What's new
  • Please note members who been with us for more than 10 years have been upgraded to "Veteran" status and will receive exclusive benefits. If you wish to find out more about this or support IcMag and get same benefits, check this thread here.
  • Important notice: ICMag's T.O.U. has been updated. Please review it here. For your convenience, it is also available in the main forum menu, under 'Quick Links"!

Why are American Doctors Dropping the Ball on Treating Pain ?

St. Phatty

Active member
I wasn't sure where to post this because it's not specifically about Cannabis.

As I shared in another thread, I spent about 2+ months dealing with a tooth infection and its aftermath. Had the root canal today.

The only recognition of pain that I got from the 3 dentists involved was, 16x 7.5 mg Hydrocodone with Tylenol from the dentist that caused the infection. An 8 or 16 day supply that I never ended up taking.

I don't do well with Acetominophen (Tylenol), makes me drowsy & has a hangover feeling.

I have mostly been taking Tapentadol, 25 mg at a time. It's an opioid mimick like Tramadol.

The root canal doctor knows pretty well how much pain I'm in, since I've been writing him notes describing swelling in my nose and sinus near the right upper canine tooth that the one dentist killed.

The root canal dentist's nurses told me to take aspirin, Ibuprofen, or acetominophen. He does 2 root canals an hour @ $1000+ per, so he's grossing $16,000 in an 8 hour day.

But paying a clerk to fill out the DEA paperwork - he won't do it. I'm not sure if that's because he's greedy, or if the DEA is really putting a roadblock in his way.

This kind of mouth pain is not the kind of pain you can live with. I'm pretty sure cancer would be easier to deal with - pain wise.

If the dentist handed me a gram of bubble hash, or even recommended it, well then I would know, "at least he tried".

American doctors are obviously terrified of writing prescriptions for opioids and even opioid mimicks, related to the January 2014 re-scheduling of most such medications.

How is this going to work out ?

I know part of it, people in "upper social castes" will always have access to adequate painkillers.


I was introduced to Tramadol by another pain patient, the wife of an orthopedic surgeon. Tramadol tablets were available like candy in that household.

I had a neighbor who was the biker babe daughter of an older electronics gazillionaire. She lived in Rancho Santa Fe and ran to the doctor in Rancho Santa Fe almost every day for an injection of Valium. For $200.

So if you're wealthy or part of a doctor's family, you get your pain or anxiety treated, most of the time.

From selling tools and dealing with the general public, I get the basic idea of how some of them treat pain. Alcohol and tobacco.

Since I haven't been singled out for special treatment, I know other people may not have my exact tooth and mouth pain problems, but they're dealing with the same rules & regulations & doctors, and similar reduced access to functional painkillers.

Since people tend to use what is available to them, if I didn't have some supply chain skills to get medications that work better for me, I would be using concentrates and maybe alcohol to deal with what I hope is TEMPORARY tooth pain.

I had a friend who was in that situation. He had 4 hernia sites in his stomach and took Vicodin and smoked Cannabis for physical pain - until January 2014. He was very functional and eventually became my pet-sitter.

BUT, the Vicodin was taken away in January 2014, and they gave him Gabapentin. Gabapentin might help some people, but it sure didn't help him. It didn't take care of his abdominal pain and his Cannabis & concentrate use increased. The combination left him unable to deal with basic tasks, like re-homing his girlfriend's cat's kittens when the cat had a litter.


Anyway it's obvious that there are 2 'tracks' when it comes to pain treatment in this country.

For most of us that are in the "general public" category, I observe that doctors are having great trouble dealing assertively with patients' pain.

I don't see how that can have anything but a terrible ending.


The pain treatment landscape in America in 2018 is very wierd. Illogical and dysfunctional. I'm very interested to hear other people's observations.

If one of you folks had an abscess infection in your tooth, would your doctor or dentist back you up - with an opiate or opioid mimick - if Cannabis did not take care of the pain ?
 

Lrus007

Well-known member
Veteran
my dentist would and has.
not many but enough to help.
i had some implants done last year.
after each tooth was pulled. i was given
4 days worth of pills for pain.
tylenol makes me itch and does not
work well for me. so dentist and dr.
give me ibuprofen with codeine.
ask for that next time.
good luck on your teeth.
Lrus007
 
Yeah it's messed up. I lived in Germany for a couple of years and I fear that's the direction we're heading. Broken leg...here's some ibuprofin.
 

shithawk420

Well-known member
Veteran
I remember when I was 15 I had a tooth pulled and the dentist gave me 40 vicodin.now your lucky to get anything.i did get 20 norcos from my GP doc today but I got lucky.

My theory is that cause the DEA are losing money in pot busts cause it's getting more accepted that they are trying to get pill and heroin dealers to fund there war cause they aren't making enough on pot busts anymore if that makes sense.if pills become more scarce the more lucrative it becomes and that creates more black market illegal trade.hence more busts.just my theory of course
 

GOT_BUD?

Weed is a gateway to gardening
ICMag Donor
Veteran
I had to have a hip replaced earlier in the year. They tried a multitude of drugs before finally agreeing that I needed opiates to make the pain livable.

They piss tested me! She didn't deny my pain meds when I came back positive for cannabis though. She just said, "I do not recommend mixing cannabis and opiates". If I wanted another 30 day supply, I had to come back in and see her for a refill that I had to hand carry to the pharmacy because they're not allowed to transmit opiate scripts electronically.

They gave me a 30 day supply. It lasted 45 days until my surgery. Then they gave me oxy's for 30 days. I still have some left over.

