Dominate your chronic life
If you see me crying, know that you are witnessing pain that I hope you never have to feel.
Whether it is one single tear rolling down my cheek or many pouring out of my eyes, they still represent the kind of pain you secretly wish upon the most wickedest of people.
For those of you who live in states that have legalized cannabis for medicinal use, you need to have a doctors recommendation or certification in order to purchase and use it.
The frustrating part of the process is that your primary care physician, specialist, or pain management clinic most likely won’t be the ones to prescribe or recommend marijuana for pain relief. Some states have a list of specific doctors you must go see, while others like California and Arizona have stand alone medical marijuana certification medical offices. These doctors are not covered by insurance and are often located in outlying or not so safe areas. So not only do you have spend more than what you may pay for a regular doctor’s visit, you also have to drive or find transportation to an area that you most likely never go to, and find the strength and energy to do it. Trust, me this is exactly what held me back for the first two years after I moved to California.
So what’s someone with chronic pain and fatigue supposed to do? From 2013-2017, I visited a medical marijuana recommendation clinic once a year to renew my MMJ rec. Each year I thought, there has to be a better way…….. And last year, I discovered that there is!!!!!!
*Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. Meaning that at no additional cost to you, I receive a commission when you make a purchase through my links. The proceeds earned fund the giveaways I host in my Facebook groups.
California **** New York
You may have seen advertisements for online medical marijuana recommendations and wondered if they are legit? Well, if you live in California and New York, you can be approved for and renew a medical marijuana recommendation online legally and affordably with NuggMD. The best part is that it can be done from the comfort of your home or wherever you are. No need to travel, no worries if you are in too much pain to leave the house.
How does it work? If you live in California or New York, you will start by clicking on the links provided below. From the homepage you will fill out a short medical information form, seriously it takes just seconds to fill out. Then you enter your payment information, don’t worry, your account will not be charged until after you have talked with the doctor and have been approved. Next you will speak with the doctor. Sometimes they are backed up and will have the doctor call you later. A friend of mine received her call from her doctor within 10 minutes and mine called back in less than five. Once you are approved, they will charge your account, email you a copy of your recommendation, and mail your official copy to you. I had my official copy in my hands in less than 2 weeks.
Click here to get your California recommendation!
Click here to get your New York recommendation!
If you live in California, you are able to purchase cannabis medication ASAP, through the recommendation site! They have contracts set up with certified cannabis delivery services. Just place your order online and wait for it to be delivered. After you receive your official copy, you will be able to purchase your meds at any state licensed dispensary.
You may be wondering why you should bother getting a recommendation in California when anyone over the age of 21 is able to purchase since it was legalized for recreational purposes. Here is why: 1. Having a California medical marijuana recommendation allows you to purchase stronger strains and exempts you from state taxes. 2. Many CA dispensaries also offer lower prices to medical marijuana patients. 3. It validates your medical use of cannabis. 4. While the recreational age to use and purchase cannabis is 21+, you may receive and use a medical recommendation at the age of 18.
To answer the question of is online medical recommendation services convenient or a waste of time, they are not only convenient, they are an answered prayer to the chronic pain community.
How much does it cost? For California residents a one year recommendation is $39. Yes, there are brick and mortar places that charge less, but I am happy to pay an extra $4 to not have to leave home. New Yorker pay $149 for a one year recommendation.
Click here to get your California recommendation.
Click here to get your New York recommendation.
Edibles were my first choice when I began medicating with marijuana. You will understand why after you read my pro list. However, there are a few drawbacks. Today we take a look at both to help you decide if edibles are for you or not.
*Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. Meaning that at no additional cost to you, I receive a commission when you make a purchase through my links. The proceeds earned fund the giveaways I host in my Facebook groups.
Be smart when first trying a cannabis edible of any kind. Start with a small dosage, approx. 2-5mgs for first timers. If you aren’t feeling any effect, wait 90 minutes after consumption before increasing your dosage. Remember that you cannot overdose from cannabis alone. With that said, DO NOT take with opioids or other narcotics. If you are feeling too high, you can try combatting the effect by eating, sleeping it off, or take some CBD.
The pain relief I receive from cannabis varies from the “relief” I received from opioids. For some this is a deal breaker, for others it opens the door to a new way of living. Today I will share the difference between how cannabis and opioids relieve my chronic pain from fibromyalgia, psoriatic arthritis, degenerative disc disease, psoriasis, and abdominal adhesions from endometriosis and surgical scarring and how the difference changed how I go about my life.
