A WOMAN who was in so much pain she couldn’t hug her children said vaping cannabis cured her symptoms and made her a “better mother”.
Jardine McMillan, 40, suffers from hypermobility syndrome, for which she was prescribed the painkiller pregabalin to control the pain.
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She was also diagnosed with lupus, IBS and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
The mother from Dunbartonshire, Scotland, took three a day for six years, which she says left her “numb”, “depressed” and still in pain.
A friend recommended she try medical cannabis, which she now vaporizes – two different types of flowers, one for daytime and one for nighttime.
While CBD-only products are legal and readily available in the UK, products containing THC are illegal unless prescribed by the NHS or private clinics.
Very few people are prescribed medicinal cannabis on the NHS in the UK – so she had to go private, but now has a monthly prescription.
She gets her prescription from the Alternaleaf online clinic, which costs £260 a month.
She uses a cannabis vape every two hours – saying that while it helps her manage the pain, she doesn’t use it enough to get high.
If I had known that medical cannabis was legal in 2018, I wouldn’t have been able to use those strong painkillers
Jardine McMillan
Within 12 weeks she stopped taking her prescribed painkillers and now says medicinal cannabis has helped her regain control of her life.
NHS Online states that “there is some evidence that medicinal cannabis may help certain types of pain, although this evidence is not yet strong enough to recommend it for pain relief.”
Jardine said: “I love being able to enjoy hugging the kids again – before I had to ask them to move because they were hurting me so much.
“Medical cannabis has improved my life considerably – the children and I are enjoying our time together more.
“I’m still recovering from years of using strong synthetic painkillers and I’m still going through withdrawals. I finally feel like I’ve regained some control over my life.”
‘I was numb from these drugs’
The NHS website says that some people can become addicted to pregabalin if they take it for a long time and can experience withdrawal when they stop using the painkiller.
“I felt numb from those drugs,” Jardine said, “I was depressed and had trouble getting out of bed in the morning and doing basic things like cooking and cleaning.
“At first my mother was worried, but I assured her that I’m not using medical cannabis to get ‘high’ – it never gets to that point – it’s just enough for my body and mind to feel relaxed.
“But once she saw the difference it was making in my everyday life, she supported me – she could see it for herself.”
Jardine was prescribed pregabalin in 2018 after explaining her symptoms to her doctor.
Battling hypermobility syndrome, lupus and PCOS Jardine said she was in constant pain.
Lupus is a long-term disease with no cure that causes joint pain, rashes and fatigue, and PCOS can cause fertility problems and irregular periods.
Before being prescribed Pregabalin, Jardine was prescribed Gabapentin for two years from 2016 and had physiotherapy from 2014 to 2016, but said this made his joint problems worse.
Despite taking three pills a day, she still struggled with pain when she tried to carry out daily tasks or hug her children.
A better mother
After speaking with her friend in January, she says she realized medical cannabis was legal and put her concerns aside to investigate it as an option.
She previously said she was worried about using an illegal drug as a mother – but knowing it was legal for medicinal purposes put her mind at ease.
After a consultation, I was prescribed two different types of flowers to vape – one for the day and one for the night.
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Now Jardine says medicinal cannabis has made life with her children enjoyable again and says she is happier, more relaxed and more patient.
“My children and my mother have noticed how much happier and more relaxed I am. I’m finding that I’m a lot more patient with the kids,” Jardine said.
“If I had known that medical cannabis was legal in 2018, I wouldn’t have been able to use those strong painkillers.”
“I explained my symptoms to the specialist doctor at Alternaleaf.
“He was confident he would be able to help me, and he certainly did. I’m a different person.
“Now I can get out of bed, wash and clean the house. Before, I had to choose one of these things because my pain was unbearable.”
Anup Mathew, medical director at Alternaleaf, said: “Jardine’s story is incredible but unfortunately all too common.
“Medical cannabis can change patients’ lives, just as it happened with Jardine.
“However, without being prescribed it at private clinics like Alternaleaf, she would never have been able to access it.
“In the UK, only a few prescriptions have been written mainly to treat very rare forms of epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and during chemotherapy.
“In fact, there are more than 50 conditions that medical cannabis can treat, including chronic pain, anxiety, insomnia, ADHD, OCD, PTSD, migraines and more.
“Medical cannabis can transform our healthcare system, but for that to happen, negative stigmas must be changed.”
How can I get medical cannabis?
Patients who feel they would benefit from medical cannabis can ask their family doctor for a referral or refer themselves to a specialist cannabis clinic.
A specialist doctor will then assess your medical history to decide if you are eligible – you must first have tried licensed medicines for your condition.
They are then followed up four times a year.
However, access through the NHS is limited – to date only a few prescriptions have been given to children with treatment-resistant epilepsy.
Licensed cannabis-based medicines have been approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) for spasticity associated with MS and chemotherapy-induced nausea.
For chronic pain, Nice found that there was sufficient clinical evidence of effectiveness, but did not consider it to be cost-effective.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
