“With hypnosis, we can help people modulate perceptions in ways that are therapeutically helpful”, David Spiegel
For those of us with chronic pain and/or a myriad of other distressing physical and psychological conditions the practice of ‘changing our brains’ through relaxation and exercise regimes can be overwhelming. Mindfulness meditation is one way that we can work with our minds to improve our daily lives, but it takes time and discipline.
What if there is a quicker way for therapists to teach us how to bring about relief from those challenging symptoms of fibromyalgia such as pain, and chronic fatigue? The medical community is finding that hypnosis can be effective in that regard, although to this point there is little if any evidence-based research on the effects of hypnosis for those of us with fibromyalgia. Nonetheless, it sounds promising.
Note the work of Drs. Herbert and David Spiegel: Adriana Barton in the Globe and Mail, June 12, 2017 (Section L) writes of the “growing scientific support for hypnosis”. She quotes Dr. David Spiegel’s description as a “very powerful means of changing the way we use our minds to control perception and our bodies”.
Hypnosis is being used in Belgium, Canada, and the US, among a host of other countries for a variety of conditions. Barton discusses the work of ” Dr. Leora Kutner, a pediatric psychologist who specializes in clinical hypnosis, a technique for leveraging the brain’s healing abilities during a trance state”.
Given the ways in which those of us with fibromyalgia, PTSD, and other chronic pain disorders rehash our anxiety-ridden experiences that are stored in our memories, it is hopeful that we could turn to an approach that might release us somewhat from the past. Most of us are hurting deep down in our psyches and if we can discover ways to relinquish some of these painful memories we could at least try to ‘change our brain’ through hypnosis.
The past is always with us. Sometimes we carry it easily but other times it drags around behind us. While those of us with fibromyalgia crave stability and certainty it is of course unrealistic. Change is inevitable, yet even small change can occur very rapidly and bring with it triggers that instigate a flare-up. It could be even as simple as a weather change or the excitement of a family gathering that can act as a trigger.
The question is how we manage these events in our daily lives. If hypnosis can help us with the challenges we face on a day-to-day basis as uncomfortable or stressful memories flood our minds, what better non-invasive way to try a new approach? It doesn’t appear to be hocus pocus. The jury is out with regard to whether or not it will be found to be effective for fibromyalgia.
” Early in life, I was visited by the bluebird of anxiety”,Woody Allen
Anxiety is the root cause of fibromyalgia, particularly at an early age, or even in the womb. So, how is one to overcome the early stages of this deep-seated emotional characteristic that those of us with fibromyalgia struggle with on a day-to-day basis?
Even more significant: how do we explain to others that the challenges of life-long anxiety cannot be overcome by those who lack empathy or compassion who suggest we just get on with life and stop complaining? It would seem as though I begin each new blog with a series of questions that aren’t easily answered.
It is fear that triggers the amygdala to release neurotransmitters. In turn, the hypothalamus dumps adrenaline which causes elevated heart rate, flushing, shallow breathing, and other physiological symptoms. Fear and anxiety are two sides of the same coin.
I can trace my early anxieties/ fear to anxious parenting, Catholic nuns who terrified me with thoughts of hell, a crisis of moving from a large city to a small town as an adolescent, and a 17-year-old who like others of the day, was used as a source of free labor in a diploma based nursing school, nursing in general, an early bad marriage, three C sections, a divorce, completing a Ph.D. as a single parent, being stalked, remarriage with a blended family of five teenagers, caring for elderly parents, and finally, a heart attack, followed by a hip replacement.
Now, of course, aging has reared its challenging head. Each new crisis, no matter the seriousness, triggers the amygdala. One might look at this list and believe it is not as horrific as the life of those who suffer greater atrocities. Nonetheless, there are two kinds of people- those who thrive in acute stress situations and those who don’t. I am of the latter kind of person, born as a highly sensitive person.
Beginning life as a high-energy person I am no longer that same woman. While age is certainly a factor I have not survived those life events as one who has much resilience to spare. Now, while I am fortunate with my wonderful, caregiving spouse, financially secure, and proud of the adult children and grandchildren, I still suffer from chronic fatigue and pain.
More than that I have general free-floating anxieties which are often unexplained. I am quick to fearfulness, and the glass is often half empty. I meditate, although not as consistently as I should and could. I ride my exercise bike regularly. I have regular massages and great friends.
However, I am very self-conscious about even mentioning any ailments to many, and specifically to a certain friend who suffers from what I call “boot-strap-ism”. She believes one should just get on with life and that aging is not a state of gloom and doom, mentioning old star performers as an example of embracing old age.
Perhaps I too should do the same, uncurl those bootstraps. After all, the alternative to old age is not all that desirable! I do try, but then a flare-up occurs, often for no reason that I can identify and I simply cannot pull myself away from anxiety. In all consciousness, I cannot feel sorry for myself. I am a privileged woman. I have not suffered the ravages of war, racism, extreme poverty, or homophobia.
