A study conducted this year at Michigan Medicine shows that a large majority of fibromyalgia patients living with chronic pain have replaced opioid painkillers with CBD products to control it.

As described in our previous articles, fibromyalgia is a serious condition that directly affects quality of life. Widespread, intense muscle pain across nearly the whole body is its most prominent symptom. Patients may also experience fatigue, difficulty falling asleep, waking unrefreshed and trouble getting out of bed.

Opioids, a group of medicines derived from poppies, quickly cause dependence because they provide temporary happiness, pleasure and relaxation alongside pain relief. More than 20 chemically distinct opioid medicines are used clinically worldwide.

Opioid medicines can cause psychological disorders, poisoning, constricted pupils and, at excessive doses, death through suppression of the central nervous system's respiratory center. Opioid dependence has become a serious epidemic, particularly in the United States, where tens of thousands die from these medicines annually.

CBD for pain management

In a study involving 878 fibromyalgia patients, researcher Kevin Boehnke and his team at the Department of Anesthesiology's Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center examined patients' feedback on CBD use for chronic pain.

More than 70% of fibromyalgia patients using CBD-containing products for chronic pain reduced opioid use or stopped taking opioids and other pain medicines. Those using CBD products that also contained THC reported greater symptom relief.

“Fibromyalgia is not easy to treat,” researcher Kevin Boehnke said. “A few medicines with significant side effects and modest benefits are generally used. Many alternative treatments, such as acupuncture and massage, are not covered by insurance.

“CBD may be useful as a harm-reduction strategy because it lacks THC-like psychoactive effects and has much less abuse potential. Despite insufficient evidence, people are replacing medicines with CBD and saying it is less harmful and more effective.”

Boehnke also said the finding that CBD-only products provided pain relief and replaced pain medicines was promising and deserved further research.

Study details are available at this link.

We wish you good health.