I am a 30 year old quad and have been injured for 1 years now. I have been smoking pot for about 10 years and have been using it on a regular basis to control my spasms. When I left rehab, I was 6'2", 115lbs, had a feeding tube cause I could barely eat still, had and still have extreme nerve pain in my right hand (which I can't use or feel), and could barely cope with the daily routine I was now enduring. I was on 120mgs of baclofin/day, aleville, soma, and demoroll to controll the pain and spasms. Soon my doctor recommended smoking pot as it would increase appitite while settling my stomach and help relieve my spasms. I was young and thought it as a free pass to having fun. I soon relized, after smoking it all it with my friends, that my spasms would return and my appitite decreased. My spasms used to be so bad, they would throw me out of my bed that had rails on it even and out of my chair. Over time I've notice that I get a decrease in bladder infections and for those who have a hard time removing your bowels or disreflexia during, it'll help lower the blood pressure so it doesn't hurt as much. Now I've found that different pot has a different addect. The better the pot, well just multiply the effect. For me, Just 1 hit of even the home grown is enough to knock off the spasms. I now only take 120mgs of baclofin/day, ditropan, and 600mg of neurotinin/day (for the nerve pain). I smoke a little before I stretch and before I eat dinner or whenever I feel my body starting to tense. I live a good life with few illnesses (Thank my lucky stars). I don't recommend that it is good for all as it does have it's side effects. Too much surely makes you more senseless and less able to do some stuff. Notice I said some stuff. Sometimes I noticed it would help me concentrate on a particular subject better. I am sure pot has a different affect on everyone but it does have effects that, in my opinion, could greatly help SCI patients as well as many other illnesses. I just thought I'd post my experience and thoughts. Questions? Comments?

yeah! an occasional pot smoker here! ;) used to be a regular back in my highschool and uni. days. ;) it helps a lot, sure. but here and there i have problems with erection. even though it could be great for sex too. pot relaxes your muscles and slows you down.

any more pot smokers here? ;)

the best pot i've smoked is from uzbekistan.

I used to but i've found that it seems to flare my nerve pain up...unless you make brownies/cookies, for some reason eating it doesn't effect my nerve pain

Ontario Canada and BC Canada are known all over the world for their high grade pot. In Ontario here, there are a lot of hydro hydroponics grow ops in almost every Neighborhood. It’s just insane how much is floating around here.
You read or hear of drup bust happening almost ever week. There is so much money in the pot growing business. The reason why is because of our soft laws. Here if you get caught growing they will only give you a slap on the wrist. This is why the pot growing business has gotten out of hand. The funny thing about all this is, with all the pot that is available, the prices haven’t dropped in years.

Just a few years back in Barrie Ontario, the cops busted this grow op. What they found was just unbelievable. Check this link out. If you are a pot smoker you will be salivating when see all this buds.

http://cannabisnews.com/news/18/thread18129.shtml[/url]

I started smoking it about 3 years after my injury, it was great for spasms and pain as I hate meds and don't take any of either. Used to smoke it regularly, but haven't had a hit of it in about 5 years, haven't moved 2-3 times and haven't had access to it or I'd still be hitting it weekly.

Ditto. Increased nerve pain tenfold.

What an operation. An indoor football-sized growing facility with armed guards!

;)

I'm on a little island in Thailand at presant with my mates and smokin' the odd reef on a night.

But I find that my back "hangs out" after unless I jump in my Hammok....just thought I'd add my 10 pence worth.

Cheap drugs on a tropical island.....it's a hard life for some

i have bad nerve pain in my right hand, which im unable to move at all, and the pain is there no matter what. i don't notice that it gets any worse after i smoke other than i might focus on it a little more. i just try and keep busy so i don't think about any pain...though sometimes it makes me just cringe for a minute or so and people think i'm having seizures, but then its all over and you go on.

don't no but i now it works right now.......

I am a regular smoker, my findings are that herb will make my legs flare up, on the days that they are hurting, i abstain, but do find that it does have therapeudic qualities. Personally my stomach seemed to shrink after my accident, and i was not able to eat 1/10 of what i used to, this became a problem and i was perscribed marinol and a high calorie diet, after i got out of the hospital i smoked and found it more effective on appetite than the synthetic stuff. OThers have told me the complete opposite.

