Chronic pain and medical marijuana

You are right I forgot to say if your insurance will cover it. I am sorry I did not put that in my response. I have not tried all of these since I live in a rural area and there are no practitioners in some of these in my area. When I was a therapists I used biofeedback so I have tried it and it does help you get control of your body, but you would have to find someone who uses it and I doubt many insurance companies pay for it. The same for hypnosis and meditation training, but I have heard that they can work in some cases. The point is keep trying and hopefully something will work out. Good luck. 19lin

I also know that age can effect medication. Recently I had similar problems with some medication that was too strong for me, and I had to reduce the dose until I found the right strength to work without disagreeing with me. The genetic pharaclogy idea sounds good but I don't know how much it costs. I'd also like to try stem cells especially for my knee which is now bone on bone, to see if cartilage would regenerate. The same might work on my back. I did sign up will 23andme, a genetic testing group for research and family history. I got some information from them on drugs and medicines that could work for me. This was years ago but the data is still good. They had an issue with the FDA and had to stop giving out medical information until the last couple years when the FDA approved some of their results. 23andme now charges $199 for a test, but I do not know what kind of medical information you can get from them now. 19lin

@19lin that's interesting. We use PGx testing and our patients in Illinois have had no copays so far. Genetic testing has changed so much in just 1 years time. I to am very interested in the knee procedure. I have heard both pros and cons.

dawn_ I know very little about stem cells but I still would like to try, of course, not until basic research is done. Genetics I find very interesting and 23andme is involved in a lot of research especially on the medical end of it. When I signed up with them I did so for family history information mostly, but there medical information is very interesting although I have had no direct benefit from it as yet, knowing which diseases I need to worry about and others I don't need to worry about so much does help. They charge one price for all information where medical testing companies that I know of charge for each test and they charge a lot, but I assume their results are more tailor made for that individual question. 19lin

PGx is different. It focuses on medication and how you process them. There are four metabolic types associated with CYP450 gene variants:

Extensive Metabolizers (EM)
Poor Metabolizers (PM)
Intermediate Metabolizers (IM)
Ultra-rapid Metabolizers (UM)

Advanced pharmacogenomic testing technology analyzes structural changes in a gene’s DNA sequence to assess the influence of a drug in a particular patient allowing physicians to understand if a patient could have a toxic reaction to a drug despite a low dosage, or if they will have any response at all, even at a high dosage.

As long as you are on two or more medications treating one or more diagnosis then Medicare and private insurances and in Most states Medicaid, will covered

Hope this helps alittle. Where we live people live pay check to pay check. We do the tests for free. I chose a pharmacy that accept assignments from insurance no other fees. Just took some research, but very worth it.

I need to look into the stem cell. 😉

Beware of Tylenol (acetaminophen). It's on the list of drugs that are hazardous in large doses or in frequent doses/day, because the drug is so widely disseminated (often surreptitiously) in over 100 over-the-counter preparations. It is known to damage the liver when overused.

You might want to try a DNA/genetic profile to assess what pain medications would work better for you.
Ask your doc..they are available.

I agree also check other pain meds for Tylenol in them. Many years ago I was taking big doses of Tylenol to supplement the minor prescription pain medicine I got from the VA. My private doctor did a blood test and said my liver was dying, we discussed it and since I do not drink or use any illegal drugs it came down to Tylenol that I took plus the Tylenol in the prescription medicine. I switched to a stronger prescription pain medicine and stopped all Tylenol, today my liver is fine. It is your health, find out what is in your medication and how they interact. 19lin

I will have to ask either my neurologist or pain management drs, about the<br>genetic testing. Thank you from ladyjane85<br><br><br>

Thank you to dawn_giacabazi about the info on Pharmacogenetic<br>testing....from ladyjane85<br><br>