Feeling at my wits end with Chronic Pain and Fibromyalgia

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 🙂

That's a good plan. Good luck at the Doctor tomorrow. Have you had RFA prior?

@rwinney Hi Rachel,
In one post you asked about lidocaine infusions, if I had them. I don't and that was one of the items I talked to my doc about. He doesn't do them. He has not seen enough relief in patients he and his partners have tried them. Also he said with me having hypertension it may not be good. It is used with epinephrine to raise blood pressure. The pain management Doctor is supportive for me to try mm. I did have RFA on my lumbar spine about 8 years ago. It wasn't until late last year that I had those old familiar pains. I've delayed the procedure for about 6 weeks though. My husband had 2 C spine fusions in 2018. He is now fused from C3 - C7. Next week he will have A spine stimulator installed in his spine so "hopefully" he will get some pain relief. The following week it will be taken out, replaced if successful with Abbott spine stimulator. Since our Doctor is an hours drive, it will put quite a bit of strain on me. It hurts my legs to drive. Our 28 yr old son lives with us but he starts a new job this Thursday. You gotta take the good and the bad right?!

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 🙂

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 🙂

I use methadone 20 mg 10 mg twice daily that has helped me over the last 4 years but I have had a increase in pain and hoping to get it back under control some how, its very hard all this.

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 🙂

@jmweissler, I want to acknowledge your Mother’s passing. That is a very rough time. May your special memories console you. Chris

@jmweissler, @rwinney, Good evening to both of you. And thank you @jmweissler for responding with some pertinent information. Unfortunately, everything you said has a good chance of being true, in states that have a medical use product list that is only for licensed conditions.

CA had medical use only for a few years. It was not a problem to get the license for chronic pain. It was a real problem to find products of consistent good quality. I do need help with the meaning of “pot” as you refer to it. What types of products fit in the category of “pot”. Thanks so much, May you have a peaceful sleep. Chris