The problem is twofold - Doctors who would rather treat symptoms instead of finding a solution to the problem, and the government for stepping in and interfering with doctors in the name of "safety".
 

Gry

Well-known member
A lot of this is because they have changed how they educate and train them in med school.
In a nutshell they are told to walk a tight line and then standard financial pressures are applied.
Was told years ago the us consumes 80% of the world's legal opiate supply, and that the VA has
always been the largest consumer.
That was prior to the Sackler family knowingly cursing the county with oxycontin, timed perfectly to go hand in hand with the economic down turn.
Leading cause of death for white working class males that would have been at a peak earning period of their lives a generation earlier.
Feel for you on this, I have cancer and have had a root canal go bad on me once also.
The root canal getting infected was the most intense pain of my life and they gave me 6 # 3 tylonals.
May as well shoot you in the foot and tell you that once the new infection kicks in the tooth infection will have something to compete with.
Having it fixed was insanely expensive and was well spent money.
Best wishes for a positive outcome.
 

Betterhaff

Active member
Veteran
I had to have a hip replaced earlier in the year. They tried a multitude of drugs before finally agreeing that I needed opiates to make the pain livable.

They piss tested me! She didn't deny my pain meds when I came back positive for cannabis though. She just said, "I do not recommend mixing cannabis and opiates". If I wanted another 30 day supply, I had to come back in and see her for a refill that I had to hand carry to the pharmacy because they're not allowed to transmit opiate scripts electronically.

They gave me a 30 day supply. It lasted 45 days until my surgery. Then they gave me oxy's for 30 days. I still have some left over.

The problem is twofold - Doctors who would rather treat symptoms instead of finding a solution to the problem, and the government for stepping in and interfering with doctors in the name of "safety".
I’m prescribed percs, hate how they make me feel but they do take the edge off. What I find works better is to cut the dose in half and then smoke a joint. Does the job and I don’t get the fog from the opiates.

The pharm companies would probably hate to hear that.
 

Badfishy1

Active member
Why? Bc of the ‘opiate epidemic’. Doctors fear the repercussions. Where the opiates are actually coming from is a whole other topic
 

Green Squall

Active member
Nurse practitioner didn't bother asking me if I needed something for pain during my last gout attack, even though I told her I hadn't slept in 2 days, saw me hobble in and it was a 9/10. Now this wasn't just a minor attack either, it was in my ankle and knee at the same time. Light years worse than a broken bone. I didn't bother asking either because in this day and age, I don't want "drug seeking behavior" on my medical record.
 

sdd420

Well-known member
Veteran
Nurse practitioner didn't bother asking me if I needed something for pain during my last gout attack, even though I told her I hadn't slept in 2 days, saw me hobble in and it was a 9/10. Now this wasn't just a minor attack either, it was in my ankle and knee at the same time. Light years worse than a broken bone. I didn't bother asking either because in this day and age, I don't want "drug seeking behavior" on my medical record.

Same here, tore my knee pretty bad. Dr didn’t offer me anything after being told pain was 8-9 and lucky to get 2 hours sleep at a time. When asked what to do to deal with it, he gave me a prescription gel with ibuprofen in it. Of course that was two wasted co payments
 
When I hurt my back doing concrete, I kept going to back doctors for 3 years. Every time they would take an x-ray and say I was not injured on the x-ray so there was nothing they could do.:dunno:

One doctor recommended Advil. He said when he has a headache he uses Advil, as if my 9 or 10 lower back pain were similar to his headache.
This went on for 3 years and all that time I was still going to work because I had to. Doing concrete flatwork. :noway:

Finally, one doctor ordered an MRI and holy shit! My lower back was really screwed up. My L4 and L5 were herniated and 2 more were bulging just before herniation. That finally qualified me for opiate pain relief.:yay:

Now here we are 3 years and 2 open back procedures later and now I'm surprised at how much they give me. I get regular urine tests to make sure I'm using the pills - imagine that! When I was a kid I got in trouble and had to piss for probation to make sure there was nothing in me, and now I have to piss to prove it is in me!:crazy:

Back when I was working, I knew a guy who suffered from lower back pain and didn't have insurance, so the few doctors he could afford to try to ask for help declined to give him any. He commited suicide. Guess it's a good thing he didn't acquire a nasty drug habit.:scripture:
 

St. Phatty

Active member
If the DEA was not actively interfering in American citizens' health care by scaring their doctors out of writing prescriptions for people's pain conditions, I would say that the medical options available in 2018 are better than those 100 years ago.

Because now we have synthetic opioid mimicks, that, for some people, are healthier choices than opiates.

However, since the DEA is making the mistake of actively interfering in the access of millions of Americans to 2018 vintage health care, I think it becomes obvious that 1918 health care was able to help pain patients.

Papaver Somniferum is the name of the plant that is available in the US. It's an obvious resource for pain patients.

I've been reading the user reports at Erowid.org and one point comes across - opiates often have a delayed effect. People talk about how they feel 12 or 24 hours after consuming an opiate. (HyperReal.org might be useful too.)

It is normal to judge your dosage 5 minutes to 30 minutes after consumption.

I think with opiates it might be better to take a smaller amount, and to then wait 4 hours. A pain in the ass, especially if you're in pain - but it's only to establish dosage.

Withdrawal is another important subject. I recently went through a tapered withdrawal from Tramadol. I still have about a 90 day supply but I wanted to learn the discipline.

I don't know how I would do, if withdrawing from natural opiates.
 
Top