Recently Diagnosed or Relapsed? Stop Looking For a Miracle Cure, and Use Evidence-Based Therapies To Enhance Your Treatment and Prolong Your Remission
Multiple Myeloma an incurable disease, but I have spent the last 25 years in remission using a blend of conventional oncology and evidence-based nutrition, supplementation, and lifestyle therapies from peer-reviewed studies that your oncologist probably hasn't told you about.
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“According to the research, the administration of the non-psychotropic component cannabinoid cannabidiol (C-B-D) significantly helps heal bone fractures (myeloma bone pain).”
Hi David- I was diagnosed 1yr ago with multiple myeloma (MM). I responded remarkably well to my treatments and as of Feb am in remission. I have a great deal of confidence in my oncologist and how he has handled my journey with one exception.
My diagnosis was due to a broken rib and it was discovered that I had a large lesion on my spine and a number of smaller ones all over my body. Consequently I had a great deal of pain in the beginning.
It took a bit to get it under control due to my reluctance to using opioids. In the end I ended up on morphine. I only take 15mg extended release every 12 hrs.
I have approached my oncologist several times about getting off the morphine but he is extremely reluctant to do that but I can’t understand why. I realize everyone’s pain tolerance is different but since you have dealt with multiple myeloma for so long what have you used for pain management.
I have read several of the CBD articles and I don’t get a feeling that you are entirely sold on that as a pain management replacement for narcotics.
Can you help me find a replacement for morphine? My oncologist tells me it’s a very small dosage and he feels like I should remain on it. I’m concerned about long-term use.
I know I’m not promised 20 yrs or even two for that matter but I don’t want to find myself down the road even 5 yrs on 50mg of morphine because we have to keep upping the dosage because of the amount of time I’ve been on it. I appreciate any input you might have for me. MM Survivor in Pain- Thank you
Dear MM Survivor in Pain-
I am sorry to learn of your MM diagnosis. Great to read that you are in remission. It is normal to continue to have bone involvement even if your other numbers (FLC, Immunofixation, m-spike, etc) are under control.
It is also normal to have one or more bone lesions in the spine that can cause bone pain, a collapsed vertebra, etc. I have a couple of questions simply to understand your situation.
Do you still have any bone involvement now that you are in remission? You may or may not feel the bone involvement. I’m asking because MM patients can stabilize their MM while continuing to have a tiny lesion somewhere.
male all joints pain in blue
For the record, I too still wrestle with pain. For the past couple of years I have been trying to heal joint damage- avascular necrosis is the fancy med term. I may come across as lukewarm about CBD only because we don’t yet have it here in Ohio. I don’t have any personal experience yet…
Your therapy choices are as follows-
If your pain is a result of your collapsed vertebra then you must stabilize the vertebra. Consider bone cement. Also consider physical therapy. Strengthening the muscles surrounding your spine will help. A lot in many cases.
Further, I undergo acupuncture regularly. Hard to quantify but I believe acupuncture helps my pain.
Further- anti-inflammatory supplementation. I don’t mean aspirin or ibuprofen. I take curcumin, omega-3, other anti-inflammatory supplements. Studies confirm curcumin/omega-3 for pain issues such as osteo arthritis. Good for anti-mm therapy as well.
Massage- I used to get a massage monthly but switched to acupuncture- couldn’t afford both. But heat and massage are know to help local pain.
Diane, as you can see I spend a lot of my time, my day, managing my health, any pain and my MM. All three are intertwined and I think it’s worth my time.
I know you like your oncologist but I fault him for relying on conventional therapies too much. This is a function of FDA approved, conventional medicine so I can’t say I’m surprised.
I have thrown a lot of info at you. Let me know if you have any questions.
“Introduction: Only in recent years has balloon kyphoplasty gained significance in the treatment of vertebral fractures as an adequate minimally invasive vertebral stabilization technique. Kyphoplasty has also increasingly been used to treat vertebral osteolyses caused by multiple myeloma (MM).
Patients and methods: In our cohort of 76 patients with MM with a total of 190 vertebral fractures treated with kyphoplasty, we performed a 30-day postoperative analysis of cement leakage, neurologic symptoms, pulmonary embolism, and infections.
