How do you get started?

I have severe chronic back pain, lower back and neck for the past 20+ years. I'm relatively home bound and currently take opiates for pain management having tried many other therapies unsuccessfully. Over the years I've heard talk about medical marijuana and pain relief but not having ever used marijuana, really surprising considering I was a child of the '60s, I know little about it. So how do you get started?

Things like will it work for me? What doctor to see? My pain control physician is extremely conservative I wouldn't even ask about something like this. I looked up a local 'marijuana' physician on the internet and they want $175.00 to see you! Ouch! Then isn't it another $100.00 for the county public health card etc?? And another $25.00 for a 'caregiver' card? Having been on SSDI for the past 20 years that is a LOT of money and medicare won't pay for this. So how do you get started?

Thank you,
Annie
In the Mojave where it's finally beginning to cool down.

I do believe that this will work well for you I have scarred muscle tissue in my lower back that swells and pushes discs together pinching nerves. Cannabinoids work as natural anti inflammatories to relieve the swelling and the shooting pain that runs my spinal column. Inflammation is the primary cause of back and neck pain and it also provides nueropathic relief.

I and many others find it to be effective medicine and the high effect that comes with it is enjoyable but not debilitating at all after you get used to it. Most importantly of all this is natural medicine with no physical dependency that won't damage your liver or cause any long term side effects, all those pills you take now cause tons of problems and stress your liver, the pharma companies do not even usually know the side effects until after the pills are on the market (zoloft the widely prescribed anti depressant now has a class action lawsuit for brain spine and heart defects) not to mention the risk of dependency is constant.

My family doctor was open minded to a discussion and everything went fine after that. My state has reduced rates for people receiving govt. assistance. Look into the laws in your state. Ask around if you have more questions before getting both feet wet.

Perfextionist420 said:

I do believe that this will work well for you I have scarred muscle tissue in my lower back that swells and pushes discs together pinching nerves. Cannabinoids work as natural anti inflammatories to relieve the swelling and the shooting pain that runs my spinal column. Inflammation is the primary cause of back and neck pain and it also provides nueropathic relief.

I and many others find it to be effective medicine and the high effect that comes with it is enjoyable but not debilitating at all after you get used to it. Most importantly of all this is natural medicine with no physical dependency that won't damage your liver or cause any long term side effects, all those pills you take now cause tons of problems and stress your liver, the pharma companies do not even usually know the side effects until after the pills are on the market (zoloft the widely prescribed anti depressant now has a class action lawsuit for brain spine and heart defects) not to mention the risk of dependency is constant.

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Thank you I am hopeful it will help. I am also hoping it will help reduce the anxiety regarding the pain. Unfortunately I am lost on how to begin.
Annie

Little Tommy said:

My family doctor was open minded to a discussion and everything went fine after that. My state has reduced rates for people receiving govt. assistance. Look into the laws in your state. Ask around if you have more questions before getting both feet wet.

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I have been looking around online but it seems pretty confusing and contradictory. My pain control physician is very conservative. Actually I am too. So I feel guilty even thinking about this but the pain is less well controlled because of my mounting anxiety so I am trying to find some alternatives to what I am doing now.

Hopefully I will be able to network with some other chronic pain patients geographically close to help steer me along.

One question how do you realistically try marijuana to even see if it would help if you have to grow it yourself? If you hurt so much you spend the majority of your day repositioning to try to reduce pain how can you grow it? Is it that physically easy to do? I also worry I might find this helps and then find I am incapable of growing it. I tend to be a terrible gardener.

Thank you,
Annie

In my state (MI) you can appoint a caregiver that grows for you and is compensated for their time and effort. I am able to manage my own small grow sitting down in a rolling chair. I was disabled in a motor vehicle accident and have cut my oral meds in half by supplementing with MJ. The anxiety is also manageable.

curious2garden said:

Thank you I am hopeful it will help. I am also hoping it will help reduce the anxiety regarding the pain. Unfortunately I am lost on how to begin.
Annie

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It will ease your stress and anxiety greatly once you become familiar with it, the important thing as a first time is to take it slow because you will only need a little. Please do not feel shame for trying a new medicine that may not be 100% accepted as a social norm. We as humans have been using this for thousands of years and if it helps you and makes your life better you should not feel bad. Worst case scenario it's not for you but there's no harm in trying, ib profin will kill you pot cannot.

