Medical Cannabis & Fibromyalgia: Real Patient Stories

If you have been considering fibromyalgia medical cannabis treatment , you’ve landed in the right spot. While the patient stories below can’t replace the advice of a medical professional, they can help you feel less alone.

In this article, we share the experiences of five of our fibromyalgia patients, highlighting the impact that having a medical cannabis prescription has had on their lives.

Discover real fibromyalgia patient experiences with medical cannabis Each of the stories below have their share of differences, but there are many shared themes.

Whether it’s a loss of confidence, feelings of pain across various areas of the body or experiencing frustrations with existing conventional treatments, Rhona , Chaos , Helen , Carol and Jackie all describe the impact fibromyalgia has had on their daily lives and emphasised how important it was to feel listened to.

These stories are not just generic patient testimonials. They offer real-life insights into what living with fibromyalgia felt like before receiving treatment, and the impact that having prescribed medical cannabis in their lives has made since.

Join us as we learn more about their individual patient journeys, starting with Rhona.

Rhona Back in 2001, Rhona was in a serious accident. She was hit at 60 miles an hour while sitting stationary in her car, and her spine was completely compressed.

For years, she continued working full-time in a physically demanding role while dealing with pain and stiffness. Her doctor initially diagnosed her with carpal tunnel syndrome , but as her pain, exhaustion and mood worsened, Rhona eventually found out she had fibromyalgia.

She then followed her doctor’s advice and tried a variety of prescribed medicines to help alleviate her symptoms, including painkillers and sleeping tablets. But the combination of these treatments led to serious complications that almost resulted in Rhona losing her life.

That was when she knew something had to change. She needed to try something different.

During our interview, Rhona told us:

“To be completely honest with you, I was sceptical at best about medical cannabis before I started taking it. I had tried cannabis in the past recreationally, and hadn’t associated it with any level of pain relief whatsoever. But, wow!

As soon as I started with my prescribed Releaf medical cannabis flower through the Omura vaporiser, there was pain relief. I’m not saying that the pain was totally gone, but I was able to straight away stop using the morphine patches that were my main form of pain relief.

Now I'm back in the kitchen and the garden and loving it! I even mowed the whole lawn a few days ago, and felt great. I haven't been able to do that for years.

It will be two weeks this Sunday that I haven't had to take any of the pharmaceuticals, and I feel so much better.”

If this snippet has resonated with you, and you’d like to find out more about how Rhona has been taking medical cannabis for fibromyalgia relie , check out her full story on Releaf’s patient stories page.

Chaos Much like Rhona, Chaos’ fibromyalgia was missed at first. She was initially diagnosed with tendonitis in her hips, and it took some time before her doctors were willing to consider that something else might be causing her symptoms.

Over time, her pain moved throughout her body. Not only was her eyesight affected, but she was constantly fatigued and would often experience an odd sensation as if water were running down her legs.

Chaos was prescribed painkillers to help, but they only seemed to make a difference when the pain was mild. The side effects also affected her badly, but she was told nothing could be done to relieve them.

Her doctor didn’t appear to understand or believe the intensity of the pain she was experiencing, so she eventually referred herself to a pain clinic, where she received her fibromyalgia diagnosis.

This offered her some relief, but the medication she was given ended up causing the same severe side effects and led to plantar fasciitis . It was then that she found Releaf.

When speaking with Chaos, she explained:

“The entire process with Releaf happened online and was so easy to book, which was a real surprise and a huge relief. It was so easy, and it was so nice to just think, ‘Wow, I don’t have to even leave the house. I don’t have to worry about how my pain levels are today.’

The doctor really made me feel at ease. He asked me all the right questions. About my medical history, my previous cannabis use, my lifestyle and current pain management routine, and what I was hoping to get out of medical cannabis treatment. He took the time to listen to me with zero judgment.”

Chaos later went on to describe how prescribed medical cannabis helped her focus less on her pain, feel more able to enjoy her days and regain a sense of fun in life.

“With fibromyalgia, there's actually nothing physically causing the pain. It's the nerve endings which are sending signals to your brain telling you: ‘You're in pain!’ and it just goes on sending these signals for no reason.

So, what cannabis does is that it really helps to quiet those nerves down. It really dulls the pain, and it also makes it so I am not focusing on the pain nearly as much.”

Chaos went into much more detail in her full interview, explaining how her cannabis-based treatment plan is helping her fibromyalgia . Head over to her patient stories page to read more.

Helen At first, Helen thought the aches and pains in her joints and losing her train of thought were all just a part of getting older.

Household tasks like cooking and hanging out the washing were becoming difficult, and supporting her son, who has a mental health condition, became harder.

Something didn’t feel right, so Helen went to see a specialist doctor and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

Morphine was initially prescribed, but it made her very unwell. This was followed by several other painkillers, but the side effects and persistent achiness remained.

That was when she found out medical cannabis could potentially be an option. So, she started researching and voila! , she found Releaf.

When we spoke to Helen, she told us:

“I started to read up on the different medical cannabis clinics in the UK, and I really liked what I saw on the Releaf website. When I called the number, the support staff were incredibly friendly and helpful.

