Golden, CO–(ENEWSPF)–May 1, 2014. Fibromyalgia patients who have tried cannabis say that it is more likely to relieve their symptoms than are conventional alternatives, according to the findings of an online survey of over 1,300 subjects conducted by The National Pain Foundation and NationalPainReport.com.
Of those surveyed, 379 respondents reported having used cannabis therapeutically. Sixty-two percent of them rated the substance to be “very effective” in the treatment of their condition. Only five percent of said that cannabis did “not work at all.”
By comparison, among those who had used the prescription drug Cymbalta, only eight percent rated the drug as “very effective,” and 60 percent said it did “not work at all.” Among those who had used Lyrica, ten percent said that drug was “very effective,” versus 61 percent who reported no relief. Among those who had used Savella, ten percent rated the drug as effective, and 68 percent said it was ineffective.
Each of the three prescription drugs assessed in the survey is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of fibromyalgia, a chronic pain syndrome characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and multiple tender points in the neck, spine, shoulders and hips. An estimated five million Americans are afflicted by fibromyalgia, which is often poorly controlled by standard pain medications.
Source: http://norml.org
