I’m new to the marijuana world, have not tried it as yet, but read the post above & am curious as to how much pain relief there is, circulatory issues & marijuana, bone density, etc.

Medically, I’ve had countless surgeries, several in the last year, have been given everything from NSAIDS to Dilaudid and even going into experimental surgery.

I’m VERY concerned about kidney & liver damage from some of the medications I’ve been given. I’ve had high liver enzymes more than once from medications & kidney stones from steroid injections.

After a couple of the surgeries with steroids injected into my spinal column, I had memory loss that I’m still trying to get back, kidney stones, It’s difficult at times for me to put a paragraph together, I don’t sleep well from the pain (I have connective tissue tears,complex regional pain syndrome and most, if not all, the markers for lupus.) I’m also photosensitive (eyes) and wonder if I really don’t have lupus, but perhaps the rheumatologist doesn’t want to put a name on what I’ve seen be a pretty hopeless death sentence.

I know the steroids I was injected with & the fever after a couple of those injections that lasted roughly a month really messed with my ability to think clearly. I’d been treated with steroids years ago, and it took me about 2 years before I was clear of them and could think clearly again. If I’d known I was going to be given steroids, I would have said no. I had kidney stones & am on medications for that as well. I’ve told my doctors no more steroids & am kind of pissed that these are given out & injected into people every day without informed consent – some people are OK on them, some of us clearly are not. Burning up for a month after a steroid injection should have been a reason to stop, but the staff members at the doctors office clearly didn’t pass on the information & he didn’t get it until 2 more surgeries & in post-op I removed my IV, felt allergic to everything & finally we talked & he gets it now, so we tried an experimental anesthetic & I woke up with the affected limb burning in pain & I was waken up instead of allowed to wake up on my own.

I found this site by searching for pain resources in CA. I’m in the LA area & am looking for some kind of alternative. Honestly, I used to think that the dispensaries were just for those with cancer pain & figured a lot of it was for recreational use, which I think is fine, just with my medical issues & the adverse reactions I seem to have to darn near everything, I doubted i would help me much, if at all.

I know I am running out of options for treatments. I don’t like being on, nor having such a high tolerance for opioid medications. I don’t tolerate at all most of the alternatives.

I strongly believe God takes you where you belong & I found it interesting I wound up here. I’ve had a couple of friends mention trying medical marijuana & know family & other friends are likely to be against it, but at this point, I have to what works for me. I’m terrified to even mention it to my doctors.

The reason I’m writing such a detailed medical background is that I’m sure there are others out there who are in the same, or similar situation & have wondered about marijuana, but figured that was just for cancer pain.

Well, I’m at a point where I’m in as much pain as an end-stage cancer patient. I don’t get out much except to go to doctors’ appointments and physical therapy. I don’t do my regular activities any more around the house even and yes, I haven’t been before, but I am depressed now. I know the odds are against my ever getting well, but try to keep some hope for getting well. After being in pain for about 20 I’m not sure where we are going next with medication, etc.

I’m hoping this will help others going through similar or the same things, and I used to think medical marijuana, other than for cancer, was just people wanting to get high, which I’m not against (I think alcohol is FAR worse), but dealing with what I am & the amount of pain I’m in, the lack of appetite, etc., I’m thinking this might be an option, possibly an option that might just keep me from further deficiency problems from throwing up things when my pain levels are so high. I’m unable to eat as much as I should and have deficiencies as a result, which I’m sure are complicating my health problems.

I think it is at least worth a try & from reading here, it seems there is a chance that this might not only help me, but others with CRPS (Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome), fibromyalgia and other chronic pain disorders.

If someone could post how to talk to your doctor about this, please post. I’m not sure how my team of doctors are going to respond to my even asking, as I know how I felt about marijuana before now. IMHO, I think ALL drugs should be made legal with age restrictions, of course and kept behind the counter so kids don’t have access & penalties for those giving it to children (without a doctor’s prescription, to be VERY severe.)

I think steroid creams that are used on children, in many cases, should be regulated as much as opiates. Just because they are similar to cortisol certainly doesn’t make them safe, but they are put out there as a “cure all”, regardless of the damage they can create to organs.

Seems to me marijuana is FAR less dangerous, although I wouldn’t ever give it to a child (yet in a pill form, it might be helpful for cancer patients & has been shown to be.)

Thanks for any help anyone can provide.