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Posted 1/15/2015 12:05 AM (GMT 0)
Well, it's winter - never my favorite time of year. I've been very uncomfortable as I am every January and my hands are very stiff. I was hoping to get some assistance from the Rheumatologist today, but .... we'll just say that didn't go well.

My husband, bless his heart, has been looking for things to help me with my pain. We started watching some specials on medical marijuana. It looked like a possibility, but I do not have a medical marijuana card and am not the type of person to take risks on the street. After that, he found out that CBD, the non-high inducing part of the marijuana plant has been released for use for pain. It's become quite a business. There are oils, salves, teas, etc.

I ordered a little bit of CBD tea and CBD salve. It's supposed to help pretty quickly. I ran into a problem though - I can't stand the smell of the salve and the taste of the tea. I can dose the tea with honey until I can somewhat stand to drink it, but I taste it for quite a while after. I have to admit it is helping, but I am very sensitive to smell and taste. It is not going down well at all.

Has anyone run into this or tried this? I would love some recommendations. I'm desperate to get through this month which is always the worst every year. My main focus is the pain from the extreme edema I have in my upper arms and calves and the arthritis pain which aches beyond my ability to handle this month. I can soak my hands in hot water, but 5 minutes after I leave the hot water ...... back to square one. In warmer months, the pain is bearable, but January - February give me a horrible time. It is so bad that I have been running the TENS machine directly on my hands. NOT really comfortable, but better than not running it.

Thanks all
Posted 1/15/2015 1:04 AM (GMT 0)
Jenni,
I can't answer your question, but wanted you to know that my heart goes out to you. It sounds like really hard-to-bear pain. I will pray for some relief for you; let us know if you find it.
This cold has been difficult for me as well…my knees are almost screaming at me.
HEART
Posted 1/15/2015 2:28 AM (GMT 0)
Do you have raynaud's? In cold weather my hands really hurt. I use a heating pad to keep them warm when they need it.
Posted 1/15/2015 4:38 AM (GMT 0)
Winter does bring on the flares. Do they know the cause of the edema?

I hear ya on the strong smells and tastes.. That would be a problem for me.

My topicals also smell, but usually only a few minutes after i apply them
Posted 1/15/2015 8:30 PM (GMT 0)
Heart - I feel for you with the knees. My best friend has bad knees and I know this weather is really rough for her. I'll keep you in my thoughts.

Joy - thanks for the idea about Raynaud's. I looked it up and reviewed the symptoms. Some of it is similar. I definitely have a circulation issue. My shoulders down to my finger tips run into issue with circulation and numbness. I do not have the coloration that seems typical of Raynauds. However, this did lead me to looking at R.A. more and it's starting to look like that could be it. It's categorized by the same pain in both sides and that is true for me.

The other great thing that occurred because of my looking up Raynaud's is that they have special winter gloves for it. Also ones for arthritis. Some are thin enough that I could wear them around the house. It might help me for this month. I'm ordering from Amazon right now.


LJM - What topicals do you use? The best one I had was a compound from a place called Transdermal Therapeutics. Nothing else has seemed to help. My massage therapist uses arnica at the end of my visit and it's nice, but doesn't seem to do much between visits.

I have not been able to get anyone besides my massage therapist to even acknowledge that I have an issue with edema. I got my pcp to basically tell me that yeah, it sucks and if I'm using TENS on it that is probably the way. She never even touched me to feel the lumps on my arms from the edema. I could have been making it up or have a tumor - they wouldn't know. It's kind of frustrating. I had thought it might be part of the Fibro since it has been occurring more recently. The only other thing it could be is Lymphedema that I could find. However, I don't meet all the criteria for that.

Now if only I could find a doctor to look at these things ...... I promise I shower before the visit ;)
Posted 1/18/2015 7:57 AM (GMT 0)
Firefly- did your rheumy test you for arthritis or raynauds? Your symptoms sound miserable. I wish I could help you on the Mj question. Alaska just voted to legalized MJ like Colorado. So it won't be long for the stores to sell MJ. I never did get a MJ card. I might be interested in how all these topicals work. Hopefully somebody can help you. Good luck with some relief and proper diagnoses.
Posted 1/18/2015 5:13 PM (GMT 0)
I've been trying a warming CBD muscle rub that has been great for some of my aches. not only does it almost instantly reduce the pain in the area where I rub it but it seems to last.
Posted 1/19/2015 3:33 AM (GMT 0)
All - Thanks for the input. I think I wasn't as clear as I should have been. MJ is out of the question for me. Smell makes me ill even if I had a card, which I don't and I am very sensitive to smell. Plus, the industry I work in has semi-regular "surprise" drug tests. I can't take the chance. CBD is a possibility because it is legal. I may just have made bad choices with my purchases. The tea tasted like the smell of the dirt you buy for your plants. The salve I bought smelled so badly, I only used it once and only tried it on my leg. It felt like I could smell it forever. I was wondering if someone here had a brand that didn't smell so much like .... welll .... MJ.

AK Angel - My rheumy only saw me twice. In the first visit they didn't touch me, just listened to what I told them about, prescribed Lyrica and asked if I could find someone to take on giving me Lyrica. They ignored the list of other things going on that I discussed. On the second and final visit, I told them the Lyrica was helping, but that I was having pain in my hands and arms and was hoping they had suggestions. THere was a long pause and then they looked at me and confirmed that one of my docs would be taking on my Lyrica prescription. Then they told me I probably had just gotten used to the Meloxicam and my pain doc would have to find something else. No tests were given and they have yet to touch me. (Honest, I do shower daily). I think my next step is to get a new Rheumy. It's just frustrating because the wait for a first appointment is 4-6 months these days. I know I will feel better once I get through the worst of winter, but I have a horrible feeling I will forget to deal with this until next January (LOL). I don't think I meet all the criteria for Raynaud's, but I have such poor circulation, I'm not sure. I would be willing to do any test they wanted to get to a point where I had a toolkit for my hands and wrists. I've built some up for Fibro, but nothing seems to work for this.

Julie - can you tell me what CBD muscle rub you have been trying? What does it smell like? My prescription for my topical finally went through and while it helps, it's not super effective. I would love to try anything that didn't smell bad to me.
Posted 1/20/2015 3:17 AM (GMT 0)
I use the capsules. NO issue with smell. However, I did use the salve and another methol rub which, although did smell, helped a lot and I'm sensitive to odors. Also, there is the edibles which didn't bother me
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