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Angry? Gaux or me? LOL. WE are not the ones posting in huge letters and arguing for something illegal. We tell you the way it is and you argue with it. Sorry you don't like it. But that's how it is.
What i "like" or don't like i really don't get your point. I am talking about adequately treating pain. I find it interesting that you are trying to imply that i am a drug seeker or whatever. I don't take pain pills or have pain so whatever you are trying to accuse me of is BS. But, apparently that is your approach to your patients and that is too bad.
Well how about this: How about you just go enroll in school now to be an MD or NP. You can be an MD in 8 years and an NP in 7. OR you could throw in another 3 or 4 and get a law degree as well like I did. THEN you could stake YOUR OWN license on your theories.
What i "like" or don't like i really don't get your point. I am talking about adequately treating pain. I find it interesting that you are trying to imply that i am a drug seeker or whatever. I don't take pain pills or have pain so whatever you are trying to accuse me of is BS. But, apparently that is your approach to your patients and that is too bad.
Well how about this: How about you just go enroll in school now to be an MD or NP. You can be an MD in 8 years and an NP in 7. OR you could throw in another 3 or 4 and get a law degree as well like I did. THEN you could stake YOUR OWN license on your theories.
Oh OK. I forgot, ony YOU are entitled to have an opinion. They could amputate your leg while you bite on a bullet. Yippe for you. You get the gold star!
Geaux, are you an LSU grad? My fiance is LSU through and through!
No, I went to Tulane for undergrad. The name is kind of an inside joke.
My wife got her Master's from LSU, but I have no connection to the school at this point.
Geaux, are you an LSU grad? My fiance is LSU through and through!
No, I went to Tulane for undergrad. The name is kind of an inside joke.
My wife got her Master's from LSU, but I have no connection to the school at this point.
....and the Greenies roll out of the huddle....
I finally got some pain management. I just spent two nights in-hospital. Diagnosis-4 gastric ulcers.
As soon as my endoscopy was finished, my fiance (pissed) walked into my neurologist's office and demanded to speak to someone. The ulcers were caused by the 10-day prednisone dosage I was taking, and the massive amounts of ibuprofen I was ingesting...for pain management.
Demoral and zofran every 3 hours, IV. This controlled the excruciating pain in my gut, and while off the prednisone for 2 days, once again, I was unable to walk-due to the almost unbearable spasms in my left hip and thigh. So then the demoral was administered for the hip.
And I've FINALLY got some pain pills and an injection-in or around my sciatic nerve (geaux, you understand how that works better than I) so that I can have SOME quality of life. I don't want them for the rest of my life. Just until this flare is over with, and MAYBE I can return to work. HATE sitting at home.
That injection did an amazing thing. I can now walk heel-to-toe on my left foot again. I was having to walk toe-to-heel, and sit down every fifteen to twenty seconds.
Gosh I would love to go to medical school!
This goes right to the heart of "pain is a symptom and should be worked up and not simply have pills thrown at it".
I am glad the injection helped you. I hope it lasts for several months. I am also glad you got adequately treated. I know NSAIDs are famous for causing gastric ulcers (because they inhibit prostaglandin production, and prostaglandin is protective to your stomach). I didn't know that steroids had an effect on that. I'll have to look into that.
At any rate, I am glad you feel better.
Exactly. Here I sit having degenerative arthritis of the spine since I was 40, a hysterectomy in 81, rotator cuff in 06, and two knee replacements. And a poster talking to me like I have never even heard the word pain. I have had patients with just the spine problem on morphine through their PC providers. And here I am at 64, never having taken any kind of opiate long term. I have used holistic therapies like massage, good chairs, and a super expensive mattress for the spine thing. I still have pain, but it is bearable and I stay busy as a distraction. And I have had an active and full life. And you know the new disease I have now, not painful but debilitating, but I'm still in the swim. There is SO much more to life than pills. But to some people pills are the easy way when in fact they are the deadly way. If one does manage to survive by some miracle they have no life BUT pills! IMO that's no life and I would rather be pushing up daisies!
And steroids can lead to a GI bleed. I had a coworker yesterday ask me about a symptom I won't mention. She was on 3 medicines that can do that, steroids being one. I referred her to her medical provider ASAP.
