Posted on 09/13/2008 11:36:16 PM PDT by neverdem
So it doesn’t effect judgment or memory or reaction time if you’re driving and isn’t carcinogenic over time to lung tissue?
tpanther RN
I have a friend that would be considered a pot head. After 15 years of smoking has no signs of memory problem, This person knows more about neuro then I will ever. Just like alcohol does not drive after smoking,carcinogenic over time maybe after 45 to 60 years, but there is other ways to get THC then smoking it. I passed marinol many time it's a schedule 3 less controlled the percocet and I have given it for pain. As for judgment no more the alcohol which is far worse for you the even smoking pot. T. Package RN
I have a friend that did the same thing and can’t remember anything short term.
I’m a hospice nurse, we use marinol more for control of nausea, and even then there are more effective meds for that. Although marinol has it’s place.
Alcohol isn’t “far worse for you” when taken in moderation. IN FACT I’ve seen dozens of studies indicating that red wine for instance is good for your heart, is an anti-oxidant etc.
As far as being carcinogenic, I’d like to see studies indicating it’s only carcinogenic after 45-60 years.
It's right up front in the first book and chapter, it might just be kinda important, if'n ya happen to believe in the word.
In all 3 versions of my Bibles (KJV, Good News and NLT) that passage mentions God gave us plants, FOR FOOD.
I believe the Word, and especially the accuracy of the Word.
It is not the only reason, but it does help.
I’ve walked away from two MAJOR car wreaks, neither of which was my fault.
On the first, I was knocked into oncoming traffic resulting in an approximate 100 mph collision. In the second, someone cut me off in traffic on the tri-state tollway in Illinois when the temp was at 25 below zero. When I hit the brakes, the left front wheel froze up pulling me into the center divider. I totaled the car and walked away with multiple skull fractures.
I’ve had back problems since waking up unable to walk while in the army over 40 years ago and I have had chronic back pain since. X-rays reveal hundreds of bone spurs on my spine. An MRI eveals four bad discs, two of which are bulging and one pressing on the spinal cord. I have permanent nerve damage with various accompaning sensations.
I have been on various narcotic pain medicines for many years now. Some times they work and sometimes they don’t. Some times I can go days without taking any meds and other days everything comes out of the medicine chest including the meds that make me nauseous. On the bad days, the best thing I can do is sleep if I can fall asleep.
I don’t take Morphine to get a buzz, and I don’t like it at all. Oxycontin worked much better for me with fewer pills and less side effects. I have Neurontin (Gabapentin) for the nerve damage and that really messes me up and I only take it on the very bad days.
Overall, I try to avoid any of the medications but it isn’t always possible. I have to be extremely careful to not bend or twist my spine. Even rolling over in my sleep can cause days of misery.
The docs for years have been telling me that surgery is not an option and I would be worse off if Ihad surgery. They also feel that it is just too dangerous for me due to cardiac arythmias and sleep apnea. The sleep apnea is both obstructive and central stem as well. The docs are simply afraid to put me to sleep to do surgery.
I have been on almost every pain med available for several years. I’ve never gotten ‘a buzz’ from the Oxycontin, but it was one of the best meds i’ve been on.
There was another medication called Torodol which was also very effective with no narcotic side effects at all. I was on that for over four years before the docs discovered that it destroys ones liver and it is no longer available in pill form. It is still available in hospitals as an IV solution.
Torodol worked very fast for me, much faster than Morphine or even the Oxy.
Long term exposure to Tylenol also causes liver damage. Tylenol is often combined with other pain meds. One combination is Percocet which is Tylenol combined with Oxycocdone which is the main ingredient of Oxycontin.
Percocet is a short term dosage for breakthrough’ pain and is often prescribed along with Oxycontin for the long term pain relief. Percodan is aspirin combined with the Oxycodone. Therefore, anyone who has been on Percocet or Percodan has also in effect been on a smaller dose of Oxycontin (Oxycodone without buffering to slow absorbtion).
Anyone on long term pain medication WILL eventually become ‘addicted’ to it and will undergo withdrawall symtoms when taken off it or the dosage reduced.
That ‘adiction’ or dependancy will require ever increasing dosages to achieve a consistant level of pain relief.
I’ve been very fortunate (Blessed) in that I usually don’t have much or any withdrawall symtoms even after several years on heavy doses. As I mentioned earlier, I can often skip a day or two and not be effected by withdrawall.
However, when the pain returns, it takes awhile for the meds to become effective again. The Docs prescribe the Morphine and other meds on an ongoing 4 times daily basis just to keep up a consistant level of medication in the bloodstream so that when the pain increases, there is no delay waiting for an effective buildup.
I don’t like being on the emds, but it is very bad being off them or on a reduced level when the pain flares up.
Most people who are on narcotic pain relief don’t abuse the medications but do try to maintain an effective level of medication to prevent the problems caused by a falling level of medication and the time required to build up an effective level of relief.
I think people dealing with chronic pain are in a whole different ballpark. For my young age I have an extensive medical history and know doctors love to give harsh painkillers following any surgery or procedure. I was given darvocet for a minor surgery to remove a growth on my ear. People are given Vicodin for pulled teeth. It is those cases I think where the harsh painkillers aren’t needed and only given to avoid complaining from patients.
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