Disclosure: I am NOT a medical professional and I am not issuing medical advice. This post contains some affiliate links. Meaning that, at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission from sales. The proceeds offset the expense of operating this site and fund the giveaways for my Facebook groups.
When I was fighting chronic pain with opioids, I defined relief as no longer feeling pain. With the right combination of anxiety medication, valium, muscle relaxers, and opioids, I was able to reach my definition of pain relief, but it came at a cost. I could not function on the amount of medication I was taking. Every day I had to make the choice between being present and functioning for my family or relieving chronic pain. I want to say that I was tough and chose my family over my chronic pain, but I didn’t…… Truth was that I couldn’t!! My daily pain level was so intense that I couldn’t function without my cocktail of meds either. Each pill came with a handful of side effects that created a need for more medication. Opioids were the cause of my frequent and painful urinary tract infections. The money spent on emergency room visits due to new pains and complications from my medications killed my bank account. I feared life without my meds. I feared the how much worse my pain would be if I wasn’t able to have opioids in my system 24/7. Even worse, I feared the pain that I would experience when they wore off. Pharmaceutical pain medication at its best masked my pain and at its worst made me sicker than I really was.
One of the problems I had with opioids is that they made me hyper. They didn’t knock me out or make me sleepy, instead because they masked pain so well, I felt like I was super woman. Instead of allowing my body to rest or heal, I would clean the house or do yardwork. The problem with this was that my pain sources weren’t being addressed and although I couldn’t feel the pain increasing while medicated, I surely felt it once my meds wore off. The aftermath also prevented sleep because I was in too much pain. My only choice was to pop more pills to numb that pain. Unfortunately that only created more problems. The first difference I noticed between treating pain with opioids and cannabis is that with marijuana I was able to sleep. And I am not talking about a short nap or what I used to refer to as my opioid pain comas (medicating to the point of sleeping for days with only short intervals of being awake/alert), I am talking about getting a solid 7-10 hours of sleep per night! For the first time in my chronic life I was actually reaching levels of restorative sleep and wow, what a difference getting a good night’s sleep makes!!!! Sleeping like I should have also reduced how often I needed daytime naps.
When I was treating pain with prescription narcotics I couldn’t tell you where my pain sources were. Without pain meds my entire body, every inch, inside and out was screaming for relief. With opioids I felt nothing. Cannabis not only made me aware of where my pain sources were, but what movements or activities would aggravate them. Marijuana does not mask my pain, but it does provide relief. As my medical marijuana kicks in, all my reactionary pain subsides and I am fully aware of my pain sources. Instead of numbing my body, cannabis takes the pain from my sources and reduces it to a tingling sensation. The perk of being able to recognize exactly where my pain is stemming from gives me the knowledge I need to make better self-care choices.
Cannabis guides me. It shows me where my pain is coming from and helps me prevent it from worsening. When medicated I can feel by whether the tingling sensation gets more intense or not if what I am doing is contributing to my pain level. Between getting the sleep and relief I needed each night, I only had to micro-dose occasionally during the day. To this day I rarely medicate during the day unless I have pushed too far. Typically since I began medicating with cannabis 6 six years ago, I do so in the evenings only. Not waking up totally inflamed made it easier for me to recognize which of my daily activities were increasing my pain and causing more damage to my body. This prompted me to make changes to my life by changing my expectations, modifying how I did things, and discovering new ways of living a good life despite my chronic illnesses.
Before cannabis, CBD, and PEMF therapy, pain and the pills I took to mask it ruled my life. I only made plans if I knew I had enough pills to get through them. If I planned something that didn’t allow me to medicate until I returned home I would spend my entire time out wishing I was at home. I needed pills to function, but functioning led to increasing my pain, and then being sentenced to bed for weeks or months because my body couldn’t go on. With cannabis I no longer worry about being out without it. I know that whatever I put myself through that day, I will be able to undo it that evening. This is something that would have never occurred with pharmaceutical pain meds. As long as I was masking pain and unable to recognize exact pain sources and what made them worse or better, I would have never made any changes to how I lived. Cannabis made those changes visible and possible, which in turn gifted me a life that I love.
Masking pain is not pain relief, it does not improve the quality of your life. If you feel worse after your meds wear off, then your pain management plan is not working! My advice to someone who is new to cannabis or only tried it a few times is to commit to it and be open to making changes. Whether you start with CBD only or with THC, make it a regular part of your life. With both, I only noticed significant changes after extended periods of time. In regards to the pain in my feet, twelve years of opioids did nothing and I ended up not being able to walk or stand for more than five minutes. After cannabis, it took several years before I could walk any distance without excruciating pain, but it happened!