I've apparently had two bulging disks in my lumbar spine for years. I must have a high pain tolerance, because while my back has felt uncomfortable, I've always just taken NSAIDs and soldiered on. But this pain has kicked my ass. At the height of this flare, the sciatica was just incredible. I don't think that I've ever hurt so much that my eyes were wide open while I was screaming. It almost felt like I was being electrocuted during the fasciculations with a simultaneous hip fracture. Never had a hip fracture, but it felt fractured because it was excruciating to move it. Oh, and it was numb and tingling too just like it had been asleep. Just all kinds of nice sensations.
I would like to go further in the medical field and research autoimmune diseases. Because being sent baclofen and zanaflex (I might as well have been swallowing sugar cubes) didn't cut it. There was always the option of going to ER, but I didn't want to waste a bed. In retrospect, it was a legitimate problem...just not an emergency. Too many providers don't understand the pain and discomfort with this disease. But it's understandable. With only about 400,000 people in the US acknowledging that they have MS, it really isn't seen that often-while physicians treat the 307+ million people in this country.
Finding someone else who would treat her with the painkiller oxycodone was harder than Tortorella anticipated, though. Calls to several pain physicians were initially fruitless. Either they were not taking new patients or did not return her calls. Tortorella, 45, suffers from degenerative scoliosis curvature of the spine and can only walk slowly, hunched over and wracked with agony. As the days went on without a new doctor, she began to worry she'd run out of the pills and the Fentanyl patches that make her pain bearable. She also faced the prospect of severe withdrawal from the addictive medication.
Tortorella, who until her pain got so bad about three years ago had worked in banking and sales, finally found a new doctor. The doctor reduced her medication, however. Tortorella is a casualty of the painkiller epidemic that has engulfed Delaware and much of America. With so many patients selling or misusing their drugs, pain medications now have a stigma, leaving many doctors unwiling to take on legitimate pain patients. Others simply don't have the expertise.
The state's recent crackdown on doctors who irresponsibly prescribe narcotics has compounded the problem for people with severe, debilitating pain. When doctors get stripped of their licenses, legitimate patients can have a difficult time getting someone else to treat them, often leading to desperate trips to emergency rooms. Dr. Brent Passarello, an emergency room physician at Christiana Hospital, said he's treated some patients of doctors recently suspended from prescribing painkillers and anticipates more in the same predicament. "There's been a number of patients who are struggling," Passarello said. "It's been a struggle for us because of the volume of patients we're being asked to manage."
Delaware regulatory and medical officials say they are aware of the dilemma and encourage patients to work with their insurers to get the appropriate care. James L. Collins, director of the state Division of Professional Regulation that oversees the medical disciplinary board, said his agency recently started alerting physicians and hospitals "when a doctor was getting suspended so they would prepare for the effects of that suspension." Doctors, however, often have thousands of patients and many don't want to take on more. Sheila Grant, a registered nurse who is president of the Hospice and Palliative Care Network of Delaware, said doctors are concerned by media coverage of prescription drug abuse and by tough action of late by Collins' office.
MORE
I would just like to rant about the current status of pain management in the USA!
Some of you know....care....don't care... (and who cares?) that I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis on Dec. 29, 2011. I'm not looking for pity; and this is totally not the point of this thread.
What I am PISSED about, is the the quality of pain management that we as patients receive.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with many autoimmune disorders....in autoimmune disorders, we have what are called "flares". Basically these are flare-ups of the wonderful, MULTITUDE of symptoms that go along with these diseases.
I recently had a flare that lasted for 7 days. My left hip began to spasm on New Year's night. I mean VIOLENTLY spasm-with fasciculations so bad, that it looked like an alien was going to pop out of my leg. I couldn't walk when they would start. I found myself on the bathroom floor three nights in a row, unable to walk back to bed. The pain was excruciating, that I thought I'd fractured my hip, spontaneously. Worse than any kidney stone, or ovarian cyst that I've had....and I've had a few. (TMI? Okay....I'll get to the point.)
3 days into this, I finally contacted my neurologist. Pain medication? No. Even though I was biting my lip not to scream on the phone. I got to talk to her "nurse" (medical assistant.....hey....no offense guys, but there is a huge difference between the two) and was basically told to hang in there. And a day passes, I'm still basically flat on my back, unable to stand for more than 15 seconds without having to sit down, due to the monstrous fasiculations. I get a call that home health will be to my house the next day for 5 days of solu-medrol IV infusions; and to make sure that I take TUMS between infusions for the gastrointestinal discomfort. Nothing for pain...for the muscle soreness that accompanied my involuntary muscle contractions in the above-mentioned. Gee thanks, doc.
