My body is all beat to hell after working in one career for 30+ years, For info on where my head is at and what I did for work, see my first diary, published in Nov 2008:, and working before that as a Journeyman Carpenter, and various other jobs with specific skillsets, including delivering newspapers on my bicycle, starting at age 10. Orthopedic injuries, car crashes at work, and surgeries, are the source of my pain. My C-spine was fused, with titanium hardware from C-4 to C-7. While waiting 9 months for surgery, my right arm atrophied; and the pain from my neck to my shoulder, and down my arm, felt like a Bowie knife inserted there slowly, by some stranger, and twisted around with a grin. Cryin' pain every night.
My left ankle has had so many sprains to it, that the ligaments seem hopelessly stretched. My right knee has ACL and MCL tears and meniscus debris that "probably should be cleaned up", said my knee Doctor. Recently, I was diagnosed with levoscoliosis in the lumbar spine; it has a pretty hardcore curve to the left. Both hands have been operated on 5 times, but the thumb joint arthroplastys were, and still are, a pretty tough recovery process to go through to get, maybe 80% of previous full function. But, at least the pain from end-stage arthritis has been diminished. I am just recovering after elbow surgery this last September, and had another thumb surgery in January. I have sciatica and meralgia parasthetica that causes leg pain and at random times I get a the feeling of a hot blowtorch on my right thigh. If it happens when you are in REM sleep, it is a most horrifying way to wake up. The rotator cuff in my right shoulder has a high-grade 50% tear in it. Tomorrow, I will be getting a Platelet Rich Plasma injection, (similar to Stem Cell treatment), into the tear zone, guided by Musculoskeletal Ultrasound. I am really scared of another surgery. I do live alone, and don't know what I would do after another surgery and another year of recovery, sitting depressed in the recliner. I have been in this surgery cycle for three years now. Also, my friend died last June undergoing that same surgery. I don't want another anesthesia escapade to tip the scale out of my favor.
My hand and spine surgeons were amazing. I spent a lot of time researching and choosing them. After spine surgery, I felt pain relief within a few days. But, due to a cardiac issue, A-fib, spent 9 days in the hospital. I was so addicted to Diluadid, I did not want to leave the hospital. I begged to stay, with no luck. I was prescribed Oxycodone to take home with me; I think 50 count. Within a few days, I was strung out, couldn't use the restroom for Number 2, even though I was given a prescription laxative which didn't work. I used Swiss Kriss instead, and that got me going. After about 7 days on the pain killers, I recognized that I was really getting addicted, and just threw the shit away, cold turkey. If I needed to, I just took Tylenol, or Tylenol PM for relief.
I have always had a super high pain tolerance threshold. I just sucked it up, bit the bullet, or chewed on a round wooden toothpick; literally. I still do the rounds. Maybe from playing sports, martial arts, or being in the military, I have always just trucked on. I'm not a "Go to the Doctor" kind of guy for every bump, bruise, or laceration; always have butterfly bandages, hydrogen peroxide, and those fat Band-aids in your first-aid kit when you work as a carpenter. Smacking your thumb with a 28 ounce, waffle-faced Vaughan framing hammer is a bear, especially when you are piece working by the square foot.
After all my hand surgeries, I took the pain meds for about 3 days, then threw 'em out. I get horrible side-effects from pharmaceuticals. They really don't work for the pain. I was sent to a pain management doc, and instead of answering my questions about diet and exercise, he prescribed me 5 different meds at once. Two for pain and the rest to "fix" some other imbalance. Then I was told I would need to sign a contract and come back every month for a urine test and adjustments, if necessary, on the meds. This scared the living shit out of me, and I left without the meds. I think one of them was 150-count bottle of Tramadol. I called the office a week later, and told them I had found a doc that was only 7 miles away, instead of 35 miles. I lied.
During the course of my career, I have seen hundreds of overdoses from illegal drugs and legal prescription drugs. Many were intentional, and a large number were accidental with prescribed medication. For the rest of my days, I will sometimes flash on those heartbreaking death scenes, and it never really escapes my mind. I know many here on kos have prescribed medicine that they use, and I would never disrespect them for using them, as there are legitimate uses. But, I do have an extreme personal dislike for them based on what I have seen and the side effects I have encountered. Don't even get me started on the Beta-blocker I just weaned myself off of! Everyone is different, because our bodies are different.
I retired a few months later, just this last year, and had a, "Hey, I live in Kalifornia", moment. I no longer was subject to piss testing, so I went to my Internal Medicine Physician, who wrote me a recommendation for Cannabis. Now I grew up in 60's & 70's Kali, and we all indulged for fun back in the day; even had a small grow going. But after working for 30 something years in such a strait-laced, allegedly professional environment where alcohol usage is cool, prescription drugs are in the lockers at work, and steroid use is ignored, I guess I go hippie, because I don't buy the "ask your doctor" bullshit so I can ingest poison. I just don't trust or respect Doctors whose first response is to prescribe without really knowing, inquiring, advising, or caring about where a patient's diet, exercise program, or brain is at, before attempting and failing to solve it with script only. From my bodily experience, prescription drugs harm me. I would rather brave the pain.
