Community nurses' support for patients with fibromyalgia who use cannabis to manage pain

Abstract

Supporting patients to manage chronic pain conditions, such as fibromyalgia (FM), remains a challenge for community nurses. Research suggests that despite the absence of a licensed cannabis-based product for medicinal use (CBPM) available for people with FM in the UK, there is an appetite for FM patients to use cannabis for pain management. Nurses have expressed anxieties when balancing tensions between helping patients and working within medical guidelines, as well as a need for further education about patient cannabis use. This article provides community nurses with insight into how cannabis use affects the pain experience for people living with FM. Despite potential harms, cannabis is perceived by users to have a positive impact on the lived experience of pain, and it may be preferred to prescribed opioid medication. This understanding can help to inform empathic practice and recommendations are made for reducing the risks of cannabis use to patient health.