Can Medical Marijuana Help With Migraine Headaches in Florida and other states you ask?

Some people use medical marijuana, or forms of the cannabis plant, as a treatment for migraine. Cannabis has been used for thousands of years as a natural remedy for a number of conditions. While there have not been enough high quality studies to support the use of marijuana for migraine, there is sufficient anecdotal reports and preliminary results from researchers to warrant clinical trials. These trials are needed before marijuana can be considered a standard approach to migraine.   Traditionally, the smoking form of cannabis has been called marijuana, although some oral formulations are now also called marijuana. While cannabis for recreational or medicinal use is illegal by federal law, several individual states have passed laws making medical marijuana legal, and a few states have also made recreational use of marijuana legal. Each individual should consult with their doctor and the laws of the state they reside in before considering the possibility of using medical marijuana.  

A migraine is a severe and painful headache that millions of people around the world suffer from. Migraine attacks can be preceded by an aura of sensory warning signs such as blind spots, flashes of light, tingling in the arms and legs, vomiting, nausea, and increased sensitivity to light and sound. Sometimes these signs may accompany the headache instead of preceding it. The pain that migraines bring can last for several days at a time and is a common problem in not just the U.S but also most other parts of the world.

According to a report published by the American Migraine Association, migraines affect over 36 million Americans which constitutes about 12 percent of the total population.  Migraines are generally one-sided headaches and tend to affect people in the age group of 15 to 55.

Research indicates that alternative treatments such as medical pot can help reduce migraine attacks dramatically. There is strong evidence that cannabis has a great effect on certain types of chronic pain such as a migraine. Read on to know more.

Symptoms of Migraine

Signs and symptoms of a migraine can start a quite a while before a headache, just before a headache begins, during a headache, and after a headache has abated. All migraines aren’t the same and the symptoms may vary from person to person. A few typical symptoms of a migraine include:

• Moderate to severe pain, generally confined to one side of the head

• Severe, throbbing, and pulsating pain

• Elevated levels of pain during any form of physical activity

• Inability to perform regular chores due to pain.

• Vomiting

• Increased sensitivity to light and sound that reduces when you recede to a quiet and darkened room.

• Sweating

• Stomach ache

• Diarrhea

• Temperature changes

Symptoms of Migraines with Aura

For many migraine sufferers, auras act as a sort of red flag, letting them know that a headache is soon to come. However, many people do not experience any aura. Perceptual disturbances such as those listed below are called auras.

• Confusing thoughts or experiences

• Sparkling or flashing lights

• Zig-zag lines in the visual field

• Blind spots

• Pins and needles in arms, and/or legs

• Difficulty in speech

• Unpleasant smells

• Stiffness in the shoulders, neck, or limbs

When migraines with aura affect vision, the person may also see things that are not really there says some Marijuana Doctors in Florida. These disturbances can be compared to the sensation a person experiences after being photographed using a very bright camera flash in a dark room.

What Else It Could Be

Migraine and sinus headaches are commonly confused with each other because the two conditions share many of the same symptoms – which makes it hard to distinguish one from the other. In fact, nasal symptoms are experienced with many types of migraines. Cluster headaches too are mistaken to be migraine headaches as they have overlapping symptoms such as a one-sided headache. However, cluster headaches arrive and depart rather swiftly unlike migraines that can last for several hours to days.

How Medical Marijuana Helps Treat Migraines

There is a network of cannabinoid receptors inside your brain and other parts of the body. These receptors are tiny loops of protein that modulate how you feel pain. Marijuana is made up of natural compounds known as cannabinoids. When you use medical cannabis, these compounds travel through your body in search of receptors. They bind to the receptors and change how they work and in turn calm down pain signals.   Cannabinoids present in medical cannabis also help alleviate other migraine symptoms such as nausea, anxiety, and other conditions such as muscle spasms. Researchers are confident that marijuana can go a long way in replacing opioids as the go-to for relief from pain.

Why Medical Marijuana Treats Migraines Better Than Alternative Treatments

There are a number of pain-relieving drugs that you can take as soon your experience the signs and symptoms of an oncoming migraine. Aspirin and ibuprofen may be used to treat mild migraines. There are a number of drugs marketed specifically for migraines that contain a combination of aspirin, acetaminophen, and caffeine that can ease the moderate pain. However, these fail to provide relief in severe cases of migraine and can have side effects such as ulcers, gastrointestinal bleeding, and headaches due to the drug overuse.