There are some really knowledgable people on kos who I have paid attention to for years, and countless other role models here who have helped me educate myself through diaries, comments, or using PM, on the modern usage of medical cannabis. Also, I checked out Ed Rosenthal's, "Marijuana Medical Handbook". I knew I would eventually take this healing track after I left work. I must have 150 bookmark favorites saved relating to the topic. There are many, many ways to utilize the meds, but every person is different, and you have to take the time to see what can really work for your condition.
Is that orange thang really a joint? I thought so. Let's look into my protocol after that...
In Kali, after being excluded from the Cannabis Club for some 35 years, when you go into a dispensary for the first time, it's either a candy store, Disneyland, a good trip, or all three. Wow. They have Indica, Sativa, and Hybrid strains. There are waxes, vape cartridges, lotions, extracts, myriad selections of edibles, (those could be a diary in itself), vegetable glycerin tinctures, bubble hash, shatter, dry ice kief, lemonade, tea, and Rick Simpson Oil, (This: Phoenix Tears, is saving lives), and many other things happening. There are some really talented, healing people in this green economy creating some amazing products.
The first thing I did was get some Indica flower, because I wanted a knockdown in the late evening for the body pain I get; so that I can rest and wake up without feeling groggy, or hungover. Even 1 Tylenol PM leaves me a mess the next day, and it takes hours and two cups of coffee to seem like I have awakened fully the following day. Fuck that. I am done with those now; anyway, it is sure liver destruction down the road. I tried some edibles, also. But, really, for the first couple of months, you experiment with strains, and it is fun getting high. But; you ain't 16 anymore, smoking a joint by the the stream with a bunch of other naked people out in the sunshine in Topanga Canyon. It's years later, and your body and mind have taken a beating.
I tried a bit of Sativa for occaisional anxiety and PTSD issues. The thing with that is, at night, it gives you a great headspace, but you will stay up much later than you may have hoped. Definitely a daytime deal, but I haven't tried that yet. So, then you migrate to a hybrid, with a bit of Indica and Sativa bred into the plant. This is what works for me. Maybe four draws from a vaporizer about two hours before bed. The Indica I tried when I first started, put me down a bit too quickly.
I experimented some more and found a non-psychoactive Pure CBD only edible, [ http://www.cheebachews.com/], that I take before bed. The results were nothing short of amazing! I woke up with no pain, and really ready to function well all day long. They didn't win 3 Cannabis Cup awards for nothing, and are very selective and precise in the dosing proportions. The other critical component in my pain management is a cannabis lotion that I obtain from a collective up in Berkely, CA. [ http://www.docgreens.org/] . I experimented with this on my lumbar and cervical spine, my right shoulder, knees, feet, and hands. Holy guacamole! Amazing; no wonder it won the Best Non-Edible Medical Marijuana Product Award at the High Times Cannabis Cup in 2013.
I should note that I have experimented with all of these separately with nothing else, and with various combinations of the three, or just two. I never skip the lotion at night, and a little bit goes a long way.
These three treatments; I have finessed them only in the last month or so, and it is working really well. Along with my internal medicine doc, I am working with an Integrative Medicine MD to fine tune a vitamin supplementation program. I have limited my meat and poultry intake to maybe 2 servings a month for meat and 3-4 servings of chicken a month. I won't touch either if they aren't grass-fed and hormone free. I am limiting pasta, cereal, and bread-type carbs to 2-3 servings a week. I'm keeping my fish, no matter what, so I will never be a vegan, even if I cut out meat and chicken entirely. ZenTrainer, here on kos, did a great diary on 3-30-2015, http://www.dailykos.com/... and that led me to research and score a killer juicer that does not strain the pulp out, and now, I juice one meal a day. I walk a brisk mile with my German Shepard every day now, and the jeans are getting a little baggier.
I have been in and out of depression since early 2012, when I had my car accident, and the 8 susbsequent surgeries, and I am starting to see it lift, slowly, but surely. I just couldn't think of anything to be more grateful of today. Mother Green can help so many people, and it breaks my heart that so many suffering people in this country do not have safe access to this medicine, as I am fortunate enough to.
My hope is that this diary can bring some commentary, discussion, and tips for others as to how MMJ is working for you, has worked for you, or how it can work for you in regards to your specific medical conditions; whether you get it from a collective, or from "a friend" in those states that are still in the Dark Ages. I would sure like to hear about your own journeys, as I'm sure everyone else here would.
If you play these three pieces by Santana, in succession, while you read or comment, I would be honored:
" You be trippin', boy." "Naw, man, I'm just trusting my instinct and following my heart." From: An internal dialogue between me and myself, held yesterday.
Love and Healing to anyone that is hurting in any way, anywhere; those are to whom this diary is dedicated to on this day, 4-20-2015. Bahala Na...SSK [CA NORML & LEAP]