Marijuana Is On the Ballot Today
Posted with the medical marijuana Tag
Marijuana Is On the Ballot Today
Posted in: Articles
While it’s garnered little notice nationally recently, the results of this election will affect the availability of marijuana in some states and, ultimately, nationwide. Utah and Missouri voters will have an opportunity to weigh in on medical marijuana, while voters in Michigan and North Dakota will be deciding whether to approve adult recreational use of ...Read More
Pain Patients: Vote As If Your Life Depends On It
Posted in: Articles
I generally try to stay away from politics on this page. Although I hold strong political views, that is not what I am here to do. I am here to help pain patients find safe, effective affordable treatment. However, it is an inescapable fact that it is our elected representatives who determine whether the care ...Read More
Postsurgical Recovery Without Opioids: My Own Story
Posted in: Articles
Two weeks ago I broke my ankle. Because of my knowledge of and commitment to alternative pain treatments I decided to handle this situation without opioids. I posted last week about my handling of the first week post-injury and pre-surgical. This post is to describe my postsurgical experience with pain management. The surgery for my ...Read More
Rethinking End of Life Care: Marijuana vs Opioids
Posted in: Articles
Lillian, my closest friend, is gravely ill. For the last two weeks she has been in the ICU hooked up to a respirator. Just a few days before we were at our favorite meeting place, the local Chinese buffet. She was scarfing down her favorite selections and we had no idea this was coming. By ...Read More
What To Do If You’re Abruptly Cut Off Your Opioids
Posted in: Articles
The problem It seems there are two kinds of opioid-using chronic pain patients these days: those whose doctors have abruptly cut them off from their opioids and those who live in fear of it happening to them. Their doctors are fearful too—of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) arresting them for prescribing “too many” opioids, or ...Read More
NSAIDs: Unsafe for Chronic Pain
Posted in: Articles
The Problem If you take any of the following nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for pain relief you are putting your life at risk: aspirin, celecoxib (Celebrex), diclofenac (Cambia, Cataflam, Voltaren-XR, Zipsor, Zorvolex), ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), indomethacin (Indocin), naproxen (Aleve, Anaprox, Naprelan, Naprosyn), oxaprozin (Daypro), piroxicam (Feldene). This may come as a shock to you. After ...Read More
Marijuana: You Don’t Have to Smoke It Or Get High To Get Pain Relief
Posted in: Articles
Mention marijuana to many pain patients and they think of unwashed criminals furtively sharing a joint or potheads staying high all day, having lost their motivation and their minds. “Not for me”, they say, “I’ll stick with my pills.” But this image that these individuals have does not represent the real world of medical marijuana. ...Read More
Low Back Pain Treatment: What Works?
Posted in: Articles
There has been a recent surge in interest in alternatives to pharmaceutical treatment of pain in general, and low back pain in particular. This is the result of growing awareness that pharmaceutical treatments have not only caused significant harm, they have also failed to achieve a reduction in the number of people in chronic pain. ...Read More
Why Medical Marijuana Works
Posted in: Articles
Marijuana contains a class of compounds called cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are also made by our bodies (called endocannabinoids when they are made by the body) and they work with a network in our body called the endocannabinoid system. (ECS) Cannabinoids bind with receptors that are found on cell surfaces to have their effect. The receptors which ...Read More
Marijuana vs Opiods for Pain
Posted in: Articles
Carol’s teenage daughter Julia is a dancer who suffered a serious injury that required extensive surgery. Julia was sent home after surgery with opioids for pain. Despite the opioids, Julia was screaming in pain. Carol repeatedly called her doctor’s office and each time was told to increase the dosage of the opioids. At first Carol ...Read More
