1. < Chronic Pain

Hydrocodone 5-325 3x a day vs Medical Marijuana Option

Posted by knocerine03 @knocerine03, May 28, 2018

Hello. I'm a newbie. Not only to the group, but navigating with my phone! My journey started on Dec 2014 when I fell off a ladder decorating a Xmas tree. I broke all the vertebrae in my back, my ankle and a few times. As was made a trauma patient and prior to discharge complained of a very bad pain in my right hip. It was eventually diagnosed via an stay by the orthopaedic surgeon that "there was no hip issue and I shouldn't make problems where there are no problems." I ended up leaving a job bc of excrutating pain, navigating the system with top orthopaedic surgeons and insurance companies. Almost a year and some later, UofPenn discovered that the pain was coming from a ripped laberal tear. I had the tear repaired in 2016 June, only to have excruciating pain from the back to the hip to the front of the hip to the knee. I obviously had slipped at disc in traction during surgery. I was required to start from the beginning with all hip diagnostic testing which showed it wasn't the hip. Another MRI revealed I had a compressed nerve at the L3/L4 level. The neuro I was seeing happened to send me for a bone density test which now revealed I had Oesteomylitis/Discitis in the area, a rare and deadly infection. I was placed on IV antibiotic therapy for about 6 months. This past April, both Rothman Institute and Penn have conferred that I need 2 infusions before the nerve compressed. I can't tell you the debilitary pain I am in. Becoming worse every day. I still have to go to Hospital of Special Surgery for my 3rd consult, but it doesn't look good. The Hydro that I am on is to the point useless. I need to select a pain management therapy that gives me the ability to functional somewhat normally. Enough relieve to help with daily functions. I have lost my life in what I believe the illness and medical healthcare team has robbed me from. My pain is constant. I'm looking toward finding someone who has experienced moving from opid medical to maraguinia. Are the benefits better? I really don't want to be sleepy or dizzy with current meds or that then of marijuana. Worst fear is weight gain. Best is I want to get up and feel normal. I'm desperate to speak to anyone who has made the change, the kind and dosage recommended and the best configuration. I feel by two physician it might be off me. I'm scared it's not , not affiliated by the negative consequences that comes with it. Will the level and type of marijuana make me more comfortable and less in pain than the opioid, Narco? Hoping for a few folks who have been through this deliminna.

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

Gary, Alumni Mentor | @gman007 | May 29, 2018

@gailb , Hi Gail, I can not get the first link to connect me to a page other than GoDaddy trying to sell me a domain by that name. Is there anything missing?
Thanks, Gary

REPLY
carolinapearl | @carolinapearl53 | Jun 4, 2018
In reply to @artscaping "@knocerine03 I am feeling connected to your journey as we have some similarities. And yes, after..." + (show)
@artscaping

@knocerine03 I am feeling connected to your journey as we have some similarities. And yes, after 13 othopedic/neurological surgeries and lots of opioids, and other debilitating and scary drugs like Ambien, I have now been on a program/protocol of medical marijuana for almost 3 years. Key to my ability to live reasonably well without opioids has been having good marijuana guides, a neurologist who accepts my choice and is a supportive partner. We work together to try to keep one step ahead of the progressive pain and debilitating issues of polyneuropathy, myofascial pain syndrome and SFN (small fiber neuropathy). The medical marijuana industry is a compassionate one. It also is having such phenomenal growth that problems are created because new products are being introduced every week. Let me explain. There are no RX's for MM (medical marijuana). You have to do some research and then find someone to help you through the maze of options and delivery systems. Be ready to experiment and evaluate . Start slowly and progress carefully. Choose products that fit your lifestyle: morning activity, afternoon rest, and pain free sleep. This may include, vaping cartridges with as pure an oil as you can find, topicals that tone down the needle like tingling, edibles that work well as long as you handle the dosage carefully. My daily routine begins with vaping and then moves to tinctures in my tea or coffee. The key here is what the ratio of THC to CBD works best for you. I use a 3:1 tincture, 3 parts CBD, 1 part THC. My topical is also 3:1 but this time it is 3 parts THC to one part CBD. I have not found any 100% CBD oil available everywhere and on line that works for me. It appears that you need some THC to potentiate the benefit of CBD. The other key issue is time. A vape will deliver help with your pain within a few minutes but only last15 or 20 minutes. A tincture can be subliminal or in a beverage and depending on the ratio may take longer to take effect but last several hours. For me, one dropper gives me an easy, comfortable morning. I may repeat this dosage in late afternoon or during the evening. Bedtime for me means some vaping, a tincture dropper and topicals on my hands/feet and bad myofascial knee. Edibles like infused cookies may take 45 minutes to take effect but last the entire afternoon. You must go slowly with edibles. Remember you can always have more but you cannot have less. So....I now have an older gentleman at the dispensary who helps me every time I visit. And one more tip...get a very good vaping battery. Some are pretty shoddy. And remember that I mentioned problems. Here it is: the industry is growing so fast that you can often not find the same products every time you visit. So you are always experimenting. And one final note: two no-nos. Do not use medical marijuana other than a bit of vape on an empty tummy. And number 2....do not drive after medicating. Most of all, be kind to yourself.

