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I recommend that you try CBD (hemp only) to see if it works for you. If that doesn't work, and you live in a state where Medical Marijuana is legal, then try a THC version. This is just my opinion based on my experience and not medical advice.
I live in Colorado where both Medical Marijuana (MM) and recreational marijuana are legal. Both versions are taxed and have varying rules, the recreational use is taxed at a higher rate than the medical. You can get edibles, tinctures, topicals, leaves, or vape. You can grow a fixed amount for yourself, or assign your plant allocation to a dispensary. You can buy a fixed amount per day. Medical users can get more than recreational users.
There are designated medical doctors here that will help you get a MM card. As people have mentioned here, pain management and other medical doctors will not prescribe opioids if you do pot (THC). I think this is because of the Federal regulations on opioid abuse and that pot is not legal at the Federal level.
Each state is currently making their own laws and regulations, and of course the new federal administration is making their own threats. Sigh. So if you are interested in trying the THC version, you'll need to find out what your state's laws are.
Federal laws apply to transporting it out of state--don't do it. According to the TSA page for flying: "Federal law provides no basis to treat medical marijuana any differently than non-medical marijuana." Just Google your state and the state you are going to for the applicable laws.
Pot has lots of chemical components, the two big ones people talk about are THC and CBD. THC is the component that makes you feel high, and the component that shows up on the drug tests. And you don't have to take a lot for it to show up on a test. CBD (hemp oil) does not show up on the test. There are different strains of pot that give a different effect; from relaxing to stimulating. CBD is another component that helps with pain. You can get a variety of strengths and ratios. Also, as people have mentioned, the quality of the brand makes a big difference.
There are no definitive guidelines as to what will work for any given person. Everyone reacts differently to the different options, plus the different options affect pain (and anxiety) differently. There are also a lot of options, and so this makes it hard to figure out what is working and what is not. It also takes a while to take effect, and so you might not think it's working right away. You just have to try different things. Some people don't feel stoned from THC, some do. I do. I feel like a dizzy drunk and I hate it. I've tried 50:50 and 1:50 THC:CBD ratios as well as CBD only (hemp oil). Right now I'm using a CBD only tincture. It has no THC and can be sold across state lines. It has a mint/chocolate flavor and does not make me gag like some of the others I've tried. The other gaggy ones I had to immediately eat a cracker to get it off my tongue. I'm currently using the Charlotte's Web brand. This is the brand that has received a lot of press in helping kids with seizures. I've seen other brands with other flavors but haven't tried them. The other thing I would recommend is to use a higher dose before giving up on a product, but ramp up slowly. Especially if you are trying a THC version. The starting dose recommendations on some brands were too low for me for CBD. I take 50mg or more of CBD per day right now.
I've heard that THC helps with certain kinds of pain, like cancer. I think CBD helps with my current pain more than THC. I didn't know about the THC/cancer thing when i was going through it (2006). I didn't notice that THC helped me at all recently. I have slight scoliosis, spondylolisthesis (slipped vertebra), lymphedema, and have had multiple surgeries to remove my femur top (girdlestone) and part of my pelvic girdle (hemi-pelvectomy) due to radiation damage from cancer treatment and subsequent infections. I have nerve pain from the back stuff and all the other bone and muscle pain from the other stuff. I'm weaning myself off norco and looking for other options. I think the CBD oil is helping me do that. I also use an over-the-counter supplement (r-lipoic acid) for the nerve pain (instead of Gabapentin/Lyrica).
One of my doctors said that anxiety can be a huge component with pain, so managing anxiety can help with pain. I haven't tried anything for that yet.
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@gailb, thanks for the information. I think I need to check with my doctor about prescribing something. She told me that there is even anxiety about anticipating feeling pain when the pain meds wear off. LOL. I definitely have bouts of depression because everything is so physically hard right now. I sleep a lot. Plus the norco knocks me out. It's been just 3 months since my last surgery and I was not allowed to be weight bearing until now. I started physical therapy this week so I hope getting stronger will help, too. I am so weak after 3 months of no activity. Did you have any side effects from the different medications?
from kozlo52; I have been on different narcotics over 17 years, since I have rheumatoid arthritis. I cannot take norco 7.5-325 any more due to getting body itch; the same applies to oxycodone; dilaudid makes me very nauseated, but i can control the itch with zyrtec; i cannot take morphine sulfate due to making me sick;; fentanyl patch makes me very itchy; lyrica, gabapentin, neurontin gives me a very bad body itch, but did help with the c3-c7 stenosis, c5-c6 pinched nerve, l4-l5 stenosis. All my biologic modifiers for my RA i couldn't take due to very bad side effects, 2 of which were torn retina's in both eyes that had to be repaired and kidney failure, which my kidneys came back. This is why i am looking to others for a pure non lousy tasting CBD oil that can be taked sublingually. I have tried 1 brand here in pittsburgh,pa. and the aftertaste was terrible, but the pain was greatly relieved in my whole body. If you are on narcotics long enough then you may develope an intolerance to them. Also if i take any NSAIDS such as ibuprofen, i still get very bad heartburn, even though i have had a 360 degree fundoplication with 3 dilations. I currently have to have my gallbladder removed on july 27 since i ahve multiple gallstones. This may be contributing to my continued heartburn.......kozlo52
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@geek_girl. I'm sorry to hear about the radiation treatment cause of your pelvic issues. I can barely imagine the pain you must experience. I wanted to let you know that I used to take Lorazapam and prior to that, Ativan, to manage my anxiety , primarily when I had to fly anywhere. I also had panic attacks periodically. About 6 years ago I was depressed and I talked to my doctor about taking Celexa since a friend of mine was and she was so much better. He put me on a starter dose of Citalopram 20 mg. Citalopram is the generic version of Celexa. It took a few weeks for me to feel the difference, but it really worked. It helped my depression, and surprisingly also did away with my anxiety nearly completely. I even zip lined 7 lines when we were in Costa Rica last summer. Prior, I was deathly afraid to fly in airplanes and couldn't without being drugged up. I'm letting you know incase you want to try an antidepressant for your anxiety. I hope you find a satisfactory solution to your problems. Gail B Ledesma