As young women, we are trained for fear, but many of us become strong, fearless, resilient women as we age. Others struggle with a hyper-aroused central nervous system that produces a highly vigilant woman (or man) who is overly empathetic and lives with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and PTSD. We can’t judge another’s fears and anxieties. We can never know the struggles someone else goes through. We might think we do but never can. So, self-compassion is paramount, rather than self-criticism.
Now a new season is emerging. Storms, hurricanes, earthquakes, unsettling political climates, and threats of nuclear wars have most of us in a tizzy and a state of permanent anxiety. Shall those of us in a more calm country with so far none of the ravages of hurricanes and other current climate disasters (excepting for the fires on the west coast of Canada) relish in the beauty of the autumn leaves? I don’t know if the cup is half empty or half full. My bootstraps are tangled and it isn’t easy to lift myself up too high.
” To let go is to release the images and emotions, the grudges and fears, the clingings and disappointments of the past that bind our spirit”, Jack Kornfield
In the newspaper today there is an editorial written by Jane Brody titled “More specialists explore treating pain without drugs” (The Globe and Mail, L5, September 15, 2017). She cites the conditions that drug-free options for pain can help with, such as fibromyalgia, news of which was published last year by Richard L. Nahin in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Some of the tools that the research has shown to be effective (for such conditions as backache) are massage therapy, chiropractic manipulation, superficial heat, mindfulness meditation, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and yoga. They are among the many strategies I have tried at one point in my long journey, accompanied every day with fibromyalgia.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is intended to help people restructure their thoughts and let go. It has shown to be effective in changing the brain, although it cannot be said at this point to be highly evidence-based.
Of late I have used a small book that is intended for the same purposes. It is based upon the principle of “Logosynthesis”, a strategy to help those of us with chronic anxiety, which often leads to fibromyalgia. It is somewhat of a self-help book but based upon the premise that the brain is elastic and can change (neuroplasticity) by using a few key phrases.
While all of these approaches, such as ‘walking mindfulness’, yoga, Chi Gong, and Tai Chi, among a host of others may seem airy-fairy to some, they are not, in fact, simply feel-good strategies. Mild exercise of any sort immediately changes the neuropathways of the brain and replaces by movement thoughts that create angst, pain, and fatigue.
While logo synthesis is one mechanism that a person can employ, there are countless others that require discipline to let go of the trauma that was long ago created which resulted in a hyper-aroused central nervous system. Choosing one or more that fit your lifestyle helps to become the mistress of our own fate. Massive amounts of drugs that seem to proliferate on the shelves of those suffering from fibromyalgia are not the answer.
The strategies that do not cost anything are mindfulness, walking, Chi Gong, Tai Chi, CBT, and logosynthesis. Others which are comforting to those who do ‘body work’, such as chiropractic therapy, massage, and physiotherapy can be expensive and are not intended to directly change the brain, although they do have the benefit of relaxation. We must do what we can to heal ourselves from past trauma thoughts which resulted in anxiety and stress. We have to train ourselves to LET GO.
The news today is that Lady Gaga is hospitalized and has canceled performances because of fibromyalgia. We can all commiserate with her during this intense flare-up. More troubling is the fact that the kind of high-stress profession she is involved with does not allow much time for attention to the discipline required to calm the CNS, the culprit in fibromyalgia.
” What I want for my fans and for the world, for anyone who feels pain, is to lean into that pain and embrace it as much as they can and begin the healing process”, Lady Gaga
There has rarely been such public awareness of fibromyalgia as there is now that Lady Gaga has become public about her own suffering. While there are thousands of those of us who suffer from the debilitating pain and fatigue of this syndrome, many still believe it is malingering.
Unfortunately, it takes a public figure to allow the disbeliever to at least entertain the possibility that this condition, not a disease, but a dis-ease, is real. I am not a fan of pop stars and have not even seen Lady Gaga perform. In fact, I know little about her, but why does it take a widely known singer to convince the public that those of us with highly sensitive, over-stimulated central nervous systems live in a world encompassed by pain and a multitude of other ‘symptoms’?
We live in a world of the constant bombardment of our senses. All of us have experienced past trauma of some sort. Many can easily move on while others continue to take more chaos into our very being. Watching TV news, reading a newspaper, or internet news only heightens the sense of danger we feel for ourselves and others. It is rampant about death and tragedy and those of us with FMS and CFS have systems that can no longer absorb more trauma.
We can be called whiners, complainers, and acting victims but the reality is our pain is real. It is the result of prolonged anxiety such that the mind closes down and the body takes over. Generally, it stems from childhood trauma which could be abusive or unloving, but not necessarily so. It could also be the result of being extremely hypersensitive and traumas, not necessarily from childhood, have exacerbated our central nervous systems to a point of no return. The emotional trauma leads to real physical trauma.
