Can Marijuana Help Fibromyalgia?

• • Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by chronic pain, chronic fatigue, and brain fog—symptoms many patients treat with medical cannabis.

• • Medical marijuana is an all-natural medicine that modulates the body’s built-in endocannabinoid system (ECS). The ECS is a network of nerve receptors that play a role in a variety of body functions.

• • Growing evidence suggests that unresolved trauma could be a root cause of fibromyalgia for many patients. In cases like these, medical cannabis may be an especially useful treatment for treatment and recovery.

Whether you’ve already received a fibromyalgia diagnosis or you have yet to get confirmation from a healthcare provider, the primary symptoms of this condition can be debilitating: chronic pain, chronic fatigue, and persistent brain fog are just the tip of the iceberg, but they’re daily realities for many patients.

A long-standing treatment for these symptoms has taken a strong hold throughout the US and garnered significant attention, even in the Western medical sphere: medical marijuana. Can marijuana treat fibromyalgia?

For many patients, the answer is yes. With medical cannabis, consistent symptom management (and even complete recovery) are on the table for patients.

That’s the topic of this guide: Exploring the relationship between fibromyalgia and medical marijuana and breaking down how this holistic medicine has helped countless patients discover relief (and remission).

What Is Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a chronic medical condition with three primary symptoms:

• Chronic pain
• Chronic fatigue
• Brain fog or cognitive challenges

Researchers are still working to identify all of the possible causes of fibromyalgia, but many cases appear after a major health event: a traumatic experience, major surgery, or significant illness, for example. We’ll touch more on this in the final section of this guide.

Experts theorize that fibromyalgia patients experience pain in a different way than people without the condition—perhaps because their nerve signaling and function are different, too.

Many mysteries remain regarding fibromyalgia; it’s an under-researched, misunderstood condition affecting about 5 million people in the US alone (many of whom are women and people assigned female at birth).

What Is Medical Marijuana?

Medical marijuana is a plant—Cannabis sativa, a tall, leafy organism with a woody stem that sprouts dense buds. These buds (and other parts of the plant) contain high concentrations of cannabinoids (more on these and what they do in the next section).

The buds can be:

• Smoked
• Heated to extract cannabinoids into oil- or alcohol-based liquids
• Incorporated into edible products (through a variety of manufacturing processes)

Most importantly, medical marijuana has been used for centuries. Only recently has it been inappropriately stigmatized as an addictive intoxicant.

CBD and THC

Let’s return to cannabinoids: one type of compound found in the marijuana plant (most prevalently in the buds).

You’ve likely heard of the two most common cannabinoids (also called the “major cannabinoids”):

• Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – THC is the only psychoactive compound found in the cannabis plant. While it can produce a “high,” not all cannabis products contain a significant enough concentration of THC to produce such a response.
• Cannabidiol (CBD) – CBD is not psychoactive (meaning it doesn’t produce a high). However, like THC, it still interacts with your body to produce significant physiological responses.

CBD and THC are highly concentrated in many (but not all) subtypes of the cannabis plant. These subtypes are called strains, and each strain features a unique composition of cannabinoids (like THC, CBD, and other “minor cannabinoids”), terpenes, flavonoids, and other plant compounds.

The Endocannabinoid System (ECS)

How do THC and CBD interact with your body to produce the physiological responses we just mentioned? Via the endocannabinoid system (ECS). While you can learn more about the ECS in other TeleLeaf guides (like this blog about the “entourage effect”), here’s a quick primer:

• The ECS is a network of nerve receptors spread throughout the body—everyone has one.
• There are two kinds of ECS receptors: CB1 and CB2.
• CB1 and CB2 produce and transmit signals that play a role in numerous body functions.
• Cannabinoids bind to and interact with CB1 and CB2 to modulate signaling functions.

ECS signaling can affect (to name just a few functions):

• Memory and cognition
• Emotional processing and regulation
• Sleep
• Pain control and perception
• Inflammatory and immune reactions
• Appetite and thirst
• Body temperature control

Fibromyalgia Symptom Management with Medical Cannabis

If you’re living with fibromyalgia, a few of the items on the list above might be of particular interest to you. Cannabinoids interact with the ECS, and the ECS plays a role in sleep, pain control, and cognition. So, medical cannabis (a natural source of cannabinoids) has the potential to help patients manage their symptoms.

Chronic Pain

While we published a complete guide on why cannabis works for pain, here’s a quick overview:

• CB1 receptors (part of the ECS network) are primarily located in the central and peripheral nervous systems—including the areas of the brain that control pain modulation.
• Both THC and CBD interact with CB1 receptors; this interaction can affect how the body releases compounds like glutamate, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and dopamine.
• All three of these compounds play a key role in pain signaling pathways—so, THC and CBD can affect pain perception (typically resulting in pain decreases throughout the body).

