MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, Inability to urinate -- The patient is a 45-year-old female, "Lee," diagnosed on 1995 with multiple sclerosis. She had experienced a variety of symptoms for several years leading up to this diagnosis, including numbness and double vision. She reports that the examining physician delivered the devastating news in a casual way, warning her to not get too hot or too tired or too stressed. He revealed that there were no real treatments available and wished her good luck.
Lee embarked on an ambitious effort to improve her situation. She learned more about vitamins and tried homeopathic remedies. At one point, when her stomach was giving her a lot of trouble being "sour," she decided to try marijuana. She states "I had tried it in college, I wasn't afraid to try it."
After a few years, Lee says she wasn't sure that the benefit of marijuana use is worth all her worry about being caught. She lives in a small town where she does not dare ask around for any supply. "It's hard to get - I can't buy it locally."
One of the most horrific consequences of her illness is that sometimes she can't urinate. "The muscles lock up," she says. "I had to learn how to catheterize myself - the doctors gave me a magazine called Inside MS. There was an article about how to do it, and places you can order catheter kits and the supplies you need. I hate to do it - it makes me cry. It's horrible."
"One day, I was so bad off I thought I would have to go to the hospital. But then, I thought, I'll try marijuana. So I smoked about a half a joint and in ten minutes I could feel my muscles relax and I could go to the bathroom."
"Now I know that if I have marijuana, I can use it when this happens to me. The doctors gave me muscle relaxers, but they don't give the kind of relief that marijuana gives. For one thing, by the time I realize I'm in trouble, I can't wait a couple of hours for a pill to go into effect." "I've told a few of my friends about this, but mostly I keep it to myself. I don't discuss it with my family - they would worry too much about the illegality." Nov 2002