How We Combat Pain Using Cannabis

Pain photo credit: Ryan Weisgerber https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortcollinschiropractor/

As a heart patient, I follow a specific protocol if I think I’m having a heart attack. Felicity has asthma, and she has her own protocol for escalating her medications when she has an asthma attack or allergic reaction. Both of these have as their final destination the emergency room, or at least a call to 911.

We also have a protocol for pain. Naturally, if we had any known or obvious injury, we’d have it taken care of by the appropriate medical people. But we’re generally talking about muscle or body aches, some of which can be quite painful. Cannabis can help with much of this, but it helps to know what you’re doing. The wrong dosage could make it dangerous or even illegal to drive, and in any case we don’t like the “doped-up feeling” that even mild opiates like Norcos can give you.

So the first thing I do is use my inhaler. And by that, I mean the vape pen I keep loaded with some very pure indica shatter for immediate use for anxiety and insomnia, though it also works on pain. I’ve written before how some strains of cannabis are great for taking away pain without making you feel like you’re doped up, and this batch is apparently one of them, as long as you don’t take too much. But vaporizing means it starts working instantly, and hits its peak within 10 minutes or so.

While that’s going on, I also take one of our Canna Caps, made with an AC/DC strain that’s about 50/50 CBD and THC. There’s enough of each cannabinoid in there that it works on any kind of pain, from neuropathic (nerve/back) pain to severe muscle aches, sharp pains, or cramps. If it’s particularly long-lasting or strong, we might take two AC/DC capsules, or perhaps Tylenol in severe cases.

Even though we rarely use Tylenol and never take more than recommended, we try to keep in mind that its main ingredient is extremely hepatotoxic. Cannabis is much safer…at any dosage!

http://BeyondChronic.com

Old Hippie is a father of two boys and thankfully living in California where all this kind of thing is legal. He started smoking marijuana in 1967 in high school, experimented with mind-expanding drugs of all kinds, and then straightened out 15 or so years later to become an airplane pilot. After being diagnosed with depression in 2000, he lost his job and most of the following decade to prescription medications (such as antidepressants) which sapped his energy and will. Finally, a chance conversation with a friend led to a doctor’s recommendation for medical marijuana (MMJ). This changed his entire life, health, and outlook for the better. BeyondChronic.com is his continuing story. It’s also his way to provide experienced advice on using medical marijuana effectively and responsibly, as well as advocacy, activism, and support for others. Old Hippie teaches about safe use of cannabis edibles, Canna Caps, vaporizers, dosing, and even microdosing.

6 comments

Hey BeyondChronic, it’s BeyondHamilton
I recently had an addiction to narcotics and had to detox in a mental hospital for 5 days. It was a stupid PINKY injury my insurance didn’t take seriously. Well, I spent 4 MONTHS (June to September) on narcotics before ACTUAL began. So, another .5 months found me in Walmart with a friend, shopping for his groceries, when they had a FIRE DRILL mid afternoon! I walked around SHOUTING AT PEOPLE!
That’s when I knew I was GONE!
The semi-decent news, is I qualify for CBD/5mg THC as defined in GA law, and my treating hospital has treating doctors. My question to you, my being on disability, still, is what dosage should I take of the pills should I take, if I need acute pain relief if I’m now 155ish. I’ve lost A LOT of weight since I met you 3 years ago. I will try to ask another friend as well. I don’t want the feeling of TBI. I hope you are well.

OMG…I’m so sorry to hear this, my friend.

I have no idea what dosage will work, and neither do they, so start with the minimum dose and work your way up as necessary. This is pretty safe as long as you’re off narcotics (there are a few other meds that don’t work well with cannabis, but not many with serious problems).

There’s a real chance I could lose my SSDI in February. If that happens I’m simply screwed. I spent another 4 days or more in a hospital because I couldn’t WALK for my back pain! I’m living upstairs in the house now. It’s COLD in that back room!
For starters, I tried 20mg and it didn’t TOUCH THE PAIN! Not even slightly. THAT was disappointing. I may use what I have in savings to drift away to someplace FAR AWAY, and make the best of it, especially if I lose my SSDI. I’ll stay until my senior cat Goose passes away, then go. He only loves me in this world. It wouldn’t be fair to go someplace without him.
Not much else to say. Fighting day by day.
Be well, gentle soul…

Oh hell. But your experience on 20 mg (I’m assuming THC here) is not unusual…chronic pain sufferers often need much higher doses than Felicity and I do for our mental/emotional concerns.

As cat lovers ourselves, we understand the rest. Are you thinking of moving to Colorado or Oregon, or somewhere overseas for some reason? It’s relatively easy to move a cat within the continental US, at least.

Hugs and nugs always.

I Just want to ask if someone here knows the right marijuana strain to use when it come with fibromyalgia?

I’ve been suffering with back pain for almost 3 months now and can’t sleep properly at night. I already have a prescription meds but I refrain on using them coz it only take the pain for a minute or so and back again. Then one of my friends gave me a joint to try if it makes me feel better and it does! I try asking him what it is but he has no idea also. So I started doing my own research about medical marijuana and strains that would be effective against pain and came across this http://www.ilovegrowingmarijuana.com/blueberry/.
I’m not sure if that’s the strain that I’ve tried but it has the highest pain management effect. Cbd and thc are all new to me. I also read that drinking it as tea or as a muffin/cake is an option, but is relief effects the same? Why can’t they simply make pills out of marijuana – or maybe there are that I am not aware of. If it’s true, then I would very much appreciate any ideas and advice on what strain is good and how to use it medically. Thanks in advance to those who’ll answer.

First of all, you should know there is never a “magic strain” that works perfectly for every person with a given condition. This is doubly true for fibromyalgia, which apparently can’t even be diagnosed accurately by many doctors.

There are lots of strains that are good against pain in general (mostly indicas) and there are strains with higher CBD that are good against neuropathic (nerve) pain. Back pain is often a combination of neuropathic and regular pain, so if you can find a high CBD indica strain, you should be covered! In any case, the best strain to use is the one you can find that works. There’s no sense being in agony because you can’t find AC/DC locally, for example, if you can get Harlequin (or whatever).

I encourage you to read a number of important articles because you’re new to all this, and I want to make sure you learn things right! Here’s an article about CBD, here’s one about making your own cannabis pills, and here’s one about mixing strains. You can’t really make cannabis tea because it’s not water soluble, but all edibles (from the pills to the brownies) work far longer so are generally better for pain relief, although they take awhile to work. Come on back and ask more questions! Nugs and hugs!

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