Our Guide To Cannabis & Neuropathy – Does It Help?
Neuropathy is a pain caused by damage to the nervous system, a common form of chronic pain in people which can suddenly happen out of nowhere.
There has been evidence to show that cannabis helps neuropathy patients and pain, with a reduction of chronic pain in some studies.
Down below in our guide, we will discuss what exactly cause neuropathy, the different types of neuropathic pain and how it helps.
What Causes Neuropathy?
Before we can get into discussing how medical cannabis helps to control neuropathy, let’s start with what actually causes it so we can identify the kind neuropathic pain someone might be dealing with.
- Autoimmune problems.
- HIV.
- Injuries.
- Shingles.
- Alcohol.
- Exposure to toxins.
- Chemotherapy.
- Fibromyalgia.
Different Types Of Neuropathy
Neuropathic pain patients suffer from different kinds of neuropathy depending on the type of pain.
We’ve listed the different kinds of neuropathy below.
- Autonomic neuropathy – This affects all the nerves in your body which keep your body running, it can cause problems with your digestive tract and issues with maintaining your body’s temperature.
- Peripheral neuropathy – Nerve damage which damages central pain nerves all connected to the feet, legs and arms, it is the most common type and is often caused by diabetes.
- Sensory neuropathy – This neuropathic pain affects all the nerves related to touch and temperature.
- Motor neuropathy – Motor neuropathy controls the nerves related to muscle movements and affects motions such as walking.
- Focal neuropathy – This is nerve damage which affects a specific nerve.
How Medical Cannabis Helps With Neuropathy
In some studies, medical cannabis has been shown to help with the intensity of pain in neuropathic pain patients.
This is thanks to it reducing the effect of the neural processing of nerve pain stimuli nociceptive pain, THC in the cannabis can also help sleep with neuropathic pain.
Other Benefits Of Medical Cannabis On Health
Medical cannabis can be excellent for neuropathic pain and reducing daily pain intensity, it can also have other benefits on health which we will mention below.
- Can help with alcohol dependency – Cannabis might help with opioid addiction and alcohol dependency, however, there have been studies which have shown that it could also make addiction worse and lead to substance abuse.
- Could help with anxiety/depression – Cannabis might be able to help post-traumatic stress disorder and depression but is not good for some mental health problems such as psychosis and bipolar.
- Good for chronic pain – Cannabis contains cannabinoids which could potentially help chronic pain in day-to-day life and block the pain receptors in the brain.
- Epilepsy – CBD has been proven to lower the number of seizures in people who suffer from the Dravet syndrome thanks to the CBD qualities. This is thanks to it calming the brain and the receptors.
- Cancer chemotherapy – Some evidence has shown that oral cannabinoids can help with nausea caused by chemotherapy, it is not effective at treating or curing cancer, however.
How Do I Use Cannabis For Neuropathic Pain?
If you suffer from neuropathic pain, you might want to try using cannabis for your pain.
However, it’s important to get the types and dosage right when taking this drug in order to get the most out of it.
Most of the time, it’s best to start with a nighttime dose since that is often when the pain is worse, start with the lowest dose possible and use a combo of both THC and CBD oil.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cannabis & Neuropathy
What are the other neuropathic pain treatments?
Most of the time medication such as Duloxetine and venlafaxine can help neuropathic pains.
What does nociceptive pain mean?
This is a type of pain which is often sharp and throbbing and is a type of pain caused by damage to body tissue.
Should I smoke cannabis for neuropathy?
Smoking is not the most ideal way to intake cannabis due to its effects on the lungs, THC oil or CBD oil is preferred at a low dose or capsules containing the drug.
Are there any negative health side effects to taking cannabis for neuropathy?
There are some negative health side effects to taking cannabis, it could cause headaches, nausea and drowsiness, also drug interactions so always ask your doctor before taking the drug.
Last Words
Overall, cannabis might be able to help neuropathy thanks to blocking pain receptors, this could massively help patients at night with sleeping when pain is often the worst.
Always start with a low dose of cannabis as recommended by your doctor when starting medical cannabis, avoid excess use otherwise it can cause negative health side effects.
