I have started a crowdfund to try to raise money for a years worth of medical cannabis. This would be a life saver for me! Please help if you can on Justgiving
In England, you can get cannabis for chronic pain medically legal, BUT only if you go see a private doctor and pay hundreds a month.
NICE who make the guidelines for the NHS won’t allow medical cannabis for chronic pain at all even though it works and millions can tell them that but they won’t read any research and don’t do their own either.
I have severe 10/10 chronic pain and am on Fentanyl after trying everything else, plus morphine for breakthrough pain. I am still in severe 8/10 – 9/10 pain all the time although am not bedbound and screaming night and day like I was when it was at 10, but I am still housebound and unable to do anything plus can barely move, walk nor stand more than a few mins.
The pain is horrific. The Fentanyl knocks it down 1 or 2 to make me not be bedbound, screaming all the time and the morphine barely does a thing as my pain is so severe.
I have withdrawal between patches where I sweat and get old flushes even though I am sweating even though we changed the patches to 48 hour interval instead of 72.
I take clonidine for withdrawal but it doesn’t work anymore. The withdrawal is horrible but I can’t go higher as I was up there and I couldn’t keep awake!
Amitriptyline for sciatica and migraines.
I have to speak to my doctor every 3 weeks and will forever or until the fentanyl stops working and I can’t go on with the pain.
I have chronic fatigue as well so that plus the opioids make it so I can barely keep awake. I fall asleep a lot and need 11 hours sleep but even then it isn’t enough so I struggle to get up.
Every day is horrible and a struggle with pain, fatigue and withdrawals.
Cannabis helps for a fact and helps with stiffness, migraines and sciatica too but I can’t get it as I don’t have money!!
NICE blame cost and say it doesn’t work when we can tell them it does work. As for money, my fentanyl, morphine, clonidine, amitriptyline and speak to the doctor every 3 weeks will cost more than the cannabis, plus we should be able to get what works!
I can’t get a natural safe plant, non addictive, hasn’t killed anyone, but am on the strongest painkiller in the world?
The NHS should help me! Why should it be a case of if you have money you can get the care you need? That is why we have the NHS, but it doesn’t work for people like me.
Yes in other countries where it’s legal you pay for it, but it’s not as much as it is here, plus the appointments high cost and repeat appointments you have to go to all cost.
I live on just over £300 a month before bills and prescriptions which I have to pay for. I do not have hundreds a month for cannabis.
The private doctors don’t do anything to help people like myself. They won’t try to help people with no money who are suffering and give them it free as they are private doctors.
If you get it from a private doctor, you have these fees:
Initial consultation fee – £100-£240
First follow up – £55-£150
Quarterly doctors appointment fee – £50-£80
Monthly prescription fee – £30-£50
Monthly cannabis fee every month – £150-£500
I get just £300 a month so yeah, how am I going to do that? I am not, that’s how.
Why should I have to suffer for something medically legal and available? I should get the painkiller I need that works for me! I can barely keep awake, still have severe pain and can’t get a painkiller that is there IF I had money.
I wish someone could help me get it. I have had this pain many, many years before it got horrific like it is, and it is so bad that I need the painkiller that works for me!
It would cost so much money to get it, money I don’t have!
This country is cruel and I am suffering.
Thankyou for posting this! I’m in the same position as you and use cannabis to control my hs as and crohns
I would very much like to try this too but like you, just don’t have the money for it. I already spend a small fortune on things like supplements and physiotherapy, I have spent thousands on surgery years ago before I lost my job and more money for other tests and treatments. It’s not feasible to say “oh yeah well you can get legal cannabis, but you have to pay ridiculous sums for it. Meanwhile your next door neighbour smokes pot regularly for £20 illegally”. It’s sick and wrong, and I hope something can change. I tried the petitions and writing to NICE and such but got nowhere. I wrote numerous times prior to the proposed changes to guidance for chronic pain where they try to take people off opioids (which I can’t function without) and instead give them mindfulness sessions (which isn’t going to do a damn thing for my nerve damage!) I wish I could offer some useful suggestion but I hate the situation too. I wish there were more we could do to try to get it passed for widespread NHS use (not just limited to extreme cases that feature in the media) but I’m not sure what.
Caz xx
Cannabis, even in states that have legalized it for medicinal purposes, is not covered by insurance in the United States. Thankfully there are ways to get more bang for your buck to make it a little more affordable like cooking with it, making tinctures, and dry vaping. Dispensaries here do however give discounts to those with a medical marijuana doctor recommendation. With that said, as a cannabis patient, I do not ever want it to be covered by my insurance. It will drive the price up and ruin the quality of the product. What we need is for it to be sold at an affordable price. The last thing we want is the people who have screwed up health care to the extent they have to be in charge of medical marijuana too. Our recommendation fees vary between states. I can get one here in California $35 a year. That includes the private cannabis doctor visit. You efforts would be better spent on fighting the hoops a patient has to go through to access it or fight to have it legalized for recreational purposes. Our govs want it to be difficult to obtain. I have been medicating with cannabis since 2013 and have never spent more than $100 a month on cannabis for medicinal needs. Like I said, it takes some creativity, but it can be done.
With that said, I love that it helps you and so sorry that it is so unaffordable in your country.
@cynthia, yeah in the USA it’s so much better though. You buy as much as you want or as little as you want. You don’t need to see a doctor every month or every few months either.
Here in the uk, you only get it private and you pay for the appointments, follow up appointments which are mandatory, appointments for change of cannabis product and you only get prescribed a product. You don’t get a card and buy what you want like in the USA.
It’s ridiculous here and so expensive. Thousands of pounds a year. It is absolutely stupid.
I’ve been to the USA in the past and had legal cannabis in shops that fell recreational and medicinal cannabis and it works so well. Here it’s just stupid.
I can’t stay in the fentanyl forever and the withdrawals are worse, the pain is worse and it’s getting back to a 10 which I can’t live with.
It’s my last possible hope 😢