Thread: Ganja and Opiates post surgery....

So just got out of knee surgery 48 hours ago for a bucket handle tear of my medial meniscus.
I am in significant pain and have been taking Oxycotin and Oxycodone to help deal. I smoked (actually vaporized) a little grass last night in between pain pills to the displeasure of my wife.
She is afraid that I may have a bad reaction mixing these substances, but truth be told I felt pretty damn good. The smoke took the edge off and actually calmed my stomach down a bit too.
Anyone else have any experience with mixing these two substances post-op for pain relief or other? I am curious to hear people thought/ experiences on the subject.
Thanks!

You are basically asking if cheese goes well with crackers.

I smoked like mad when I had the nerves & arteries in my hand reconnected. Percocet didn't agree with me, helped with the pain but put me on edge and just generally made me feel like shit. 2-3 bong rips later and I was pleasant to be around and had an appetite again.

Originally Posted by Dantheman

You are basically asking if cheese goes well with crackers.

This. What does'nt it go with?

Originally Posted by bushman

This. What does'nt it go with?

red and blue flashing lights.

You can't ask a bunch of stoners if you should not smoke....

I was told that pot reduces swelling and swelling is an important part of the healing - a lot of healing goes down when things are swollen..

I couldn't deal with oxycotin because I kept thinking I was going to stop breathing and I would have dreams of flying naked over my high school while being exfixiated by a huge pink anaconda.. You been having outrageous dreams yet?
I switched to vicodin.. ask your doc about weed..
and glucosomine-that stuff rocks!

Originally Posted by carvedog

red and blue flashing lights.

Touche, ....not the anal kind. But still, pain killers and the herb are good good.

The herb is neuroprotective....it's good for pain. besides, chances are if you had knee surgery they want you on anti-inflammatories they've prescribed you, for probably 2 to 4 weeks. Might as well enjoy yourself. Besides, the reefer will calm down any upset the drugs might be giving you.
I was vaporizing the night before and about 6 hours after my surgery and prior surgeries, and I healed up fine.

Originally Posted by lodopo

pot reduces swelling

The flammable anti-inflammatory.

It's ok as long as it medicinal.

I am no doctor, but

There are valid concerns, like pot and opiates being depressants and slowing down your ability to heal, so its best not to go overboard with either, that oxycontin is some addictive stuff. Really though, there isnt much to worry about, especially with regards to the herb, it wont give you a bad reaction to the pills, it doesnt mix with anything like that. Your biggest concern should be that the combined effect of heavy opiate use, heavy pot use, and not doing anything at all active will make it so that you're way out of shape after you heal, but other than that, tell your wife to STFU and hurry up and give a poor injured man an ol fashioned handy and stop bitching at him for medicating.

idk, sounds like fun.

When I tore my achilles I genuinely convinced myself of the medical application of marijuana. I'd always been an advocate of legalization, but that convinced me.

I found that smoking allowed me to reduce my vicodin intake by 2/3, plus get a better night's sleep. I've not mentioned this to at least 4 different doctors. Not a single one told me that there was any danger and they all basically agreed that if it worked like that for me, so much the better. These were doctors all based in CA, but nonetheless, they're all medical doctors (two orthopedists, one Gastroenterologist and one GP).

I think alot of people don't realize how important strain selection is. High CBD low THC herbs seem to be the strongest pain killers for night time, and 50/50 indica/sativa hybrids are good for daytime use IMO.

After trying at least 40-50 different strains over the years I have found any Kush varieties to be great pain meds without making you too drowsy. Headband (og kush x master kush x sour d) and Chemdawg phenos are perfect for getting work done. I have had 2 hand surgeries in the last 2 months and I put in a new set of cabinets, a sink, and framed out a bathroom yesterday lol.

As far as heavy body stone TRUE sedative painkillers look for heavy indicas. Got my hands on some "Purple One" and it is the best painkiller/sleep aid I have found yet. Strong body numbing, extreme couch lock and relaxation.

With good herbals I can go a whole week with taking maybe 1 vicodin instead of 2-3 vics a day without herbals.

Hail Jah!

Originally Posted by BigBoof

The herb is neuroprotective....it's good for pain. besides, chances are if you had knee surgery they want you on anti-inflammatories they've prescribed you, for probably 2 to 4 weeks. Might as well enjoy yourself. Besides, the reefer will calm down any upset the drugs might be giving you.
I was vaporizing the night before and about 6 hours after my surgery and prior surgeries, and I healed up fine.

haha. herb does a lot of things, but protecting neurons is not one of them. actually if you smoke it it probably does harm to neurons. smoke it if it makes you feel better but don't smoke extra for health benefits.

Oh well, that's what a doctor told me anyway, I'll be he smokes it.
I'm still going to consume it regardless...and I will take anybody else's extra.

I'm pretty sure it does nothing to your neurons.

What's weird is it doesn't help my arthritis at all. I just get high and get the munchies whenever I smoke.

Originally Posted by stuckathuntermtn

I'm pretty sure it does nothing to your neurons.

What's weird is it doesn't help my arthritis at all. I just get high and get the munchies whenever I smoke.

As I said before. Strain selection. One of the beauties of living in a medical mj state is the selection. I have arthritis in both hands and ankles. High CBD low THC = where its at for relief.

If you are just buying the stuff your local dealer has it is very unlikely he is dealing actual medicinal strains and probably has your standard i/s hybrid strains.

