Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Cannabis and Fybromyalgia


 Fybromyalgia is one of the most misunderstood syndrome of symptoms of the hyper-pain conditions. Previously known as Fibrositis, meaning inflammation of the connective tissues but today we know that this inflammation extends to the nerve fibres as well.

As a person living with Fybro-M I have realised that this condition manifests differently in almost every patient. I always like to look for the root causes of each patient’s condition and I have now learnt that stress is a 95% catalyst of this condition.

And this is precisely where fibromyalgia becomes ‘misunderstood’. Many people cannot sympathise with people who are in severe pain unless they can see the hole that you are bleeding out of! So a lot of people including doctors do not really believe that patients can have so much pain without any physical evidence of this pain being possible. Patients suffering from fibromyalgia are too often labelled as hypochondriacs, lazy people, attention seeking and so many other negative connotations for people simply suffering with an unseen pain

There is a perfectly explainable reason why some people’s bodies simply cannot endure any stress and in these cases this stress manifests as severe and ‘unexplained’ pain

The common denominator in patients with this condition is a Hypothalamus dysfunction.

The Hypothalamus is the part of the brain with the stress response, anxiety, emotions, and memory and also controls the Pituitary gland that is the main centre of hormone production in the body.

When there is a dysfunction of the hypothalamus the patient has very low serotonin and when serotonin is low this does not only manifest as depression. Low serotonin amplifies stress and magnifies pain and this is why people suffering from fibromyalgia have super low stress thresholds and there is nothing that conventional medicine can do about it without severe side effects of their medicines. .

Some other root causes include the Epstein-Barr virus that many patients also present with. It is generally very difficult to get rid of, but you can also try Essiac tea and colloidal silver. Cannabis is also a powerful antiviral medicine.

Other pathogens include bacterial infections, parasites and also heavy metal toxicity is a big one in people suffering with hyper-pain conditions like fibromyalgia and even rheumatoid arthritis.

Dehydration is a common problem in most of the population, but the reason why it is a root cause in this condition is because dehydration drastically depletes our Tryptophan that is the building block for our serotonin and melatonin, and this bears repetition, that when serotonin is low, stress is amplified and pain is magnified.

Serotonin and Melatonin also control our sleep-wake patterns and any imbalance will contribute to insomnia. And this is the worst symptom of this condition and the most important thing for people with Fybromyalgia is that they get enough sleep. The correct amount of water to consume per day is 35ml per kg body weight.


How does Cannabis help with fibromyalgia?

1.    Pain and Inflammation

Pain is the most debilitating symptom of Fybromyalgia mostly because it affects your mobility and mood. And as someone who is resistant to pharmaceutical drugs, I have found relief in Cannabis Medicine for just over 35 years now.

Cannabis works via the opioid and vanilloid receptors that are the pathway to pain healing in the body.

In my opinion Fybromyalgia is a “hyper-inflammatory” condition and therefore I believe that this root cause is the most dangerous because it can lead to tissue death and end organ damage. So the goal in my practice is to reduce the inflammation as much as possible by increasing anti-oxidant uptake. I like to combine Cannabis with high doses of Vitamin B and D.

Cannabis is a known anti-inflammatory and really helps when those “cytokine storms” occur as a result of the severe inflammation that is part of this condition and we call them “flares”.

2.    Nervous system calming

CBD calms the entire nervous system and here you can treat spasms, spasticity, seizures, cramps and Restless Legs Syndrome

3.    Neurogenesis and Neuro-protection

Cannabis assists the body to generate new brain cells while CBD offers protection against damage to brain cells. With this healing property we can treat brain fog, chronic fatigue syndrome, memory loss and neuropathy. Cannabis also offers neuro protection specifically for the hypothalamus and pituitary gland.

4.    Hormone regulation

It is amazing how often this is overlooked by doctors. Since the Endocannabinoid system regulates the endocrine system, Cannabis is extremely helpful in regulating our hormones in times of illness.

Cannabis can increase serotonin and melatonin and increase our ability to absorb Vitamin D. Cannabis can reduce the harmful effects of the stress hormones and also regulates our thyroid hormones.

And remember that when the body is low on serotonin then stress is amplified and pain is magnified.