Triptans are said to work better than painkillers in treating migraines. They are available in the form of pills, sprays, and injections and provide pain relief by constricting blood vessels and blocking pain pathways in the brain. Though they are effective, they can cause side effects such as nausea, dizziness, pain at the injection site, drowsiness and muscle weakness.

Marijuana, on the other hand, contains active compounds that are more effective at reducing the intensity as well as the frequency of acute migraine pain when compared to prescription migraine medication, and also have fewer side effects. The right percentage of THC-CBD can greatly reduce the severity of pain caused by migraine attacks. Pot also promotes better sleep.

How to Get Medical Marijuana to Treat Migraines

Medical marijuana is now legal in many parts of the world. However, to purchase cannabis to treat migraine, you will need to visit a doctor who will assess your symptoms and existing health condition before prescribing it for medical use. Migraines is one of the many conditions that can be easily tackled and treated by the consumption of regulated doses of medical marijuana. Contact All Natural MD marijuana doctors today. All Natural MD offers medical marijuana doctors certifications and ID card in Florida, We have offices for medical marijuana treatment in Lakeland, Orlando, Sarasota, Bradenton, Lake Mary Tampa and Brandon.

The Benefits of Medical Marijuana For Spinal Stenosis in Florida

Spinal stenosis is a condition that causes the spinal canal, or other vertebrae openings, to narrow and compress the spinal cord or other nerves. Compressing a nerve causes inflammation and pain, which often occurs in the neck or lower back. Furthermore, severe spinal stenosis can cause permanent nerve damage.  Often, patients diagnosed with spinal stenosis are told surgery is the only pain relief option. However, it is possible to avoid major surgery with minimally invasive procedures that can help reduce or even relieve the pain. For most people, the stenosis occurs because of arthritis, which is often the result of aging and “wear and tear” on the spine from daily activities. Some patients, however, are genetically more prone to stenosis, or diseases that lead to it. In these cases, the condition can cause problems in people as young as 30. For most people, though, spinal stenosis usually appears after the age of 50. The pinching of the spinal cord, or the nerves around it, causes pain, tingling, or numbness in the legs and arms. In advanced cases, it may cause weakness. There’s no cure, but there are a variety of non-surgical treatments and exercises to keep the pain at bay, which help most people with spinal stenosis live normal lives.

Causes and Symptoms of Spinal Stenosis

“Stenosis” comes from the Greek word meaning “narrowing.” The primary cause of spinal stenosis is arthritis, a condition that breaks down bone cartilage. Osteoarthritis can cause a change in the discs of the spine, a thickening of the ligaments of the spine, and bone spurs. All of this can place extra pressure on the spinal cord and spinal nerves.

Other causes of spinal stenosis can include: 

• Herniated discs. If the discs that cushion the vertebrae become cracked, the material inside can seep out and press on the spinal cord or nerves.
• Injuries. An accident can fracture or inflame a portion of the spine.
• Osteophytes. Bones and joints enlarge as a result of the degeneration of joint cartilage, and bone spurs can form.
• Paget’s disease. A condition that affects bone growth. This disease causes bones to be brittle, abnormally large and misshapen, and can result in a narrowing of the spinal canal.
• Spondylolisthesis. The slipping of one vertebra onto another, usually in the base of the spine, that leads to compression.
• Tumors. A cancerous growth can touch, or pinch, the spinal cord.

When these conditions occur in the spinal area, causing the spinal canal to narrow, they can create pressure on the spinal nerves.

The most common symptom of spinal stenosis is pain and numbness, or tingling, in legs that is more pronounced when standing or walking. Relief is typically obtained by bending forward or sitting. Because we tend to bend over slightly when walking uphill, the symptoms of spinal stenosis may be less when going uphill and worse going down.

Treatments for Spinal Stenosis

There are many non-surgical and minimally invasive treatment options for spinal stenosis available at FloridasMedicalMarijuana.com. The treatment depends on the location of the stenosis and the severity of the signs and symptoms.

If the symptoms are mild, treatment may be monitoring the condition with regular follow-up appointments and home self-care tips. If these don’t help, medications such as Florida medical marijuana or physical therapy may be necessary. Minimally invasive treatments and surgical options are available when other treatments fail to help relieve the pain.

Home Care

Some pain management can be accomplished at home to help ease the symptoms of spinal stenosis says marijuana doctors in Florida. Home care pain management activities include:

• Apply heat and cold. Heat helps loosens muscles, cold helps heal inflammation. Hot showers can also be helpful.
• Exercise that is moderate and not strenuous. Sometimes just a 30-minute walk every other day can be beneficial. Be sure to consult your doctor before starting any new exercise plan.
• Lose weight. The more weight one carries, the more pressure is placed on the back.
• Practice good posture. Stand up straight, sit on a supportive chair, and sleep on a firm mattress. Lift heavy objects bending from the knees, not the back.

