My neuro has been pushing me to get a medical marijuana card for the past year. I always said no because my husband is an addict so I wanted to keep that stuff out of the house. I used to smoke it when I was younger but it's been about 15 years.
Well...since I am no longer with my husband I had been thinking about trying it to see if it really helps. I went to my regular doctor last week and he started me on Prozac in the morning and amitryptaline at night. Supposed to help nerve pain when combined like that. He says this is the last thing to try for me since I've been allergic to everything else except gabapentin and percocet. I asked him about the pot issue and he said all it would do is relax me and make my cognitive issues worse. He didn't think it would have any benefits.
So....the next day I got some pot. I feel like I have tried all I can and really wanted to know if it would help the pain and reduce the amount of pain meds I have to take.
The results......got rid of the pain!!! Within 25 minutes I noticed my pain almost completely gone!!! I did it on a day where I had to work 13 hours. I did it after work of course but I figured if there was a day that I would really be able to tell it would be that day. I have been doing it for 6 days now to test it out before I ask for the card.
Here is the pro's and cons of it for me:
PRO's:
Got rid of pain
my muscles were not tensed up at all
i write commercials for a living. this helped me be more creative as I always struggle doing this. but it did take me longer.
CON's:
got bad munchies each time so I am sure I gained 5 pounds within the 6 days I've been doing it
very dry mouth
if I need something at the store I can't go get it. There's no way I can drive while high on pot. First night I ran out of soda and second night I ran out of pop. Need better planning.
if I sit for a minute I will fall asleep. i keep finding myself so relaxed I fall asleep. It feels good but i got stuff to do.
it totally slows my brain down. It's hard for me to form sentences.
CONCLUSION:
I think I will make an appointment to talk to my neuro about it again. The pain relief is so good that i think its worth having it on hand for when I'm sure I dont need to go anywhere and it's just in the evening. I have to drive for work so cant do it in the daytime.
Having these 6 evenings of such less pain has been so wonderful. I've battled the pain since i was 3. Im 44 now so I think i deserve some relief. It's not something I would want everyone to know about around here because people judge but i feel like I have tried everything medical and natural over the years.
I am concerned that Prozac and amitryptaline may be making your dry mouth symptom worse.
Jozee, you should know that Federal and State Laws conflict on this issue. Last I heard, you can still be arrested and prosecuted for possession by US Federal Law Enforcement Agencies even if you have a prescription and it's legalized by state law. I wouldn't want you to risk going through an ordeal like that.
Also, never post on a public forum about doing anything illegal. You're not really anonymous to law enforcement online, IPs can be traced, so be careful.
medical marijuana is legal here in Canada. Haven't ever used it recreationally or medically but as a Nurse myself I have seen it do wonders for some clients so I would use it before most narcotics.
Very glad you were able to get some relief!! - sounds like you are planning to use it in a safe and respectful way
Oh, Jozee!
Did you hear my sigh of envy all the way to VA?
To have weed legal, recommended by a doctor......
What I love is that of COURSE marijuana is all natural!
(that was sarcasm in case you didn't recognize it! People have such a 'thing' over natural.......IMHO.)
All that said, of course, marijuana isn't part of my life. I suppose it could be with great effort. But we're just too 'out of the loop' as it were!
Clearly this is a medication you want to use, Jozee, when you have no demands on your time, and perhaps with some preparation, so you have the fluids on hand that you need, and perhaps carrots and popcorn without butter, fresh fruit like grapes, to munch on!
Some recent good news from a 20 year study.
Indeed, cigarette smokers in the study saw their lung function drop significantly over 20 years.
But that didn't happen to people who only smoked marijuana.
In fact, the study found that the lung function of most marijuana smokers actually improved slightly over time.
http://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20120103/marijuana-smoking-not-linked_to-chronic-breathing-problems
Keep us posted, Jozee,
Hugs
Elaine
envy, too!
I can see this becoming a very heated issue.. but all the power to you .. esp if it works
I know several MS patients that use it and it works wonders for them.. One of them is a 65 yr old woman...
sweet little woman.. she shocked the crap out of me when she told me..
the problem comes from people abusing the system to get it ...
good luck
Medical marijuana has been used as an appetite enhancer in chemo. It's supposed to help with pain as well. But I haven't considered it yet, because my brain fog is the symptom I fight the most. I don't drink alcohol either, because I need to keep my brain cells all together and at my service.
That said, did you know there are different kinds of marijuana these days, that have very different effects? The indica types are more cerebral, optimistic, spacey, thoughtful; the sativa types are more contempletive, serene, stress-relieving, used against insomnia. You may want to try different kinds to see if you can optimize your relief.
Quote from: stephL on January 12, 2012, 03:54:59 AM
Jozee, you should know that Federal and State Laws conflict on this issue. Last I heard, you can still be arrested and prosecuted for possession by US Federal Law Enforcement Agencies even if you have a prescription and it's legalized by state law. I wouldn't want you to risk going through an ordeal like that.
Also, never post on a public forum about doing anything illegal. You're not really anonymous to law enforcement online, IPs can be traced, so be careful.
While you can technically be prosecuted, federal law enforcement is not going to spend any time or effort on a simple possession charge of a small amount--- unless you were busted for some other big federal crime, or have a very large amount that could be considered enough for "distribution." They really have better things to do. According to my law enforcement friends, this is a very low priority.
Last week they busted Snoop Dog at the Sierra Blanca checkpoint, about 45 minutes east of my city... the same Border Checkpoint that busted Willie Nelson, with a similar amount of weed--about half an ounce. In both cases the feds turned them over to the local law enforcement, the Hudspeth County Sheriff's office, which is also famous because they recently hired Steven Segal as a deputy. Not an honorary one, an actual deputy!
Anyway, if that happened in NM, or OR or CO, or some other place that allows for medical MJ, the local law enforcement would take you into custody then verify the RX. If you have one, you will not be charged. As long as you weren't driving, and the amount you have is within the confines of the medical MJ laws, you will only be powerfully inconvenienced, not thrown into federal prison.
Or so they say.
I am not worried about anyone arresting me. I only had enough to try it to see if it worked for that week. Not like I had pounds of it in my freezer!!!
I have an appointment with the neurologist at the end of Feb. I plan to talk to him about it then. I feel good about the fact that I truly have tried everything and this actually works. I didn't think it would at all.
Yes Joe, I think the new meds are contributing to the dry mouth too.
Even though overly dry mouth is not my main complaint when I've tried pot my mouth is so dry that I can't even lick my lips. I wouldn't think it would be helpful for Sjoggies but I guess everyone is different.
Quote from: Billydude on January 12, 2012, 10:23:22 PM
Even though overly dry mouth is not my main complaint when I've tried pot my mouth is so dry that I can't even lick my lips. I wouldn't think it would be helpful for Sjoggies but I guess everyone is different.
Biotene Mouth Spray.
So I've been told.
Quote from: meow on January 13, 2012, 07:35:05 AM
Quote from: Billydude on January 12, 2012, 10:23:22 PM
Even though overly dry mouth is not my main complaint when I've tried pot my mouth is so dry that I can't even lick my lips. I wouldn't think it would be helpful for Sjoggies but I guess everyone is different.
Biotene Mouth Spray.
So I've been told.
You'd need a gallon of Biotene! Now I'm talking BONE dry. I little Biotene wouldn't do the trick.