Medical Cannabis: A Potential Therapeutic for Systemic Endometriosis/Adenomyosis

Endometriosis as a disease entity is so poorly understand, secondary to being a disease of women. Normally, a woman’s symptoms are not believed, and the symptoms are deemd to be psychiatric in origin, blatant psyche out bias. Addititonally, the systemicness of Endometriosis is often overlooked, and the woman is diagnosed with multiple other vague diseases, such as, fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Luckily, a test was developed for IBS, but it is not extensively utilized.

Endometriosis in the population is about 20-30% of women, even in my population of Medical Cannabis patients. Stage 0 Endometriosis is very invisible, but the patient normally has severe pelvic pain with severe fatigue, intractable migraines, alternating constipation/diarrhea, worsening diffuse myalgia, starting from ovulation. Some women even have seizures secondary to the catamenial migraines, some women have nose bleeds every month with their menses, catamenial epistaxis.

I have included a table below to depict some of the possible systemic sequelae of systemic Endometriosis. In about 5 years Medical Cannabis, and the Endocannabinoid System (EBS) will be fleshed out in greater detail. There are over 600 compounds in Medical Cannabis, which include the Terpenes. Currently, Medical Cannabis remains a Schedule 1 drug, and therefore is poorly studied in America. The best and most comprehensinve studies of the many benefits of Medical Cannabis are out of Israel and Canada. Intensive studies are being undertaken in Colorado at the moment.

Table 1: Review of systems with corresponding endometriosis symptoms/sequelae.

SystemSymptoms/Sequelae
PsychologicalPremenstrual syndrome
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
Possible suicidal ideations  
NeurologicalMigraines
Cerebritis
Seizures
Sciatica
Lower back pain
Diffuse Myalgia
Nausea/vomiting
RespiratoryChest pain
Costochondritis
Pneumothorax
Hemothorax
Pneumonitis with restrictive lung disease
CardiacPericarditis with angina/myocarditis
Dysrhythmia with coronary vasospasm
GastrointestinalInflammation of small intestine and large intestine with dysmotility/malabsorption
Bowel obstruction/strictures
Hemorrhage
Nausea/vomiting
Alternating diarrhea/constipation
Rectocele
GenitourinaryEndometrioma
Cystitis
Bacterial vaginosis
Bladder inflammation
Hemorrhage
Recurrent urinary tract infections
MusculoskeletalDiffuse myalgia/calf localization
HematologyHypercoagulable state
Epistaxis
Immunocompromised
EndocrineFatigue
Vitamin D deficiency
Vitamin B12 deficiency
Vitamin B complex deficiency
Iron deficiency anemia

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