Marijuana and Pain Management

[Chip (OP)]

why do they say pot works for pain yet it doesn't do that for me.

so I was wondering how it actually works for those that get pain relief ...

[Jega]

That's a good question but i'm not sure it can be scientifically answered. If my anxiety is under control, or relatively under control and I have a headache for instance i've noticed a couple hits can really help but i'm not sure exactly why. It's more than just I don't care about my headache, there is a real difference.

I'd be interested to hear the opinion of others too.

[adamn1t]

Its like Jenga said it helps you more not to care. For me at least the pain will still be there but weed helps to improve attitude towards everything. I still hurt but i just dont care as much and am in a happier state of mind.  )

[Chip (OP)]

so you say that the pain is less of an issue psychologically ?

that would make sense.

[Guts]

I don't think we understand the cannaboid receptors in our head all that much yet. I think the only thing we know they're good for is they allow us to get high... weed wouldn't work without them. I've never heard any explanation as to what role they play other than that... surely they do something...

[neighbor]

ive never gotten much pain relief from sativas, aside from help with nausea.

heavy indicas on the other hand, they can sometimes almost feel like pod tea to me, when it comes to physical relief

a qtr of granddaddypurp will also last me a week longer than any strong sativa ive tried. dont know why.

granted these are all hybrids of course, ive never had a pure indica, but I assume Itd be the bee's fuckin knees

try a strong indica dominant and see whats what. thats where the relief is at.

[Mr.pooper]

The pain relief will be strain dependent because of all the different ratios of different cannabinoids in each strain. Indica dominant  strains is what I look for personally for pain relief.  I've also  gotten  into shatter/wax  ,and those have more  pain relief than anything else.

For example this company does a  molecular  isolation  of  99.96% THC-A, Crystalline. The final product looks like shards of crystal. It's a totally different high that seems to help my headaches better than anything else. There is also Some research claiming CBD to be the main pain killing chemical in weed. So now there is CBD shatter/wax which is very concentrated.  Also Strains high in CBD are being specifically cultivated.

Edibles work really well for pain in the 500mg+ THC range...I usally float around on 1000mg edibles( about 20gs of dried cannabis equivalent according to this edible package)

I can't sleep through the night without smoking. My pain melts away just enough after a few dabs or tokes so I can fall asleep.  Also edibles before sleeping  helps me sleep through the night. Kava kava and kratom help a lot too ,and both synergies amazingly well with cannabis.


It also helps me keep a positive outlook about my pain. Which I believe in itself helps the body create its own pain killing endorphins.

[Sand and Water]

This is an interesting question imo. As a CPPer i can say w/certainty that edibles helped--sure it wasn't as much help as the "heavy duty" meds, but PM is complex. I look at it like this; i have severe chronic pain that began to affect me psychologically after it became chronic. I have to work around it every single day. Add in "overdoing", stress, getting sick etc & there's even less physical and mental energy to keep it to a non barfing level.

Over the years, i learned different strategies in addition to meds (had to b/c of multiple GI bleeds=no more ever, or the whole "yep i could bleed out this time" thing. I call it my mental toolbox--pain meds, daily PT, ice/heat, massage and oh yes when I'm lucky enough to get (not in an mmj friendly area), edibles.

While there's too many days i can't do nearly as much as i want or even need, mentally preparing/shoring up is a tremendous help--and for me the edibles really helped with this. I keep hoping the entire country will follow CO & the other very few states' & just let us all enjoy it whether its for medical or fun reasons.

Chronic pain causes/increases anxiety and depression. I had a noticeable reduction in the pain & am giessing since my body wasn't busy fighting it off as much, I was able to just sleeeeep solidly vs dozing when i had edibles, which is a rarity for me.

 I spose I'd call it a poly-benefit--relaxation...less spasms..less pain..less stress lol
I was curious about that--does anyone regularly eating edibles know if that benefit decreases with time?

[Chip (OP)]

<snip>

Edibles work really well for pain in the 500+ mg THC range...I usually float around on 1000 mg edibles (about 20 gs of dried cannabis equivalent according to this edible package).

<snip>

that is a a lot of cannabis, alright ... which makes more sense as far a pain goes; higher doses of THC are bound to create a stronger effect that could well result in upping your pain threshold.

thanks for explaining that guys !

