@rwinney Hi I too have a lot of pain from 2 fractures in my back fibromyalgia my nerves are burning from back area Dr. wants to put cement in I wont do that . I have some tools that are cheap that you may consider . Hot showers ,Epsom salts bath in it in tub or just a washcloth, Vinegar works as well, Epsom salt rub by Procure it is great . Dr. Teal,s E.S. for showers . Ice when edema , Tens unit for tight muscles,my chiropractor told me about this, Light exercise. Of course I do pain meds . Brace for my back. Just some suggestions

Good evening, Rachel, @rwinney. Thank you so much for being a bright and shining light in my day. You are so good at writing with descriptive words that say you care. The challenges you are facing appear to be hitting from every front, relentless pain, overwhelmingly drab financial issues, continuing and multiple medical conditions. And yet, what comes across is someone with a great smile and a twinkle in her eye. I want to contribute to your efforts to keep your life moving forward in a healthy and happy manner.

What I didn't realize in time was that every fall from a horse, each and every rear-end collision, every flight of steps or mountain I fell down, could not be eradicated by all of those let's fix it surgeries by well-meaning and skilled surgeons. They all came with a price.......not in dollars but in the onslaught of lifestyle restrictions.

When two of my friends asked me what I was doing for the pain in the middle of the night, with a full moon and howling coyotes out my window....I responded that I just sat on the edge of the bed and cried. They are both nurses and told me to follow them. That was five years ago and my introduction to medical cannabis.

What are you most concerned about this evening? How can I help you find the best options for you? I would like to start by unequivocally stating that I am not going through my life high. The druggy feeling from Percocet or Dilaudid is much more than you ever need to feel from any of the three best medical cannabis products, tinctures, topicals and with caution, vaping oils.

Perhaps it might be possible for you to tell me about your pain over a 24 hr period. Have you categorized it in any way? Do you have numbness, tingles or needle-like pricks anywhere in your body? Do you have electrical zaps in your body at 5:30 a.m.? Do you ever have a feeling that there is a fire right beneath your skin over your abdomen? How else would you describe the location, type, and level of your pain?

Have a peaceful sleep tonight. Chris

Hi. Sorry for delay in responding. My Mom passed on Wednesday so it has been a very tough few days. I also had Mohs surgery to remove a Basel Cell Carcinoma and then plastic surgery to repair the hole left by the Mohs surgery. It had to be done 3 weeks prior to my SI Joint fusion which is on 10/3.

Here is my story of Medical Marijuana. I was on the maximum dosage of Oxycodone, Oxycontin & Fentanyl for about 7 years.My family decided that I needed to come off the opioids. I did this cold turkey with the exception of the Fentanyl. At the same time New York State passed the Medical Marijuana program but not for chronic pain. Finally they added this as an eligible condition. My doc couldn't decide what was chronic pain. I pushed & pushed until he made a decision. It took him 6 months to finally do it. During this wait someone suggested that I try non-medical marijuana. I did and It worked better than any other pain relief method that I tried. After the wait, I became his first registered chronic pain patient. He prescribed a tincture that you put on your tongue. It tasted horrible and took over 3 hours to actually work. I told them that this was not working for me and they said this is all that they will prescribed. I left the practice after 13 years. I did lots of research and found a practice that prescribed other options. They prescribed a vape that was 20:1 (THC to CBD). This was definitely better than the tincture but not as good as "pot". Medical Marijuana is not insured as the Federal Government considers marijuana & its derivatives illegal. It costs approximately $400 per month for the medical marijuana.I have decided to stick with the pot ($400 per month) which helps me way better than anything else has. As with opioids, most folks with severe chronic pain don't get the "buzz" that others typically get so I am not "stoned". Unfortunately, pot is illegal in NYS so I am a criminal but with less pain so I will take it. Every state that has legalized medical marijuana has different policies so do your research. It is very costly and this will not change until someone (such as a President) recognizes the potential of marijuana. So get out and vote.It's insane that you can kill yourself with opioids and the Federal Government is OK with that! I hope that this info helps.

If there is any research anyone needs, please let me know as I have LOTS of time on my hands & love to do research. Hang in there 🙂