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Medical cannabis and endometriosis – “I can live a normal life”

Thirty-two-year-old Megan has lived with the symptoms of endometriosis since her teens.

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Medical cannabis and endometriosis - "With cannabis I can live a normal life"
Megan was diagnosed with endometriosis in February this year.

Megan, an Australian medical cannabis patient living with endometriosis, shares how the plant has helped in managing her symptoms.

Thirty-two-year-old Megan has lived with the symptoms of endometriosis since her teens. At times she’s experienced such intense pain that she struggled to leave her house.

“I honestly believe I would have ended up suicidal within the next few months if I didn’t pursue and get approved for medicinal cannabis when I did,” she said.

During Endometriosis Awareness Month in March, Cannabis Health interviewed several patients across the globe who  live with the often-debilitating symptoms of the inflammatory condition.

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Endometriosis is present in about one in 10 women and non-binary people aged between 25 to 40 in the United Kingdom – but can affect people at any age.

Cells similar to those lining the womb grow elsewhere in the body, such as the bladder, ovaries, colon and rectum, and react to changing hormones in the menstrual cycle.

They grow thicker in the middle of the cycle and then break away and start to bleed before being slowly reabsorbed by the body. This process can cause inflammation, pain and new scar tissue.

Megan, who lives in Australia, explained that she was only officially diagnosed with endometriosis in February this year.

Lengthy diagnosis is common as the condition can mirror others and is widely misunderstood among many doctors – the average time from onset of symptoms is seven and a half years.

“I’ve always had painful periods – I just always thought they were meant to be painful,” Megan told Cannabis Health.

“I didn’t question it until early 2018 my periods stopped for about three months and when they returned it was like everything was turned up and the pain was excruciating.”

In early 2019 Megan was told she had adenomyosis, a condition in which the inner lining of the uterus breaks through the muscle wall of the uterus.

Symptoms can include lower abdominal pressure, menstrual cramps, bloating and heavy periods.

Her GP at the time suggested that she may have endometriosis as well, but it was not confirmed until surgeons performed a laparoscopy – keyhole surgery of the abdomen or pelvis.

Managing pain

People who have endometriosis often suffer from painful periods, painful sex, pain in the lower abdomen, pain on passing a stool and urinating, or lower back pain.

This can then lead to difficulty sleeping, an inability to focus on daily tasks, and in some cases a mental health decline.

Over the years Megan has tried NSAIDs, codeine and oxycodone in an attempt to manage the pain.

“I’m somewhat unlucky that I don’t respond to a lot of painkillers… so I was always ‘pushing through’ the pain and essentially burning myself with heat packs,” she said.

Meanwhile, she was using cannabis recreationally, but it took a comment from her partner to realise that it was also helping to dull the symptoms of her two conditions.

I was mid-flare about 12 months ago and we’d run out of cannabis. It was a long weekend in my city so all the dealers we knew were sold out,” she recalled.

“I was curled up in bed with my heat packs and my partner said then I should see if I can get into trials for medicinal cannabis or a prescription for it.

“He’d picked up that it was the only thing that would help my pain and being reliant on black market wasn’t ideal long term.”

She was initially nervous to make an appointment at a clinic, because she did not think she would get approved.

“Everyone downplays endo so much, I was worried I’d get the same kind of dismissal about my symptoms and pain that so many doctors had done in the past,” she said.

She finally applied for a prescription last summer, and because she was able to show all the painkillers she had tried that had not worked, the process to approval was fairly quick.

Among the methods she uses to take cannabis are ingesting CBD and THC oils, and cannabis flower to vape.

The CBD oil helps with overall symptoms – definitely reduces anxiety and nausea and has a huge impact on reducing pain,”  said Megan.

“THC oil I’ll use more on days when the pain is worse than my normal levels, or when I get a random flare up some days, it helps to take THC oil and flower together to get through it.”

Stigma

Despite how much it helps her, Megan has experienced some negative comments due to her use of cannabis, particularly before she was given a prescription.

I think a lot of people still just view it as this evil illegal drug and don’t understand that it’s such a powerful and useful plant and tool in treating people’s illnesses,” she explained.

However, after getting a prescription she said her friends and family had been “surprisingly supportive”.

She continued: “I’m not sure if it’s because it’s issued via a prescription that makes people more approving of it, or if it’s just because they can see the effect it’s had on me since starting it. Maybe a combination of both.”

Getting a prescription for cannabis made a huge difference to her wellbeing. 

“With cannabis I can live a pretty normal life,” she added.

But in the long term, Megan is worried for women who have endometriosis, and the dismissive nature of some doctors when it comes to the benefits of cannabis for pain.

“I’m scared for the next generation of endo warriors who are going to be pushed onto these incredibly strong medications,” she said.

I really struggle to comprehend how some doctors will be happy for their patients to be on really strong pharmaceuticals every day to manage their pain, but can still be so anti-cannabis.”

Alongside the cannabis, the laparoscopy – during which surgeons removed some of the offending cells – also helped to significantly ease the pain of the endometriosis.

She stressed that it is vital that more surgeons are trained in expert excision surgery as a more permanent solution for patients.

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