OAKLAND, Calif., April 8 /PRNewswire/ --

The availability of a new type of medical cannabis strain will be presented for the first time by Steve DeAngelo, who has been featured on CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine, and The New York Times as Executive Director of one of the nation's top model and non-profit medical cannabis dispensaries, Harborside Health Center in Oakland, California. DeAngelo will announce the availability of this type of non-psychoactive cannabis that has been lab tested with California strains with CBD (Cannabidol) at the 6th Annual National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics on Friday, April 16th at 12PM Noon at The Crown Plaza Hotel, 801 Greenwich Avenue, Warwick, Rhode Island. DeAngelo is a leading national advocate and recognized expert for medical cannabis. Conference information can be found at http://www.medicalcannabis.com

For three decades, DeAngelo has been an engaging speaker as he cuts through the stigma, and delivers the true facts about cannabis. His exciting and important presentation will include results of the first large scale analytical study of California's medical cannabis supply, which revealed that one of the most medically efficacious cannabinoids--CBD--has been bred out of plants grown primarily for psychoactive effect. Only within the past year have CBD-rich cannabis varieties been identified, thanks to an analytical chemistry lab that DeAngelo helped launch.

Recent research has demonstrated that CBD is effective in slowing or reversing a number of different types of cancer; as well as other serious illnesses. In response to the shortage of CBD rich cannabis varieties, Harborside has initiated a program to identify such strains, and encourage growers to propagate them. Because CBD modulates the psycho activity of THC, some patients respond better to varieties of cannabis which couple low THC levels with high CBD levels, because they enhance medical efficacy while reducing or eliminating psycho activity. This is particularly true for cannabis-naive patients, who have no prior experience with it, prior to receiving a recommendation from their doctor.

"Ultimately, there will be greater demand for CBD-rich cannabis, than there is for cannabis that just gets you high," predicts DeAngelo. "Only a small percentage of people enjoy the psycho activity of cannabis, but almost everybody can benefit from its medical properties".

National media sources have given significant coverage to Steve DeAngelo's innovative, successful Harborside Health Center model and continue to do so because of his creation of a model medical cannabis dispensary that offers top quality lab tested medicine to his 42,000 patients. His health center also offers holistic and free complementary services to his patients such as acupuncture, yoga classes, nutritional counseling and more.

At the base of this success is his lifelong activism in deconstructing the stigma that has been built around marijuana and hemp. His extensive knowledge in this area has made him a respected authority in the cannabis/hemp industries. A talented entrepreneur, as well as a dedicated activist, in the early 1990's, Steve became an expert on the ecological and environmental benefits of hemp, and founded the company 'Ecolution,' a pioneering company that made high quality hemp products, and sold to retail stores in all 50 states and 21 countries. "Out of the shadows and into the light" epitomizes Steve's mission to expose the myths created about medical cannabis and enlighten the public on the many benefits of the plant and empower the country to change its image of it.

The 6th Annual National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics is the only one of its kind in the United States for health professionals to learn about the many benefits of cannabis therapeutics. Medical professionals can receive their CME (Continuing Education) credits for attending this forum through the University of California, San Francisco.

I'm no doctor/scientist but it seems that THC is counter productive to the medicinal effects of CBDs. AKA low THC high CBD = chilled out nerves = better pain management.

Thanks for the input all! Some good points and some comical posts! (also good for the healing process) At 12 days post surgery now, I have been weening myself off the opiates and vaporizing 1-2 times a day. Pain is in check and I'd have to say the smoke helps, maybe more than the pills at this point, and a much quicker delivery! That oxycotin is some powerful shit, and I'm done with it (still have like 40 some pills left- make an offer!). No naked flying dreams, just dizziness and rock-hard shits.
And as for mixing the vapo with an oxy, I felt more of the effects of the cannibanoids than the opiates as a pain killing mechanism. My only concern is the effects of cannabis on the healing process/ blood flow, etc.
Two week post op appointment on Friday with my surgeon. I'll let ya'all know what he says.
Til then, please slash a pow turn for me!

Okay-
So Doc is stoke with my progress. I have 90 degree range of motion after 2 weeks and am relatively pain free. Time to start bearing weight!
As for the SMOKE, I told him that I have been off the pain killers for several days now and in order to ween myself away I smoked/ vaporized pot on occasion.
His only concern was that any kind of smoke (herb, cigarettes, or banana peels) acts as a vaso-constrictor, constricting blood flow which could inhibit the healing process. When I asked him about vapor or brownies or ganja lollipops or weed ice cream I think I caught him off guard. He couldn't say definitively as there (to his knowledge) have not been any scientific studies on the effects of smoke vs. other intake mechanisms and the healing process. (Sounds like a fun Masters project for someone!)
He still recommended to me that I stick with my narcotics for pain management.
Thankfully, my pain is managed and now I just need to get my head right. Guess I'll fire up the Vapo!

Originally Posted by snowfish

He still recommended to me that I stick with my narcotics for pain management.

Only because no weed growers are paying for his golf vacations.

Fucking doctors. Weed is not contraindicated with anything, except, as someone noted above, blue flashing lights.

Bay area peeps. Harborside Health Center has a new strain called Harlequin that is 5% thc and 7.5% cbd. Gonna grab some today and see how it works.

I thinkit might be the only strain available right now with an inverted ratio aka more cbd than thc.

Yup, seems like the numbers don't lie. Harlequin = almost immediate body warming sensation that seems to originate in your chest and slowly spread out to your limbs. This is followed by extreme relaxation, yet not sleepy at all. You will feel like a bobblehead and motor functions are reduced. Clumsy and giddy. My current pain is zero and I worked all day and then did PT on my thumb an hour ago.

Great great stuff. I feel like I ate two percocet minus the horrible mood and dopey narcotic feeling.

Originally Posted by RootSkier

Only because no weed growers are paying for his golf vacations.

Fucking doctors. Weed is not contraindicated with anything, except, as someone noted above, blue flashing lights.

i guarantee we get no extra money for prescribing one drug vs another vs nothing at all. so he didn't know the answer and admitted it, what more do you expect?