What is to be done? Our minds need stillness, calm and quiet to heal our bodies. Living in the moment with compassion for our injured selves allows us to begin the healing process. I am struck today, September 22, 2017, by the cover picture and story in the Globe and Mail about the UN International Day of Peace. Ottawa citizens took part in mindfulness meditation for peace on Parliament Hill, led by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn with nearly 1,000 people participating.
Instead of reading about a blustering threat of killing an entire nation, earthquakes, flooding, hurricanes, hate crimes, fascism, Nazi groups, and race and gender injustices that add further psychic pain to our already over-burdened brain, I could see some semblance of hope. There IS some! But, for our own demons peace has to come from within. Medications, talk therapy, and support groups can help but we have to become experts in our own minds. We have to heal ourselves.
There is no cure for an already overburdened central nervous system, but we can learn to treat that anxious mind by being at peace living in the moment, finding comfort in perhaps odd ways that are unique to us, and living with joy that may be fleeting, but is there to call on when we need it. I have a piece of fabric that makes me smile when I look at it.
I imagine it is me looking in a mirror, trying to see into my brain all the garbled thoughts that make me anxious. I can “lean into it” as Lady Gaga suggests and sigh at that mind that hangs on to past trauma. What a fiasco… you gotta’ laugh…
I thought I knew it all: fibromyalgia is a constant hyper-arousal of the central nervous system and all the symptoms that evolve from that disorder. But recently I met with an internist who held my hand’s palms upward and told me she would have known I had fibromyalgia just by looking at my palms which are pink! I have pink palms, which is a sign of fibromyalgia and its impact on ‘my nerves. She also commented on my pink cheeks. I was stunned. This was new to me, that this is often a sign of fibromyalgia.
So back to google again to find out more about this phenomenon. My hands ache and will hurt more as the weather becomes colder, of that I have no doubt. They ached during the heat of the summer. I have to remember to keep moving and get up when my desire is to curl up on the sofa. I rub my hands constantly with cannabis cream.
I also have a carpal tunnel in both arms and hands that keeps me awake at night. Worse is that I know surgery for a carpel will reactivate my central nervous system and I will have massive flare-ups post-surgery. I don’t know why I never noticed that my palms and the back of my fingers were very pink! I did notice that my feet were unusually soft and smooth and hurt as much as my hands.
My hands and feet ache especially when there is a weather change. The skin of the hands and feet are noticeably red in many with fibromyalgia according to the researcher Dr. Frank Rice in his study published in Pain Medicinein August 2013. The source of my blog is taken from the internet- Bottomline Inc. Very basically the research team’s theory is based upon the physiology of how some blood flows directly from arteries into veins via arteriole-venule (AV) shunts.
These valves are open and close to control the passage of blood and respond to cues from the nervous systemin order to regulate body temperature. “The parts of the body where AV shunts are most plentiful are the cheeks, nose, soles of the feet and palms of the hands”. It is thought that if the shunts are unable to function well because of excessive nerve fibers the mismanaged blood flow could be the source of widespread muscle pain. In the study they found that the” AV shunts were four times larger and had roughly two to eight times as many nerve fibers as those in women without fibromyalgia”, using various technologies as measurement tools.
Dr. Rice writes: ” The AV shunts are sites where sensory nerve fibers are intermingled with nerve fibers of the sympathetic nervous system, which is activated by stress.” Aha! This feeds into my view that those of us with fibromyalgia who suffered from childhood trauma were and are highly sensitive children/adults, resulting finally in the central nervous system developing a state of constant hyper-arousal, easily activated by stress/ anxiety, even something as seemingly innocuous as weather changes. So, let me be clear. I don’t think these nerve endings – or too many nerve fibers are the CAUSE, rather they are the RESULT.
It seems to make perfect sense to me. My cheeks have always been very red and the soles of my feet so pink and tender that people who gave me pedicures, or massage therapists exclaimed they had never seen such smooth feet before. In fact, though, they are tender and I cannot wear sandals as my tender feet burn painfully upon contact with the soles of shoes.
I have watched when others have their feet “sandpapered” as they have pedicures, and winced as I could not imagine how that would affect me! There has never been a time when I didn’t have smooth feet or pink cheeks! Imagine! I learned just recently that these were signs of fibromyalgia. I can’t believe I never noticed how pink and smooth my palms are before this.
Now it has been 11 years of writing almost monthly blogs about fibromyalgia and attending to the stories about people who are ultra-sensitive, highly empathetic, anxious, unable to tolerate the pain of others, and have developed an overactive central nervous system which is known as fibromyalgia. I am today taking another route at the beginning of this lovely month of June.
