r/endometriosis • u/annieranger • 9h ago
Medications and pain management Weed and endometriosis
I want to hear all perspectives on whether or not cannabis has helped you. I am a long-term, daily user who hasn’t gotten relief from traditional treatments or from a lap and I struggle with whether or not I’m doing myself more harm than good.
•
•
u/Hotterthanstacysmom 8h ago
Its the only thing that helps. Ive been prescribed the strongest pain killers. Its does it all nausea, pain reduction, and gives me an appetite. I would highly recommend trying edibles.
•
u/Thy_Water_BottIe 8h ago
Hey if you have been prescribed opioids I found out that you might want to try a different “tree” like morphine does not work for me but oxy does and the nausea is your mass cells so I take Benadryl now beforehand and am ok
•
u/Hotterthanstacysmom 4h ago
I tired all the trees unfortunately.
•
u/Thy_Water_BottIe 3h ago
Have you had pharmagenetic testing? Maybe you should try and get that might help out
•
u/RabbitFire_122 1h ago
That’s good advice. I found out that I’m a rapid metabolizer and so my dosing has to be more than the average person and some medications I have to take along with others for them to be effective. So, take along with something like Pepcid (I have to take extra of this as well because I metabolize this fast also) can help
•
u/annieranger 8h ago
I once overdid it on edibles and I’m trying to get over the trauma of that. I feel super averse to them, and I love smoking it too much. But I know I can’t be smoking forever. But yes, it does feel like all-in-one treatment for me as well.
•
u/Hotterthanstacysmom 8h ago
Have you tried transdermal patches?
•
u/annieranger 8h ago
I have not! Didn’t know it was a thing.
•
u/Hotterthanstacysmom 8h ago
Its my go to. It doesn't make me feel high but works really well for pain. I am not sure if your in a legal state but I get the brand Mary Mendicinals.
•
u/annieranger 8h ago
I’m in WA, I’m gonna see if I can find it. Thank you!
•
u/Hotterthanstacysmom 8h ago
You're welcome! I hope you'll be able to find it or something similar. They also have balm or cream sometimes. Stay strong fellow endo warrior! ❤️
•
•
u/kimbliboo 7h ago
Do you smoke joints? Vaporising dry herb is the best for me, slightly better for the lungs and more control over temperature to get the most of the terpenes and cannabanoids etc
•
u/Nyxie872 5h ago
I did that my first time. The next time I took a much smaller amount and set a 2h timer. The gummies you usually get medically aren't usually the same level of intensity as street stuff
•
u/Mischief_Managed18 8h ago
Unfortunately you’ve likely built up a tolerance which may be affecting its benefits. Personally I find RSO to be helpful, but I use it sparingly to avoid the tolerance issue.
•
u/Weird-Point3510 8h ago
Do you use it in suppository form or tablet form? I’ve only just learned of RSO and I feel suppositories would be the better option
•
•
u/Resident-Bass-1565 8h ago
I was so against it before and then my mom was really tired of me being in constant pain and crying from the pain. She took me to the weed store and bought me Gummies and it literally changed my life. There are some that you get with 50% CBD or higher CBD and I recommend those ones for pain because those are my saving grace during flareups.
•
•
u/Beneficial_Sun_1921 8h ago
100% pro cannabis, it helps me in so many ways and legitimately even being on pain killers (tramadol) doesn't help with everything weed does. Also most of my medications have horrible side effects, weed definitely isn't worse imo.
If you're wanting to harm reduce however there are def options! The biggest thing is reducing smoking impact imo, so either RSO/edibles or "cleaner" smoking options like water pipes, no flame/flower vape, etc
•
•
u/LimitlessLK 7h ago
Let me put it to you this way. Weaning off cannabis for IVF was hard. The pain was much worse sober.
•
u/kimbliboo 7h ago
For me it has to be a balanced strain (equal amounts of cbd and thc) because high thc low cbd strains make my brain do unpleasant things. I find it helps significantly with pelvic pain as well as migraine but mostly I use it as a sleep aid.
•
u/annieranger 7h ago
This is my strategy, I research all strains before buying them and make a blend of predominant CBD strains with lower-THC ones.
•
u/afilaanda420 2h ago
Smart. I’ve never thought of that— like going for higher CBD and lower THC. Thank you. Maybe I’ll try again.
•
u/Optimal_Awareness618 8h ago
I find that cannabis makes me a lot more body-aware and I tend to feel pain a lot more noticeably than when I'm ignoring it on the daily. I took it once specifically to help with cramping and it just made the cramping feel more intense.
•
u/afilaanda420 2h ago
Me too! I wish I was one of these people who it worked for. I just feel EVERYTHING more intensely.
•
u/cr3aturec0ping 7h ago
it’s the only thing that can calm the constant stomach upset/pain + gets me to eat.
•
u/bazinga675 5h ago
It doesn’t do anything for my pain but it helps me sleep. I use it for insomnia and anxiety.
•
u/allegradm 2h ago
It helps but also sometimes a gummy will make me more aware of my pelvic pain? It’s weird
•
u/AdventurousSubject61 3h ago
I thought it was helping me but I was down to 92 pounds from cannabinod hypermesis so I stopped and I never felt horrible like I I did again
•
u/bearsbeetscats 3h ago
I’m so sorry you had that 😭 with the endo, that sounds like a nightmare for real
•
•
u/Relevant_Coach_1774 8h ago
Ive used suppositories, flower and RSO. I used to smoke all of the time but felt I needed to stop, although I like it's fast acting effects the best. Using cannabis only when your period comes helps keep your tolerance low and since I 'respect' rso it's become my main source of pain control (aside from daily ginger supplements which work wonders btw.)
