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Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS)

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) are a collection of rare, inherited conditions that affect the connective tissues, primarily in the skin, joints and blood vessel walls.

Connective tissues provide support in skin, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, internal organs and bones. Patients with EDS will often have overly flexible joints (hypermobility) and stretchy, fragile skin.

There are several forms of EDS and some share the same symptoms. EDS can affect different patients in different ways and symptoms can range from relatively mild to totally disabling.

Symptoms of EDS

In total there are 13 types of EDS with hypermobile EDS (hEDS) being the most common.

Kyphoscoliosis EDS is rare and will affect the curvature of the spine and this will start in childhood and often gets much worse during teenage years.

Female EDS patients often suffer gynaecological issues. They are more prone to menorrhagia (heavy menstrual bleeding), dysmenorrhea (painful menses), irregular menses and dyspareunia (pain in relation to sexual intercourse).  There is also a higher rate of vulvar disorders and pelvic organ prolapse.

Treatments for EDS

There is no one specific treatment for EDS but it is possible to manage the symptoms with support, through a variety of approaches. Occupational therapists can help manage daily activities with advice on equipment and physiotherapists can give sufferers exercises to help strengthen joints and manage pain. For some types of EDS regular hospital scans can detect problems with internal organs and cognitive behavioural therapy can help to cope with depression and suffering long term pain can bring.

How can cannabis help with the symptoms of EDS

EDS sufferers have genetically different connective tissue which makes joints stretchy and hyper mobile. They also seem to have a genetic predisposition to pain processing circuits of the spine and bran (central nervous system) becoming hyper excitable on a long-term basis. Thereby flaring up the experience of pain. Cannabis medicines work to help to settle down these circuits and re-balance them in a way most conventional medicines are unable to do.
Cannabis medicines are very useful in the management of chronic pain, particularly in EDS. Individuals may be experiencing inflammatory, nerve and muscle pain all at once, and cannabis medicines are well suited to this multi-symptom type of management.

Am I suitable for management of my EDS at Integro Clinic?

Before any pain management medication can be administered here at Integro Medical Clinic, we will ask that you attend a no obligation consultation with one of our specialists, so that we can assess your individual concerns and symptoms, as well as check your medical history. Following this initial assessment, and your case assessed to be suitable by the clinical team, we may provide a prescription which will best suit your needs for long term relief from the pain of your EDS.

When conventional treatments reach their limit, our work begins.

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