Unlike Florence Nightingale who came back with her heavy lamp from the Crimea and collapsed with fibromyalgia, I am writing today about another kind of nurse, one who was every bit as brave as Florence Nightingale and survived until the ripe old age of 97, in her home town of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. She was the marvelous Sara Corning. It is unlikely she suffered from fibromyalgia so the question you might ask is about the contrast between the two.
I don’t have an answer to that question, but what I do know is that nurses have heavy burdens to bear and never more so than those who faced devastation caused by wars and massacres. Like military personnel who return from wars, some develop post–traumatic stress disorder (aka fibromyalgia), while others can carry on their lives in a more usual manner.
Now to the purpose of this blog today. As you know from previous writings, I blame my highly sensitive nervous system on childhood trauma and in particular the experiences I had as a student nurse in the mid to late 1950s. During those days we were used as a source of free labor to staff hospitals, often without any days off for three years, working for 12 hours shifts with a great deal of responsibility, ill-trained, learning through an apprenticeship system.
It was not just in small-town hospitals in Nova Scotia, but generally throughout Canada, the US, and other parts of the world. We were exploited and did not have within us the knowledge or experience to rebel, after all, we were but teenagers. Wanting to record those experiences of student nursing days, I began interviewing in a conversational way, women who had been student nurses up until the 1960s when the times began to change. The oral histories I had with women who had been nursing in the 1920s and 1930s are stored in the Nova Scotia Archives and I thought I was done with recording nursing history.
Now, in my old age, as a time to reminisce, I look back at the trauma inflicted upon me and my classmates, and once again decided to speak with women of my vintage about their experiences. The result is the book whose cover I shall show you. I have just received the copies fresh off the press, published by GlenMargaret Publishing, Nova Scotia.
So, where does this tie into Sara Corning you might ask? Well, for the first reason, she, like me was from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Secondly, we were both nurses. Finally, as a social activist all my life I deplored violence, massacres, genocide, exploitation, and social injustice. Therefore, in order to pay back society as a result of the privileges I have had as a nurse, I decided that I would donate the proceeds to the Sara Corning Society in Yarmouth so that her story would never be lost in that small town.
A statue will be relatively soon erected, a street already named for her, perhaps a scholarship for a student nurse, a bench…the ways are numerous. As statues of unsavory men are being torn down, what better way to honor women, and nurses than through statues? But even more so the Sara Corning Centre for Genocide Education in Toronto whose work is far-reaching will have an impact on future generations Please go to their website and read more about her.
As I write I know that there are many readers who are nurses and whose lives are filled with pain from the sights they have seen, the exhaustion that can be overwhelming, and the death and despair they see on a daily basis. Yet, they persevere as did Sara Corning. It isn’t a book about Sara but about others who came after her, nurses everywhere who devote their lives, perhaps not as dramatically as she did, but are heroines nonetheless.
SARA CORNING
(Synopsis inside the book cover)
It was in 1919 that this remarkable humanitarian nurse departed for the Near East, where she helped to rescue and care for thousands of orphans, victims of the 1915-1923 Armenian genocide and Greek massacres, including during the Greek-Turkish forced populations exchange of 1923.
So, the hip replacement happened almost three weeks ago. I had hoped that when I took my first step post-operatively I would not have pain. So many people told me that would happen. I should have known better. Of course, there is still pain. It is too soon for me to know the nature of it. Is it fibromyalgia? The scar? The hip itself? I thought I was the expert of my own body but it has now had an assault of a different nature. I believe I will have a handle on it in a few more weeks. For now, I am trying to live every day in a slower manner. At first, I rushed through walking, stopped using the walker too soon, and developed shin splints. It is my misfortune I am not patient and calm. I have learned even more about this highly motivated personality of mine. Are all of us with fibromyalgia this energetic type who suffers because we rush through life?
It is a beautiful summer day with a slight breeze. Time to heal.
I will write more in a few weeks, for now, breathe and slow down…
What is happiness? Sometimes I think I have been seeking it my entire life and it still often eludes me. I want to be happy. I have worked at it. I meditate, have done yoga and chi-gong, I even have colored in books (the newest craze), made quilts, and listened to joyful music, all said to enhance creativity which is thought to be integral to being happy.
When I was young and religious I prayed. It made me fearful, not happy. I have looked at amazing skies, October foliage, and a calm lake and enjoyed their beauty, but I do not often experience the peacefulness that happiness is said to bring. Is the feeling of being at peace the same as feeling happy? Some happiness experts say that if you smile often enough it will entice your brain to believe you are happy. I smile often when around others and many would consider me happy. Maybe, then, I do experience happiness, which differs from peacefulness. Perhaps it is so fleeting that it escapes my attention?