5.    Gut- brain repair

Everyone suffering with fibromyalgia is also suffering from dysbiosis and most often these patients also have a leaky gut and while many doctors will disagree with me on this but I believe that everyone with a leaky gut also has a leaky brain. So I place huge emphasis on the gut-brain connection.

We must remember that 80% of our serotonin is found in our gut and that 80% of our nervous and immune system is also found in our gut. Cannabis is able to heal the delicate gut lining (one cell thick) and stimulate the correct bacterial growth required for optimal health.

I would also go so far as to say that everyone with fybromyalgia also has unbalanced vagus nerves and you look at my previous paper on how Cannabis helps to offer vagal nerve stimulation.

https://xhosastyles.blogspot.com/2023/02/how-does-cannabis-stimulate-vagus-nerves.html

6.    Hemp Seed Oil

It is a scientific fact that stress not only blocks the Endocannabinoid receptors but also vampirically feasts on our Vitamin B supplies. Many people are walking around with pins and needles in their hands and feet, suffering from terrible neuropathic pain in their feet, this is a sure sign of Vitamin B deficiency and you need to take action.

Vitamin B is responsible for the production of our red blood cells and this is why people who have fibromyalgia also suffer with chronic fatigue syndrome, brain fog and loss of memory. This is because there is a lack of oxygen in circulation due to the lack of the vital vitamin B.

It is known that hemp seed oil is the perfect form of nutrition for human beings as it is packed with all the vitamin B’s and other essential nutrients that we require and that are pretty hard to get from the modern diet that has no nutrient-density.

Hemp seed is also the perfect formulation of Omega fats 3, 6, and 9. Many people falsely believe that because our body produces omega 9 that it is not necessary to supplement. Well, I am here to tell you that this is not true because the body does not produce enough omega 9 to protect us from illness and environmental toxins. Omega 3, 6, and 9 protects us against oxidative stress that leads to cancer by increasing the reactive oxygen species that in turn increases anti-oxidant activity to destroy free-radicals.

In combination, omega 3, 6 and 9 also offer brain protection in particular for the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland. This is an excellent alternative for brain health for people who are allergic to fish oil.

I highly recommend that everyone who is suffering with any chronic illness add hemp seed oil to their daily regimen. I also recommend the teachings of Dr Rodger Murphree author of The Murphree Method as I consider him a specialist in the condition of Fibromyalgia.

Every illness is also accompanied by severe depression

In my opinion clinical depression is when the patient no longer feels hopeful about their future, and most people feel like this at least once a day, so you can imagine that a person who can find no relief for chronic round-the-clock excruciating pain might easily become as depressed as the patient facing cancer.

We must remember that serotonin is not only about our mood and feeling happy. This hormone is also responsible for our memory, hunger signals, body temperature, sexual behaviour, sleep as well as our pain response.

It is interesting to note that the name given to our main Endocannabinoid produced by everyone’s brain is Anandamide that is a Sanskrit word meaning “Internal Bliss” in other words “happiness”.

When a patient becomes ill and depressed their Anandamide is also severely depleted and this again not only affects the mood but also all of our vital bodily functions including sleep patterns.

There is only one plant that can give us any form of Anandamide supplement and that is the Cannabis plant because Anandamide is the human version of THC.

Anandamide controls our hormone production and release by balancing our serotonin, melatonin, sex hormones as well as the stress hormones, adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine. Anandamide also assists the body to take up more Vitamin D which is essential for so many functions but in particular for inflammation.

Anandamide is the most abundant neurotransmitter in the human body and when we are ill it is essential to supplement with Cannabis medicine

Cannabis calms the entire nervous system and interacts with our GABA receptors, the limbic and para-limbic systems as well as the vital HPA axis.

One of the main functions of the Endocannabinoid System is Neurogenesis and Neuro-Protection, but it also offers “Neuro-Diversity” that means that the Endocannabinoid System and the plant, takes into account that every human being has a completely unique constitution and that each system is beyond comparison  just like the fingerprints and iris of the eyes.

I would really encourage people suffering from Fybromyalgia to consider giving Cannabis a chance to offer all of her potential benefits to ease your pain and suffering.


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