Results: Painful osteolytic or fractured vertebrae or even imminent vertebral instability caused by osteolyses were seen as indications for kyphoplasty. One case of pulmonary embolism was observed because of cement leakage as the only postoperative complication.
Conclusion: By careful interdisciplinary indication setting and a standardized treatment model, kyphoplasty presents a very safe and effective procedure for the treatment of vertebral osteolyses and fractures caused by MM.”
“Between 40% and 60% of Americans use complementary and alternative medicine to manage medical conditions, prevent disease, and promote health and well-being. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 PUFAs) have been used to treat joint pain associated with several inflammatory conditions.
We conducted a meta-analysis of 17 randomized, controlled trials assessing the pain relieving effects of omega-3 PUFAs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or joint pain secondary to inflammatory bowel disease and dysmenorrhea.
Meta-analysis was conducted with Cochrane Review Manager 4.2.8. for six separate outcomes using standardized mean differences (SMDs) as a measure of effect size:
patient assessed pain,
physician assessed pain,
duration of morning stiffness,
number of painful and/or tender joints,
Ritchie articular index, and
nonselective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug consumption.
Supplementation with omega-3 PUFAs for 3-4 months reduces patient reported joint pain intensity (SMD: -0.26; 95% CI: -0.49 to -0.03, p=0.03), minutes of morning stiffness (SMD: -0.43; 95% CI: -0.72 to -0.15, p=0.003), number of painful and/or tender joints (SMD: -0.29; 95% CI: -0.48 to -0.10, p=0.003), and NSAID consumption (SMD: -0.40; 95% CI: -0.72 to -0.08, p=0.01). Significant effects were not detected for physician assessed pain (SMD: -0.14; 95% CI: -0.49 to 0.22, p=0.45) or Ritchie articular index (SMD: 0.15; 95% CI: -0.19 to 0.49, p=0.40) at 3-4 months. The results suggest that omega-3 PUFAs are an attractive adjunctive treatment for joint pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and dysmenorrhea.
“A new study explores another promising new medical application for medical marijuana. According to the research, the administration of the non-psychotropic component significantly helps heal bone fractures…
According to the research, the administration of the non-psychotropic component cannabinoid cannabidiol (C-B-D) significantly helps heal bone fractures. The study, conducted on rats with mid-femoral fractures, found that C-B-D — even when isolated from tetrahydrocannabinol (T-H-C), the major psychoactive component of cannabis — markedly enhanced the healing process of the femora after just eight weeks…
“The clinical potential of cannabinoid-related compounds is simply undeniable at this point,” said Dr. Gabet. “While there is still a lot of work to be done to develop appropriate therapies, it is clear that it is possible to detach a clinical therapy objective from the psychoactivity of cannabis. C-B-D, the principal agent in our study, is primarily anti-inflammatory and has no psychoactivity…”
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Diane says
3 years ago
David, thank you for your response. In answer to your questions I don’t know about bone involvement. I have had back problems since childhood so it’s not uncommon for my back to hurt but not to the point of needing narcotics. We didn’t do anything to my spine once I was diagnosed except being very careful not to fall of do things that could break a bone. I get xgeva (sp) injections now. I caught COVID 10days after my last chemo treatment and spent 4 days in the hospital on oxygen and came home on oxygen. I have been fighting with fatigue every since. It seems like I am constantly sick with something or the other and it generally settles in my chest however my lungs for the most part stay clear. I developed neuropathy in my calf during chemo so they are painful to the touch. I can’t do anything for very long before my back starts aching but that was the case before I was diagnosed. I thing is —I don’t know if I would have pain severe enough to require morphine or if it would only be like it was before diagnosis. When I push for an answer he usually just says I really believe you need to continue with the morphine. I don’t know if he is protecting me from myself because has dealt with it long enough he knows that if I choose to go off the morphine the pain would be more then I could handle or if he just doesn’t want to take that chance. I am pretty pain free except for what I consider normal for me with my other problems. Thanks for your help