[theSWPK]

Its like Jenga said it helps you more not to care. For me at least the pain will still be there but weed helps to improve attitude towards everything. I still hurt but i just dont care as much and am in a happier state of mind.  )

Lol jenga

[MoeMentim]

I've never had long-term pain, but I have had my share of injuries & for me it basically helps with the mental aspects of pain, ie it can be a bit of a "diversion."  I don't expect much relief from sharp pain, but for stuff like dull aches, muscle pain & low grade headaches it can make a difference.  I concur with Indicas being more helpful, sativas can aggravate the issue by intensifying my focus on it unless I have a definite task to attend to.  This is pretty parallel to how they work for me in general - indicas relax body & mind, tend to "blend" everything together sativas turn the volume up on whatever my attention is drawn to. 

I do think it can potentiate pain meds a bit & indicas again would be the place to start seeing what might help, but be aware it'll add to the relaxing/calming effects, but I don't think it poses significant CNS depressant dangers compared to combining with stuff like benzos or alcohol.  Someone please do correct me on that if I'm misled.

[Wildcat]

I not much for pot cuz it gives me anxiety n paranoia to the extreme, HOWEVER- I was up in Mi visiting, and my bil, who also suffers CP-has MMJ card,
and he gets this certain strain from his grower that was excellent!!! NO anxiety or paranoia-its kinda creeper weed, and man did it relax me and work on the pain, big-time.

I split a blunt with my bil, and it really helped me-lasted a good 12 hours too.

THAT is what I want-it should be available-PERIOD.

[Mr.pooper]

@Wildcat That's awesome to hear! Do you know the name of the strain?

I've heard from a lot of people who used to smoke say they can't anymore because it makes them paranoid and have anxiety. Id bet they were smoking sativas, and smoked too much for their tolerance. 

To a smaller degree , ones surrounding environment can influence certain aspects of cannabis.  It's catagorized as a minor hallucinogen.

Strains with high THC , and low/no CBD will be more prone to cause paranoia and anxiety. The art/science of cultivating cannabis has been mostly aimed at higher THC content,and not a focus on the other chemicals in the plant. This has changed in the past year. With the focus shifting onto things like CBD/CBN. A strain high in CBD I've noticed will be  a much more balanced high. (Less paranoia/anxiety, more pain relief)

I just saw an isolated. 99% CBD crystalline today, going to try dabbing it tonight and experiment to see  how well CBD with no THC handles my chronic pain.

[candy]

I use cannabis for pain and I usually get a few really good hybrids I like, ( Purple Kush, Critical Kush) that are both indica dominant and great medicinally.  The indicas that I smoke when things get really bad and I just want to sleep are Blackberry and Fucking Incredible. Both will really get you high, but are a great help with pain and with sleep.
Because of my chronic problems,  I get very bad bladder spasms and sometimes just cannot urinate because of it.  The indica helps to relieve this better than any prescription crap they give me. There is nothing worse than not being able to pee.

I find marijuana to be one of the best medications I have taken to deal with pain, other than the stronger opiates I have used in the past. Muscle relaxers do nothing for me.   
I know opiates are out of the question for me at this point in my life and I would only use them if absolutely necessary, but marijuana really seems to be the go to drug for me at this point in my life.

 Do your homework on different strains and what they are best for in terms of pain, and if you are in a state where it is legal to use, ask someone at the dispensary where you go what they would recommend.

[Delta9Tetra]

I've had sciatica for years, sometimes it can get really painful for me. I haven't been able to keep a wallet in my backpocket since I was in high school. But I've found that some strong sativa will make it much more manageable, to the point where I can walk without crying bloody murder. Since no doctor has ever given me anything that has actually helped me, I have went through the gambit looking for a OTC solution. Icy hot, patches, gels, heating pads. Obviously dope does the trick as well but I'd have to be a very rich man to dose anytime I have sciatic pain, not to mention the other billion problems with that  . I really enjoy the relief marijuana gives me, I also have GI problems and those too are alleviated by my mistress Mary. I recommend strong sativa strains to anyone with muscle or nerve pain.

Sadly though, what works for some doesn't work for others. Sorry to hear you don't get relief from weed @chipper , hope you do find something that works for you homie.