I also believe that the active componets in herb and their effects of my SCI have alot to do with the strain. I have not found much pain releif (muscular or neural) from herb, if anything it makes my legs much more active and tingly, but does reduce tightness.

It helps me a lot. Cannoids help with all types of neuro problems and I am one of the majority that Maranol makes more sick than it helps with nausea. It defiantly helps with my spasms, the main reasons that I use it. That it kills brain cells is an urban myth when used responsibly... there is a lot of great information on the medial uses in the NORMAL website.
Ironically, those in chronic pain don't get high off of it, your body uses the cannoids where it needs them instead of them stock-piling in the brain and causing that side-effect.

I happy to live in such a libral place as Santa Cruz, God only knows what kind of drugs i'd be on in order to quell my leg spasms, insomnia, night sweats, headaches....ect. Leagaly they allow me to grow 32 plants a year, which provides me more than enough to smoke/eat at my leasure.

http://www.googlesyndicatedsearch.com/u/norml?q=spasms

They let you grow your own weed...........how cools that

try this meds for spasms i know its not in the uk yet but if you phone them you can ask them to put you on a trial bases


http://www.gwpharm.com/sativex.asp


from fastwheels

It works for some but increases pain for others.

I'm one it helps.....or maybe it just gets me stoned. Either way I don't care, it seems to work for me.

Of course so does a bottle of rum and Valium !!!

Regards,
Alan

I have the occasional bong with mates and find that it does help with the spasms and nerve pain. One thing that i do have a problem with is that since being in a chair for three years now, i have NEVER been able to get comfortable. I spent new years camping with a few mates and had a small piece of cookie, first time i have tried that. The stoned feeling lasted for about 1 hour but the big plus about it was for about 6 hours after that my whole body was relaxed and felt the most comfortable i have in a very very long time. Another plus is that for those 6 or so hours i was straight as a judge.

Prescribed medication has never come close to that experience for me.

I too can never get comfortable. The only way is to lay down.

I've been smoking pot around 15 years. I've been a para 1 1/2, smoke 3 to 5 times a day, sometimes it helps my spazms sometimes it doesn't, what it does do is puts me in a great mood everytime.

I had heard this before, and was hesitatant to believe it, but it really does work. For me, but of course, no two SCI's are the same, so... I imagine it would always depend on the person.

And being a mom of two, the chances two participate are few and very far between, but when I do, it is the only time my spasms disappear completely... transfers are soooo much easier.

Why do I always find Chillipepper when I get on forums discussing pot...LOL

I have been suffering from increasing pain the last 3 years. I don't know why, although it may be linked with the growth of cysts on my spinal cord. A large number of SCI people have cysts on their spinal cord. The doctors do not really know why a body grows cysts, but it seems to be fairly normal for people that have experienced high levels of trauma in whatever caused their SCI. At this time, the doctors will not operate on me because of the number of cysts and their proximity. Basically, if they operate, then I will lose more control of my body. I am a T3/4/5 complete as it is.

In any event, I have recently started trying Sativex. Sativex is basically dope in a bottle (DIAB). It is a spray that you take either in the cheek, or under the tongue. I need to do a lot more experimentation, but I believe that if you spray it in the cheek, you tend to swallow a fair amount of it and you get a traditional response to it, as if you had smoked pot. If you spray it under the tongue, it absorbs into the body faster and you have less of the doped out effect.

I am currently a guinea pig, on a botox trial, so I don't want to try this new medicine too much until next week. It will make the trial results easier to interpret. Comparing myself before and after the botox injections. If I start taking new medications, then any results may be attributable to the new spray. I will be in phase two of the trial in a few days so I can start (and really want to start) testing the spray out more then.

While I can get a prescription to grow pot for my condition, I really don't want to run through life in that doped out manner. I have nothing against getting drunk or whatever, but there is a right place and time for that. What I really need in a pain medicine is one that leaves me thinking straight for most of my time.

AHolland nice to see you back on the forum. Ha why don't you try a couple of puffs your self and see what it does for the pain and spasms. You never know this could be your miracle cure for the pain you have been experiencing. Myself I've gotten away from smoking it, just once in awhile I do now LOL. But I have friends that smoke all the time and you can not really notice when they are stoned or not. The only time you can is when they are drinking and toking all night long. Then their eyes are the size of two piss holes in the snow. Anyway Alex might be worth a try.