I received the infusions, which stopped the contractures. And now, it feels like I've spent a week hiking and rock climbing. And I've done this many times my friends, so I know that there is going to be some amino acid buildup afterward for several days. I was in fantastic shape before all this began. Also, rheumatoid arthritis hasn't been ruled out, yet. We're just trying to halt the (MS) disease process, right now. One lesion on my cervical spinal cord is enough.
And finally down to the point of this entire thread:
The significant dosage of neurontin was not helping (what I thought was probably muscle soreness secondary to the contractions). I explained to this...medical assistant, that I was ingesting approximately 3200mg ibuprofen daily-to the point that I was beginning to get gastrointestinal symptoms as well. This didn't even strike a c-major in this woman. "Well......Dr. (no giving name) wants to try botox injections."
I asked these people if I could have 10 pain pills....would have settled for tylenol 3, tramadol...whatever. Nope. SOL and JWF!
I had to go to my PCP who seemed to understand that I was in a lot of discomfort, and gave me what I asked for. Nothing more. Nothing less. I wasn't asking for 90 oxycontin, or 50 fentanyl patches. This is the FIRST time I have asked for something narcotic-wise since this disease process began. And now, I feel like a criminal. I have been referred to a "pain clinic". I find that very insulting. All I want to do, is to be able to return to work, and walk with full range-of-motion of my extremities. I'm getting physical therapy, trying to exercise...doing all the right things.
I want to thank all of the dope dealers out there who go to these establishments, and get these pills to sell. Has it ever crossed your minds to get off your duff and get a job.....do something with yourself? You make me sick to my stomach.
What do I do? Write my representative. My fiance being a pharmacist, told me that doing so might be cathartic, it's probably a waste of time.
So what if you have bulging disks in your lower back. I have 2, and have managed to work...FOR YEARS....without pain medication or disability. Now, I have a true disability, with occasional disabling pain, and I can't get the help I need. Life is not fair...but this is BEYOND UNFAIR. Just 10 pills please, doc. That's all I'm asking.
Thanks for listening; and I'm open for any suggestions, rebuttals, etc... Bring them on.
I would just like to rant about the current status of pain management in the USA!
Some of you know....care....don't care... (and who cares?) that I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis on Dec. 29, 2011. I'm not looking for pity; and this is totally not the point of this thread.
What I am PISSED about, is the the quality of pain management that we as patients receive.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with many autoimmune disorders....in autoimmune disorders, we have what are called "flares". Basically these are flare-ups of the wonderful, MULTITUDE of symptoms that go along with these diseases.
I recently had a flare that lasted for 7 days. My left hip began to spasm on New Year's night. I mean VIOLENTLY spasm-with fasciculations so bad, that it looked like an alien was going to pop out of my leg. I couldn't walk when they would start. I found myself on the bathroom floor three nights in a row, unable to walk back to bed. The pain was excruciating, that I thought I'd fractured my hip, spontaneously. Worse than any kidney stone, or ovarian cyst that I've had....and I've had a few. (TMI? Okay....I'll get to the point.)
3 days into this, I finally contacted my neurologist. Pain medication? No. Even though I was biting my lip not to scream on the phone. I got to talk to her "nurse" (medical assistant.....hey....no offense guys, but there is a huge difference between the two) and was basically told to hang in there. And a day passes, I'm still basically flat on my back, unable to stand for more than 15 seconds without having to sit down, due to the monstrous fasiculations. I get a call that home health will be to my house the next day for 5 days of solu-medrol IV infusions; and to make sure that I take TUMS between infusions for the gastrointestinal discomfort. Nothing for pain...for the muscle soreness that accompanied my involuntary muscle contractions in the above-mentioned. Gee thanks, doc.
I received the infusions, which stopped the contractures. And now, it feels like I've spent a week hiking and rock climbing. And I've done this many times my friends, so I know that there is going to be some amino acid buildup afterward for several days. I was in fantastic shape before all this began. Also, rheumatoid arthritis hasn't been ruled out, yet. We're just trying to halt the (MS) disease process, right now. One lesion on my cervical spinal cord is enough.
