chronic pain management

Grant

Grant

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ok, a family member is suffering chronic constant pain since failed spinal surgery many years back.
to complicate things there was also servere surgical infection post surgery.
over the years specialists in various fields were consulted in an attempt to pinpoint & manage the pain. scans of every sort have been done - all without success.

the pain management clinic at UCT private academic hospital are also at a bit of a loss.

i am now very seriously considering suggesting marijuana as at this point the next step would be the use of pethidene or morphine.

my concern is from the aspect of addiction, not to the weed itself, but as a result the relief it may offer. this may result in a whole new set of problems !

the extent of the pain is beyond my description, but try imagine if you can, an elderly person wimpering in pain at night asking god to just "please take them". on their birthday a few weeks back she said that she prayed it would be her last.

any input would be appreciated.
 
You definitely want to be 'addicted' to cannabis rather than pethidine.

What problems are you envisioning if cannabis relieves the pain? That seems like a win to me.

If there are concerns about smoke particles, etc - Get a vaporizer or bake it into something.

As I said here:

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/263046-Drugs-and-prohibition?p=9431968&viewfull=1#post9431968

I just watched someone in abject, insufferable and incapacitating misery caused by chronic pain smoke a small joint of high grade cannabis.

Within a minute their pain was gone.

They cried real tears in relief.

Anyone in this world who would attempt to criminalize their actions or restrict their access to this medication is a sick **** not worthy of the title of human being.
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It ability to deal with pain verges on the miraculous, with virtually no side effects (aside from getting high, obviously), compared to what doctors might prescribe otherwise.

You will need to get good marijuana though, as the cheap crap will do absolutely nothing useful. You can thank the moral warriors for this problem, and for the fact that you will be forced to break the law to possibly ease this person's suffering.
 
grantza said:
my concern is from the aspect of addiction, not to the weed itself, but as a result the relief it may offer. this may result in a whole new set of problems !
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Can't say I'm following here. You're worried that it might provide relief...but this is a problem since not being in pain might be addicting?:confused:

Just go do it already.
 
HavocXphere said:
Can't say I'm following here. You're worried that it might provide relief...but this is a problem since not being in pain might be addicting?:confused:

Just go do it already.
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ok, did not articulate too well.
a problem may be the need for endless & copious supplies as a result of the body possibly becoming immune to slowly increasing doses.
 
grantza said:
ok, did not articulate too well.
a problem may be the need for endless & copious supplies as a result of the body possibly becoming immune to slowly increasing doses.
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What makes you think this will happen?

If it's to be used regularly, all you need to find is a private garden somewhere, where you can easily grow a plant or two.

One medium sized plant of quality cannabis could easily last someone in pain for several months to a year.

You might need a little more to have the same effect as time goes by, but nothing dramatic as with opiates.

I know many people who have been smoking regularly for decades. It still does what they want it to do.
 
You can order ten female seeds from Holland for about R1,000. Guaranteed quality and volume. Will last you years. It is shipped discreetly and can't be detected.

So I've been told ...
 
grantza said:
ok, did not articulate too well.
a problem may be the need for endless & copious supplies as a result of the body possibly becoming immune to slowly increasing doses.
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Pretty much all painmeds & addictive meds are prone to tolerance being developed & the dose having to be upped. Sucks, but baring a better solution it is also largely irrelevant. Either take a chance on tolerance build-up or let the person suffer. Doesn't strike me as a difficult choice tbh.

Give the morphine a miss if you can though...
 
Interesting ... failed spinal operation huh. I assume ortho problem, before using the high ceiling opioids what has been used before ?

how old is the person ? there are many things you can use to manage the pain depending on what type of pain it is. There is no such thing as just "pain" which most people dont understand.

Let me give you an example. If you strain a muscle from over exertion and it hurts, morphine will not help with that pain at all, but say orphenadrine will. Like wise other pains (neuropathy) will not respond to certain pain meds and are likely to be treated off-label.

You might want to consider:

tegretol
baclofen
clonazepam
lyrica®
gabapentin (neurontin®), or a combination of these agents

there are a whole host of stuff, morphine and pethidine arent your best options for this type of injury if im understadning the cause of the pain correctly
 
she is in her 70's.
surgery was a laminectomy (failed), complicated by very bad surgical infection at the site of the surgery.
ortho & neuro specialists have failed amongst all the scans & tests conducted in order to establish exact site or source of pain.

that said, have obtained the herb in question & been assured by someone i trust that is is of very high quality.
how best now for her to take it. smoke, tea or in food ?
 
It is hard to say, as dose dependance is very variable based on source and means of taking it in.

If smoking is an option I'd try that, as it's much easier to gauge the dose.
 
so handed her a joint. felt pretty odd, i have never even smoked a cigarette in fron of my parents.

but dont be thinking i am a prude of sorts, off hand i can think of at least 12 illegal substances i have "test driven" over the years - from the softest to the very hardest.

but this just felt wierd
 
grantza said:
so handed her a joint. felt pretty odd, i have never even smoked a cigarette in fron of my parents.

but dont be thinking i am a prude of sorts, off hand i can think of at least 12 illegal substances i have "test driven" over the years - from the softest to the very hardest.

but this just felt wierd
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Did it help?
 
Celine said:
explain please.
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Hmmmm. Pain is a symtomp and that symtomp varies according to what the body whats to alert you to.

Certain pain reflex will not vanish depending on the neurological pathway and the cause of the pain. Its hard to explain rather I cant explain it very well myself. Perhaps a google search might be clear on the matter.

Now the neurological pathway of pain is the release of a thing called substance P. Though there are many forms of pain and they travel with different sensory pathways.

Mucoskeletal pain a pain cause my injury to muscles and joints is far different from pain caused by burns and hence have to be treated by different drugs because the site of pain response is different. The same goes with inflammation. Neuropathic pain is pain dealing with damage to the nervous system directly and is usually the a more intense pain, and then you get the worst pain which is breakthrough pain (coming from a sudden pain 'breaking through analgesia') usually cancer pains fall in this category.

You get psychogenic pain as well which can be related to mental issues. You even get pain where there is no damage at all, like angina which can be extremely painful which morphine will not resolve.

Its because its a complex neurological cascade that selecting the right drug is probably the most important thing when trying to manage pain. Women generally relate easily with their menstrual cramps and often say that ponstan® is far superior than anything else, yet its analgesic properties arent that potent.

If pain was as simple then there would be a universal "painkiller" but its not
 
copacetic said:
It is hard to say, as dose dependance is very variable based on source and means of taking it in.

If smoking is an option I'd try that, as it's much easier to gauge the dose.
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I would agree for the smoking part if you going through it, but definately not for gauging the dose. You wont be able to quantify the dose accurately as you using a raw plant.

However the smoking will provide the fastest effect as smoking will cause the THC to hit arterial blood flow almost instantly

EDIT:

but be warned, smoking cause tachycardia and narrowing of the coronary arterties which supply the heart with blood. A single puff of smoke (any smoke) is enough to cause a constriction in the heart. You can cause a heart attack in an elderly patient if they arent used to smoking
 
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told her to have a few drags (little small sips) about half an hour before bed.
she seems to suffer most trying to get into a comfortable position to sleep in & of course getting to sleep as well.
as an added complication, as a result of the spinal surgery she has a weak bladder, so sleeping tablets have not been an option to aid sleep.

given she has not smoked a cigarette for over 20 yrs i did not want her to choke & getting as high as a kite :D

will report back tomorrow - but i can tell there is a certain nervous anticipation.
 
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