Regards

Marty

Hm… I never knew marijuana could have such positive effects for those with S.C.I.

I probably would have tried to totally jump on that as an excuse to get stuff from my doctor back in my pothead days. Haha.

I've been an incomplete quadriplegic for over 19 years. I have times were I have pains in my legs mostly feet and at my butt at times. Where they put the wire in my neck I have a lot of pain in the wintertime. I either have to get my roommates or my staff to put on a heated wheat bag for some relief. I to myself use marijuana once a week, twice a week or once every two weeks to get a little relief from my pain.

I have recently started drinking Goji juice. In the middle of summer last year I started getting blisters on heels that would heal and come back. Since I started taking this Goji juice they have healed up really fast. Normally this is the time of year where I am in the most pain but since I started this Goji juice I have no neck pain or other pain. I have also noticed increased breathing, more energy and it has help me to reduce some weight. I've went fron feeling like an old man to feeling younger as the days go by.

I know marijuana does different things to different people as does maybe this Goji juice. The only reason I started this product as I seen results in my brother first, so I decided to try it. I would recommend trying it as you will not know if it helps you if you don't.

There is a 90 day moneyback guarantee. All you have to do is keep your bottles, to send back if it doesn't work for you and to keep the receipt. There is a site where you can go look at testimonies from other people and what it has done for them. http://www.gojihealthstories.com.

If you're interested in it, email me.

I never imagined that my neck would feel so good during the winter

i smoke all day every day. it seems to help[ me mentally and physically.

What time is it? OH , I gotta go! It's 4:20 somewhere. Here in Alabama they would hang me if I was busted with a 1/4 oz. Oh ,well.

Normally if I don't have any other problems, dope makes my back hurt in or around the break. Not just hurt but more of what is already there. It makes it so i don't pay much attention too what I'm doing unless its something like playing guitar and my eyes are closed anyway. on the upside i get really and i mean like stupid horny. my girlfriend says it help with that end of things. i'm not sure about it helping with erections much but thats what cialis or viagra are for anyway! when i have a bad gut or a sore stomach muscles its works great for that too.. That part is super and the only downfall too having good guts is that i never seem too have enough food too eat. The munchies are going too kill me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i don't smoke everyday though i think it makes me stupid if i do and my girlfriend doesn't want me that much. I'll wear her out and destroy my arms at the same time. I'm 35 and very crunchy so i have too take it alittle easier than i used too.

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I've found that a few hits do relieve spasms, especially at nite when they seem to be most prolific. I've been partaking, I'd guess, for around 38 years or so and I've seen it do a lot of good for a lot of people! Never did me any harm.

What was the topic?

Oh yeah, Marijuana as medicine. In California we now have more weed dispensaries than 7-11 convenience stores. Good thing too; not easy for me to get around just yet. There's a wide variety
of strains to choose from though most of the Indicas and Sativas have been interbred with each other creating somewhat of a generic buzz. Anywhoo. Gettin' kinda hungry so talk at ya later.

Different kinds of pot effect the body differently. Sativias are more of a mental effect and the Kush's have more of a body effect. I can smoke Haze and it makes the world a hell of a lot easier to deal with it makes me chuckle and grin a lot. Kush s are great for sleep or to kick back and forget the whole thing for a while. Pot is medicine and if you use the right kind and the right amount it can help big time. Click to view attachment

I used to smoke a lot pot years ago then stopped for a couple of years. Then started up again and for what ever reason I would get these negative side effects. My legs would hurt and was extremely tense. My wife hated being around me when I smoked. She says I was not the same person, in that I kinda acted weird. So every once in awhile I will smoke a joint or splif with friends. But 98% of the time I just pass when they offer. When I first started dating my wife then girlfriend she could never tell when i smoked because I smoked all the time. Sex was better in that the sensation was heightened to a level that was just fantastic, and total body stone. Now if I take a few tokes before sex my mind is
spinning like crazy, thinking of things that just don;t make sense at that given time. It's really weird how all this happens when having a toke or two. I know the pot now a days is a lot stronger than in previous years. And I;m thinking this might be the problem or it just could be an add vill effect from smoking pot for so many many years then stopping then starting again. OH well how knows, but would be nice if I could smoke a joint again and just get a good old nice buzz on. :o)

