Thanks so much for your reply. Sorry for my delay in replying but it was a busy month of December and I hadn't gone on my chat boards in a while.

I have spoken to my Rhuematologist and my internist about "lessening" the amount of drugs I am taking and using medical marijuana because of the natural properties versus synthetic drugs. The good news is I have stopped using my sleeping pill at night and I sleep wonderfully using a strain called blueberry krush. It has thc, thca, cbd, cbda, cbn. It does make me sleepy and I am actually dreaming again!

Not as much luck finding something for daytime use. The strains I have tried make me too groggy to function during day and don't relieve the pain enough. I am currently vaping because only one dispensary (2 hours away) has oral losengers and creams. My husband is driving me there today so I can buy some to try to use during day. I can tell you that my prescription for hydrocodone lasted me 10 extra days this month. A big achievement!

Thanks so much for sharing such good info!!!

I have a card in Illinois. My question is -I go to a PM doc. Will he kick me out of his practice if I test positive for Medical pot?
Afraid to talk to him about it-would like to reduce my use of opiods but am afraid to lose my prescription over a positive test.

@bobcon23 I'm sorry you feel concerned if you questioned your doctor. I have a pain contract with my PM doc. If I tested positive, my contract would be void.(Virginia has not legalized medical pot) Perhaps you can tell him about being on Mayo Connect and the discussion about medical marijuana. It could open the door to a discussion if it could be right for you or would you be in violation of any agreement with him. Would you feel comfortable presenting your question this way or if you had material to show him?

@bobcon23 I discussed the marijuana issue with my pain doc today, and his observation were numerous. One was that taking marijuana may enable you to reduce the dosage of opiates. Another, that there is so little control over product dosage - what you get one time may be very different the next time. (BTW, he's in favor of me trying marijuana.) He was surprised when I told him how much it costs. I'm on Medicare, so the morphine sulfate contin I take is covered, not the marijuana, of course. Because of the annual expenses and the high cost of the product, it's not financially possible for me, even though it's legal. You should probablydo some research. What I've learned is that the CBD is what acts on pain, while THC is what gives a high, which could affect pain, in how we perceive the pain. I could be wrong, but I don't think it should be a problem to talk with your pcp about marijuana. Mine spoke positively and candidly about it, but because of the rules of the clinic he works with don't permit him to prescribe. Jim

Talk frankly to him. Perhaps medical pot will give you enough pain relief that you won't need the PM at all. If he is truly on your side to reduce YOUR pain or make YOUR pain more manageable, he should give his blessings.

Perhaps if you were taking medical pot you wouldn't need the pain clinic at all. In Minnesota there are two labs that grow and refine the chemicals so you get the same product every time.

I recently had back surgery.....3 incisions, three inches each. In the hospital I took Hydrocodone as they don't allow medical mj in the hospital. I was pretty much snowed until released. At home I went back to my pot with better pain relief and I was able to think straight.

Bobcon, this is a late response to your question. Since marijuana is still illegal at the Federal level, my PM doctor said if I use it M he will have to kick me out of his program. He even drug tested me after 3 months to see if I was using marijuana, which I wasn't. At some point I will decide if I need my pain meds increased, will I start using marijuana instead. I don't want to take more pain meds.

Anyway, we have to fight for marijuana to be made lawful at the Federal level so we can use it to supplement our pain management.

Why do you need to ask your provider if it is ok to wean off of hydrocodone? Start slowly when using marijuana and gradually decrease dose until you are "comfortable" with the level of pain you can live with.

"Why do you need to ask your provider if it is ok to wean off of hydrocodone?" First, self-medicating or self un-medicating is never a good idea! The provider must be in the loop as to what the patient is taking, how much, etc. Additionally it is high addictive and some patients may want to heed medical advice on this.