Out of the Rabbit Hole: CBD/THC Oil for Fibromyalgia

"Rabbit hole is a term used to refer to a bizarre, confusing,
or nonsensical situation or environment,
typically one from which it is difficult to extricate oneself." lexico.com

Those of us with Fibromyalgia (and those treating us or living with us) quickly come to understand that it is a bizarre, confusing, nonsensical journey.  I have pain where I am not hurt.  One day it'll hurt all on the left side of my body for no reason that I can identify and the next day it's completely on my right side.  I have energy one minute and feel like I'm wearing lead boots the next. I am so tired all day yet keep myself up and about until bedtime, and then at bedtime, I'm awake and clear-headed having no ability to fall asleep. 

We also learn that this bizarre journey is really one we must go on our own.  There is not a one size fits all treatment for Fibromyalgia Syndrom (FMS). Slowly and not at all straight forward, I am finding my way out of the confusing, dark tunnels and into the light of being able to manage my symptoms.

At the end of July 2019, I explained how I had gotten to the point of wanting to try medical marijuana to help me manage my FMS symptoms. I was just coming off of withdrawal from Cymbalta (one of the three FDA approved prescription drugs for treating FMS).  If you haven't read it, it would be good to read: Down the Rabbit Hole: Could Medical Marijuana Help? 

First Time

Each container of 10-10mg gummies
cost $16.

I have no affiliation or kickbacks for mentioning these products.  
I am writing about my experiences only.

Just after getting a Michigan Medical Marijuana Permit (under the category of chronic pain), I decided to go to a local dispensary. My research on Leafly.com was helpful; however, the dispensary didn't carry what I had thought would be the best to try as reviewed on their site. I knew I didn't want to smoke or vape.  So, I decided to go with Wana edibles (sour watermelon and sour blueberry).

I was nervous about going to this new world of a cannabis dispensary and didn't quite know what to expect.  However, my nerves were calmed by the professional environment and the friendly people who worked there.  I stressed that I didn't want to feel "high" nor did I want to sit stoned on the couch craving munchies (all stereotypical ideas I've gotten from movies, etc). They steered me towards the two above edibles, one for day time use and one to help me fall and stay asleep.  

That first day, I decided to heed all the warnings to try just a bit, so I cut the "gummy" into halves. The directions say: Start with a low dose of 5-10mg (cut in half for 5mg). Wait at least an hour to feel the effect before consuming more product. Around 2pm in the afternoon, I ate the sour watermelon hybrid of sativa and indica half piece. The hybrid is supposed to give a more balanced effect. I was hoping for less pain and clear-headed energy. One hour later and beyond, I felt little difference besides a bit of light-headedness.  

That night, I decided to take the sour blueberry which has indica strain (which helps with falling asleep).  Because of the lack of noticeable effects, I took 10mg (so a whole piece) around 9:30 pm (so 7 hours after the first 5mg).  From what I've researched, the effects of edibles stay in the system for 6-8 hours.  So, possibly, I didn't quite wait long enough for the other to be fully out of my system. Or, the indica THC just had more of an effect on me.

I did fall asleep in short order.  However, I woke up, around midnight (just about the time the THC would have been highest in my blood system), to a scary sensation.  I felt like I was going to forget to breathe.  It felt like I was just going to stop.  Also, time felt out of whack.  This disorienting feeling lasted for an hour or so and then I fell back to sleep. 

I hate feeling out of control.  So, I put the gummies away and haven't tried them again....yet.

Two Week Trial

At the beginning of February, I found the tincture I had also bought at that July hid in my nightstand drawer.  It was recommended by the person working at the dispensary as well as leafly.com: Mary's Remedy by Coltyn (CBD/THC 1:1 tincture) for pain relief and help with sleeping.

Mary’s 100mg CBD:100mg THC tincture creates the “entourage effect” and utilizes a unique terpene blend that has the potential to reduce inflammation and improve digestion. The Remedy 1:1 by Coltyn utilizes a graduated dropper for accurate dosing. Just 0.25mL constitutes a dose, and there are about 45 doses per bottle.

I took the .25mL sublingually (under the tongue) before bed for two weeks. I'll be honest, the taste seemed like castor oil meets olive oil, so I quickly learned to wash it down with water.

This resulted in a solid night of sleep each night (fell asleep fairly quickly and stayed asleep). Those of us with FMS and other chronic pain issues know that sleep can be one of the major things affected. As my physical therapist says, "Sleep is when the body heals." So, loss of sleep compounds issues.

I also noticed less pain during the morning times (amped up again in the afternoons) as well as generally clearer thinking.  I did notice that if I took an additional dose in the afternoon (say by 1pm), I ended up getting a bit groggy.  I didn't try that out on a consistent basis, which I plan to yet do.