We all bear our scars. I have a close family member who has Multiple Sclerosis, is engaged in life, has fun-filled outings with friends, and is an upbeat, self-defined happy person. She does not lament about her lot in life but is able to find joy in her everyday activities in spite of living in a wheelchair. Has she been programmed in such a way that she can overcome difficulties that overwhelm others to the point of despair? She does have a strong support system of friends. Is that her secret? Or, is it that keeping busy prevents her from dwelling on her disabilities?
Dr. Edward Diener the psychologist known as “Dr. Happiness” has the view that those who have a strong support system of family and friends are the people who report being the happiest. However, Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky found that processes of social comparison, self-evaluation, and personal perception as well as genetics and circumstances comprise the gamut of happiness. Conversely, Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihaly, a psychologist, suggests that people need to find difficult activities they can do and do them more often, that is, doing meaningful work and keeping busy. It can be seen that the happiness experts vary in their suggestions as to what compromises or enhances happiness.
I have a wonderful support system of friends and family, and a loving spouse. There are many enjoyable moments, but is that happiness? I have anxious days and nights, filled with pain and low energy, with worry about my abilities and perhaps loss of independence. One suggestion I read about was to change the ways in which one walks, that is, to take purposive long strides, swinging one’s arms.
I can’t do this as my walking is difficult and painful, particularly following a hip replacement four months ago, and especially when I try to take long steps. As a short person, I have never walked that way. So? I should walk in a way that is awkward for me and smile often even when in pain from fibromyalgia and then I will be happier?
I am still confused about whether or not feeling peaceful is the same as being happy? Is happiness just a temporary state that which one can measure how much happiness s/he has in a day? Does the weather and time of year affect one as dramatically as some suggest?
This is an extraordinarily beautiful time of year where I live, but it will soon be grey November, a time when there is so much darkness and which is, for me, a sad time. Am I then living in the future and not enjoying the moment? October is a wonderful month. The weather is cooler, the trees are turning magnificent colors, it is Thanksgiving (for Canadians) as it is harvest time, plus the air is fresh. It is a time for reflection and hunkering down for the dismal November month with bare trees and cold harsh winter (not so for my Australian and New Zealand friends!).
Is it my fault I don’t consider myself an unusually happy person? Was it the past trauma I experienced or is it genetic? I have been reading a most extraordinary book by the historian Yuval Noah Harari Sapiens (2014). He writes:
“There’s no natural selection for happiness as such- a happy hermit’s genetic line will go extinct as the genes of a pair of anxious parents get carried on to the next generation”.
Well, as I end these musings today and watch the waning of lovely October, I realize I had both: a pair of anxious parents, and a great deal of past trauma. Together these two nature and nurture traits have produced me with a highly sensitive nervous system- this “central sensitization” which produces anxiety and difficulty with living in the present.
I will keep on with mindfulness meditation (although I know that MM is not intended to bring happiness but to pay attention, on purpose, to our thoughts and to live in the moment) and walk as much as I can, and even more importantly I will do the things that bring me happiness in spite of the challenges. Either way, I will have the pain so why not combine with those activities which are joyful? After all, happiness is fleeting and varies from minute to minute.
“evolution has molded us to be neither too miserable nor too happy, It enables us to enjoy a momentary rush of pleasant sensations, but these never last forever. Sooner or later they subside and give place to unpleasant sensations”.
“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in”, Leonard Cohen–Anthem
Cannabinophobia has resulted in a frenzy of political, medical, social, and cultural chaos for generations in spite of the fact that this herb has been around for 38 million years. Prohibition against cannabis usage has resulted in billions of dollars spent trying to stop its usage; hundreds of lives have been destroyed because of arrests, labeling them as criminals while governments have wasted their time trying to contain its widespread recreational use. But, it is medical marihuana specifically that I am the most interested in, and as Backes has written:
“The way to approach cannabis as a medicine is to do so cautiously, despite the fact that human beings have been using medicinal cannabis for millennia”. Physicians cannot prescribe but can authorize the use of cannabis. However, some physicians will not even do that in spite of the patient’s pain, and even worse in cases like multiple sclerosis where it has been shown to help with spasms, many will not even authorize it! For those of us with fibromyalgia and other chronic pain, as well as other conditions such as multiple sclerosis, waiting for the legalities to be sorted out means that we are expected to wait until the hysteria has subsided.
In Canada where I live the Liberal government has promised to legalize cannabis, but it is a slow process. It is likely to happen in 2017, the first of the G7 nations to do so. The government’s task force will release its report momentarily. Currently, in the US, eight states have legalized marihuana for medical and recreational purposes. With the recent US election, it is possible that all this progress may be rescinded. Only time will tell. Many want to be open-minded about the topic but it is far too often that their personal biases prevent reasonable discussions. While it is often said that religion, sex, and politics are taboo subjects to be avoided in polite company, I believe cannabis should be added to that list.
