Once again, here I am complaining about my pain. I apologize, but I am always looking for answers. A quick recap, I broke my back on the job back in 2003. I had three back surgeries and am fused from L3 tho S1 and unfortunately suffer from FBSS (Failed Back Surgery Syndrome). This had left me in chronic pain that has been controlled with just about every drug under the sun. Currently I have been prescribed morphine for about two years now. It had been doing a pretty decent job of controlling the pain, but once again tolerance is setting in and it just isn’t working like it used too. I take Percocet for breakthrough pain and the breakthrough is becoming more and more frequent. It looks as if my doctor is going to be left with little choice but to up the amount of morphine I am taking to compensate for my tolerance. I am already taking 120mg of morphine daily and the worst side effect is that it makes me so damn tired all the time. Tired enough that I would call it Chronic Fatigue. To combat that I take amphetamine during the day so I can stay awake and have a semi productive life, but life the morphine, the amphetamine isn’t really working any longer. So, I am not very excited about having to up the morphine, but there doesn’t seem to be any better alternatives.
This brings up the question if medical Marijuana.
1:From what I have read it seems that it can be used to help with chronic pain. Anyone know if it can tackle pain like morphine can?
2: If you are using it, does that mean you’re going around stoned out of your mind? Pain relief would be great, but I’m not interested in being baked.
3: Are the side effects minimal? I am trying to find something that will relieve the pain, yet not make me lethargic. In short, I would like my life back.
4: Of course this is probably all moot since I live in Florida. Anyone know if the medical use had a chance of becoming legal here? How the government can think giving me fists full of morphine, percocet and amphetamines is okay, but not marijuana is beyond me. It also seems amazing that residents is one state can have access to a medical treatment, but others in another state are barred from it.
I appreciate all of the information. Chronic pain us a bitch and when your suffering from it you are always looking for a better way. The more I know, the more I can discuss with my doctor. As far as non-drug therapies I use a Tens unit and occasionally get a deep tissue massage. Both relieve the pain, but the effects don’t last very long. I have looked into getting a spinal simulator implanted, but I have heard both good and bad. Not enough good at this point to make me want to get cut open again.
For some people, marijuana can alleviate pain as well as morphine or other narcotics. This is not true for all people.
There are strains of medical marijuana available that proponents claim are bred to alleviate pain without the typical high of marijuana. If you were to go to a shop that sells medical mj, they would be able to point you to one of those strains.
Regarding lethargy, in just MHO, prescription medicines such as morphine also cause lethargy, and see above- there are strains out there that are claimed to not have unwanted side effects.
I have no idea if Florida is anticipating approving medical mj, but it does seem that the South is much more reluctant than other states to do this.
[TE=ladyfoxfyre;15822465]Yeah it’ll be a cold day in hell when Florida legalizes marijuana for any purpose. Not that it has to stop you, but you’re not likely to see it here.
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Amazing isn’t it? No problem with giving us morphine, Fentynal, percocet, Vicodin, amphetamine and others, but for some reason medical marijuana is not allowed. Don’t the lawmakers have any clue how dangerous and addictive the medication I am currently using is? What about my quality (and others) life? From everything I have read the medical use is marijuana has significantly less side effects than the opioids I am talking.
And yes, I could say f-it and just go smoke it on my own, but I have too much to lose to take the risk.
I just read an article about MJ that says it seems to work more as a pain “distracter” rather than a blocker. You’ll still feel the pain but you won’t pay attention to it.
I’d second the comment that it’s not likely to become legal here in Florida anytime soon. The state level government tends to be rather conservative, and our Governor appears to place high value in standing on principles, for better or worse. That doesn’t add up to pushing for medical marijuana.
I feel for you. My mother has on going back problems. Cracked vertebra.
I am her MMJ care giver. I make a salve out of MMJ and waxes and oils. It seems to help, and at this point she’ll try anything.
I don’t think it will do anything close to what morphine does. At least not in salve form.
Quote:“There are strains of medical marijuana available that proponents claim are bred to alleviate pain without the typical high of marijuana. If you were to go to a shop that sells medical mj, they would be able to point you to one of those strains.”
I have smoked a lot of mj in my life and I have never heard of this. I admit, it does sound nice to keep attention low. While I believe we should just legalize weed I don’t see what is so medical about it. Marijuana smokers and so called pain patients can be found on this kind of sites and there is little to nothing medical about what they are posting there.
My understanding is that there are two main types of plant. Indica, and Sativa. For pain relief, and relaxation you want Indica.
Wiki – Cannabis indica
Though this article seems to contradict itself. See my bolding above. The MMJ dispensaries that I have visited have all said that you want a high CBD content for pain relief. They recommend the Indica plant.
[QUOTE=Gin Bell]
I have smoked a lot of mj in my life and I have never heard of this. I admit, it does sound nice to keep attention low. While I believe we should just legalize weed I don’t see what is so medical about it. Marijuana smokers and so called pain patients can be found on this kind of sites and there is little to nothing medical about what they are posting there.
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I understand what you are saying. As I mentioned upthread, I make a salve for my 83 year old mom. It seems to help.
I have tried the salve on my neck. About 6 years ago I fell on my chin very hard. I now know what people mean when the say they saw stars. I nearly knocked myself out. Now I don’t know if that is what caused this, but ever since, whenever I turn my neck to the left it pops. Just like cracking your knuckles. I’ll use the MMJ salve on my neck before bed about 3 times a week. It does not make me high or stoned, but my neck feels better. I can still get it to ‘pop’ but it’s not nearly as bad as it was.
I admit that IF it helps patients to leave their prescription for Vicodin, Opana and Oxycontin pills than more power to them. Nothing messes up one’s system more than opiates.
Medical marijuana is nice because you get to have the goodies without too much negative consequences (and i am referring to arrests and such. Medical mj is just as harmful to your health - if not more due to its high purity).
When I look at pictures of MJ tops and at the actual product distributed by dispensaries I am sure that all of their strains have an extremely high THC volume.
You won’t notice it in ointments (really?!) but when smoking the tops you DEFINITELY get very very high.
This. It does help distract but the pain is still there. I find at times it’s very much there and if the med is not distracting me enough there’s no help with it.
If I was at a morphine level not sure it would help much. I would probably use it in conjunction with it.
I think it works more for some than others.
Where I live you can now get it delivered to you with out that “red card”. Funny I bet my wife it would be on craigslist in no time once it went legal.
My question is: In the state of Ca where can someone legally smoke medical marijuana? I live in a small apartment complex. There are a few tenants the claim they have medical cards. I have no problems with anyone smoking the product. My problem is the smell actually makes me physically sick as in nausea and violent vomiting. My neighbor smokes it out on his balcony and the smoke drifts into my apartment and then I am sick. What can I do legally? I need it to stop. I myself is physically disabled and home all day. My neighbor indulges 2-4 times a day. Why should I have to suffer for his convenience? How can I make/convince him to smoke inside his apartment? I have asked nicely. He does not care. I am at a loss. Anyone have the answers?
I don’t know from legal, but could you arrange to throw up on his door? Or if your balconies adjoin, just heave it over onto his balcony? That’d probably get the message across to him pretty quick.
I wish I could. He actually lives upstairs. My bathroom vent is right next to his balcony, I run the bathroom fan when I begin to smell it, but I am afraid to run it if I am out of the apartment and I run 2 large room size air purifiers 24/7, no help. One little whiff and I am sick. Thanks for your response. Loved it.