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This article is part of an ongoing series. Click here to read entire series.
So far we have dispelled some myths like the only way to medicate with cannabis is to smoke it. I have shared a legal way to try cannabis. Last week we discussed 4 popular ways to medicate with marijuana and today and we are going to talk about one of the most confusing aspects to someone who is knew to medicating with cannabis, how to figure out dosages.
Disclosure: I am NOT a medical professional and I am not issuing medical advice. This post contains some affiliate links. Meaning that, at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission from sales. The proceeds offset the expense of operating this site and fund the giveaways for my Facebook groups.
Finding an ideal dosage is difficult, even for those who aren’t new to medical marijuana. There are several reasons for this like; there are many different strains, one method may hit your system harder than another, and other personal factors like if you ate before medicating, how sleepy you are, etc. While I have learned to expect a similar experience when using one strain night after night in the same manner, there will be a night where my experience is totally different even though I did everything the same. With that said, the different isn’t bad, just not what I was expecting. Some nights the high takes longer to hit, sometimes the high lasts longer than others, and then there are times when the exact same dosage of another product is nothing like what I have had with others.
I have two examples of products having a different effect. For some time I needed 25-50mgs of the edibles that I had been purchasing to fall asleep and relieve chronic pain from fibromyalgia and psoriatic arthritis. Then I tried 10mgs of another brand and holy moly!! That 10mgs hit me harder and faster than 50mgs of the brands I had been taking. Needless to say that became my new medication as I needed less and was able to save money. Most recently I purchased an 200mg chocolate bar that could be broken down into 12 squares at approximately 16.6666mgs per square. That is too much for me, unless I plan on sleeping in the following morning. So I break mine down into half squares at approximately 8.3333mgs per serving. This is still an extremely strong dose for me. Funny thing is I have had other chocolates that were much stronger in dosages and they never hit me like this brand does. To micro dose with this chocolate bar I would have to break each square into eighths. Fourths would be more like a typical dosage for me.
Finding your dosage will be harder depending on whether or not you want to feel high. If you don’t want to feel high, you will need to micro dose which is to take very small amounts. This is easier to do with edibles and tinctures versus vaping or smoking. With that said, most people advise others to begin with 2mgs. If you are wanting to micro dose, I would try 1mg and increase as needed. Personally I find it easier and most effective to take a larger dose of 5-10mgs at bedtime. This allows me to reach a restorative level of sleep and rarely do I feel the need to medicate during the day and can wait for my nighttime dose. If I do need daytime relief, I have a little CBD and run PEMF treatments before digging into my cannabis stash.
Combined with cannabis, this inflammation fighting device has taken my pain management plan to a new level of awesomeness! Check it our for yourself and if you should decide to give it a try, remember that my discount code DIVA will save you $55.00
Micro dosing with flower isn’t impossible, it just isn’t as easy or convenient to do so. To do so, use a pipe and only put enough to take a hit or two in it. Then wait and see how that effects you before taking more.
One thing to keep in mind is that if you happen to get higher than you are comfortable with, you will not overdose. I will discuss what to do if you get too high in a future post. With that said make sure that you are not consuming a synthetic weed or street weed. Know where your weed was grown! Do not use pharmaceutical pain medication along with it.
Remember, start slow and low, no more than 2mgs! Wait, then add more later if necessary.
Now that you know where you can try it, have options on how to consume it, and have an idea how to begin dosing, next week I will explain what to do if you get too high and want to bring it down.
This article is part of an ongoing series. Click here to read entire series.
Now that you have found a legal way to find out if cannabis will help relieve your chronic pain, it is time to figure out which way to consume it. The perk of visiting a state that has legalized recreational marijuana is that you will have access to some amazing products. Today I am going to cover several different methods of medicating with cannabis and how you decide which form fits your lifestyle, needs, and budget.
Disclosure: I am NOT a medical professional and I am not issuing medical advice. This post contains some affiliate links. Meaning that, at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission from sales. The proceeds offset the expense of operating this site and fund the giveaways for my Facebook groups.