Guess what I know why it works for some of us...I wrote a reseach paper on it in college. We have two kinds of pain recepters in our spinal cords,opinate and canabaniod. Opinate receptors respond to vicodin,IBP,Aleve,lortab,ex. Where as we have 50-100 times more canabiniod recepters in our spinal cord. Thats why it works so well for spasms. Just like all drugs nothing works for everybody. I know a lot of people who it has helped a lot. Some preferr to cook with it,and eat it. You can also soak it in alcohol and make a tincture. One time a tablespoon put a friend out, who had severe back spasm for 6 hrs. He swears by it...

The odd time (post) I have had cannabis has also heightened my pain too, but my other types..it made me a little detached from my neuro pain...The thing with my situation is b/c I have additional issues on top of my paralysis, the relaxant effect exacerbates my dislocations and as they are almost constant anyway, well that is scary...Being asthmatic is also a no no for smoking it really...too.

Eating it never worked for me, probably b/c I didn't use enough.

K

Love it.

Helps and hinders me but with experimentation i have found certain types and strains work better than others and different weeds and hashes should be tried in small doses to start with and in a vaporizer . if u wanna spliff bear in mind tobacco is a killer.
When it works on me I cannot feel my legs at all. im t10/11 complete so the root pain and the spasms and the electricity and buzzing and the feeling that someone has put my phantom feet in a vice can get me down, the biggest thing i miss from my ab days is comfort. i cannot get comfortable unless I have slept solidly wake up rigid and stay like that without moving, getting stoned sometimes makes me feel this just a torso feeliing with no pain totally relaxed and funny. Just wish weed was legal in the uk so i knew what i was buying, thc is replaced with miniture glass beads by some unscrupulous dealers, imagine the people who cook with it!!! cooking with it is my next move when I can locate a good supply or i move to Holland.

From one Doobie Brother to the rest,

Peace xx

yeh ive tried weed a few times and it does relax but didnt take my spasms off,my wife was laughing her head off coz i had a whitey with not ever having it before i think i put too much in the joint.

i havent had the fit of giggles yet,though i get the munchies.

Sir.
What is a whitey?
E

I started smokin' herb when I was a sophomore in college. Funny thing, the more I smoked the better the grades I got. Pot helps my brain slow down so I can focus and stay on track. The weed certainly helps with my spasms but can also send blood pressure down enough to make me lightheaded. Still enjoy it everyday though. Anyone know if I could get a script for it here in NY state?

Hurb I started smokin' herb when I was a sophomore in college. Funny thing, the more I smoked the better the grades I got. Pot helps my brain slow down so I can focus and stay on track. The weed certainly helps with my spasms but can also send blood pressure down enough to make me lightheaded. Still enjoy it everyday though. Anyone know if I could get a script for it here in NY state?

Hurb

I'm still wanting to know what a "whitey" is?
My imagination is doing overtime.

Whitey is obviously a british term, basically happens when you're not used to smoking, you turn white and throw up, also known as a white out or pulling a whitey, I think most people have experienced this at least once in their smoking career!
Trin X

Haven't been smoking for 10 years, but seriously thinking about taking it up again, just to see if it would have any effect on pain..

OH YEAH! After my 1st 5 footer all in one breath. Yup! Knock Out! That kind feels gooood afterwords, though. A whitey after a few drinks? THOSE are the no no's. Smoke before beer, you're in the clear. Smoke after liquor and your bound to get sicker!

smoking now after my accident, it makes my whole body tingle.. very uncomfortable.. hate it!

When you try pot remember gustifer's advise and then try just a small amount to see what it is going to do to you. You can also eat it but it has to be cooked first. Pot is good for some folks and not for others if it ain't your thang try something else.

I think you mean "better cooked" cos the raw ingredients ingested will still be active and you will behave accordingly.

Ok either I'm tired or I need a joint myself.... I just read this topic as "Marijuana is a spam retardant ".

The info I read said that the active ingredients are not active until they are heated to 210-225 degrees F for ten min. I have tried eating raw pot and it will work but it works much better when heated like in cookies or pot butter. Vaporizers heat the pot to the right temp so you don't get smoke just the active ingredients much different from smoking and healthier, or so "They" say.................. .