FAQs

Yes, and it doesn’t agree with me. CBD has done absolutely nothing for me. I’ve tried it without THC and with different ratios of THC, and it does nothing for me.

THC and I have never really gotten along. It occasionally treats me OK, but usually it completely obliterates me. I get super couch-locked. I can’t open my eyes, my memory lasts about 4 seconds, I can’t turn my brain off, I can’t sleep, and I get anxiety because I can’t remember what I was just thinking about. The anxiety occasionally turns into panic. This all seems to be streaky – I’ll get non-stop panic, or I’ll get a period where it helps a tiny bit. Even when it helps, I’m totally non-functional. I’ve never been able to go out in public while using it, so it’s not that viable of a solution for me. At best it simply helps me get through the day.

Yes, multiple times. It takes a ton of mental strength and a very big effort to deal with the pain without medication. The pain always sticks around, or comes back very quickly and ends up forcing me back on the meds. I’ve been through these pain issues many years ago without any kind of medications and the effects were far worse than what I feel now. Even when I can get by without medication, I’m not as active and often can’t be upright for most of my days.

My goal is always to be drug/medication/alcohol free. Whenever I have a streak of good days, I stop or taper meds. When I assess whether I’m better off with or without the meds, unfortunately, the answer is that I’m better with them. It’s not a medication problem, it’s a pain problem.

It’s amazingly difficult for pain patients to get medication from doctors these days. My pain management doctor and the rheumatologist I just saw both said they don’t prescribe medication. One would expect the specialists in their fields to prescribe meds for these specialty diseases. This means I have to mainly take supplements.

I use SamE for depression. I take vitamin D and magnesium. I take a one a day vitamin. I take ibuprofen for inflammation. I have Zanaflex for muscle spasms, and I recently got Lyrica for fibromyalgia and nerve pain. My primary doctor is prescribing these since the specialists won’t (and he is not happy about it). I use magnesium oil and a menthol ointment on my back .

I don’t get along well with cannabis. I will use alcohol to help treat the pain. I don’t drink recreationally anymore. I dislike it, but it helps get me through the impossible nights.