And finally down to the point of this entire thread:
The significant dosage of neurontin was not helping (what I thought was probably muscle soreness secondary to the contractions). I explained to this...medical assistant, that I was ingesting approximately 3200mg ibuprofen daily-to the point that I was beginning to get gastrointestinal symptoms as well. This didn't even strike a c-major in this woman. "Well......Dr. (no giving name) wants to try botox injections."
I asked these people if I could have 10 pain pills....would have settled for tylenol 3, tramadol...whatever. Nope. SOL and JWF!
I had to go to my PCP who seemed to understand that I was in a lot of discomfort, and gave me what I asked for. Nothing more. Nothing less. I wasn't asking for 90 oxycontin, or 50 fentanyl patches. This is the FIRST time I have asked for something narcotic-wise since this disease process began. And now, I feel like a criminal. I have been referred to a "pain clinic". I find that very insulting. All I want to do, is to be able to return to work, and walk with full range-of-motion of my extremities. I'm getting physical therapy, trying to exercise...doing all the right things.
I want to thank all of the dope dealers out there who go to these establishments, and get these pills to sell. Has it ever crossed your minds to get off your duff and get a job.....do something with yourself? You make me sick to my stomach.
What do I do? Write my representative. My fiance being a pharmacist, told me that doing so might be cathartic, it's probably a waste of time.
So what if you have bulging disks in your lower back. I have 2, and have managed to work...FOR YEARS....without pain medication or disability. Now, I have a true disability, with occasional disabling pain, and I can't get the help I need. Life is not fair...but this is BEYOND UNFAIR. Just 10 pills please, doc. That's all I'm asking.
Thanks for listening; and I'm open for any suggestions, rebuttals, etc... Bring them on.
try smoking some good herb...if it works for you it is a much safer choice ,I know two people personalty that swear by it
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8kG_nq3PoM]Montel Williams on Multiple Sclerosis and Marijuana! - YouTube[/ame]
With hip pain, I can relate to this...
Crackdown on painkiller epidemic hurts legitimate patients
26 Feb.`12 When Antoinette Tortorella's doctor took her off narcotics in January because she would not agree to a spinal implant, she decided to get a new doctor.
Finding someone else who would treat her with the painkiller oxycodone was harder than Tortorella anticipated, though. Calls to several pain physicians were initially fruitless. Either they were not taking new patients or did not return her calls. Tortorella, 45, suffers from degenerative scoliosis curvature of the spine and can only walk slowly, hunched over and wracked with agony. As the days went on without a new doctor, she began to worry she'd run out of the pills and the Fentanyl patches that make her pain bearable. She also faced the prospect of severe withdrawal from the addictive medication.
Tortorella, who until her pain got so bad about three years ago had worked in banking and sales, finally found a new doctor. The doctor reduced her medication, however. Tortorella is a casualty of the painkiller epidemic that has engulfed Delaware and much of America. With so many patients selling or misusing their drugs, pain medications now have a stigma, leaving many doctors unwiling to take on legitimate pain patients. Others simply don't have the expertise.
The state's recent crackdown on doctors who irresponsibly prescribe narcotics has compounded the problem for people with severe, debilitating pain. When doctors get stripped of their licenses, legitimate patients can have a difficult time getting someone else to treat them, often leading to desperate trips to emergency rooms. Dr. Brent Passarello, an emergency room physician at Christiana Hospital, said he's treated some patients of doctors recently suspended from prescribing painkillers and anticipates more in the same predicament. "There's been a number of patients who are struggling," Passarello said. "It's been a struggle for us because of the volume of patients we're being asked to manage."
Delaware regulatory and medical officials say they are aware of the dilemma and encourage patients to work with their insurers to get the appropriate care. James L. Collins, director of the state Division of Professional Regulation that oversees the medical disciplinary board, said his agency recently started alerting physicians and hospitals "when a doctor was getting suspended so they would prepare for the effects of that suspension." Doctors, however, often have thousands of patients and many don't want to take on more. Sheila Grant, a registered nurse who is president of the Hospice and Palliative Care Network of Delaware, said doctors are concerned by media coverage of prescription drug abuse and by tough action of late by Collins' office.
MORE
I think you should go to the pain clinic. What's your problem with the pain clinic?
