DOSE:

0.25 g

smoked

Cannabis - High CBD

BODY WEIGHT:

210 lb

I was diagnosed with gout in my early 30s, and since then have had a number of painful, crippling attacks. Last year, I commenced urate lowering therapy with allopurinol, which has made an enormous difference, but I still get an attack from time to time if I overindulge in food and/or alcohol and put on weight.

The last attack I had was in my knee, and it was particularly severe and painful. The pain of a gout attack is difficult to describe for those who have never had one. It feels as though a torture device has been applied to the afflicted joint, and if it happens to be disturbed or even articulated a few degrees the resulting pain can literally bring tears to my eyes and make me gasp, usually followed by cursing loudly. Suffice it to say that it hurts like the devil, and requires potent analgesics - sometimes even narcotics - to bring relief.

I've found that large doses of ibuprofen do make a little bit of a difference, but only enough to take a little bit of the edge off the pain. Combined with an icepack, it brings at best about 20% relief for a few hours, but it also gives me an upset stomach. Colchicine, a drug that can help in the early stages of gout, is only really effective if I take it at the first twinge. I think I've headed off a few attacks by taking colchicine at the first sign of gout, but unfortunately attacks often begin in the middle of the night and become full-blown quite rapidly. Additionally, colchicine can make me feel really awful, and it is pretty toxic.

So, during my last attack, I decided I'd try something different. I've read about the anti-inflammatory properties of cannabis, and since I have experience with the herb I decided I'd give it a shot. I used to smoke it recreationally when I was younger, but eventually grew out of it. Fortunately, some of my friends did not, so it was easy enough to find a little bit.

Having obtained some cannabis of the indica strain, which supposedly has a higher cannabidiol content, and still suffering mightily from the gout, I loaded a small pipe and smoked a little bowl. As I expected, as soon as the THC kicked in I felt a nice analgesic effect from the high. If that's all it provided, it would have been worth it simply for that alone.

However, not half an hour later, I experienced a dramatic sense of relief as the inflammation in my knee began to subside significantly. I found myself walking around again, and while I was not completely cured the difference was profound. The redness and heat of my knee began to fade, I no longer felt feverish, and I could put weight on the joint without wincing. I'd say it gave me 50% relief within an hour.

From the moment I smoked that bowl, the gout began to subside, and had mostly resolved within a couple days. I smoked one or two more bowls over the next 24 hours after the first dose, and slept quite well, although I admit I didn't get much work done. In fact, being sleepy was the only significant side effect I felt, and although it was a bit annoying (which is why I quit smoking pot all those years ago), I'll happily take a day or two of tiredness over a week of severe pain. And given past experience, I am convinced that the weed cut the duration of the attack in half.

Given the pain of gout, any safe drug that can bring relief is welcome. While cannabis is no cure for the root cause of attacks (that's what allopurinol is for), it appeared to be a very effective treatment for acute gout. Additionally, it is nowhere near as toxic as colchicine, and it is safer than both narcotics and potent NSAIDs like indomethacin.

When I've got gout there's no time to wait, so might as well pick some up as needed. It looks like it will soon be legal in my state, and that's as it should be.

Exp Year: 2012	ExpID: 97888
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 38
Published: Oct 11, 2019	Views: 1,996
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Cannabis (1), Cannabis - High CBD (597) : Therapeutic Intent or Outcome (49), Medical Use (47), Not Applicable (38)