Syndrome, Behcets Syndrome, Sarcoidosis, and other auto immune diseases that cause inflammation and damage to the spinal cord.  Patients can also have infections that damage the spinal cord.  Examples are epstein barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus, mycoplasma, influenza, measles, varicella,rubeola and mumps.    Herpes Simplex Virus and  herpes zoster (shingles) can also cause an acute infectious myelitis.

Regardless of the cause of the spinal cord damage, most patients experience sever pain and difficulties sleeping as a result.   This is where medical marijuana comes into play.   There has been plenty of research demonstrating marijuana’s ability to reduce pain associated with damage to the nerves (neuropathic pain).  Patients with HIV and Diabetic neuropathy have been studied at the UCSD Medical Cannabis Research Center.  All showed dramatic improvement in patients symptoms.

What my 61 year old patient was telling me about “getting my best night’s sleep in as long as I can remember” is fairly common.   I never want to set patients up for disappointment and tell them it will work for sure but I am always confident in cannabis’ ability to produce a sound nights sleep.   In addition it should also decrease the amount of other pain medications that patients require.  LESS VICODIN, LESS MOTRIN and LESS NEURONTIN etc.   This is a very good thing.

If you suffer from chronic pain or transverse myelitis and would like to speak to a doctor about using medical marijuana feel free to contact me anytime by calling 877-721-0047 or through our website at www.mcsocal.com

Be blessed,

Dr. Breen

Many treatment options for neuropathic pain range from medications to nerve blocks to TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation).  Because patients with neuropathic pain typically do not respond well to opiates (Percocet, Vicodin, Hydrocodone) there are other classes of drugs that are typically used.   Anticonvulsants such a gabapentin (neurontin), anti-depressants such as amitriptyline and corticosteroids such as prednisone are just three of many different drugs that patients typically try.  Most patients experience limited relief with this approach.  It is extremely important that the psychological effects of chronic pain are also addressed.

Many patients are unaware of the clinical research supporting the use of cannabis (marijuana) to treat neuropathic pain.  The Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the UCSD has completed three clinical research studies demonstrating the efficacy of cannabis in treating neuropathic pain.  In the first study by Dr. Donald Abrams (Cannabis for treatment of HIV associated peripheral neuropathy) demonstrated that cannabis reduced daily pain by 34% vs 17% with placebo.  52% of patients using cannabis experienced a 30% reduction in pain compared to 24% in the placebo group.   For more clinical trials please visit the CMCR website at www.cmcr.ucsd.edu

In addition to cannabis’s analgesic (pain reduction) properties it also can improve patients mood from its euphoric properties.   This is an extremely important component in the overall care of pain patients.  Cannabis also has a safety profile which is unprecedented when compared to other treatment modalities.   It is a fact that there has never been one documented overdose from using cannabis.  In addition it does not cause a physical addiction like many other pharmaceuticals.  It will improve a patients appetite, assist with falling and staying asleep and eliminate the nausea often caused by opiate analgesics.   Once patients are educated on the safety and efficacy of marijuana (cannabis) they will be more likely to give it a try.  In the majority of cases the benefits of trying it clearly outweigh the risks.

Lastly, patients do not have to smoke to get the immediate benefits of cannabis.  Vaporization is way to inhale cannabis without producing any smoke.  It is essentially smoke free.

For more information on how to determine if you may benefit from the medicinal use of cannabis please visit our website at www.mcsocal.com and pre-qualify for free online.  To schedule an appointment to meet with Dr. Breen simply call 877-721-0047.  We have three convenient office locations in Southern California (Long Beach, Irvine and Encinitas)

Western medicine has found many challenges in treating this type of pain and often patients with neuropathic pain have given up on ever living a pain free life.   They typically have concominant depression as a result of the daily pain that they suffer from.