Most places will let you have a caregiver who will grow your plants for you. You can usually negotiate a deal with caregiver for a certain amount of medicine for free and they keep the rest.

curious2garden said:

I have severe chronic back pain, lower back and neck for the past 20+ years.

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That's one of the problems cannabis is most successful at helping. Probably the single most common reason doctors recommendations are issued.

So how do you get started?

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Get a doctors recommendation and you're good to go.

Things like will it work for me?

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In all likelihood, yes. It should work for you. To what degree it will get rid of your pain varies from person to person.

What doctor to see? My pain control physician is extremely conservative I wouldn't even ask about something like this. I looked up a local 'marijuana' physician on the internet and they want $175.00 to see you! Ouch! Then isn't it another $100.00 for the county public health card etc?? And another $25.00 for a 'caregiver' card? Having been on SSDI for the past 20 years that is a LOT of money and medicare won't pay for this. So how do you get started?

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The going rate for a doctors recommendation is about $80-100 dollars. $175 is a bit much. The county issued card is optional. Legally, all you really need is the doctors recommendation.

Give us your area code and maybe we can find you a cheaper doctor.

curious2garden said:

I have been looking around online but it seems pretty confusing and contradictory. My pain control physician is very conservative. Actually I am too. So I feel guilty even thinking about this but the pain is less well controlled because of my mounting anxiety so I am trying to find some alternatives to what I am doing now.

Hopefully I will be able to network with some other chronic pain patients geographically close to help steer me along.

One question how do you realistically try marijuana to even see if it would help if you have to grow it yourself? If you hurt so much you spend the majority of your day repositioning to try to reduce pain how can you grow it? Is it that physically easy to do? I also worry I might find this helps and then find I am incapable of growing it. I tend to be a terrible gardener.

Thank you,
Annie

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Probably want to contact your local dispensary or delivery service and try it before you attempt to grow. A grow will take you 2.5-3.5 months. You're going to want to know if it works for you first. If you're in the desert, that's not exactly the best climate to grow, so it might be difficult for you. You'd probably have to do an indoor grow.

Dan Kone said:

Give us your area code and maybe we can find you a cheaper doctor.

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Dan thank you! My area code is 661. Will the marijuana consulting physician want to talk to my pain control physician? I would be worried about possible backlash, we won't prescribe you opiates because you are trying cannabis. I guess I'm a bit scared.

Dan Kone said:

Probably want to contact your local dispensary or delivery service and try it before you attempt to grow. A grow will take you 2.5-3.5 months. You're going to want to know if it works for you first. If you're in the desert, that's not exactly the best climate to grow, so it might be difficult for you. You'd probably have to do an indoor grow.

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Yes I was wondering how you know what strains work for you without any experience? Putting months into trying each strain and I checked the prices online on seeds! I was absolutely stunned. So finding the right strain could be a lot of work.

I worry about the dispensaries/delivery businesses I can't really ask them about specific strains because they have a profit motive for recommending whatever they can make the largest profile margin on, right? Further how do you know that strain X that worked from the dispensary is the same strain X sold as seed from an unrelated seed store?

I have been wondering and worrying about this for years. When the law first went through I waited to see if the people who first tried it would be prosecuted, some were. Then I waited out of fear of how to approach my doctor and now I'm perseverating yet again. That was my hope in joining this community that maybe with some support I could get beyond the worry and over thinking and actually see if it helps.

Thank you again Dan, Perfextionist420 and Little Tommy for all your support. You guys are very helpful.
Annie

I have found from personal experience (I have skeleton based pain) that the Indica strains are better fro my pain.

I'm still yet to fine a good Strain to get rid of my migraines. It gets so bad sometimes i can't even eat or sleep. My head feels like it's about to explode.

curious2garden said:

Dan thank you! My area code is 661.

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Is Bakersfield close enough? If not let me know and I'll find another. If so found one doing a web special for $65 http://www.my420clinic.com/

For anyone else looking for MMJ doctors, this website is very useful in locating one.

http://listings.canorml.org/physicians/listings.lasso

Will the marijuana consulting physician want to talk to my pain control physician?

