Alex Hurrell, ReporterSaturday, July 13, 2013
Teresa Pointer, from Aylsham, whose MS has been helped by using a new drug based on cannabis plant extracts. PHOTO: ANTONY KELLY
A new cannabis-based licensed drug has transformed the life of multiple sclerosis (MS) sufferer Teresa Pointer from Aylsham.
Mrs Pointer, 42, spotted an advertisement in the EDP eight years ago, asking people to take part in treatment trials at the James Paget University Hospital, Gorleston, and she has not looked back.
Today, thanks to two daily sprays of Sativex into her mouth, Mrs Pointer can sleep at night, walk for longer – and she has got her sense of humour back.
“I got in touch with Dr Willy Notcutt at the James Paget and then started on a clinical trial of Sativex. It was the best decision I’ve ever made and it’s done so much for me. It really has given me my life back,” said Mrs Pointer, who lives with her husband and two daughters in Hungate Street.
Teresa Pointer, from Aylsham, whose MS has been helped by using a new drug based on cannabis plant extracts. PHOTO: ANTONY KELLY
She was diagnosed in 2004 with MS, a disease which affects nerves in the brain and spinal cord.
An increase in muscle tone, or “spasticity”, is a common symptom, causing involuntary muscle spasms, immobility, disturbed sleep, and pain.
Although MS is incurable, treatments and specialists can help sufferers manage their symptoms.
Within two weeks of starting the trial, Mrs Pointer, whose health problems forced her to retire from her job as an assistant cook at Aylsham’s Bure Valley School, began to notice an improvement.
“It doesn’t take any of the symptoms away but it relieves them,” she said. The drug relaxed her muscles, easing the pain, discomfort and spasms when her legs would “try and jump off the bed”, which stopped her sleeping.
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