Medicinal (strictly) marijuana for pain relief of shingles

My elderly Normand neighbour is still experiencing sleep-disturbing nerve pain 18 months after his dreadful facial and ocular zona. It comes in acute bouts with periods of remission, and he says that tradition dictates that you get four bouts and the last one heralds ‘curtains’!

He told me that in his mother’s day a local bone-setter did cures for the zona, which were reputedly very effective in getting rid of it, but that all the local bone-setters (remancheurs?) have died off. Anyone got anything on this? I’m always interested in traditional healing practices.

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The rebouteux and also those who aren’t rebouteux but ôte le feu both do shingles and any burning pain.
Hospitals keep a list of them and give you their number.

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Very helpful, Véro thank you, will check them out.

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It is still illegal in France as far as I can tell - apart from Sativex for multiple sclerosis.

It is legal in the UK but only by a narrow range of hospital specialists (oncologists for intractible nausea and neurologists for difficult to control epilepsy) - and one practical problem is “what do you actually prescribe?” as it must be a specific “medicinal form” but few are available to the hospital pharmacies in a sufficiently quality controlled manner.

There is a form called Epidiolex but I think that it is still not licensed in the UK and another synthetic cannabinoid called Nabilone which is licenced in the UK for chemotherapy induced nausea, plus elsewhere for a few other indications - it is not, as far as I can determine, available in France.

Health food store CBD oils are not supposed to contain any THC and vary a lot in quality/amount of any cannabinoid that they do contain.

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I have to disavow any claim to medical expertise, kind though the accolade may be. I’m a retired nurse so I possibly have more ‘insider nouse’ than the average lay-person, but that’s about it, folks! :zipper_mouth_face::stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

I only ever once smoked half a spliff in an Amsterdam coffee shop and passed out. My wife finished hers and the last half of mine and dragged me out on to the pavement to recover.

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About like me Pete…I only ever smoked it about twice in my very late teens and early twenties…all I really remember is one time laughing so hard that my cheeks felt like they were stuck to the back of the taxi…and another time feeling like I was in a time warp…

Happy Birthday to you Pete…and Happy Birthday also to my eldest daughter…x :slight_smile:

Health food stores CBD products can contain up to 0.5% THC and still be legal. However as you say quality varies, so most people recommend buying on line from a place that tests their products. It’s not the same as medical marijuana available in countries with different legislation, but many people in chronic pain have found it does help.

Received feedback from my sister in Canada today on the homeopathic combination pain relief remedy from Helios…x :slight_smile:

My sisters hubby had both knees replaced 6 weeks ago and has been back home for 3 weeks…pharmaceutical pain relief hasn’t been working and he’s only been able to sleep for two hours a night before the pain wakes him up…my sister has been getting up with him every night so she’s only been sleeping for two hours a night too…He came out of hospital 3 weeks ago and has been on crutches ever since…

The homeopathic remedy arrived 3 days ago…he started taking it straightaway…4 times a day…

The last two nights he has slept all night and today has walked without his crutches for the first time…

So they’re both really happy and she called me today to say Thankyou…

But it isn’t me…it’s their willingness to give it a try and I’m just thrilled for them…x :slight_smile:

A friend of hers has fibromyalgia and she asked me if it might help her too…??? I don’t know…but…”it has to be worth a try…” I replied…x :slight_smile:

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Helen, I’d like to offer the remedy to my elderly neighbour who has had knee and hip replacements but is now in a lot of pain and uses a cane when walking very stiffly. He’s the chap I helped with his facial herpes zoster.

Can you suggest an appropriate presentation (e.g. drops, granules) and dose for a trial?

Thanks, Peter x

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For my mom I ordered the oral liquid spray as she had issues with dexterity in her hands due to the rheumatoid arthritis…(now solved…and in my mom’s words…”magical…!”)…

it’s simple to spray on/under the tongue without having to attempt to get 3 tablets/granules into the bottle cap…as it’s better if the remedies aren’t handled on route to the mouth so I just felt it would be easier for her as a spray…

So although it’s a matter of personal preference I can say that the oral liquid spray at 30c is the form that has also in the words of my mom…”transformed her life” …

My sister ordered it in ‘soft tabs’ for her hubby which is what I always have here and always order for me and the Collies…she said today that she never ever wants to be without it…x :slight_smile:

Thanks Helen, very useful. I will order the spray for André and see if he will try it. Is it a “one off” spray or is it repeated at intervals of hours/days/weeks or as required?

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For immediate relief it can be taken every 15 minutes for the first hour which is what my mom did and also my sister’s hubby…after that they have continued to take it 4 times a day…

My sister is decanting some into a sterile container for her friend with fibromyalgia to try…I’m now awaiting feedback from that too…

I think it’s wonderful that you care about your neighbour enough to try…it must be so debilitating to be in constant pain…not being able to sleep for more than a couple of hours…gradually it becomes so debilitating that every tissue/nerve/sinew/muscle/tendon/ligament becomes involved with the fight against the pain…xx

You describe his suffering very accurately, Helen he complains of getting hardly any sleep these days, and he is a man of very regular habits as befits a Normand paysan : in bed by 2200 up with the dawn, and not later than 0700, then a breakfast of carrotte rapée vinaigrette.

I hope he will give it a try, I will tell him of you and my trust in your integrity.

Will give you feedback on events! xx

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Hi, my response may be a tad too late but laroxyl (amitriptyline) is available on prescription here for nerve pain. Large doses are used as an antidepressant but smaller doses are used for peripheral neuropathic pain.
Whether or not any drug is addictive is dependent on the person taking it (imho), I have used this for many years along with buprenorphine and anti-inflammatories (both steroid and non steroid) and take them as and when needed without any effects. I can take them for several months then reduce or stop taking them for a week or so depending on pain levels at any given time.
Everyone is different and another person may take it for a week and become dependent so that should be taken into account with any drug, even paracetamol or marijuana.

Hope the shingles has eased, had my first shingles attack as a teen and have had it a few times since, thankfully the laroxyl I have for other pain is available to me.