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.

@denise1954

What might help one may not help another. I do know for myself it helps relax the muscles in my spine. I go to a pain specialist, I'm in the process of weening myself off of my hydrocodone with supervision. Once I am off of the medication, I will get a prescription for medical Marijuana. My doctor tells me the two don't mix. That's a shame because the Marijuana isn't covered by insurance but the hydrocodone is. I would like to have edibles 5 to 10 days per month with the rest of the days on hydrocodone.

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You are absolutely right! What does not help one may help another. Best wishes for some relief.

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Thank you very much, sometimes I feel I need it😊

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@lvon

Hmm I tried Marijuana not medical but at 73 who cares. Over rated for sure nothing , no relief. Big pharmaceutical making a mint over this. CBD works as well. I am going to try a warmer dryer climate for a month to see if there is any reliefs.

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roughly your age, just wondering if you smoked it or made brownies. If you puff the magic dragon, you gotta take in lots of air...sort of puff, gasp, puff gasp and then hold it in for effect. Folk who don´t get a kick outta it might not be doing it right...MInd you I´m not advocating...jes´ sayin´-

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@johnjason

roughly your age, just wondering if you smoked it or made brownies. If you puff the magic dragon, you gotta take in lots of air...sort of puff, gasp, puff gasp and then hold it in for effect. Folk who don´t get a kick outta it might not be doing it right...MInd you I´m not advocating...jes´ sayin´-

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Well I had gummies and I still have part of a brownie. I stuck chocolate frosting on the brownie because it tasted gross, maybe that did not help. I can't smoke . I would not pay the prices for pharmacy.

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I have a brain tumor a paraganglioma, that causes me to be nauseous and dizzy. How would one even approach a medical professional at the Mayo clinic or at my pain management Dr.? I am so scared of asking because when I asked my previous pain management dr about it he before my diagnosis, by the way, it took 4 years to get a brain tumor diagnosis with all the symptoms including massive headaches, and he old me if I use Any Marijuana he would drop me from his care. I have been taking nausea meds foe over a year .
How do you askabout it without sounding like a drug addict?. No offense.

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@denise1954

What might help one may not help another. I do know for myself it helps relax the muscles in my spine. I go to a pain specialist, I'm in the process of weening myself off of my hydrocodone with supervision. Once I am off of the medication, I will get a prescription for medical Marijuana. My doctor tells me the two don't mix. That's a shame because the Marijuana isn't covered by insurance but the hydrocodone is. I would like to have edibles 5 to 10 days per month with the rest of the days on hydrocodone.

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@denise1954 Hi Denise. Congratulations on weaning yourself off hydrocodone with supervision, that's a big step. I've been there and it was the one of the best things I did for myself. How is the process going so far? Do you have other pain management tools in place besides medical marijuana?

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@saylor479

I have a brain tumor a paraganglioma, that causes me to be nauseous and dizzy. How would one even approach a medical professional at the Mayo clinic or at my pain management Dr.? I am so scared of asking because when I asked my previous pain management dr about it he before my diagnosis, by the way, it took 4 years to get a brain tumor diagnosis with all the symptoms including massive headaches, and he old me if I use Any Marijuana he would drop me from his care. I have been taking nausea meds foe over a year .
How do you askabout it without sounding like a drug addict?. No offense.

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@saylor479, hello and welcome. It must be awful dealing with the symptoms caused from your brain tumor. What particular plan of management did the doctor who diagnosed you recommend?

How long have you been managing chronic pain?

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@saylor479

I have a brain tumor a paraganglioma, that causes me to be nauseous and dizzy. How would one even approach a medical professional at the Mayo clinic or at my pain management Dr.? I am so scared of asking because when I asked my previous pain management dr about it he before my diagnosis, by the way, it took 4 years to get a brain tumor diagnosis with all the symptoms including massive headaches, and he old me if I use Any Marijuana he would drop me from his care. I have been taking nausea meds foe over a year .
How do you askabout it without sounding like a drug addict?. No offense.

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Good evening @saylor479, that is a very good question. I had difficulty several years back revealing my cannabis use to clinicians. I now have it on my patient portal medication chart. I simply make sure that my providers are aware of my marijuana use. Some just look the other way......others have told me that they cannot recommend but do acknowledge the benefits I am achieving. In fact.....we have shared some medication changes, making room for medical cannabis, reducing some medications, and adding to others. We are both happy with how it has gone this year and will be sitting down next month to validate that as a team, we are doing the best diagnosing possible.

It is not possible here for any clinician to write an Rx for marijuana. There are specialists that you can see. Happy 2022......may you be free of pain and the nauseousnos. Last year I tapered off half of my gabapentin dosage and replaced it with 1:1 CBD/THC cannabis tinctures. I also tapered off my nighttime nortryptilene and replaced it with a 2:1 CBD/THC dosage at bedtime.

I know that we don't have studies in which results can be identified by medication used. That, I am sure makes your medical professional nervous since he/she doesn't quite know how it will all work to achieve the results you need to achieve.

May you have all the help you need to free yourself from the danger of your brain tumor. What do you have planned for treatment in 2022?

Chris

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@saylor479

I have a brain tumor a paraganglioma, that causes me to be nauseous and dizzy. How would one even approach a medical professional at the Mayo clinic or at my pain management Dr.? I am so scared of asking because when I asked my previous pain management dr about it he before my diagnosis, by the way, it took 4 years to get a brain tumor diagnosis with all the symptoms including massive headaches, and he old me if I use Any Marijuana he would drop me from his care. I have been taking nausea meds foe over a year .
How do you askabout it without sounding like a drug addict?. No offense.

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I asked my pain management Dr if he would object if I tried medical marijuana and he said no. It’s legal in FL, but you must go to a specific doctor who prescribes it. The state must issue a license, so is expensive! Much more than the prescriptions insurance helps pay for. Seems the government could be more helpful if they wanted to help seniors as they say they do.
If your doctor won’t allow you to try it, to reduce your level of misery, I would consider finding another. All the best to you in the new year!

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@lvon

Hmm I tried Marijuana not medical but at 73 who cares. Over rated for sure nothing , no relief. Big pharmaceutical making a mint over this. CBD works as well. I am going to try a warmer dryer climate for a month to see if there is any reliefs.

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I wonder how long you tried it before giving up? Considering your chronic pain has taken a long time to develop expecting an immediate cure or relief is unrealistic without narcotics. It took me a month before I think I felt any changes and a year to develop my current regime that has me off all break through meds. I’m only using buprenorphine patch, baclofen and turmeric plus CBD and THC.

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