Julie Gardener
New Member
Back Pain by Anonymous
Following an automobile collision in November of 2000, I began experiencing excruciating pain which radiated down both legs. An MRI revealed a ruptured intervertebral disc - I did all that I could to avoid surgery, including physical therapy and several exceedingly painful epidural steroid injections. Unfortunately, I had exhausted all options and reluctantly agreed to the surgery: fusion of L5-S1 with bone grafting.
My first two months post-op went better than I expected. I was taking walks and performing far better than my physical therapist had anticipated. After the two-month mark, things took a turn for the worse: my pain returned, far worse than before. Failed back surgery syndrome was/is the official diagnosis
I changed physicians frequently trying to find relief - even dabbling in chiropractic, which I regard (especially now) as little more than quackery. My consumption of narcotics escalated; soon I was taking two Lortab 10mg every four hours, and they hardly eased my pain. Concerned about the acetaminophen more than the hydrocodone, I consulted a pain management physician who changed my regiment to Neurontin 300 mg QID and Roxicodone 5mg q4-6 prn. Still, my pain was unabated.
I found, quite by accident, that smoking cannabis greatly relieved my pain better than any analgesic I had yet tried. When I explained this, enthusiastically, to my pain management physician, I was met with a scowl. "It's still in the experimental stages," she said.
Regardless of anyone else's opinions, I have found a medicine that works.
Source: Comments and Observations