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No. Most medical marijuana doctors are very discrete. Although they may or may not want some documentation of your illness. If you have any paperwork or prescriptions from your pain management doctor, bring something in just in case.

I would be worried about possible backlash, we won't prescribe you opiates because you are trying cannabis. I guess I'm a bit scared.

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What a bizarre world we live in where doctors would even think like that. But no, discretion is a must with MMJ doctors.

Yes I was wondering how you know what strains work for you without any experience?

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Well I don't have a medical education and it can be different for different people, but generally people with pain find Indica dominant strains more effective. High CBD levels = pain relief.

Putting months into trying each strain and I checked the prices online on seeds! I was absolutely stunned. So finding the right strain could be a lot of work.

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You'll probably have access to clones through your dispensary.

I worry about the dispensaries/delivery businesses I can't really ask them about specific strains because they have a profit motive for recommending whatever they can make the largest profile margin on, right?

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Well, it's more than that. Many budtenders are misinformed or just don't care enough to learn their strains. Usually they aren't so heartless that they'll intentionally mislead someone in serious pain, but lack of information can be an issue. It should be pretty easy for them to find you an indica strain.

Further how do you know that strain X that worked from the dispensary is the same strain X sold as seed from an unrelated seed store?

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Unfortunately, you don't know that. This is a problem created by prohibition of cannabis. You don't always get exactly what you want. Also depending on how the buds were grown it can have more or less effective on treating your issues.

But most cannabis will have some level of CBDs (CBD = the pain relief chemical produced by the cannabis plant). So they should all be some what effective. Just some will be a lot more effective than others.

I have been wondering and worrying about this for years. When the law first went through I waited to see if the people who first tried it would be prosecuted, some were. Then I waited out of fear of how to approach my doctor and now I'm perseverating yet again. That was my hope in joining this community that maybe with some support I could get beyond the worry and over thinking and actually see if it helps.

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Welcome to the community. It's worth trying. It'll more than likely benefit you, if not, you'll just be high for a little while. Not so bad.

Dan Kone said:

Is Bakersfield close enough? If not let me know and I'll find another. If so found one doing a web special for $65

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Thank you Dan that is close enough. Of course there's the concern about the very conservative Bakersfield climate I wonder if a drive to Hollywood although much further might be smarter, what do you think?

Dan Kone said:

No. Most medical marijuana doctors are very discrete. Although they may or may not want some documentation of your illness. If you have any paperwork or prescriptions from your pain management doctor, bring something in just in case.

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I have that but I'm wondering about drug testing. I've been reading online now where pain control physicians are drug testing their patients and then denying them opiate scripts if they test positive for an 'illegal' substance! sheesh so it seems I maybe backed into a corner to talk to my very conservative pain control doctor anyway. Why is nothing every easy? I mean it's not bad enough I hurt constantly but something that might help, I mean who KNOWS! I can't even comfortably try it. I am just so frustrated and so angry that I am so scared that I just keep giving up out of fear.

Dan Kone said:

Well I don't have a medical education and it can be different for different people, but generally people with pain find Indica dominant strains more effective. High CBD levels = pain relief.

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Thank you! Now I just need to get up the nerve to pick up the phone and make an appointment. Certainly speaking to a cannabis specialist can't hurt and I could ask him/her all these questions huh?

Dan Kone said:

You'll probably have access to clones through your dispensary.

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That begs my next question, how do you choose a dispensary?

Little Tommy said:

I have found from personal experience (I have skeleton based pain) that the Indica strains are better fro my pain.

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Thank you! That concurs with what Dan said was well

MuppetMan1989 said:

I'm still yet to fine a good Strain to get rid of my migraines. It gets so bad sometimes i can't even eat or sleep. My head feels like it's about to explode.

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I am so sorry for you. I used to have crippling migraines. Sometimes they would run days at a time. I can feel for you. I went for almost a year where I seemed to have one right after another. They just took a year of my life away from me. I couldn't figure out what was going on. Finally I went to another neurologist (I was ping ponging from one to another desperate for any help they had me on Verapamil until I was so hypotensive I couldn't stand upright but the migraines kept on coming ).

