1. < Chronic Pain

Hydrocodone/Medical Marijuana

Posted by chilid @chilid, Sep 12, 2018

I'm 62 years old. After 15 years of taking 3200mg of Ibuprofen a day for achilles tendonitis (which damaged my kidneys...before the discovery of ibuprofen's affect on them; in about the year 2000 or so), my Dr switched me to Norco (10mg Hydrocodone, 325 Tylenol...sorry can't seem to spell the generic name). Another 15 years down the road, I started having lower back, hip & knee pain. The Norco has worked wonderfully at relieving the pain. The last couple of years, I've been having trouble sleeping. Can only seem to sleep an hour or two at a time, having to get up for bathroom runs numerous times a night. California in the meantime had legalized medical marijuana. In the sense of full disclosure, I have done pot recreationally since the early '70s, but decreasingly in the last 10 years or so. Now that it's "legal", I started taking edibles as a sleep aid; have not noticed that the marijuana has had any pain relief for me, but as a sleep aid, it's been wonderful. So, Norco for pain, pot for sleep has been my regimen for about the last 15 months, and I've been feeling 25 years younger; no pain, nearly full 8 hours straight a night of sleep. I'm waking fully rested & ready to take on my days. For the first time in the years I've been taking Norco, my Dr had me do a urinalysis, results, of course, showing both the hydrocodone AND the THC in the pot. He gave me an ultimatum: one or the other, but you can't do both (due to DEA laws, etc). At this point, being a somewhat stubborn person, I'm not willing to give up my newly regained increased quality of daily life. What are my options?

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Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | May 24, 2023
In reply to @scruffy1 "This lead-in from the WSJ, 5-23-23 if you subscribe to it, very interesting article in the..." + (show)
@scruffy1

This lead-in from the WSJ, 5-23-23 if you subscribe to it, very interesting article in the study of chronic pain:

Electrodes embedded in the brains of four people have captured a detailed and precise portrait of chronic pain.

The new work, published Monday in the journal Nature Neuroscience, points to brain regions that could be targets for future treatments, neuroscientists say, while adding to our understanding of why some people develop persistent, unyielding chronic pain.

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Thanks for the reference @scruffy1. I think this is the same study and you don't need a subscription to read it.

--- Brain signals underlying chronic pain could be 'short-circuited,' study suggests: https://www.livescience.com/health/neuroscience/brain-signals-underlying-chronic-pain-could-be-short-circuited-study-suggests

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scruffy1 | @scruffy1 | May 24, 2023

@johnbishop Yes it is. Thanks for finding one that everyone can read.

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je16384 | @je16384 | May 24, 2023
In reply to @nativeoregirl "Hi glad you’re getting relief. How does the Buprenorphine psych psych 20 work out for you?..." + (show)
@nativeoregirl

Hi glad you’re getting relief. How does the Buprenorphine psych psych 20 work out for you? My Mom had a heart attack while using that to get off Norco. They keep pushing me to do it but frankly I am able to manage with the Norco just fine and quite apprehensive about the whole thing. I am very drug sensitive and have PMR with they think GCA now and do not need anything else to deal with.

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Buprenorphine helps other vitamins perform their function mainly their absorption. So it can help to improve gut health if you take the right stuff with it. I betting it was not the Buprenorphine, those pain meds are killers

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1 reply
Judyinjeans. | @judyingenes | Jun 1, 2023
In reply to @carol1024 "Hhmmm..that's a puzzler....yeah I'd want to know why too. See, I'd think it impossible to take..." + (show)
@carol1024

Hhmmm..that's a puzzler....yeah I'd want to know why too. See, I'd think it impossible to take 5 a day without having to get up after I've gone to bed to take one. My day starts anywhere from 2-5am (depending on when internal vibrations wake me, was 3:00 this morning) and even being up 15 hours that would be a pill every 3 hours, if taking max 5 a day. I took one at 3 then I'll do another at 10, depending on how back is after some major cleaning, if bad, I'll do at 9. Then the other will be at either 4 or 5 and that will be it because I'll be in bed by 7 or 8 and won't take another until I get up following morning. But yeah, it certainly seems like your doctor should have given you reason for change. Do you do urine test when you go? If so and you've taken them as you should, that level meds should show up in the test. If taking more than should, not saying YOU are, just using as example, it will also show a higher than normal level. Hope you get sufficient answers.

