Multiple Sclerosis Q&A

An estimated 400,000 Americans have multiple sclerosis and live with pain, muscle tremors, and other debilitating symptoms. At Medical Marijuana Doctors of Louisiana, Peter Candelora, MD, provides medical marijuana evaluations in-office to determine if it’s a treatment option for you. Dr. Candelora ensures you meet Louisiana’s medical marijuana program requirements and sends your prescription directly to the dispensary. To find out how medical marijuana can relieve symptoms of multiple sclerosis, call the office in Metairie, Louisiana, or book an appointment online today. 

What is multiple sclerosis?

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition that affects your central nervous system, which includes your brain and spinal cord.

When you have MS, your immune system mistakenly attacks the protective sheath covering your nerve fibers. This attack disrupts the signals that travel from your nerves to your brain and causes symptoms like:

• Numbness
• Weakness
• Blurry vision
• Tremors
• Muscle spasticity
• Loss of coordination
• Shock-like sensations
• Bowel and bladder dysfunction

As the disease progresses, these symptoms can become debilitating. Typically, treatments using corticosteroids and other medications can relieve some symptoms of MS. Medical marijuana is also an option to consider when these therapies aren’t working well.

How does medical marijuana treat multiple sclerosis?

The dried buds and leaves of the Cannabis sativa plant contain active ingredients known as cannabinoids. Cannabinoids break down into the chemicals delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). 

Dr. Candelora prescribes CBD and THC as part of a treatment plan using medical marijuana. THC binds to the receptors in your brain to relieve the persistent pain of multiple sclerosis. Smoking THC or consuming it in edible form also produces a high sensation that may relax your body and keep you pain-free. 

While CBD doesn’t trigger a high like THC, the chemical provides anti-inflammatory benefits that ease the muscle pain and spasticity that multiple sclerosis causes. 

How do I qualify for medical marijuana to treat multiple sclerosis?

Louisiana offers a program to make medical marijuana available to those with underlying medical conditions like multiple sclerosis.

To qualify for the medical marijuana program, Dr. Candelora provides comprehensive physical exams and reviews your medical history. He also assesses how well other treatments are working to manage pain and other symptoms that MS can cause.

After your evaluation, Dr. Candelora sends your prescription to one of the participating dispensaries in Louisiana so that you can pick it up. Under Louisiana law, only non-smokable, non-raw marijuana is available for use in medical treatments, so you may receive a prescription for:

• Oils
• Pills
• Sprays
• Lotions
• Extracts
• Tinctures
• Chewables
• Suppositories
• Solutions
• Suspensions
• Skin patches
• Metered-dose inhalers

Dr. Candelora can determine the correct dosage for your needs and the best delivery method to treat multiple sclerosis symptoms.

Call Medical Marijuana Doctors of Louisiana to schedule a medical marijuana evaluation for multiple sclerosis or book an appointment online today.