Edibles were my first choice when I began combatting chronic pain with cannabis six years ago and there were several reasons for this. The first being that I didn’t want to smoke around my family. My daughter was young, I couldn’t risk my husband failing a drug test at work, and my neighbors at the time were not ones who needed to know what I was doing. Thankfully edibles turned out to be the best thing to start out with. Unlike the high from vaping or smoking, the high from edibles lasts much longer. If I smoked a joint before bed, pain would wake up halfway through the night. The high from an edible can last anywhere from 6-10 hours which provided me the best sleep of my life! Edibles are also easier to micro-dose with. It was easy to breakdown an edible and know a close approximation of how much cannabis was in each piece. Another reason I liked edibles is that they are discreet. My favorite reason for loving edibles is the cost! When I first began medicating with cannabis, I didn’t have a large budget. In fact I often only spent $50 a month. I did this by purchasing edibles that could be broken down easily and that wouldn’t go stale before I finished them. Cheeba Chews and FlavrX candies are two of my favorite brands. I currently purchased a 200mg candy bar from LaFamilia that is so strong that I only need half of one square at night. There are 12 squares. That one bar that I purchased for $15 is going to yield me 24 nights of rest!
My average dose for evening is 5-10mgs. This dosage gifts me with the restorative sleep that I had been without for 13 years. When I needed to micro-dose during the day I would only take 1-2mgs. After awhile I rarely needed any to get through the day and was only medicating at night. The thing to remember with edibles is that while the effect lasts longer than other forms, it also can take longer to take effect. You may not feel the effect from an edible for up to three hours after consuming it. This can make it a little tricky to time your nighttime meds. Even if you take the same amount of the same product every night at the same time, when it hits will never be the same. Because of this you will want to make sure that you won’t need to drive or do anything of major importance after taking your meds. They could hit you within 30 minutes or not for several hours. Generally, if I don’t feel something after an hour, I will have a little more. If you have never consumed cannabis, I recommend starting at 2-3mgs and work up from there. While you don’t have to worry about overdosing on cannabis, a lot of first timers are either put off of or become afraid of the high when they consume more than they were ready for. Take it slow, do it on a regular basis, and overtime you will notice your overall pain level reduced. The only real con, besides how long it can take to take effect, I can think of with edibles is that outside of sometimes having the choice between a hybrid, sativa, or indica, most edibles don’t share what strain was used.
One of the perks of smoking is that the high and the relief it brings hits quickly. If I find myself in need of instant relief, but also want a solid night’s sleep, I take a few hits from my pipe after eating an edible. Because I stopped needing the all night relief that edibles bring two years ago, I have been trying other forms of consumption. Some nights I just want to medicate and be done, while other nights I want to savor the smell and flavor of it. Smoking cannabis is something to be enjoyed and not rushed. To be honest, I wasn’t able to appreciate the wonder of flower when I first began medicating with it because I was only focused on relieving my pain and falling asleep.
Pros of medicating with flower is that you can pick strains that have qualities that address your needs. For example you can choose strains that work better for sleep, creativity, nausea, pain, anxiety, etc… Don’t just pick a strain at random and then say that cannabis doesn’t help you. You may have picked a strain that would NOT help you. To get the best results you will have to do some research. My go to sites for strain reviews are Leafly and Weedmaps. Another pro is that the high hits fast.
Getting and renewing your medical marijuana recommendation in California and New York has never been easier! Californians click here and New Yorkers click here!
There are few cons to medicating with flower. The smell, everyone will know what you are doing. The cost, flower, especially quality flower can get quite pricey. Shop around and find a dispensary that gives the best deals. Shopping during sales helps to keep my flower budget from growing out of control. Figuring out your dosage is not as easy with flower, which makes it harder to micro-dose with. Last but not least, you cannot smoke it anywhere you want. Most places that have legalized it for medicinal and recreational use have made it illegal to smoke in vehicles or in public places.
Each combo pack includes case, CBD cartridge, batter, and charger.
Click here to order yours today!
Vaping has quickly become one of my preferred ways to medicate with cannabis. As for as anyone watching all they will assume is that I am vaping nicotine. Vaping does produce vapor when exhaling, most do not have the odor that flower does. Most cartridges come with a 510 thread that will fit most battery pens. Pictured to the left is my combo pack from Bio CBD+. The battery pen also works with the THC cartridges that I purchase from my dispensary.
Just like with smoking flower, the high and relief hits quickly, often within 5-15 minutes. While there are nights when I take anywhere from 6-8 hits from my pen, there are some where I only need two or three. Start slow. Try two hits, then wait a good 20-30 minutes before taking another hit. I love vaping and will be ordering an herb vaporizer later this month. With that I will be able to vape flower and then later use the dried herb to make my own cannabutter. Talk about pulling double duty and saving money!!! The only cons I have found with vaping is that not all brands share what strain was used. That is one of the reasons that I love FlavrX. Knowing which strain I am purchasing helps me find the ones that best address my symptoms. BTW Tropical Trainwreck is fantastic from muscle relaxation!
