Does medical marijuana work for chronic pain?

I find it very helpful. It doesn't so much relieve the pain as it shifts my focus from the pain, so I guess that's important to throw out there. When I was prescribed vicoden as well, I found I was able to take less vicoden when I paired it with the medical marijuana. I find, for pain management (I also use it recreationally) I need to use the edible forms, and I can't use edibles every day or they loose efficacy for me, but, everyone is different. The medical marijuana also helps me control my depression and anxiety. Edibles can be very strong, even for experienced users, so always start with a LOW DOSE. You can always take more...the people working in the dispensaries are usually pretty knowledgeable about starting dosages and products, so use them as a resource. Cannabis use dates back 2500 years without a single recorded overdose, so while you may not necessarily enjoy the dose, you will most definitely live another day either way... Definitely worth a shot. I personally believe melatonin supplements to be quite dangerous. It's a hormone that your body makes naturally to help you sleep. When you take melatonin, your body, which is very efficient by nature, says "Making hormones is hard. Since you're taking extra, I'll just stop making them" and then the brain's sleep wake hormone production is all out of whack for however long, so you take MORE melatonin because you can't sleep, which causes your brain to stop making melatonin... it's a vicious cycle and probably closer to "addictive" than most other drugs that word is applied to. Just my 2 cents...

Agree. It’s almost impossible for a pain patient to get help now. Even if you followed your doc’s orders perfectly and always had good drug tests, docs are afraid to prescribe opioids. Or, perhaps it works in their favor. Procedures, surgery, injections, pain pumps, & refills are expensive and they make big $$$. Yes, I’m cynical.

I’m 68. I had to retire in May due to the pain in my feet, knees, hips, etc. I was a teacher. The pain became so extreme, I could not stand more than 2 hrs/day. I have RA , Fibro, numerous spinal issues.

I have an ITC pain pump with Fentenyl that doesn’t work very well for me. OxyContin worked better, was much cheaper, & required less time at the doc. To get the pump, I had to give up all pain meds, then it’s taken 3 years to get pump adjusted to help “some”. I feel like my new doc “pushed” me into it. (My good doc passed away in the midst of this, ~ 4 yrs ago.)

Some pain patients will be pushed to illicit/cheap street drugs if they do not have good health insurance or $$$$$. Pain Mgt. has become very expensive. Opioids are not for everyone. However, for many of us they work, are cheap, and cause few problems.

Who is looking out for us? Very few… our voices must continue to speak out.

I’m all for folks speaking their mind. However, keep it respectful. State the reason for your views.

Hello @isaratex. It seems you've tried it all for pain relief/management. So many folks struggle and feel the same way as you state, "it's almost impossible to get help now". The only way I found help was to rearrange my perspective on what help really means. Might you give consideration to a comprehensive holistic approach such as a pain rehabilitation center where control gets placed back in your hands?

Here is an example of one of the best out there -

- https://www.mayoclinic.org/departments-centers/pain-rehabilitation-center/sections/overview/ovc-20481691

It may not be for everyone, but sure has helped thousands of people like yourself with chronic conditions who are tired of drugs, implants, doctor hopping and want to take their life back. What do you think? Any chance this may work better for you?

I doubt it will help. I’ve been through tons of physical therapy, recently, & a pain therapy program, last summer. Zero help. I took it very seriously.

I’ve had RA, probably since my teens, that’s when the pain became severe. Docs always suspected RA, but I never had a positive Rheumatoid Factor test. I went from 18 yrs old to 50, when a new test became available, before I got a positive and access to RA meds. That’s a lot of damage.

Thank you for your suggestion, I will explore further. I live in Texas, but the med center in Houston is close.

I have had severe inflamatory chronic pain since 2016, and diagnosed with neuro-endocrine cancer April of 2016. I have not used medical marijuana as smoking or vaping...because i have lung net's and asthma related....but o have used an edible protocol...and full spectrum cbd oil...with chaga Reishi Usnea immune support tincture in the morning, and a night time full spectrum 1000mg deep rest full spectrum at night that contains ashwaganha, chamomile, ginger, and lemon balm...The immune support tincture i use has wild crafted chaga mushrooms, organic reishi mushrooms, and usnea, i also use cannabis rubs for local pain and inflamation. I have had great pain management results with this regimine along with an anti-inflamatory diet, eliminating processed foods and sugar. I think it would be worth a try along with a physician who is understanding of the different types and strains of cannibas. For instance my daughter is on a protocol for anxiety....there are some that can reduce anxiety....but their are strains that can cause irritability and anxiety. So if you want to give it a whirl i suggest connecting yourself with someone knowlegable in medical marijuana use. I am not sure where you are located, i just got done with my first cancer work up at the Mayo in Rochester, i was given a resource to the integrative Oncology Clinic for integrative health care. Maybe you can see if you can get a referral from your doctor for a simular program. Here is what their program includes....

Hello, I'm sorry this offended you - let me give you a little background. Emil & I both read a post by a new member that was inappropriate and not allowed by Mayo Connect guidelines. It happened over a weekend and escaped the notice of our extremely diligent Moderators, so it wasn't removed as quickly as usual. I just sympathized & explained to Emil how we can report these matters and get them removed.
You can't see what bothered us because as soon as it was reported, it was removed. I'm sorry that our remarks look harsh when taken out of context. I will keep in mind that perhaps people reading the remarks later may misunderstand what was happening. I'm sorry it bothered you, but thanks for bringing it up - I'll try to be more respectful in my remarks.

Sue

If you're talking about the online pharmacy that was offering illicit drugs in the mix too that also seemed like a scam...glad you removed it! You guys are doing great!

Interesting take on the melatonin, this i did not know....:)

Sue, no, no, no… my comments were for the person replying to Emil. I don’t know if some of the comment was scrubbed, but he called Emil a name and accused him of peddling drugs.

I do not like censorship, but he was rude while offering no information. While I don’t want him silenced, I wanted to ask him to be civil. I’m a retired teacher; sometimes you have to teach folks what’s appropriate. His opinion, while rude, should still be valued, IMHO. He probably has a reason for his viewpoint.

CBD did not help me at all, was expensive, and I hate that my pain doc is now pushing it. She wins whether it works or not, with a good profit. Then these docs ignore folks that CBD does not work for. Sounds like a conflict of interest to me.

I’m sorry my reply was apparently written in the wrong place. Your words were fine. Thank you for replying to me.