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Hello Everyone
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I hope this subject isn't that taboo on the forums, if the admin deems this as an unfit thread for this forums then please remove it at all costs, as I come from a legal state where I was able to get a prescription for MMJ. I am in no way advocating its use or in anyway promoting it, but I came here with some questions/thoughts and would love to get some feedback from fellow sufferers.
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I have read on a few websites that cannabis mite be a possible candidate as an anti-inflammatory for arthritis, seeing as how gout is considered a form of arthritis it may seem that MMJ may be beneficial for gout sufferers. And there are other sites where it states that MMJ justs act like morphine in the sense that it helps the users forget about the pain while under the effects of marijuana.
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I have noticed that when I have an attack and use MMJ it makes my joints feel more swollen/pressure than prior to consumption, but I only notice this when I try to put an pressure on the affected joint and that if I am just laying in bed it feels fine and helps takes my mind off of the attack itself. I have not noticed MMJ as a trigger for my gout, as I tend to use it on a semi-regular basis (2-3 times a week)
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Whats everyones take on this? Is this something that I should avoid at all costs whether or not I am experiencing an attack or is this something that is okay to use recreationally in between attacks? Would very much like everyones feedback
Nothing to report,
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My last use of marijuana FAR precedes my getting gout, and I have had gout almost 2 decades.
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I would imagine each state where MMJ is legal would have it's own guidlines on qualifications for pain relief, but from your personal experience it doesn't seem particularly helpful.
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Maybe others here have more experience.
I have some experience with cannabis and having Gout. ?I find that cannabis tends to make me focus way too much on the affected area, I actually think it makes it worse and it tends to make me wreck my diet
On the other hand my wife suffers from Cauda Equina Syndrome and has spasms and nerve pain on a consistent basis in the lower half of her body. ?The MDs prescribe the usual narcotics that really have just made things different and in some aspects worse. ?We live in a state where MMJ was just voted in but have used cannabis for her condition in the past. ?She prefers it to the variety of pain meds prescribed to her. ?I can say as an individual living with her that cannabis has made things?as normal as we can expect. ?The crap the gov'ment says is?OK?is not?OK?and I find those narcotics did far more bad then good. ?I always hear people rambling on about proof in data, scientific research. ?You know what, live with a patient it has benefited and then tell me you still need data. ?
Then there is?the?alcohol question for the?modern?day Gouty. ?Pre AP I would not dream of having a single drink and gouties still want to get their swerve on. ?Most of the really negative and stupid things in my life came as a result of alcohol use and Gout is just the crown on it all. ???BTW I understand alcohol did not cause my Gout, but it sure does nothing to help it. ?I think gouties should use cannabis for recreational purposes. ?If you have your uric acid under control why dump the toxin that is alcohol into your body and risk the?consequences of that. ?Smoke, eat or vaporize a little cannabis and enjoy yourself a little, lord knows the cops, judges and?politicians are with alcohol, f'in hypocrites. ? The stigma created is wrong and harmful and it needs changing. ?The old guard and its tactics will no longer work in this day and age. ?Voters here will be voting on this topic on way or another for years to come. ??
Short story long, cannabis is not going to help your attacks, only?controlling?your Uric Acid will do that. ?But when you have a handle on that spark it up and act like your 19 again, you will be dead before you know it and why have a bunch of hypocrites run the life you have left. ? This time is special enjoy it as much as you can. ??
I hear you on the part about wrecking your diet, as the “Munchies” can just get out of control some times while under the influence. But I've learned to curb my diet and tend to lean towards healthier snacks such as fruits or maybe a bowl of cereal.
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Glad to hear that this plant has helped your wife in many ways with her illnesses and I believe it truely is best if possible to use all natural medicines, and to only resort to the drugs that the doctors prescribe us if all else is lost. It is true that this plant does more good than harm and yet in many states its still illegal. I believe that continued studies and analysis on the medicial uses of this plant needs to be proven in written data before the masses will be able to accept something that was once marked off as a “narcotic”. Ironic how alcohol/big tobacco get to roam the streets, hence they are more of a poison to the body than marijuana is.
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I use MJ to relieve some back pain occasionally and other times I just enjoy using it. I am trying to give up smoking the cancer sticks, and I believe with the help of MJ it will actually be possible. I just wanted to make sure that MJ was in no way one of the factors that may be leading me to my gout attacks.
Green Toe said:
… Ironic how alcohol/big tobacco get to roam the streets, hence they are more of a poison to the body than marijuana is.…
I think one of the reasons why it is still illegal in most states is the drug cartel. They are still getting some profits which they would not if it was federally legalized. Look at other countries where American (and that includes Columbian) drug cartels don't have a firm grip on the people as well as on the governments.
rdavisiii said:
Short story long, cannabis is not going to help your attacks, only?controlling?your Uric Acid will do that. ?But when you have a handle on that spark it up and act like your 19 again, you will be dead before you know it and why have a bunch of hypocrites run the life you have left. ? This time is special enjoy it as much as you can. ??
Excellent advice
I've emboldened the bit you need to focus on, Green Toe.Until you control uric acid properly, there will always be times when the pain hits. Some authorities believe in just treating the pain, as it does not seem worth taking urate lowering drugs every day, when gout is only going to hurt a few days a year. I disagree strongly with this, because treating the inflammation from a gout attack just allows the underlying problem to build. Left untreated, uric acid crystals will spread throughout your body, increasing the frequency and intensity of gout attacks. The internal tophi grow into bone, tendon, and cartilage, adding osteoarthritis into the mix.
