Transverse Myelitis and Medical Marijuana; An Alternative Treatment
August 3, 20106 CommentsDisease Treatment
Chronic Pain,
cytomegalovirus,
diabetic neuropathy,
HSV,
ibuprofen,
insomnia,
multiple sclerosis,
neuropathic pain,
neuropathy,
NSAIDS,
phantom pain,
post herpetic neuralgia,
shingles,
spinal cord pain,
transverse myelitis,
varicella
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.
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
My mother is suffering from the transverse myelitis for previous 5 yrs and nw she is not able to even stand…for a long time v r continuing with the physiotherapy bt there is no improvemnt…
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I have been using Medical Marijuana for 2 year for symptoms from Transverse Myelitis! It helps ease some of the pain we all get from this disorder! God Bless!
My Wife has C.O.P.D. Bronchictasis,T.B.A.K.A.M.A. Fibromyalgia.She’s also on a nebulizer
Oxygen 24-7
Allergic tp Penicilllin,Sulfa, Rocephin,Rifampi andOxytro. Intolerant to Biaxin & Cipro
She also has a bad case of the shingles from 3/17/2011 very painful.
My question is: would medical Marijuana help her ? She’s in a lot pain from the shingles
I am sorry to hear that your wife has so many medical problems. The truth is you won’t know if it will help your wife until she tries it. What I can say is that I have treated a handful of patients with shingles that have done very well. In addition, patient with fibromyalgia seem to respond well to medical marijuana. She will certainly have to use a vaporizer or use it in an edible form. If you are local I would be happy to take care of her. If not if there is anything else I can do please let me know. Be blessed.