Results from my Informal Experiment

After the two weeks, I decided to not take it and note what changes I had.  I ended up doing this for only three nights.  That's because I had three nights of little sleep.  I took it the fourth night and slept soundly again.

Positive:

• Sleeping soundly. (By taking .25ml of Mary's Remedy by Coltyn 1:1 at 9:30, I've been falling asleep about 10:30 and sleeping until 7:30. If I do wake up to pee, I have been able to roll back into bed and go to sleep.)
• My head seems to be clearer during the day.
• Less pain in the morning.
• My overall mood is lighter.

Negative:

• If I take it during the morning or afternoon, I tend to get groggy.  However, I didn't try this consistently yet to notice if it was those harder days I took the extra, so the fatigue, weakness, foggy brain were already there, or was it from the chemicals of the CBD/TCH reacting with my body's makeup?
• It costs $45 a bottle ($1.00 a dose).
• It's not readily available in my area.

I did run out of the Mary's Remedy by Coltyn, so I ended up getting a bottle of Mary's full spectrum CBD tincture (tastes a bit of cinnamon) and Mary's THC tincture (tastes lightly of lemon). Using the measuring droppers (the CBD tincture didn't have a measuring dropper so I traded it with the original bottle's dropper).  I ended up taking .25mL of each before bed and am finding the effects to be the same. I have not yet tried it during the day, nor in the past few days felt I needed to.

Mary’s concentrated tincture is an easy way to add CBD to your daily wellness routine. With organic full-spectrum hemp extract with naturally occurring cannabidiol and THC, nutrient-dense sweet almond oil, hormone-balancing myrrh and the warmth of cinnamon oil, this soothing blend helps provide physical and mental relief. The Remedy packs 250 servings into just a half-ounce bottle, and each drop contains a 2mg dose of CBD. (Nut allergy)

Free of synthetic additives, Mary’s highly concentrated 1000mg THC tincture is made with high-quality, full-spectrum THC extract and comes in a lemon-lime flavor. Sublingual delivery of THC is easy to use, discreet and convenient.
Only available in Michigan and California.

As I am not a doctor and at this point don't have a doctor's guidance on this (I've let all my doctors know I'm doing this but they haven't weighed in at all with any advice), this is a report for how using cannabis has effected my Fibromyalgia symptoms.

Here are a few of the resources that I've used to help in my choices:

• Safety and Efficacy of Medical Cannabis in Fibromyalgia

"Our data indicates that medical cannabis could be a promising therapeutic option for the treatment of fibromyalgia, especially for those who failed on standard pharmacological therapies." 

• Study Finds Cannabis May Be Suitable Treatment Option for Fibromyalgia

 "Medical cannabis appears to be a safe and effective alternative for the treatment of fibromyalgia symptoms. Standardization of treatment compounds and regimens are required." 

• How Much CBD Oil Should I Take?

"If you’re trying to treat a situation involving pain, like chronic back pain, chronic joint pain, or recovering from a chronic illness, you may need a good bit more CBD, and the thing to do is titrate your dose up. Start with a lower dose of 10 to 15 milligrams, and increase it from there."

• How Long Do Edibles Take to Kick In?

"When taking edibles for the first time, start with a small dose and work your way up to a dose that produces the desired effect."


What are your thoughts or experiences with using cannabis for managing Fibromyalgia symptoms?  I'm hoping now that cannabis has been legalized, that there will be more research about its uses as well as educated doctors for guidance. 

Thank you for visiting my blog today. 

I am committed to posting once a week on Fridays.  

However, as you know, my new normal means that sometimes I have to listen to my body and am not able to follow through as planned.

Thank you for your understanding.

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Breast Pain and Fibromyalgia

Ever-present breast pain isn't something that should be ignored.
It's taken me quite a while to even mention it. Partially,
because I've always had it and didn't think it was unusual and partially because, well, it's embarrassing to talk about.

Since developing breasts at 13 years old, they have hurt. I've mostly ignored it, however, until this past month when this pain became a nagging nuisance.

Breast pain is not something I've ever talked about with others except the time I got mastitis when breastfeeding and when I was weaning from breastfeeding.  That pain was fevered, swollen, and excruciating. 

About 10 years ago, I began to have localized, sharp pain in both of my armpits.  This type of pain was new and had me worried.  I brought it up to my OBGYN at the time.  It was time for my annual physical, so she set me up with a mammography appointment with directions to get close to the chest wall and the armpit.