While I have many books and other reading material regarding marihuana (often spelled marijuana), The Pot Book remains among my favorite. Searching through the hundreds of internet sites, published articles, and books is an ominous task leaving the confused even more in a quandary. There is so little out there about the fibromyalgia pain, fatigue, and malaise, (among a host of other symptoms) and using cannabis for treatment, that it is a little wonder those of us with this syndrome wonder what should be done. Even this extensive book does not cover the topic and although most researchers write about chronic pain, the term fibromyalgia is not specifically used.
My view has been and remains- if alcohol, cigarettes, and prescription medications are available as a panacea for stress, anxiety, depression, and pain why not cannabis? If one can easily access cigarettes or imbibe alcohol for the social, recreational, and personal pleasure of relaxation why isn’t it the same for having a toke? Why is it legal to take a prescribed chemical such as valium (Diazepam) for example, but not an herb, like marihuana?
But, wait for a minute-an herb? I have long ago given up on herbs knowing that the myths associated with them are airy-fairy, woo, and snake oil, in fact, are unproven to be helpful. I can attest to their ineffectiveness. Why is this particular herb one which I consider to be beneficial for medicinal purposes? In fact, years ago I spent much money and time boiling Chinese herbs, not even realizing the heavy metals and other toxic substances in those concoctions and all this without any positive results.
Do people like to be deceived? Although I did not derive any benefit from them I still hoped I would. It was self-deception on my part as were the so-called ‘complimentary/alternative’ concoctions I wasted even more money on before giving upon them. They are not scientifically evidence-based. The ways in which we deceive ourselves are due to inherent biases. Most of these herbs are generally in the realm of pseudoscience. So here’s the question: why do I believe cannabis is helpful for the many ailments of fibromyalgia? Is the use of marihuana scientifically evidence-based? Are anecdotes enough for us to rely on? It is difficult to be unbiased/neutral and there are indeed unsupported assertions about marihuana, a highly contested issue.
When I first wrote about cannabinoids on this site 2019 all those years ago I explained that I had never tried cannabis for pain or fibromyalgia, nor for any other reason. I have never smoked a cigarette nor do I drink alcohol, the latter because it is too stimulating for me; it is not a moral issue. I avoid caffeinated coffee for that same reason. I simply don’t like the feeling of being out of control, my central nervous system cannot tolerate stimulants.
I have never taken a psychotropic drug, and other than Gabapentin and an occasional Tylenol I suffer through this unrelenting pain. I am not a martyr but until it was suggested I try medical marihuana I believed there wasn’t any other hope for relief and the anecdotes I was reading about cannabis seemed encouraging. When I read the hundreds of comments on these many blogs I have written over the years, I am in awe about how many mood-altering drugs people are taking for their emotional wellbeing. The pain of fibromyalgia is nonending. Why not try the unknown I thought. I was eager to try! I am considered a naïve user.
I confess to worrying I feel when people smoke cigarettes knowing that the evidence is clear, even written on cigarette packages, that smoking causes lung cancer. The tobacco that tobacco pickers made themselves from leaves burned the back of their throats. Over the years many have told me and written about the same sensations they incur after smoking cannabis, particularly from unknown sources, that is, there is more phlegm and inflammation in the respiratory system like burning, coughing, and wheezing from the heat of the smoke.
Tobacco wasn’t always regulated nor were the ingredients clearly stated on packages. If cannabis was regulated and ingredients stated before use would buyers become more cautious about from whom they were buying? Would they switch to vaporized, oils, sprays, suppositories, even the new market of pills, or edible means of taking marihuana for recreational reasons?
Or, is it the ritual, of preparing, and/or sharing a smoke that is enjoyable? Even more significant, the cost may be prohibitive for many forms of cannabis, so it is likely that those who are taking cannabis for pain are smoking. Costs must always be considered as many people with fibromyalgia have had to stop working due to their pain and cannot afford an oil or vapor and certainly not the spray. For those of us with fibromyalgia and sensitive to smoke we do have alternatives, hopefully, the costs will not be prohibitive.
In an article for CBC News, November 24, 2016, Opinion, Peter Thurley writes:” Stigma of the lazy pot-smoker hurts medical marijuana users” and the ways in which “they often give a nudge wink and say, “Lucky you, getting high on weed, eh?” He writes of the extractions (such as an oil) that “take much more plant matter to produce than other methods such as smoking or vaporizing”. The process results in higher costs.
In another CBC production, on November 25, 2016, Marketplace, alarms went off at the findings when the science-based study of four participants who were given weed to smoke to determine brain wave data after they had become high. But, it is this kind of scientific–based research that is sorely needed. Technology has allowed us to view the responses of our brains using fMRI and EEGs. We have to be able to make informed decisions. However, where is the brain research after a person has consumed a prescribed psychotropic ‘medication’?
