hi everyone,
i am new to this forum. i am sarah age 67, i was diagnosed with ppms in early 2017. the ms nurse told me that the ms had been in my system for a long time before i had any real noticeable symptoms. when i look back on my life now i can see some things that were probably passed off as something else but nevertheless were surely symptoms of the disease. i did not dream back then that i could possibly have ms. i had always been a physically active person. now i am not.
i have been a user of marajuana and cannabis for a long time now, since age 16. i never knew just how good it would be for me and i must emphasise the (for me) bit. i am really not trying to suggest anyone else try it. it is illegal for one thing. yes even now in our wonderfully modern progressive democracy (big laugh) still illegal. just the same as an assisted death with dignity.
however, if you can possibly get hold of some legal cannabis based legal medication do give a try. not that long after diagnosis i started to get out of this world pain known i think as ms hug. i suffered this for a while. more recently i have started the day in a good way with joint of weed. guess what no more pain. the pain i experienced was rolling around on the floor, crying out loud type of pain. i was offered codeine phosphate tablets. the nurse said they will constipate you. great.
that has got to be it for now folks i know there are people who can relate to this. sarah
Hi Sarah
Yes, I get it 
Like you, my MS went undetected for years, at first passed off and ignored, like yours. And then i was misdiagnosed for years. Looking back my first episode was 2003! Things took a hold in 2016 by which time I was labouring under the misapprehension that I had spinal stenosis. In fact, I only got the MS diagnosis at the start of 2021. Until then, I thought I was an opertion away from being ābetterā, so major adjustment of expectations has been necessaryā¦
Not only is this as good as it gets, but actually it will only get worse. Not exactly news to any of us on here, I know. Each and every one of us has had that horrible realisation at some point. Iām EDSS 6.0 from a standing start!
At 67, I guess you are getting your pension now. How long were you able to work? Iām 59 and whilst weed has a certain appeal (memories of Uni etc.), Iām still hoping to do some sort of work although had to bin my company last year. Weed & work donāt go too well together. Mobility & fatigue are my things currently, more than pain, PPMS but possible SPMS, theyāre still deciding.
Graeme
Hello Sarah
Welcome to the forum. Itās perhaps a good thing to remain undiagnosed for so long. PPMS is no joke, and as thereās only one disease modifying drug licensed for PP, and that only recently, managing undiagnosed for so long is perhaps a good thing. So long as you can manage as many symptoms and pain as you can that is.
Many people do find that cannabis is a great drug to help them with the symptoms of MS. Iāve never had much of a good reaction to it, but am a whole hearted believer in its medicinal benefits. Certainly in the āwholesomeā varieties, such as you might grow quite naturally rather than the super strong varieties. I also think cannabis should be legalised. Definitely for medicinal use if not recreational (although I donāt think itās as dangerous as for eg alcohol).
So, for me, smoke away! Itās definitely a better option than many of the legal prescription drugs.
Sue
For medical use, definitely 
Could be catastrophic if released unregulated to the public. Plenty of evidence of long term neurological damage if pot-heads indulge recreationally for 30 years or so, particularly if used in their teens. However the lesser of evils for those requiring the medical benefits. It provides a form of relief when nothing else can.
Hi Sarah - I get it and good for you! I was NW Regional Nurse and then East Lancs Drug Team Nurse. Iāve seen how people can function on a bit and all power to them but didnāt feel I could indulge. Glad youāre enjoying the benefits, sometime prescribed medication is the ingredient beast!
Hi, glad you find MS more cope-able with the help of cannabis.
If it was more available in the sativex form (which is legally for medicinal use), then folk wouldnt seek out the illegal stuff. Makes sense to me. BTW I am not a user!
Boodsx