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Hi Carol! I had my phone call appointment with my doctor today and she is really there for me!! She told me the doctors were being pressured to lower the dosage for people that were on meds like Hydrocodon and try to even get them off of those medication‘s. And she told me, in her opinion, “people that were not medical doctors or people that did not have chronic pain had no business telling people that were involved with people like me what or how to prescribe medication.” She said she was going to put me back on the dosage that I had been on before that was working for me and that if anybody question that she was going to say that she tried backing me off and I was in much too much pain and she put me back on the previous prescription. She said if they had issues with the monthly amount that I was being given she was going to break it down into a two week prescription so that I would be able to get exactly what I needed to get without having to worry about months have been 28 days in them or 31 days in them. I am totally blown away by how much she is willing to do for me because of the amount of pain that I am in.
I don’t know exactly who is pressuring her… I am with an HMO so maybe it is the business end of the company.

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1 reply
carol1024 | @carol1024 | Jun 1, 2023
In reply to @judyingenes "Hi Carol! I had my phone call appointment with my doctor today and she is really..." + (show)
@judyingenes

Hi Carol! I had my phone call appointment with my doctor today and she is really there for me!! She told me the doctors were being pressured to lower the dosage for people that were on meds like Hydrocodon and try to even get them off of those medication‘s. And she told me, in her opinion, “people that were not medical doctors or people that did not have chronic pain had no business telling people that were involved with people like me what or how to prescribe medication.” She said she was going to put me back on the dosage that I had been on before that was working for me and that if anybody question that she was going to say that she tried backing me off and I was in much too much pain and she put me back on the previous prescription. She said if they had issues with the monthly amount that I was being given she was going to break it down into a two week prescription so that I would be able to get exactly what I needed to get without having to worry about months have been 28 days in them or 31 days in them. I am totally blown away by how much she is willing to do for me because of the amount of pain that I am in.
I don’t know exactly who is pressuring her… I am with an HMO so maybe it is the business end of the company.

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Not sure either. I've not heard anything about it. You are right though, people who do not have chronic pain have no idea and should never start a sentence with "I would", "you should" or "you can". Period.

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fef | @fef | Jun 3, 2023

Thanks man, I am going to ask my VA doctor for Norco, as you and I could be twins when it comes to pain.
So, thanks.
Rob

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ruthblaze | @ruthblaze | Jun 11, 2023

You may have no choice if it continues to show up in the urine your doctor will discontinue any opioid medication

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gailmerz | @gailmerz | Jun 12, 2023

I am 72 and husband is 68. We both have same issue. My palliative care Dr is getting me a patch for 24 hr pain killer and I can have medical marijuana with it. We do not like the changes either but what do you do? Can’t fight City Hall.

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jenatsky | @jenatsky | Jun 13, 2023

It’s not DEA rules preventing doctors from prescribing narco type drugs with cannabis, it’s each individual state that has their own rules within DEA guidelines. VA I’m sure has their own too. I’m in Pennsylvania and I receive buprenorphine (for chronic pain), Percocet (for breakthrough pain), and I use cannabis to relieve my acute symptoms and have not had to use Percocet for months. My urine drug profile shows my cannabis, buprenorphine, oxycodone if I used it. My doctor only performs testing every 6 months and the DEA does not stipulate how often or when a doctor is supposed to test patients, it is their decision as to how often. Once your doctor sees you’re trustworthy in taking your meds they stop or decrease testing.

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jenatsky | @jenatsky | Jun 13, 2023
In reply to @je16384 "Buprenorphine helps other vitamins perform their function mainly their absorption. So it can help to improve..." + (show)
@je16384

Buprenorphine helps other vitamins perform their function mainly their absorption. So it can help to improve gut health if you take the right stuff with it. I betting it was not the Buprenorphine, those pain meds are killers

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Buprenorphine has no effect on the GI system or vitamins absorption that I can find. Please cite your sources for your statement concerning buprenorphine?

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