Medical cannabis use halts treatment
Dear Dr. Roach: Would you please offer your take on this situation regarding pain management and opioid use? I suffer from chronic pain due in part to degenerative disc disease and stenosis. Combined with neuropathy, this has rendered me unable to perform the most basic tasks like walking, standing more than a few minutes or anything requiring bending, lifting or the like. I had to retire early because I could no longer work effectively.
I was put in the care of a pain management expert, who was liberal with the meds, but I wanted to keep their use to a minimum, so
I applied for and received a medical marijuana card and began limited use, mainly at night to help me sleep.
Chronic pain patients on opiates are subjected to urine tests to confirm that we are actually taking the meds and not selling them on the street. Upon seeing the results of the urine indicating THC, my pain doc immediately terminated my treatment as I supposedly violated our “contract” by using “illicit drugs.” I never thought that using legal medical marijuana would constitute “illicit” drug use.
For six months, I have been trying to find a pain doctor to take me as a patient. I finally got a doctor to take me, but it has been six weeks, and I still can’t get any medicinal help, and I haven’t touched the medical marijuana. I am literally in agony daily.
Why is there such a pushback against medical marijuana? I found it to be very helpful. I have been told that it is preferable to up the opioid dose rather than use medical marijuana.
Anon.
Answer: The data on cannabis for chronic pain is mixed, but most studies have shown modest benefit for chronic pain and sleep.
Severe side effects are uncommon, especially considering the risks of chronic opiate use. The long-term data on cannabis use for chronic pain is nearly nonexistent. The barriers to studying cannabis in this country are high, so we don’t really have good evidence to guide us. Without good data, we are left with clinical judgment and hopefully a sense of empathy that your doctors seem to be utterly lacking in.