Up On Tippy Toes

As you can imagine, being someone with tender, lumpy breasts makes going to have a mammogram especially daunting.  The technician, friendly but fierce,  took her job seriously. She had me disrobe to my waste (none of this leaving the hospital green kimono over one shoulder for modesty-sake). She asked for me to raise my right arm up onto the cold metal of the machine while she guided what little breast flesh I have onto the even colder bottom plate of the X-ray machine. To do this, I literally had to stand on my tippy-toes. She bragged, "I'm very good at getting as close to the chest wall as possible." With an uncomfortable laugh, I leaned in preparing for the paddle to be lowered, smashing my aching breast and pulling in as much of the skin from my underarm as possible.  This process, with slightly adjusted angles, was done a few more times on either side.

Correctly aligned chaturanga dandasana.

The great news was, my greatest fear was calmed.  The specialist my OBGYN had sent me to explained that I had tight muscles (we both surmised from my frequent and probably ill-aligned chaturanga dandasanas as I was heavily into fast-paced yoga at the time). I was given stretches for this area and sent on my way.

No Change

To this day, the pain has remained, despite the stretching. However, I now didn't' worry about it. My mammograms have been normal, so I just assumed this is how I am. Last year, I was told I had dense breasts and would be getting a more detailed mammogram from now on ( Tomosynthesis which takes more images in rapid slices to create a 3-D image). 

Why Do I have Sore Breasts?

During perimenopause, I began to use the Estrogen patch and take progesterone each night. I did mention my sore, lumpy breast tissue, but this seemed to be a result of hormone replacement.  However, I've been off from the patch for six months and am officially in post-menopause and the sore tissue remains. In addition, my ribs and sternum are now sore to the touch. 

This Monday, I went for a medical massage (I'm doing this every four weeks or so).  Claire did some semi-uncomfortable stretches, massaging the rib area and under my armpit and under my breasts.  She also did a bit of a rolling massage (this involves a bit of pulling up of the skin with thumb and pointer finger and rolling it in a direction). It wasn't pleasant, but it was bearable. She then showed me how to help the lymphatic system drain through gentle self-massage.  

Pain GONE! (For two days)

I was surprised to realize the next day, that I had absolutely no aching in my breasts and less pain in my ribs.  This lasted a couple of days and still is less than last week five days after the massage.  

FMS (Fibromyalgia Syndrome) Connection

And so, I've gone on a research binge on what might be happening. In a study  titled “Can mastalgia be another somatic symptom in fibromyalgia syndrome?” and published in the journal Clinics found that, "...coexistence of mastalgia and FMS is more frequent than previously estimated, suggesting that these two disorders could share some unknown common mechanisms in their etiopathogenesis. Additionally, mastalgia could be a part of central sensitivity syndrome and could be included among the somatic symptoms in the fibromyalgia criteria based on its high prevalence in patients with FMS. Therefore, patients with FMS should also be asked about the presence of mastalgia during routine examinations."  

Within the article explaining the study, the researchers state, "While mastalgia is a sign of an organic breast disease, it also has a possible psychological background that is not fully understood. In addition, mastalgia is known to be strongly associated with high-stress levels."

Shouldn't Be Surprised

I'm finding that the more I learn about FMS, the more I find that the issues I've been dealing with for most of my life are connected. And in some ways, this brings me peace and hope.  I feel that I am working on ONE thing (calming my nervous system through brain retraining) rather than putting out several different fires. 

The massage included in this video is close to the one my medical massage therapist suggested, although she told me to do it in the shower with a washcloth.  I've read using oils like the one suggested here or even coconut or olive oil is good.

Lymphatic Breast Massage

Taking Care of the Girls

Because I am post-menopausal, have dense, lumpy breast tissues with non-cyclic breast pain, I need to take extra care of my breasts. To do this, first, I'm going to talk about it with my doctors more regularly and share what I have learned. I will have the 3-D Mammogram done, yearly and continue to do self-breast exams.  To help with the pain, I will do the lymphatic breast massage, breathwork, and continue to get medical-massage.

Here are a few helpful resources I found as I did my research: 

• Lymphatic System (video of explanation)
• Who Can Benefit from Lymphatic Massage
• Breast Massage for Pain
• What is Scattered Fibroglandular Breast Tissue
• Women's Health: Mastalgia-Breast Heavy Pain
• Non-cyclic Breast Pain: Important Things To Know
• Fibromyalgia and Breast Pain
• Mayo Clinic: Breast Pain Overview

80% of all women experience some sort of breast pain. However, if you have fibromyalgia, the odds are that you have the non-cyclic breast pain that is present all the time. 

I'd love to hear from others that deal with this and what you have learned. 

Thank you for visiting my blog today. 

I am committing to posting once a week on Fridays.  

However, as you know, my new normal means that sometimes 

I have to listen to my body and am not able to follow through as planned.
Thank you for your understanding.

Click link Subscribe to Pain FULLY Living Weekly Posts by Email