That's the purpose of a pain clinic...managing pain. You should at least give it a try.
What happens with other people suffering from MS? Do they also have pain? How is it treated? Sounds like a forum for people with MS might provide you with some help and answers. Maybe?
There is a stigma attached to pain clinics. I'm just recalling how many people I've intubated and treated from OD's from pain clinics. In THIS state, they are considered legal drug pushers; and this area....not very highly respected.
I have and do belong to an MS forum/chat. The reason that I am posting in here, is I'm wondering if anyone is aware of anything political...recently...that has addressed this ridiculous issue. I'm here, because this to me, is a political issue. And because I belonged to this forum LONG before I was diagnosed with MS.
And yes, I'm totally with Ron Paul on the "War on Drugs". I believe it has been a disaster. Now...do we need someone to make sure that people don't place harmful chemicals into the drugs that we swallow? Yes. (Even though it somehow continues in cigarette smoke with no problems).
And no, it's not constant pain. But when you have 7-10 days of involuntary contractions in a part of your body...it's going to get sore. This makes perfect sense to me.
Now there is constant numbness in certain areas, but pain? Only after a flare. And it sux.
Many patients with advanced cancer and other debilitating conditions are being "under-treated" for their pain, new guidance from the health watchdog says. NICE wants doctors in England and Wales to make more use of morphine and other strong opioids - the only adequate pain relief source for many patients. The guidelines recommend doctors discuss patients' concerns. These may include addiction, tolerance, side-effects and fears that treatment implies the final stage of life. The guidance deals with five opioids: morphine, diamorphine (heroin), buprenorphine, fentanyl and oxycodone. They come either from the opium poppy or are synthetically produced versions.
NICE - the National Institute for Clinical Excellence - says "misinterpretations and misunderstanding" have surrounded the use of strong opioids for decades, which has resulted in errors "causing under-dosing and avoidable pain, or overdosing and distressing adverse effects". There is also the legacy of Dr Harold Shipman who used diamorphine to murder his victims. It has made many doctors wary of prescribing strong opioids. NICE says the aim is to improve both pain management and patient safety.
Mike Bennett, St Gemma's professor of palliative medicine at the University of Leeds, said: "Almost half of patients with advanced cancer are under-treated for their pain, largely because clinicians are reluctant to use strong opioids." Prof Bennett said the issue also applied to the late stages of other conditions such as heart failure and neurological disorders. In a summary of the guidance in the British Medical Journal, he said doctors should address patients' concerns and reassure them that addiction is "very rare". Doctors are also told to advise patients about side-effects, including constipation, which can be treated with laxatives.
Dr Damien Longson, Chair of the NICE Guideline Development Group said: "People worry they can become addicted, particularly if opioids are prescribed over an extended period of time. This guideline puts a strong emphasis on good communication between healthcare professionals and patients, which is key to ensuring any worries or uncertainties are addressed with timely and accurate information."
Dr Fiona Hicks, chairwoman of the Royal College of Physicians' recent working party on improving end-of-life care, said she welcomed the new NICE guidelines with its "emphasis on strong communication with patients, including how to help patients cope with both taking opioids and deal with the side-effects." Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Compassion in Dying, said: "This guideline will support healthcare professionals in providing good end-of-life care across all settings, and will help to ensure that many people have what they consider to be a good death with their pain properly managed."
BBC News - NICE releases new pain relief guidelines
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report said in each outbreak, the use of single-dose or single-use vials for more than one patient was associated with infection transmission. In both investigations, clinicians reported difficulty obtaining the medication type or vial size that best fit their procedural needs, the report said.
The Arizona Department of Health Services was notified in April of a patient with fluid cultures positive for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, who had undergone procedures recently at an outpatient pain management clinic. "Investigations confirmed that the three MRSA-infected patients received pain injections on the same day, along with 25 other patients," the report said. "Two MRSA-infected patients received epidural steroid injections. Ten people, including the MRSA-infected patients, received contrast injections for radiologic imaging to guide medication needle placement."
The three Arizona patients with MRSA were hospitalized for nine to 41 days, with additional long-term acute care required for one patient. A fourth recipient was found deceased at home, six days after treatment at a clinic, the report said. The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services was notified March 19 of seven patients admitted to a hospital with evidence of septic arthritis or bursitis.