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Hi, I have a condition in my back from one fall. I have arachnoiditis. There is no cure. I have been on plenty of pain meds, but I found a very nice pain management doctor in Hilton Head, SC. I was smoking,pot for the relief with the hydrocodone. During my second,pee test, he asked me why I was smoking. I told him how the meds weren’t working and I elected to try pot. He then prescribed medical,marijuana. How much better I am with this drug. I recommend this for anyone who needs a supplement. South Carolina is a very closed state to anything and I am so very lucky to have found,him.

REPLY
maxiesmom | @maxiesmom | Jun 25, 2018
In reply to @artscaping "@knocerine03 I am feeling connected to your journey as we have some similarities. And yes, after..." + (show)
@artscaping

@knocerine03 I am feeling connected to your journey as we have some similarities. And yes, after 13 othopedic/neurological surgeries and lots of opioids, and other debilitating and scary drugs like Ambien, I have now been on a program/protocol of medical marijuana for almost 3 years. Key to my ability to live reasonably well without opioids has been having good marijuana guides, a neurologist who accepts my choice and is a supportive partner. We work together to try to keep one step ahead of the progressive pain and debilitating issues of polyneuropathy, myofascial pain syndrome and SFN (small fiber neuropathy). The medical marijuana industry is a compassionate one. It also is having such phenomenal growth that problems are created because new products are being introduced every week. Let me explain. There are no RX's for MM (medical marijuana). You have to do some research and then find someone to help you through the maze of options and delivery systems. Be ready to experiment and evaluate . Start slowly and progress carefully. Choose products that fit your lifestyle: morning activity, afternoon rest, and pain free sleep. This may include, vaping cartridges with as pure an oil as you can find, topicals that tone down the needle like tingling, edibles that work well as long as you handle the dosage carefully. My daily routine begins with vaping and then moves to tinctures in my tea or coffee. The key here is what the ratio of THC to CBD works best for you. I use a 3:1 tincture, 3 parts CBD, 1 part THC. My topical is also 3:1 but this time it is 3 parts THC to one part CBD. I have not found any 100% CBD oil available everywhere and on line that works for me. It appears that you need some THC to potentiate the benefit of CBD. The other key issue is time. A vape will deliver help with your pain within a few minutes but only last15 or 20 minutes. A tincture can be subliminal or in a beverage and depending on the ratio may take longer to take effect but last several hours. For me, one dropper gives me an easy, comfortable morning. I may repeat this dosage in late afternoon or during the evening. Bedtime for me means some vaping, a tincture dropper and topicals on my hands/feet and bad myofascial knee. Edibles like infused cookies may take 45 minutes to take effect but last the entire afternoon. You must go slowly with edibles. Remember you can always have more but you cannot have less. So....I now have an older gentleman at the dispensary who helps me every time I visit. And one more tip...get a very good vaping battery. Some are pretty shoddy. And remember that I mentioned problems. Here it is: the industry is growing so fast that you can often not find the same products every time you visit. So you are always experimenting. And one final note: two no-nos. Do not use medical marijuana other than a bit of vape on an empty tummy. And number 2....do not drive after medicating. Most of all, be kind to yourself.

Jump to this post

Marijuana has seeds! Funny story, not funny at the time. My youngest son, the naughty one, had a tiny leak in his bedroom radiator and marijuana seeds he dumped from his jeans pocket so Mom wouldn't find them in the wash. I went into his room and found tiny plants sprouting in the carpeting. Apparently it'll grow anywhere.

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