• Medications

  Your doctor may prescribe:

  • Pain relievers. Pain medications such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others), naproxen (Aleve, others) and acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) may be used temporarily to ease the discomfort of spinal stenosis. They are typically recommended for a short time only, since there’s little evidence of benefit from long-term use.
  • Anesthetics. Used with precision, an injection of a “nerve block” can stop the pain for a time.
  • Antidepressants. Nightly doses of tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline, can help ease chronic pain.
  • Anti-seizure drugs. Some anti-seizure drugs, such as gabapentin (Neurontin) and pregabalin (Lyrica), can help reduce the pain caused by damaged nerves.
  • Steroid injections. The injection of steroid medication (corticosteroid) into the space around pinched nerves can help reduce the inflammation and relieve some pain. When severe, an epidural steroid injection places a powerful anti-inflammatory medication near the affected nerves to reduce pain. However, the treatment does not fix the stenosis. Injections are limited to a few times a year, because repeated use can weaken nearby bones and connective tissue.

  • Spinal Stenosis Treatments Resources

    Spinal Stenosis (Mayo Clinic)
    Spinal Stenosis (Cleveland Clinic)
    What is Spinal Stenosis? (WebMD)
    5 Things About Spinal Stenosis You Need to Know (Spine Universe)
    Spinal Stenosis: Lumbar and Cervical (Spine Universe)
    Minimally Invasive Procedure (Science Daily)

Rick Simpson is a household name in every marijuana dispensary across the county. The man claimed to be the creator of Rick Simpson Oil, as it is dubbed by legendary marijuana advocate Jack Herer, The Emperor of Hemp. I was not sure what to expect of Rick. My experience has taught me that people with wild ideas regardless of if they are positive or negative or real/fiction these people have something unique and special about them that tends to make them quirky. I wasn’t sure what to expect with Rick. I was once a skeptic of any alternative medicine. Today, I advocate an alternative medicine as one of the most prominent medical marijuana Doctors in Florida and across the country advocating the field of “Allopathic & Osteopathic Marijuana Medicine” (can we just lump the two together into allopathic, my osteopathic colleagues?). There have been things that I’ve seen in my patients that I would have considered to be miracles in my past career. Mr. Simpson said the word a lot during our conversation. Unlike when other alternative medicine proponents claim a cure for cancer, this time around… I think there may be some truth to this.  Researchers have known for decades that cannabis inhibits cancer growth. Like this article, in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute all the way back in nineteen seventy-five. Mice with tumors treated with THC and CBN had decreased tumor growth and increased mortality. These studies were done using isolated cannabinoids. Now imagine if the “Entourage Effect” were in play – the theory that combinations of cannabinoids working in unison have a greater effect than the sum of their individual cannabinoids. Isn’t it interesting that medical marijuana does not cause head and neck cancer or decreased lung function or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, even though it contains similar carcinogens and three times the tar when smoked? This may very well be due to the anti-cancer properties of cannabinoids that are present with marijuana smoke! In regards to cancer, CBD has little effect. While Rick believes that Cannabis Indica strains are preferred for their therapeutic effect, it seems that the reason for that is their higher THC concentration. We both agreed that CBD is not as important for antineoplastic (anticancer) activity. In fact, it can pretty much be left out says a few marijuana doctors near me. Now, there is some in RSO and in most cannabis. It may actually have a beneficial effect against the cancer, too, but compared to THC it is really negligible. I knew from prior reading and discussion with patients that RSO is essentially highly-concentrated THC marijuana extract. I also knew from reading the scientific literature that THC appears to have the majority of anti-tumor effects. CBD, on the other hand, has properties that contribute to marijuana’s efficacy, but mostly for other conditions like pain, nausea, and the short-term adverse effects of THC. CBD causes THC to work on pain so there may be a component of it working on cancer. Rick did confirm to me the need to titrate doses as high as possible in patients with cancer (unlike pain). Rick Simpson is a genuine and honest man that is transparent about his views. I’ve developed a deep appreciation for Rick Simpson. He holds a lot of skepticism when viewing the medical cannabis community’s trends in belief. I always respect someone with that kind of outlook on life. It’s the only thing keeping us from being swept away by fanciful hopes and dreams cemented into our brains as truth through repeated confirmation bias. Eventually, the cognitive dissonance becomes irreversible.