What finally broke them for me was this last neurologist gave me a drug called Axotal. Turned out that the drugs they were giving me as a migraine abortafacient (say that three times fast), had a lot of caffeine in it and the caffeine was actually causing the migraines to rebound!! The Axotal had no caffeine broke the cycle and suddenly I was migraine free and back to my 1 or 2 every couple of years. I could live with that! So start looking through your life for the odd trigger. But I certainly feel for you. I was beginning to go crazy and of course the doctors were all certain I was just drug seeking sigh......... you gotta love how they didn't for a minute doubt their ability it must simply be the rotten patient.

Yes count me just a tad cynical too. Thank you guys getting information is helping,
Annie

curious2garden said:

Thank you Dan that is close enough. Of course there's the concern about the very conservative Bakersfield climate I wonder if a drive to Hollywood although much further might be smarter, what do you think?

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Well I'm sure you wouldn't have a problem getting a doctors rec. However Hollywood has amazing dispensaries. If you're planning on hitting up dispensaries, you won't do much better than Hollywood.

I have that but I'm wondering about drug testing. I've been reading online now where pain control physicians are drug testing their patients and then denying them opiate scripts if they test positive for an 'illegal' substance! sheesh so it seems I maybe backed into a corner to talk to my very conservative pain control doctor anyway.

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Has your pain doctor ever drug tested you? IDK how those doctors work really.

That begs my next question, how do you choose a dispensary?

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I'm unfamiliar with your part of the state so I can't recommend a good one. But you can check out as many as you like.

Weedmaps is a good way to find your nearest dispensaries and delivery services.

http://legalmarijuanadispensary.com/

Dan Kone said:

Has your pain doctor ever drug tested you? IDK how those doctors work really.

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No my doctor hasn't tested me, yet. But the way my luck goes the minute I have something to find the doctor will.

Since I see my doctor every few months I can't really abstain before an appointment as it's my understanding some metabolites can show up for as much as three months, sigh.

Anyway I'm going to set up an appointment and speak with a cannabis specialist, since they are physicians I'm going to ask them these same questions. Just because I get the doctor's recommendation doesn't mean I have to try it either. So I'm going to investigate it. I think that would be the prudent way to handle this instead of just pestering you poor guys LOL.

Thank you again Dan, you are a real golden resource here, without you and Little Tommy, Perfextionist, and MuppetMan I would not have gotten the courage up to follow this through,
Annie

Most pain doctors in the US have you sign a waiver saying that you will not seek any treatment or medication elsewhere. That is how mine was and he wrote the recommendation for my cannabis. I really sweated having the conversation and was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. They are not all jerks (family & pain doctors). My doctor saw a reduction in pain meds of 50% in the first 6 months. He has renewed min 2x now so 3x in total, all it costed was my co-pay $30.00.

Little Tommy said:

Most pain doctors in the US have you sign a waiver saying that you will not seek any treatment or medication elsewhere. That is how mine was and he wrote the recommendation for my cannabis. I really sweated having the conversation and was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. They are not all jerks (family & pain doctors). My doctor saw a reduction in pain meds of 50% in the first 6 months. He has renewed min 2x now so 3x in total, all it costed was my co-pay $30.00.

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My doctor is not a jerk and I hope I didn't give that impression. My doctor is very conservative and practices in an equally conservative environment. My contract does not state that I will not seek treatment for pain elsewhere but that I won't accept any opiates elsewhere. But you are right by the spirit of the contract I should not try cannabis without my regular pain control physician's advance knowledge and consent. I had justified it in my mind that I could talk to another physician and possibly even try cannabis to see if it worked for me.

If it didn't then I would simply drop it without my physician having to think worse of me, LOL. But honestly you are right the honorable and right thing is to ask my own physician before beginning this search. Whether he chooses to recommend, or oks my seeing a cannabis specialist, or vetos the entire thing i agreed to do this cooperatively with him so he should be equal partners with me. Well my next appointment isn't until close to Christmas but having waited 15 years, what is another couple months.

Thanks I appreciate your help it is not what I want to hear but you are right,
Annie

Little Tommy I just re-read my response to you and where I said, "My doctor is not a jerk." That could come off really bitchy and I do not mean it that way at all. So please don't be offended because I didn't mean any offense at all. You've been very helpful and kind and I'd feel bad if I had offended you.That's the only problem with online communication all the body language is missing.