So you want something discreet, like edibles, but you want something that takes effect quickly like flower…. Tinctures may be for you. With a tincture you just place a few drops of the liquid under your tongue and voila, you should be feeling better within 15 minutes.
Personally, I haven’t really noticed how long the effect of tinctures lasts when compared to flower or edibles, mainly because I don’t use them often. While discreet, it creates a mess in my bag if the cap comes loose, not to mention expensive over the contents that spills out. Most tinctures also taste terrible! I prefer using tinctures for toothaches or to quickly medicate in bed if I wake up to pain that won’t let me fall back to sleep. Tinctures are fairly easy to micro-dose with and unless you are holding a billboard, no one will know that you are medicating.
While there are other ways to medicate with cannabis, these are the top 4 that you should consider for your test run. Just remember that if you are traveling to try cannabis, don’t go crazy purchasing a bunch of products. It is federally illegal to possess cannabis and cross any of the United State’s borders, this includes state borders. You can not visit, purchase, and try cannabis in California and return to Arizona with the remainder of your stash.
I have received many inquiries lately from people who want to see if cannabis could help relieve their chronic pain, but they either don’t live where medical marijuana is legal or it is legal for medicinal use where they live, but they don’t want to sink a fortune into entering their state’s program only to discover it doesn’t help them. Today I am going to share a legal and safe way to find out if adding cannabis to your pain management plan is for you.
The best and most legal option is to plan an extended visit (at least a week) to a state or country that has legalized cannabis for recreational purposes. I say most legal, because in the United States, it is illegal to be in possession of or to consume marijuana on a Federal level. Before you say, hey I can’t afford a vacation, think about this…. A. It is not a vacation, it is a mission to find out if cannabis will improve your chronic pain. B. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Save money by reaching out to friends and relatives that live in those areas and ask to stay with them. C. Think of it as an investment. You either find out that it doesn’t work and you are out that money or it does help and you recoup that money with a better life once you begin at home. We’ll talk more later about how to make the trip more cost effective, but for now let’s figure out where to go!
Here is a list of the states and countries that have legalized cannabis for recreational purposes as of the publication of this post:
Alaska
California
Colorado
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Nevada
Oregon
Washington
Northern Mariana Islands
Canada (Click here to learn more about Canada’s cannabis laws)
While recreational use is legal in the District of Columbia and Vermont, neither allows it to be sold so I would not consider either as options.
When considering where to go, keep a couple of things in mind. If you don’t do well in cold climates, don’t visit Alaska or Michigan in the winter. If extreme summer heat, we’re talking triple digits, increases your pain, don’t book a trip to Vegas during the summer. Another thing to consider is, who do you know there? Do you have friends or family that are cannabis connoisseurs? Going into a dispensary for the first time can be an intimidating experience when you are new it. Not only can they accompany you, they can also help you choose products.
Disclosure: I am NOT a medical professional and I am not issuing medical advice. This post contains some affiliate links. Meaning that, at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission from sales. The proceeds offset the expense of operating this site and fund the giveaways for my Facebook groups.
Once you have chosen your destination, you need to figure out where you are going to stay. The most affordable would be to stay with friends or family. Just make sure that they know why you are visiting and what you are planning on doing while there. Not everyone wants cannabis in their homes. Don’t be a douche, respect your hosts and if they are cannabis connoisseurs be sure to share! Another perk of staying with someone who partakes regularly, they can help you not freak out when the high hits and help you decrease the high if you try too much.
My second suggestion is to book an Airbnb that allows smoking, if you are choosing to try it in that manner, or book through a cannabis tour service. Note that Airbnb does not have a policy against the possession or consumption of cannabis.
Here are a few cannabis lodging services/tours to help you on your mission.
Have a cannabis travel business and would like to be listed in this post? Email The Disabled Diva to ask how at admin@thedisableddiva.net
Your last and least favorable option if you are planning on smoking would be a hotel/motel. Most have no smoking rules and most state recreational cannabis laws prohibit smoking cannabis in public places such as a smoking area. Anyways, there are other ways to try cannabis that doesn’t include smoking…. and I will cover that next week along with how to find the products you want to try.
One last thing to think about….. If you are traveling to try cannabis, do not purchase more than you think you will consume while there. It is federally illegal to transport cannabis over state/country borders. This includes all modes of transportation, including air.
California medical marijuana patients!! Although any resident can purchase cannabis for recreational use, having your medical recommendation allows for you to have access to stronger meds, to possess more, and o spend less than those who are purchasing for recreational use. Click here to get your California rec online today! New and renewals! New Yorkers, renewals and new certifications, click here to get yours online today!
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