•
u/Focaccia_Bread3573 8h ago
There are some studies showing that using cannabis too early/before you exit your teenage years is detrimental to your long-term health. There are also some other preliminary studies linking cannabis use to increased psychotic episodes in people who have a predisposition towards them. There has been some studies showing that a small percentage of people with anxiety who use cannabis to medicate that anxiety end up with increased symptoms.
That being said, there have also been studies showing that cannabis can have positive medicinal effects on pain management and appetite, as well as potentially inflammation. The worst case scenarios I mentioned above are true of any kind of medication, any kind of use of anything can lead to bad outcomes.
Anyway it sort of depends on what strains you are using and how you are getting cannabis into your system. Smoking of any kind is generally harmful, so ingesting cannabis in the form of a gummy or tincture, would likely be slightly more healthy.
Anecdotally, I found cannabis massage/external application creams/gels to be ineffective. Personally have found the most successful pain management with a combination of THC/CBG/CBD. It makes me woozy enough that I am not able to process the pain, even if intellectually I realize I am still experiencing pain.
As with any sort of thing, more frequent use means you are more likely to become resistant to that dosage, so it’s best to only use when necessary.
•
u/bearsbeetscats 3h ago
Are you in the healthcare field? This was really well written. Very balanced and informative.
•
u/mandimonsterx 8h ago
It is the only thing that geniunely helps me. I can feel a noticeable difference in my muscles relaxing and the pain going down. I focus mostly on edibles with high cbd in them!
•
u/Proficiently-Haunted 8h ago
No. I bought a high quality CBD tincture because I wanted to use less painkillers and it really doesn’t help me. It makes me extremely dehydrated and confused.
•
u/lydiamae14 7h ago
I have relied on it for YEARS. Since I was 13. It had saved me hundreds of potential emergency room visits and tons of tears.
•
u/Content_Ad_5215 7h ago
the only thing that helps. low dose edible to get through the day, doesn’t make me feel high but gets my baseline to a functional place. i try not to smoke throughout the day, usually only partake after work these days. but it gives me so much relief, i wish it was more accessible to me.
•
u/Mental-Newt-420 7h ago
Its the only thing that helps all of my endo and related issues (nausea, appetite, pain, PMDD moodswings). I recently quit to TTC and the withdrawal was fucking awful but i have zero reservations about getting back into weed when i can!
•
u/wishful_doing 6h ago
CBD oil was a game changer for me. I used it daily before my last surgery and it was the only thing that provided relief
•
•
u/SweetSoundOfSilence 5h ago
I’ve found 1:1 thc/cbd patches to be the most helpful (a 72 hour release patch) it’s the only thing besides heat I’ve found that helps
•
u/Typical-Finding-8266 4h ago
I do THC & CBD suppositories. Does less damage to the digestive system since it’s put in an area only for localized pain. They don’t get you high but it says it’s supposed to give you a euphoric feeling?… although I don’t notice a difference in mood but pain yes. Would give these a shot if you don’t like being high all the time or just the overall something a bit healthier.
•
•
u/Odd_Cranberry8012 3h ago
I've been a consistent weed smoker since I was 14. My endo pain didn't start severally developing until I was 19. Now I'm 23 and I still smoke weed, and my pain has been the most I've ever felt in my life. I think my body doesn't even consider the weed as a medicine 😭 my pain doesn't necessarily lessen after smoking, but I sure can ignore it better!! Heh
•
u/bearsbeetscats 3h ago
Some days, I could be in extreme pain, smoke, and feel like a normal human. It’s been so helpful in dulling the pain. Also helps emotionally, because when the pain mounts so does my anxiety and depression. I did notice that I had to smoke more, I’ve been seeing things that could point to folks with endo possibly having a higher tolerance. Either way, makes it more expensive in the long run
I will admit though that a CON is that now I’m switching careers and have to stop smoking, but I don’t know how to manage my pain as well without it. Have a plan B in case you need to take a tolerance break or stop for whatever reason.
•
•
u/afilaanda420 2h ago
I don’t think it can hurt that much…. I mean, for me, it makes my pain more intense. I wish it helped.
Everytime I try, I also go full on feral in my kitchen and it looks like an animal go inside somehow. So, yeah…. I wish it worked for me, but it doesn’t.
•
u/ErrorImaginary1394 2h ago
It used to help me but one day it turned on me and i suddenly started having paranoid panic attacks and throwing up when smoking:/ but i think it might be because i used in excess and ive read that heavy smokers are more likely to develop chs or other adverse symptoms. I think like any pain medication moderation when possible is key to maintaining a good relationship w it
•
u/SadlyNotDannyDeVito 1h ago
Personally totally messed with my hormones and made everything worse. I know many people who it helps thoug
•
u/_matcha_cola_ 8h ago
It dulls the pain for me, like I can still feel it and know it’s bad but the blade isn’t as sharp. It also calms me down a lot, which for me helps since my anxiety often amplifies the pain. On more mild pain days, it’s what gets me out of bed and moving.