Please Read (In Pain)

[UTD Toker]

Sweetie, I'm definitely not an authority on this or on painkillers or on cannabis for medicinal use. I live here in the same DFW area as you, and we don't really have much help to be had, considering that this doggone state is so conservative that medicinal MJ is not anywhere close to happening. Even if you had all the good medical strains at your disposal, you'd still have to try them to see which got the best effect for you personally.

I don't know if marijuana could worsen your condition. I know from what I was just reading that smoking is not indicated for HS because it can aggravate the condition, but I assumed that meant cigarette smoking. Cannabis might well be contra-indicated, too, for reasons that aren't yet clear to either of us. See what your dermatologist thinks.

For the generic Accutane, you probably already know this, but you have to drink tons of water with that, both to keep hydrated and to keep your kidneys well flushed. Even with tons of water, that medicine still dries out nearly every gland in your body, most particularly your sebaceous (oil) glands. All the stuff I've read recommends keeping your liquid intake very high, and you can use Chapstick or Carmex or Blistex on your lips. My longtime best friend took it for cystic acne when the drug was very new (back in the stone ages when we were teenagers), and I remember that dryness of his lips and skin. Two of my son's friends took it, too.

Do they think over-the-counter anti-inflammatory NSAIDs like ibuprofen are of any benefit to HS? I would think they might be just as effective as heavy narcotic analgesics. Ask your doctor about those. For other inflammatory conditions like muscle aches and menstrual cramps, both of which are caused by pain chemicals called prostaglandins, over-the-counter meds like ibuprofen are in many cases far better than narcotic pain relievers, as a rule. Again, see what your doctor thinks.

As far as the backside pain, do you have a doughnut pillow you can sit on? Have you seen those? People can get them at medical supply stores for various conditions affecting the nether regions. It's just a pillow with a hole in it so you can sit on the edges of your bottom and not have the painful areas bearing weight on a chair. There are medical supply stores here all over the DFW area, and the best one I know of is called Taylor Drug on the southeast corner of Alma and Parker in Plano.

Best of luck with this, UTD Smoker. My heart goes out to you. Sorry not to be of more help, but I know only enough to know that the best adivce anyone can give you is to talk to your own doctor.

I can't explain how much of a help you are birdgirl....btw about your questions, over the counter pain rtelievers don't seem to help I've also seen the pillows you mention, but the pain persists when i stand as well as sit (I'm a waiter at the Gaylor Texan Hotel Btw), and the cists (Sry for detail) are like in my butt crack region and so i dought any device for putting pressure off one cheek would help, as it still hurts even when i try to change my sitting posture in anyway.. Is there a pain medicine that is effective and not to hard to convince my dermatologist to write me a script for that is some sort of narcotic that wont harm my liver? (Narcotics are the only way of controlling my pain.) Also birdgirl, whenever I smoke, I seem to notice more pain but am not really in more pain? (Sry kinda hard to explain) I don't know if its because i just pay more attention when im stoned or what, but my absesses seem to puss out (I don't know the medical term)
more frequently when i smoke or take painkillers for some reason, but doesnt seem to make them any worse. I have even considered to move to a mj friendly state when I'm older....do you think this disease would get me a MJ card? I know a doctor would be the best person to talk to, but I am afraid of my dermatologist thinking less of me for smoking cannabis. Thanks for all your help again,

Tyler

[birdgirl73]

UTD Smoker, see what your doctor says about the pain meds. It's true that they're nearly always reluctant to prescribe them to people and are very conservative about doing so because the risk of both abuse and liver toxicity are so high. Most of those meds are highly addictive and dangerous. And no, I don't know of any of the heavy-duty prescription painkillers that's not a potential danger to your liver. They nearly all are. If all else fails and your pain's so bad, you could always have your doctor try and refer you to a pain management specialist, who might know more about what to try.

As far as HS being a condition that would be a justifiable condition for a medical MJ card in a medical-MJ-friendly state, I have no idea about that, hun. I think most of those states have lists of various conditions for which medical MJ is indicated, but I would think the prescribing docs would be open to adding other conditions, especially if they involve pain, which we know several strains of cannabis are good for. Good luck to you!

[whywhywhy]

Your liver will be fine as long as you use as recommended. Don't abuse them and you will be ok. Perhaps, you can ask for a regular lortab 10mg, which has 500mg of apap or the Norcs, which are still 10mg, but only 325 of tylenol.

If you wanted something without the tylenol all together, you can try your luck for asking for oxycontin, which comes in 20, 40, and 80mg but as long as you don't crush and snort them, they should last over a period of time since they are time released. Like mentioned though, these opiates are very easy to get hooked on... exercise caution and be careful.

[Opie Yutts]

I feel afraid to tell my doctor or parents that I really need more painkillers as I don't want to make them think I'm some kind of junkie or just abusing them. Usually I have to take 2 of the which only most of the time takes care of the pain, but I am worried about my day to day constipation and liver damage possibly for me in the future.