In the last four years at one hospital in Denver, it was said that there was a big increase in the number of young clients with nausea, abdominal cramps, and vomiting due to cannabis. The data has shown that the current level of THC in weed is now 6 times more powerful than it was in the 1970s…and adolescent psychosis is an even more serious problem. It is speculated that using marihuana before the age of 25 is harmful to the brain. Yet, there is anecdotal evidence that cannabis is helpful in some cases of children with such conditions as epilepsy and certainly in cancer-related situations.
I am unhappy when I see someone inebriated or completely stoned. It is obvious that regularly drinking alcohol or toking toexcess is harmful for personal and societal reasons, as are other addictions. So now where am I on this controversial issue that has the general population in such a frenzy? Well, I have just become registered as a person who is legally allowed to use cannabis oil, taken orally for medical reasons. My fibromyalgia pain has increased tremendously since my hip replacement five months ago.
I have residual pain. Central sensitization has accelerated and flare-ups are more frequent with intense back pain from many degenerations of the lumbar spine. I have a choice: increase Gabapentin (and weight gain) or take an herb in the form of an oil. I chose the latter, despite still believing that most other herbs do not serve many purposes (although at least half of prescription drugs are plant-based, with added chemicals). I conclude after many years of reflecting and reading the science and hearing anecdotal testimonies that cannabinoid usage is helpful for chronic pain, and what is more chronic than fibromyalgia? It is not a cure but a potential panacea.
There are many internet sites, articles, and books that delve into the history of the herb, this Indian hemp plant cannabis, from which marihuana and hashish are made. For the most part, the history is written about how it was used for euphoria, or hemp itself was used in clothing and other products, rather than for medicinal/medical purposes. As a hallucinogen, it is said to have been used by the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung in 2727 B.C. (2737 B.C?, dates vary. See narconon.ca and/or deamuseum.org and/or livescience.com) who reported on its therapeutic use. Books and articles are plentiful about its history. “Cannabis is one of the oldest psychotropic drugs in continuous use.
Archaeologists have discovered it in digs in Asia that date to the Neolithic period around 4000BCE”, (Groopman, 2014). More ‘recently’, in 1839, a British doctor, William O’Shaughnessy wrote about its benefits and it became widespread for medical use, even prescribed to Queen Victoria for menstrual discomfort (Groopman, 2014).
Could this physician have imagined such a device as a gel pen filled with cannabis oil to apply locally? Or that there would be vaporizers, suppositories, oils, pills and other edibles, and even patches? That there were hundreds of slang words/terms one used that have evolved over the decades of marijuana usage? The spelling of marijuana or the terms used by users seems to men to be irrelevant so I will use them in various kinds of ways that are easiest for me to make a point.
The literature often appears to be completely two-sided without a middle ground of pros and cons about using the plant for mood-altering purposes in any form. Furthermore, whether or not it is effective for medicinal purposes has not been as carefully researched as prescription drugs. Much of the data is anecdotal. It is understandable since it is illegal in most countries. Now that several American states have legalized its use it is hoped that more participants will be willing to volunteer for larger studies without fear of repercussion, that is if the ‘new’ President does not undercut those states who have legalized it.
I am certain that Canada will lead the way in research as soon as the new year legalizes this ‘weed’. There is hardly a day that passes when the national paper ‘The Globe and Mail’ does not feature an article on marihuana. Who then will fund these studies? Will fibromyalgia sufferers be participants in these studies?
To be realistic Big Pharma might be unlikely to fund the research so the problem of funding remains an issue unless it can be shown to be profitable for the pharmaceutical companies. As a point of interest the study conducted by Dr. Mark Ware and colleagues of McGill University in Montreal in 2016, writes about the pharmaceutical development of cannabis patches for diabetic nerve pain and fibromyalgia! It is a small beginning for those of us with fibromyalgia and chronic pain. ‘Illegal’ home growers and ‘legal’ growers are of course somewhat leery about this new legalization, particularly if it is taken over by Big Pharma.
Marihuana is a social, political, and medical issue that is very complex. Growing a crop in one’s yard may be subject to criminality. The pharmaceutical companies may end up having complete control over the countries where it is legal.
The difficulties persist as most people are passionate about the topic and especially about government and/or Big Pharma’s control of the industry. Daniel LeBlanc wrote “Canada’s new legal marijuana regime is expected to feature a mishmash of provincial rules and a heavily regulated production system that will initially favor existing producers of medical cannabis, sources say” (The Globe and Mail, December 1, 2016).