Cultures from the affected sites -- knee, hip, ankle and thumb -- indicated all of the patients had MRSA. All seven required hospitalization from three to eight days. "Previously, the orthopedic practice had used 10 milliliter single-use vials of bupivacaine for single-patient use," the report said. "When a national drug shortage disrupted the supply, staff began using larger vials of bupivacaine for multiple patients."
Read more: Superbug MRSA linked to pain injections - UPI.com
The UK study, published in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, looked at 4,600 people and found the PARK2 gene was linked to age-related disc problems. A third of middle-aged women have problems with at least one spinal disc - and the condition is known to be inherited in up to 80% of patients. Experts said finding the gene could lead to new treatments being developed. Back pain costs the UK about £7bn a year in sickness leave and treatment costs, but the causes of the condition are not fully understood.
In lumbar disc degeneration (LDD), discs become dehydrated and lose height, and the vertebrae next to them develop bony growths called osteophytes, leading to lower back pain. The King's College London researchers carried out MRI scans of all those in the study and looked at differences in their genetic make-up. They found variants of the PARK2 gene appeared to have an effect in people with degenerate discs and influence the speed at which their condition deteriorated.
Environmental effects
The researchers, funded by the Wellcome Trust and Arthritis Research UK, say more research is now needed to find out how the gene influences the condition. But they suggest it could be switched off in people with LDD. And they say it could be that environmental factors - such as diet and lifestyle - could make what are known as epigenetic changes to the gene. The researchers say that once the mechanism is fully understood, their finding could lead to the development of new treatments of lower back pain.
Dr Frances Williams, of the department of twin research and genetic epidemiology at King's College London, who worked on the study, said: "We know that people whose discs wear out are at increased risk of episodes of lower back pain, but normal human discs are hard to get hold of to study so until now our knowledge of normal human biology was incomplete. "Further work by disc researchers to define the role of the PARK2 gene will, we hope, shed light on one of most important causes of lower back pain. "It is feasible that if we can build on this finding and improve our knowledge of the condition, we may one day be able to develop new, more effective treatments for back pain caused by this common condition."
Prof Alan Silman, medical director at Arthritis Research UK, said: "Lumbar disc degeneration is a common cause of lower back pain, and it's known that up to 80% of cases have a genetic basis, but this is the first time a gene has been identified as linked to this often painful and disabling condition. "It's a promising start and provides us with the first clue to the genetic basis of this condition, and with further research, may potentially lead to the development of more effective treatments".
BBC News - Gene flaw linked to low back pain
Cannabis makes pain more bearable rather than actually reducing it, a study from the University of Oxford suggests. Using brain imaging, researchers found that the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis reduced activity in a part of the brain linked to emotional aspects of pain. But the effect on the pain experienced varied greatly, they said. The researchers' findings are published in the journal Pain. The Oxford researchers recruited 12 healthy men to take part in their small study.
Participants were given either a 15mg tablet of THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) - the ingredient that is responsible for the high - or a placebo. The volunteers then had a cream rubbed into the skin of one leg to induce pain, which was either a dummy cream or a cream that contained chilli - which caused a burning and painful sensation. Each participant had four MRI scans which revealed how their brain activity changed when their perception of the pain reduced. Dr Michael Lee, lead study author from Oxford University's Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain, said: "We found that with THC, on average people didn't report any change in the burn, but the pain bothered them less." MRI brain imaging showed reduced activity in key areas of the brain that explained the pain relief which the study participants experienced.
Dr Lee suggested that the findings could help predict who would benefit from taking cannabis for pain relief - because not everyone does. "We may in future be able to predict who will respond to cannabis, but we would need to do studies in patients with chronic pain over longer time periods." He added: "Cannabis does not seem to act like a conventional pain medicine. Some people respond really well, others not at all, or even poorly. "Brain imaging shows little reduction in the brain regions that code for the sensation of pain, which is what we tend to see with drugs like opiates. "Instead cannabis appears to mainly affect the emotional reaction to pain in a highly variable way."
Mick Serpell, a senior lecturer in pain medicine at Glasgow University, said the study confirmed what was already known. "It highlights the fact that cannabis may be a means of disengagement for the patient, rather than a pain reliever - but we can see that happen with opioids too." The study was funded by the UK Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre.
BBC News - Cannabis can make patients 'less bothered by pain'
