For years the Veterans Administration prescribed pain pills for my back issues. Hydrocodone, oxycontin, morphine, you name it and at one time or another, I had it. The thing is, I really don’t like taking narcotic medicine. There are too many side effects and other issues that I did not want to deal with, so I would only take the medicine when I was really hurting bad.
This is called chasing the pain, and any doctor will tell you that’s not a good idea. You’re supposed to take the meds ahead of time before the pain gets out of control. However, I saw too many people start out that way and let it get out of hand.
Eventually I got a medical marijuana card and switched to sublingual oil with varying amounts of THC in it. That worked very well, and the day I started using it I stopped taking any of the pain pills. I never got high from the oil, and I used it on a regular basis.
Then, in June of 2020 I had my RF nerve ablations done and I didn’t need the oil anymore. So for two years now the only thing I have taken was the occasional ibuprofen or Tylenol PM now and then.
Fast forward to the present and my nerves seem to have regenerated and the pain has been debilitating. My medical marijuana card has long since expired, and most of the pain pills were outdated and turned in to the Sheriff’s Department for disposal. I do have a few Tramadol pills left, and some Flexeril. I tried them for three or four days but they haven’t done much good.
Someone told me about Delta 8, which is a derivative of the cannabis plant and is legal here in Florida. Several of the local smoke shops carry it, so yesterday I tried one of the 20 milligram gummies. I was told to see how that affected me and if it didn’t do anything to take another one an hour or so later. That was in the early afternoon, and after chewing down one of the gummies, I didn’t notice any change at all. An hour and a half later I decided to take half of another one rather than a whole one. Still nothing at all and the pain had not decreased in the slightest. I gave it another 30 minutes and took the other half.
Bam! Just like that I was higher than a kite. I have never liked being high from alcohol or anything else because I can get in enough trouble under my own steam without having anything help me along. That’s why I don’t drink or do anything else along those lines.
I managed to crank out about 800 words in my new John Lee Quarrels book, and realized I wasn’t concentrating from sentence to sentence. So much for that idea. At 5 o’clock I parked myself in my recliner and slept until after 7. By then I felt a little more normal, but the back pain had not changed.
Now it’s a little after midnight and my head is finally clear once again. And I will say that my back pain is significantly lower right now. But if I have to take so much Delta 8 that I get wasted first, to feel good hours later, that’s not going to happen. I’m lazy enough already. I don’t need something that makes me want to sleep all day. So now I guess I’m looking at Plan B, or Plan C, or whatever number we are, and whatever the heck it is.
And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.
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Thought For The Day – I am starting to think I will never be old enough to know better.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
So sorry for your back pain, Nick. I have back pain, too, but luckily it’s only when I stand for more than a minute. Kind of cuts down on my shopping, tho! (Love ebay and amazon!) 🙂 I’ve thought about trying some form of medical marijuana, but haven’t done it. I’m old (86). Tramadol did absolutely nothing for me, either. Mobic (meloxicam) did work! However the side effects caught up with me and I had to stop, but that was after years of taking it. Jut a suggestion for you……
My husband has been fighting the same battle with back pin for the last 8 years. Plus, he is now dealing with severe pain from a torn meniscus in his elderly knee! He cannot tolerate opiates, either. They don’t really seem to help with the pain and make him dopey, cranky and depressed. He has used cannabis to VERY good effect for some years, and when we lived in AZ he also had his Medical Marijuana card. We never lie to our doctors … ever. The doctors at the VA were all quietly supportive of his cannabis use because they ALL KNOW THAT IT WORKS. The official word from the VA there is “Use whatever works.” If you do test positive for THC, they will not prescribe any type of opiate for you because they cannot determine the amount of cannabis that you may be using, but the goal is to reduce opiate use whenever possible. Tucson’s comprehensive Pain Program offers everything to the vets from Chiropractic, massage, water therapy and physical therapy to acupuncture, counseling, and meditation. The first year the Pain Program was put into place with the goal of reducing the dependence on opiates, 3000 vets availed themselves of the help and opiate deaths were significantly reduced! Success! Doctors are all aware of the benefits. I am frustrated that lawmakers are more interested in avoiding the topic because of their fear of criticism than they are in helping their constituents who deal with debilitating pain. Sadly, we have relocated to NC, where there is still a somewhat backward attitude towards medical marijuana use. My husband’s pain has once again pushed him into A-fib and he is presently in the Asheville VA. More drugs to regulate his heart rate and more procedures to deal with this condition are in our future. I hope you find a happy end to your pain soon. Fingers crossed!