It is obvious that with the issue of medical marihuana the ‘prescription’ is not precise. How is a person know which product will be effective for individual clients? How much THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and the ratio to CBD (the second most common cannabinoid produced by the cannabis plant) is appropriate for each person? Briefly stated THC will give a person a ‘buzz’ while CBD does not. CBD has medical benefits and can counteract THC lethargy and getting ‘high’. It is used for anxiety, and pain, as an anti-inflammatory, and antispasmodic. Finding the right combination is a slow process for each individual.
Neither side is willing to be open-minded to the other, no doubt myself included. An example might be a discussion about why a drug such as a valium for anxiety is socially acceptable and legally prescribed while smoking weed is considered illegal in most countries. The opposite position could be that valium has been scientifically shown to alter a mood and the dosage is tightly controlled, whereas medical marihuana without much THC may not change such conditions as anxiety, in fact, may even increase anxieties.
Those who are definitely in one camp or the other are in the majority while those who see both sides of the argument seem to be in the minority. The entire concept is mired in controversy with passion raging on both sides of the argument. Nonetheless, health care providers are left in a quandary as to whether or not medical marihuana is effective for pain or is thought to be because of the placebo effect. That is, those compounds without much THC may help with pain, for example, but may do little for underlying anxiety. Evidence-based research is not yet as abundant as it could be, and it is not black and white. When authorizing medical marihuana physicians must use caution and it is by trial and error that one finds the right script.
It is here that I confess my own bias against any kind of invasion of the mouth, throat, larynx, and lungs by smoke, having seen many cancer patients suffering as a result of inhaling cigarette smoke. (There are others who are not in favor of edibles as they have been concerned about gastric issues and the difficulties of dosage control.) In my view, the evidence supporting either position is not definitive so our own biases are not ‘provable’ (I use this word loosely).
Some suggest that cannabis can actually prevent lung cancer while others suggest it is instrumental in causing it! Those who are pro-smoking disagree with others who say that it is equally as dangerous as smoking cigarettes. In fact, it may be more deleterious as the smoke is held longer in the lungs by the inhaler.
While science-based evidence is badly needed it may or may not help the situation if one is not open to discussion about their own point of view. It is the old idea that if marihuana is legalized it will lead to addiction and the use of dangerous drugs. A casual alcohol drinker does not necessarily become an alcoholic so that issue is a moot point.
One would have thought that California, of all the perceived laid-back states, would have legalized pot but it wasn’t until November 8, 2016, with the ‘Adult Use of Marijuana Act’ that this state ended its prohibition for those over 21. They now have what they consider to be a sensible system that treats marijuana similarly to alcohol with regulations and taxing procedures. Patients with a state ID card for medical usage will not have to pay taxes. It should be fully implemented by 2018.
However, “the state would impose a 15-per-cent tax on retail sales of pot and additional taxes on growers” (Gary Mason, The Globe, and Mail, Monday, November 7, 2016 A7). “Legalization could generate more than $1-billion in tax revenue” (Mason). As marihuana becomes legalized in more and more countries, small growers will be penalized, and the greater the opportunities for Big Pharma. It follows that the underground ‘bootleggers’ will be forced to proceed illegally.
The complexity is overwhelming. I am at this point myself overwhelmed by the amount of information I have been exposed to over these many years. I could write reams of pages on the political issues involved with legalization, for example, the legalities of driving while taking medical marihuana, using it at work, or traveling to other countries as a medical user.
While there is promise regarding the patches I cannot imagine using them for the ‘pain all over’ which affects us on a daily basis! A peculiar sight indeed! I cannot yet attest to the efficacy of medical marihuana oil for fibromyalgia and specifically for myself– stay tuned.
Well, here I am in the second month of experimenting with this wondrous herb. It isn’t easy trying to find the right mixture of THC to CBD that fits me! Medical marijuana is not to be considered one size fits all. In fact, I am not sure I have the right times of day with the right amounts of each of the ingredients completely suited to me even now after two months. It has been trial and error.
But I have been aided by my family physician and the very well-informed members of the National Access Cannabis clinic. The choices are mine and it involves reading, understanding, and recording how each process is helping (or not). It is winter, cold, and depressing as I struggle with hip and back pains combined with fibromyalgia and sleep issues. My brain seems frozen in this ice block.
But I have a new kind of cannabis to use! My physiotherapist gave me a free sample of a topical cream of cannabis PANAG Topical A OTC which will be marketed this spring. I have just begun using it on various painful spots. It is too soon to tell if it will be helpful.
The times they are a’chang in’… time to lobby for universal acceptance in Western society of an herb that can help with chronic pain and multiple other symptoms. We need to reduce taking many chemicals whose long-term usage is dangerous to our kidneys and liver. Prohibition of cannabis is senseless, it is a safe herb, nonaddictive, and often effective for many conditions like fibromyalgia.
In the words of a famous, highly influential, and significant astronomer Carl Sagan:
The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug that helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity, and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world.