This is major for people living with fibromyalgia. Since chronic pain can affect every facet of your life (from sleep quality to appetite), medical cannabis poses an opportunity to create impactful, holistic changes.

Chronic Fatigue

In addition to chronic pain, the ECS plays a role in sleep regulation.

While clinical data on sleep and medical cannabis is behind the curve, patients far and wide have reported that marijuana has helped them:

• Fall asleep more quickly
• Get more restorative, energy-replenishing sleep
• Sleep without interruptions

What’s more, some more stimulating strains of cannabis (typically falling into the sativa strain category) can help patients feel more energized, focused, creative, and extroverted. This is yet another major boon for people living with fibromyalgia (especially chronic fatigue).

Brain Fog

There are two reasons why people with brain fog or diagnosed focus challenges (like ADD and ADHD) often turn to medical cannabis for improved mental clarity:

• Many strains (especially sativa strains and sativa-dominant hybrids) make patients feel more focused, inquisitive, energized, and productive. In short, cannabis can improve day-to-day momentum by clearing away brain fog.
• The ECS plays a role in memory and cognition. CB1 receptors, in particular, are found in high concentrations in the hippocampus: a part of the brain that supports memory and learning. So, by modulating these receptors with cannabinoids, patients can improve their overall cognitive functioning.

People living with fibromyalgia have yet another reason to consider medical marijuana treatment: It could help them kick brain fog and achieve optimal brain function.

Finding the Root of Fibromyalgia with Medical Cannabis

Let’s return to a point we introduced above: Emerging evidence has connected major life experiences (like trauma and harrowing medical events) to the development of fibromyalgia in patients across populations.

If this is true, fibromyalgia patients could unlock complete remission from their illness (not just symptom management) with help from medical cannabis. How?

• Cannabis creates a safe mental space – Medical marijuana can help us slow down our internal monologue, pause our racing thoughts, and stimulate inquisitive introspection. At a slower pace (and with stimulated creative thinking), we can process our emotions, behaviors, and events from our past that shape who we are.
• Cannabis facilitates self-work – Because it can make us more curious and introspective, cannabis pairs incredibly well with somatic (feeling-based) therapies, journaling, talk therapy, and other techniques proven to help patients recover from trauma.
• Cannabis helps us return to stasis – By using cannabis to put our bodies in a calmer, more thoughtful state (especially before or during experiences that typically cause stress), we can reintroduce our bodies to triggering stimuli. Practically speaking, this is what trauma recovery looks like.

TeleLeaf: Connecting Fibromyalgia Patients with Medical Cannabis Care

At TeleLeaf, we’re passionate about helping patients unlock healing approaches they’ve never tried before, like medical cannabis treatment. Our licensed medical marijuana clinicians can assess your current challenges, apply for a medical marijuana card, and start a personalized treatment regimen that will help you recover for good.

Ready to learn more? Make an appointment with TeleLeaf to get started.

Sources:

Mayo Clinic. Fibromyalgia.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fibromyalgia/symptoms-causes/syc-20354780/

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease. Fibromyalgia.
https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/fibromyalgia

Illinois Department of Public Health. Fibromyalgia.
https://dph.illinois.gov

The University of Sydney. History of Cannabis.
https://www.sydney.edu.au/lambert/medicinal-cannabis/history-of-cannabis.html

Associated Press. US Poised to Ease Restriction on Marijuana in Historic Shift, But It’ll Remain Controlled Substance.
https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-biden-dea-criminal-justice-pot-f833a8dae6ceb31a8658a5d65832a3b8

WebMD. CBD vs. THC: What’s the Difference?.
https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/cbd-thc-difference

Harvard Health Publishing. The Endocannabinoid System: Essential and Mysterious.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-endocannabinoid-system-essential-and-mysterious-202108112569

National Library of Medicine. Medical Cannabis for Treatment of Chronic Pain.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

Canadian Pharmacists Journal. Cannabis Use in Patients with Insomnia and Sleep Disorders: Retrospective Chart Review.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. Effects of Endocannabinoid System Modulation on Cognitive and Emotional Behavior.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

PTSD UK. Understanding the Link Between Trauma and Fibromyalgia.
https://www.ptsduk.org/trauma-and-fibromyalgia/

Harvard Health Publishing. What Is Somatic Therapy?.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-is-somatic-therapy-202307072951

Palo Alto University. Trauma-Focused Therapy Techniques.
https://concept.paloaltou.edu/resources/business-of-practice-blog/trauma-focused-therapy-techniques