Study says marijuana better at treating fibromyalgia than meds

On Behalf of | May 15, 2014 | Uncategorized

Many St. Louis residents have probably heard of the medical condition fibromyalgia before, but they may not know what it is. In many respects, it is quite apt that people are confused by what the condition is because fibromyalgia is mysterious by nature. For a long time, there were some people who thought it was a made up disease. But as the years have passed and the research into the condition has increased, much more is known about fibromyalgia now.

What we know is that fibromyalgia causes pain in the person who has it. Joint pain, muscle pain, pain in the tendons — really, the condition afflicts the whole body, and it can be very debilitating. People with fibromyalgia also report bouts with sleeplessness, depression and headaches.

So how do people deal with this mysterious condition? Well, the Food and Drug Administration has only approved three drugs to treat fibromyalgia: Cymbalta, Lyrica and Savella. People living with fibromyalgia say that these drugs are not very effective at treating their condition. In a study of people with fibromyalgia, 60 percent said that Cymbalta did not help. Lyrica’s rating was even worse, as 61 percent said the drug did nothing. And even worse still is Savella, which 68 percent of the participants said did not help with their fibromyalgia.

But do you know what did help? Marijuana.

62 percent of the people in the study who had tried cannabis said it helped with their fibromyalgia better than any of the drugs approved by the FDA.

Fibromyalgia can be so debilitating that it prevents people from working, or even retaining work — but Social Security disability can help someone living with this condition.

Source: National Pain Report, “Marijuana Rated Most Effective for Treating Fibromyalgia,” Pat Anson, April 21, 2014

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