Does cannabis help anyone experiencing pain from radiation?

Posted by sansman @sansman, 1 day ago

I have been on this site for quite some time and very thankful for all the information that is available here.
Brief background, diagnosis in 2016 at the age of 57, RPC in late 2017, radiation in 2018, orchiectomy in 2021.
My problems seem to all stems from the radiation, it got ahold of my bladder.
I’ve been in some level of pain ever since, the doctors are no help, I can’t make them understand the amount of discomfort and pain this is putting me through.
So here’s the question, does cannabis help anyone?
The CBD in Tn. doesn’t relieve anything.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Prostate Cancer Support Group.

It sounds like you need to find a new urologist. Do you have any opportunity to go to a center of excellence to get treatment? With the problems you have a doctor should be able to help, and not ignore your complaint.

THC may make you actually dwell on the pain and think about it even more. The results are so different with everyone who uses it.

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@jeffmarc

It sounds like you need to find a new urologist. Do you have any opportunity to go to a center of excellence to get treatment? With the problems you have a doctor should be able to help, and not ignore your complaint.

THC may make you actually dwell on the pain and think about it even more. The results are so different with everyone who uses it.

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Thank you for the reply, I am currently on my 4th Urologist, I even went to the University of Kentucky at Lexington, which was the highest rated Urology dept. closest to me at the time.

I have been told is that my case is not unheard of, but it is rare.

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Have you written out exactly what you were feeling and provided that information to a doctor? Are they telling you they cannot help you, they don’t know what to do? You have to be proactive with some doctors before they will listen to you. It sounds like you’ve tried that, but I’m not sure you’ve been emphatic enough.

After going to so many doctors, it would seem at least one of them would want to help, have you been able to provide them with enough information so they want to help

I’m just shooting in the dark here, never run into such difficulty getting help. It just reminds me of a meeting last night in the prostate cancer group.. There was a doctor in the meeting telling us he had asked for his records from his urologist who avoided doing anything about his prostate cancer for a while. When he got the documentation, the urologist had written down that he had palpitated his prostate and what size it was and what he found. He logged that a few times. The doctor in the meeting said that he never actually palpated his prostate, so everything the doctor wrote down was a lie. Here was a urologist who is just avoiding his duties? It sounds like that’s what you’re having happen. You just need to put more pressure on doctors sometimes, really press your case.

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Yes. Cannabis does help with the pain. I had surgery in 2022 and 35 rounds of radiation in 2023. I was 52 at the time. At the time of getting radiation, I discussed the pain with my Radiation Dr, and he gave me a painkiller, it didn't help, and it caused immense headaches. I wasn't sleeping well, either. He sent me to an integrative medicine doctor to discuss other methods to help with pain. She asked if I was interested in getting a medical cannabis card and trying cannabis for pain and sleep. I had not done any weed since high school, and that was only a few times, so I didn't know much. She suggested starting with tinctures and edibles (Gummies) that were 1:1 CBD:THC. Well.....what a wonderful thing. After the first night, I slept 8.5-9 hours, which I had never done in 30+ years, according to my wife. I still get pain from the radiation. It's small, but it does occur, and it can be uncomfortable. I've been told that radiation pain also has a weird habit of coming back after several years. I have been managing the pain, nausea (from ADT), and sleep ever since. My journey changed after radiation as well.

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Thank you for your input, I am to the point where I’m willing to move to another state for relief. I had an SPC for 10 months, you want to talk about pain, the bladder spasms would bring me to my knees.
I’ve had so many Cystoscopy’s I’ve lost count, at one point I was self-cathing 7 to 10 times a day for more than a year, which led to early retirement back in 2021.
8.5 hours of sleep, I am envious.
I just want some relief, again I do appreciate your input and like you it’s been a few decades since I smoked any, plus I no longer have the “connections” I had back then.😀

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@sansman If it were me, I would arrange a telehealth call with mayo clinic or another center of excellence and make sure they have all your documentation before the session. You stay at home and do a zoom type call.

Secondly, my wife has had over 50 operations in her lifetime and has all sorts of chronic pain stuff going on. She uses cannabis to give her some relief in pain and it helps her sleep.

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At 59, I used cannabis edibles during my SBRT and ADT treatment last spring. Personally, I try to avoid Big Pharma if I can help it, I found them to be helpful countering some of the side-effects of Eligard treatment especially hot flashes and some other things like brain fog. I also found them to counteract the occasional painful urination during radiation. The relaxation effects took my mind off the treatments, especially when things were going a million miles per hour. Sometimes working out was exhausting during treatment, and they helped ease some of the pain and muscle aches as my body found its groove again. Living in a state with tight restrictions around cannabis of any kind, let alone medicinal, I ordered mine from sources in other states like Colorado and California. (Gotta love Google Reviews. ;-))

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Don’t exactly know what to search for, but extremely interested.
I see a lot of stuff about ratios.

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@bens1

@sansman If it were me, I would arrange a telehealth call with mayo clinic or another center of excellence and make sure they have all your documentation before the session. You stay at home and do a zoom type call.

Secondly, my wife has had over 50 operations in her lifetime and has all sorts of chronic pain stuff going on. She uses cannabis to give her some relief in pain and it helps her sleep.

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I am working now to gather my records, thank you.
My prayers are with you and your wife.

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What type of radiation did you have?

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