Does medical marijuana work for chronic pain?

Posted by mmoss @mmoss, Mar 27, 2021

Does Medical marijuana work for chronic pain. Looking for alternatives to Vicodin.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Chronic Pain Support Group.

@christine5

I too use medical marijuana for pain, ptsd, anxiety, etc.
What I find is that it doesn't really take pain away, it dulls it sort of like stadol during labor and delivery, you still feel it but you don't care that the pain is there. It can limit how much other pain medicine is needed.

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What form of marijuana do you take and what are the ingredients (THC, CBN etc)?

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I vape, or take edibles. Depending upon how much I need and how quickly.
Usually there is some CBD in w the THC. it's better that way, CBD helps too.

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@heyjoe415

I use buprenorphine, tabs dissolved under the tongue, to treat opiate addiction. It's combined with naloxone. I don't get high from it, and it renders stronger opiates ineffective in me. It's sorta like Antabuse for alcohol abuse. The idea is to discourage abuse.

That said, if you ever want to stop taking buprenorphine, you have to taper the dose very slowly to avoid withdrawal symptoms, which can be severe.

Personally, I haven't found buprenorphine to relieve any pain. Then again I don't have chronic pain so not sure if it helps with that. As with all opiates, just be careful.

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Just an updated note on buprenorphine/naloxone (brand name Suboxone). I have been on it for over 10 years to discourage opiate abuse. It's inconvenient when I have surgery because opiate pain killers don't work while on bupe.

And getting off bupe is very hard. It has a long half life. Years ago, I stopped taking it for a few days. On the third day, I woke to severe withdrawal symptoms. I have since cut the dose significantly, but quitting entirely would be hard.

I've been through two knee replacements and managed fine with a 2 day nerve block, then Celebrex and Tylenol. I may need spine surgery in the future and that would likely be harder. And when I did have my TKRs, the bupe provided no pain relief.

Anyway, FWIW. It's ironic because bupe is used to ease withdrawal symptoms from extended opiate use/abuse, but bupe itself can causes withdrawal symptoms.

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@christine5

I vape, or take edibles. Depending upon how much I need and how quickly.
Usually there is some CBD in w the THC. it's better that way, CBD helps too.

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I take 2.5 mg THC in edible mints (Sativa strain) and a CBD gummy or drops to help the THC be effective. I've tried 5 mg of THC but it doesn't seem to help the pain anymore, and can throw my already wobbly balance off. Like Christine5, the labor and delivery comparison is great! The pain moves to the background a bit. The Indica strain really makes me sleepy and CBD alone helps with sleep but doesn't seem to impact the pain level.

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@rebsue

I take 2.5 mg THC in edible mints (Sativa strain) and a CBD gummy or drops to help the THC be effective. I've tried 5 mg of THC but it doesn't seem to help the pain anymore, and can throw my already wobbly balance off. Like Christine5, the labor and delivery comparison is great! The pain moves to the background a bit. The Indica strain really makes me sleepy and CBD alone helps with sleep but doesn't seem to impact the pain level.

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Would you share what brand of edibles you use and where to purchase them?

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@ripley

Would you share what brand of edibles you use and where to purchase them?

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I like High Road Edibles "Recharge"--marijuana infused wintergreen mints. I buy them at dispensaries here in Montana. I also have just started the CANN products (I bought in California). They make a delicious seltzer kind of drink in cans with 2mg THC + 4 mg CBD, or in little pouches you add to your own liquid--I add to any of the sparkling waters. I have them in a wine glass with ice cubes and feel like I was drinking a cocktail. After about an hour, it seems like my pain diminished. I do not want to feel high, but "mellowed out" (I guess that's the term!) is ok if the pain subsides.

I went to the CANN website, and they ship to lots of states--under the National Farm Bill apparently--but Montana is unfortunately not one of them yet.

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@heyjoe415

I use buprenorphine, tabs dissolved under the tongue, to treat opiate addiction. It's combined with naloxone. I don't get high from it, and it renders stronger opiates ineffective in me. It's sorta like Antabuse for alcohol abuse. The idea is to discourage abuse.

That said, if you ever want to stop taking buprenorphine, you have to taper the dose very slowly to avoid withdrawal symptoms, which can be severe.

Personally, I haven't found buprenorphine to relieve any pain. Then again I don't have chronic pain so not sure if it helps with that. As with all opiates, just be careful.

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@heyjoe415 sunlingual buprenorphine is not meant to relieve pain as the dosing for the addiction treatment is much different than for pain. I use buprenorphine patch 20mcg 24/7 pain relief and it works very well.

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@jenatsky

@heyjoe415 sunlingual buprenorphine is not meant to relieve pain as the dosing for the addiction treatment is much different than for pain. I use buprenorphine patch 20mcg 24/7 pain relief and it works very well.

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Thanks for that clarification jenatsky, much appreciated. I didn't know there was a bupe patch for pain. I'm glad it works for you.

If you ever did stop using the patch, I wonder if you would go through withdrawal symptoms similar to sublingual use of bupe. Did your Dr. talk about this?

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