The liver damage from pain medication comes from the acetaminophen and not the narcotics. Much better for your liver is Norco, as opposed to Vicodine. There is no recommended maximum for the opiates portion of pain meds, and that is left up to the doctor. I think the recommended max for acetaminophen is something like 2000 mg. per day. If the doctor knows that you are additionally taking medical mj as well, he or she will be likely to cut your dose way down. They are afraid of polymorphism (or something like that) and the DEA.

I feel for you, and that condition really sounds suckie. I suffer from chronic pain and my doctor reduced my pain med dosage when I asked him to sign my form for the medical mj program. Depending on how much the DEA is looking over your doctors shoulder, asking to increase your dosage may or may not work. Likely though you will be referred to a pain management clinic unless your primary care physician happens to specialize in pain as well. Same thing with dosages will happen at the pain clinic, and you will get drug tested. You don't have to tell your doctor about your mj use, but they'll soon find out at the pain clinic. Some pain clinics refuse to treat you if you are on medical mj. You just have to hope to find a sympathetic doctor that isn't a pansy girly man, and make him understand your pain.

[veggii]

Hi udt toker
I have been in painmgt for years ,i have busted out with boils from painpills !! from the sound of your condition and unfortunately for you painpills will most likely make illness worse and you'll also be a slave to them !! you wont beable todo anything without them,not to mention all the other side effects from hydrocodone !! that itchyness you get is a allergic reaction, man you are young do you really feel like being addicted to painpills for the rest of your life !! is surgery a option for you, looks like you need a option other than painpills, maybe draining them surgiclly better approach or ?? organics ?? does the topical lotion dry em up? somethings gotta be better than narcotics !!

[Opie Yutts]

veggii, if you got boils from pain meds you must have been allergic to some ingredient in them. I've never heard of anyone getting boils from opiates, but of course I haven't heard of a lot of stuff.

Pain meds are the only thing that helps alleviate my physical pain. Anything over the counter is a joke. Yes opiates are addicting, that's why you need some will power. If you don't exceed your dosage, stopping their use is not a problem. However it is uncomfortable and you may not sleep well for a few days. That is an extremely small price to pay for some relief IMO. I guess it depends on your level of pain, but when it hurts so bad you are considering suicide, getting addicted to something aint so bad. I'd much rather be addicted and relatively pain free (or at least experience a reduction in the level of pain), then in constant pain and addiction free.

I don't understand the huge fear of addiction. If you become addicted it's not the end of the world. It just means you are going to be uncomfortable and agitated for a few days or a few weeks if you decide to stop the medication. It sucks, I know from experience, but it's temporary. My mother in law is in constant pain and dying from cancer, but the doctors don't want to prescribe enough pain meds because they don't want her to become addicted. What kind of crap is that?

edit: Oh yeah, side effects. The only side effects I've noticed from pain meds is constipation, and if you take too many, drowsiness. So, don't take too many, and take a stool softener or two, problem solved.

[veggii]

opie ya i got them from hydrocodn & ethadone they were more like big zits but hurt bad,yes it was allergic reaction to higher dose.last yr when I went off em,for 6wks omg! it hurt. I just wanted op to understand what life's like on them before they are addicted expesially being so young. I would'nt myself want too spend my life addicted to them if I didn't have too,unfortunely the nerve pain in my back,grrrrr.. well never know might a doc too fix that for me in future, I saw a laser surgery ,got me thinkin

man thats wrong of the docs, dieyin of cancer is what the opiat are for,its what they do,I would gro it and bring too her lol. wow doctors aren't usually like that when your terminal.
oh yea side effects well sensitivy to elements heat /cold sunlight etc. in some people it increases risk of heart attack,my bro ilw died that way,twas in the heat of day !!, and if you start taking depression meds make it even worse, enlarged his heart so. there are some pretty serious side effects

[Opie Yutts]

veggii, I'm sorry to hear about that, and I didn't know about those other side effects. I guess everyone's physiology is different, and chemicals effect people in different ways. As far as I know I've not experienced the other side effects, even when I was taking all manner of antidepressants.

And you are right about when you stop taking them. Depending on how many you were taking, and if you were overdoing it or not, it can be the worst experience of your life. A few years back I made the mistake of overdoing, then running out. Running out wouldn't have been so bad, but at that point my body was used to having a bunch of opiates in it, probably more than the recommended dose. The experience made me completely understand why heroine addicts will do absolutely anything to get their next fix. Drink a 48 pack of Jolt cola, then down a few boxes of No-dose, then alternate between sitting inside a fire and a block of ice every few seconds, all while a colony of fire ants is crawling all over you and stinging you, and you're repeatedly getting hit by, then dragged under at train. At that point you might start to get a very small feel for what it's like. For the love of God please trust me on this, just stick to your recommended dosage, or even try for a few less so you can save up for a rainy day.