[nancerc56]

Over the years i have used a lot narcotics to control my pain. However, summer 2008 i noticed that i was taking all of these drugs yet i still had pain; and my senses were dulled. I worked hard last year to wean off of my narcotics. I then used suboxone for my pain. However, in May the suboxone stopped working. I have now started back on narcotics and i worry about becoming addicted again. I have been doing a lot of reading on the use of marijauna for rsd symptoms. According to the literature, it states that this can help with nerve damage, nerve pain, spasticity and dystonia. And it is less addicting than narcotics. Has anyone ever tried pot for these symptoms? Are there different types of pot? Does it help? I live in maryland.

[reruho]

Nancy,

To answer your question, no I have not tried it but there is someone on this forum that has. I will do some research and find them.

I find myself uneasy when hear the word addiction, especially with chronic pain sufferers. The term is often wrongly used by members of the medical profession (which should know better). Chronic pain sufferers many time can develop a tolerance to a drug, requiring higher and higher doses. You develop a physical dependence, which means you need the drug to function. You are not getting high. One of the best explanation of this is from the "How to Cope with Pain" blog.

Reta

They did a series called “Medication for Pain Series: Opiates (Narcotics).”
"....2. Tolerance
When narcotics are used, over time your body gets used to their effect. So to get the same effect, often a higher and higher dose is needed. Often as the dosage is increased to continue to get a benefit, the side effects continue to increase. However, don’t mistake tolerance, which is simply a physical process, with addiction.
3. Addiction
True addiction is a disease in which people continue to use a substance (alcohol, street drugs or prescription drugs), despite bad consequences such as physical illness, relationship problems or inability to function at work. Just because your body is tolerant to a medication, it doesn’t mean you’re addicted. Addiction is a behavior; tolerance is a physical process.
However, a small percentage of patients who use narcotics will develop true addiction, with symptoms such as lying about how much medication they’re using, doctor shopping to get more prescriptions, obtaining narcotics illegally, and using the medication to get high rather than to control pain. About 5% of patients who are prescribed narcotics for chronic pain develop addiction. The risk is higher in people who’ve been addicted to drugs or alcohol in the past, and for those who have few other coping skills to deal with pain....."

http://www.howtocopewithpain.org/blog/1466/narcotics-opiates-medication-for-pain-series/

[nancerc56]

You are absolutely correct about the terminology. After yrs of using the opiods, my body built a tolerance to the drugs. I don't want to introduce these meds to my system again. thanks for that note.

[reruho]

Nan,
One of our members (puckster5) was prescribed Cesamet, which is a synthetic form often prescribed to cancer patients. Look on page 2 and you will see the post (RSD and Cesamet). I suggest you post a comment on that question

I hope you aren't upset with my discomfort with the term addiction. I find people use the word incorrectly and it has such a stigma attached. When the term is used incorrectly by medical personnel, we often suffer unecessary pain and embarrassment. So many people think you are a druggie as soon as they hear the pain killer or pain med.

I had a new primary this summer that went bonkers when he saw I had a prescription for 60 vicodin. He gave me the 3rd degree and wanted to know how many I had taken and how often. I tried to explain I might take 1 a week, it all depended on my pain needs. I was extremely upset when I left my appointment. I saw him 2 weeks later and told him how upset I was that someone would question my ability to manage my medication, especially since he didn't prescribe it. I do a pill count of all my meds before an appointment now. It turns out that I had taken 4 pills in the 2 months since having the prescription filled.

Reta