In fact, every person I’ve spoken with at Releaf has been great, and the doctors are experts and know exactly how to help me.”

Helen described changes in her pain, confidence, mobility and ability to be more involved with family life. She also talked about how much it’s helped with simple day-to-day tasks that many of us would typically take for granted. “Since I started with medical cannabis, I’ve made incredible progress with my pain, and my agoraphobia is basically gone.

I’ve started driving again and doing errands by myself. At first, I was just driving around and coming home, but I eventually found the courage to actually go into town, park my car and go into shops. I haven’t done that in two or three years!

I've been able to go up and down the stairs again too, something else I haven’t done in years.”

Check out Helen’s full patient story for further insights into her experience with fibromyalgia and medical cannabis.

Carol Carol has lived with fibromyalgia and chronic pain since experiencing a traumatic hysterectomy back in 2010, where she nearly died following several complications.

Before joining Releaf, Carol tried several types of medication to manage her pain, but struggled to find an option that worked for her without affecting her quality of life. She had also previously been put off medical cannabis back in 2018, due to how expensive it was at the time.

That all changed in February 2025, when Carol became a Releaf patient .

“ I was over the moon. When the doctor first told me about it, he said, 'You will sleep soundly on this,' and he wasn't wrong.

It was such a relief when the medication came through. I was jumping for joy. Even my mum has noticed a massive difference.

I don't feel tired as much. My body is much more relaxed. And with cannabis flower, I can walk better. I take fewer pills. I can play with my grandchildren, where I would struggle before.

I have actually got a cake in the oven. That's the difference it's made! It's through medical cannabis that I've been able to stand and mix it all. Before, it would have been too painful.”

Carol also described Releaf’s sign-up process as clear and easy to use, and said the doctors she had spoken to had been “ brilliant .”

You can read Carol’s full story here .

After joining Releaf in July 2025, Jackie now uses prescribed medical cannabis oil to manage her fibromyalgia symptoms and restless leg syndrome. However, things weren’t so straightforward beforehand.

Having worked as a nurse for 45 years, Jackie was diagnosed with fibromyalgia many years earlier and wasn’t enjoying the side effects associated with many traditional medications.

Her restless leg syndrome was also having a major impact on her ability to sleep. While she had loved being active, she felt like she no longer had the energy or, in her words, “ motivation to do anything”.

“It was getting to the point where I was exhausted. I just wasn't sleeping - I’d be awake all night, and then obviously in the day I just didn’t want to do anything.

I'm the sort of person that likes to be on the go all the time - I'm quite active. I love going out with the dogs, I love swimming and cycling and all sorts of different activities, but I just didn't have the energy any more.”

Jackie’s outlook started to change following a conversation with her husband.

“My husband has MS, and he mentioned medicinal cannabis. It wasn't something that I'd really looked into before, but the more I looked into it, the more I thought, ‘that sounds ideal for me really’, and indeed it is. It's worked a treat, to be honest.

The restless legs aren't an issue now at night. I can get off to sleep and stay asleep, which is absolutely wonderful. Best of all, I don't take any analgesics any more, and that is what I find incredible.”

Discover Jackie’s full story to find out more about her experience with fibromyalgia and the impact that just 0.2ml of cannabis oil in the evening has made.

What do these medical cannabis fibromyalgia stories all have in common? Rhona, Chaos, Helen, Carol and Jackie may have all had different symptoms, medical histories and treatment experiences, but they all shared one thing in common: a long period of uncertainty before finding a treatment approach that felt right for them.

While their experiences with medical cannabis may be entirely unique, each of them talks about the meaningful changes the treatment has made to their daily life.

For Rhona , she was able to return to gardening and cooking

For Chaos , she enjoyed the feeling of being listened to by medical experts

For Helen , she loved being able to drive again, use the stairs more freely and feel more involved with family life

For Carol , she could relax in the knowledge that she is a legal medical cannabis patient

For Jackie , she improved her sleep and regained the energy she was missing to walk her dogs and go open water swimming

These stories are not a guarantee of results. But they do show what can happen when fibromyalgia care is personalised, carefully assessed and led by a specialist medical cannabis consultant.

If any of the stories featured in this article have resonated with you, our team are always on hand to help.

Simply get in touch with us , or head to our fibromyalgia condition page to learn more about the process involved with getting a medical cannabis prescription.

Learn more about medical cannabis for fibromyalgia with Releaf For many people living with fibromyalgia, even starting the process of exploring a new treatment can feel like a daunting prospect. Pain, fatigue, mobility problems, poor sleep and symptom flare-ups can all make appointments harder to manage.

That’s why it’s important to understand what support is available to you and learn whether medical cannabis could be a potential treatment option.

If any of the fibromyalgia patient stories featured in this article have resonated with you, our team are always on hand to help.

Here at Releaf, we have designed our prescription process to put you at the front and centre , making it easy to quickly check whether you may be eligible before booking a consultation with one of our specialists.

Find out whether you’re eligible for medical cannabis by using our medical cannabis eligibility checker . It’s free, takes less than 20 seconds and could be your first step towards finding relief.