So if cannabis masks the pain and delays you from properly treating uric acid it's A Bad Thing. If it helps you get over the few months of pain that remains a risk during the early months of urate lowering therapy then it's A Good Thing.
I am in no way using MJ to mask the pain and hide my problems. I have came to accept that I have gout and have made life style changes to try to keep this thing under contorl. The attacks started when I was 19 years old and I am now 25. It used to be once a year lasting from 3 days to a week, I thought that this was something that I can deal with for now and not have to resort to medication that I would have to take everyday. But this past year I have noticed that the attacks have have been recurring every 3 months. I am currently experiencing an attack that started back at the end of October, it started off in my rite big toe and then migrated to my knees. My theory as to why this attack lasted for so long is maybe because I have switched to a primarily vegan diet, and that it is dissolving some of the old urate crystals that are deposited in the joints.
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I do think I may have tophis starting to form in my joints. Even after the attack subsides, the joint of my rite big toe still feels sensitive to pressure and I feel that I am not able to get the normal full range of motion without feeling a little pain in the joint, and also the joint is bigger compared to my left big toe which has never experienced an attack. Is this how I know that tophis are forming?
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I am currently residing outside of the US, but am planning a trip back soon and am considereing to see a doctory to discuss medications for gout. I think it is something that I have put off for too long and in the end mite have done unecessary damage to my joints in doing so. I will continue to use MJ to take my mind off of this thing, and will use it in a responsible way in conjunction with life style changes and maybe even medication in the near future.
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Wishing the best for every goutie out there.
I've had gout since I was 17-ish, so more then 10 years already. I've tried just about everything, from drikning cherry juice and cranberry juice, I've stopped eating red meat, I've stopped on and off from drinking beer then beer plus liqour, and on top of it all, I never was a beed drinker, I don't like beer, I drink my rum. I'm not a person who eats lots of meat, I come from an island so I eat lots of fish. I don't drink beer, I don't like tomatoes, why I have gout, not even my docters here on the island and back in the states knows exactly. Apperantly I tent to get gout attacks when I'm all stressed out, reason now why my docters give me xanax which is also bad for the liver. But still I do get light attacks. Last time a had an attack for almost 3 months straight. Yeah, thats right, 3 freaking months. The ER staff knows me all too well. I had to go get pain killer shot on my butt. Its sucks and I know its bad for my liver as well. So now I tend to ride the pain out, just using cholchiccine, which is also bad for the liver. Alupurinol doen't do anything to me, I think it even makes my attacks worst.
So recently ( 1 year ago) I've started using the medical herb just for recreational reasons again. But since this year, so for about 1 month now, I've stopped drinking alcohol completely, I've stopped eating all types of junk food and eating more healthy foods, and ooh yeah drinking lots and lots of water, daily. Also, every other day, I've been using this medical herb (which is still illegal on this caribbean island ofcourse) and I did have 1 or 2 attacks but where very light, and the last time, as soon as I felt some of the simptoms before the actual attack which normaly ocures at night around 7 or 8, I take my water bong, and consume some medical herb hehe. well, so far so good, the attacks were gone by the next day or I was still able to work the next day while having a gout attack which only lasted for 2 days max. It helped with the pain, it helped me sleep. and I guess its been helping “fighting” the attack or atleast the duration of the attack.
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I've been doing some research online and lots and lots of reading, and now I'm going to start using it as a cooking ingredient. Maybe cookies or some kind of sauce, even a pasta dish. Hopefullly it will help even better, and its a healthier way of consuming/using this medical herb.
Give it a try, light it up when in pain, cook it up when needed. once every other day, it will only help and improve your everyday life and your quality of life. I know this by experience both the pain gout gives you, and the feeling of relieve this herb can bring you.
I'll be doing some more personal research and reading, hehe. If there are any new developments I will update.
Hope this helps you out.
Green Toe and? island- You really can't hope to manage SUA on your own without frequent testing of blood level.
With the best will in the world and a fair wind behind you,? don't assume a SUA level of under 6.5 if you've had even one gout attack?-even if?trying very hard with diet etc. to remain attack free.
The ability of?natural methods?lower by an amount greater than daily variations due to diet and?lifestyle is not proven anywhere for LONG TERM relief in established gouties -? and I have tried.
That's to say, diet can help by 1 or 2 points on the scale, but that can only?balance daily variations- so say you need 7 mg/dl to cause attack, then your average may only drop to 6 which will just extend the period between attacks. Possibly, if you are really thorough and only one or two attacks in, then you might succeed. Docs often try this route, initially ? so it must have some historical justification. Records just don't get kept!
I did get some success using Lasix and Losartan together [getting SUA as low as a 4mg/dl on occasion]?-but these are still long term meds, as was pointed out on here earlier and have their own downsides!
At best, what you learn by testing will allow you time to learn a 'best lifestyle' for yourself -and possibly await newer?or better gout drugs to help, but you will always risk misjudging the?'long term negatives' of high SUA-?if working from the?medium time scales between attacks.
You might fool yourself- but not Mother nature!?
Get an SUA?self tester [and use it!] It's a good route for the determined gouty if you can thereby gain better overall health. Strong?weed risks doing your brain in, sooner or later, IMO.
from Island: Alupurinol doen't do anything to me, I think it even makes my attacks worst.
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Allopurinol is NOT for stopping pain once a?but for?preventing attacks from ever beginning. The correct way to take it is to start and then take it daily, forever. It really IS the answer to gout. NEVER consider taking it short term.
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I've been doing some research online and lots and lots of reading, and now I'm going to start using it as a cooking ingredient. Maybe cookies or some kind of sauce, even a pasta dish.
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Would that make you a PASTAFARIAN?
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