How do you feel when you get injured, when you are high?

[black1234567]

My question is rather controversial given the aspect that weed is used for pain reduction. One day stoned I went to restaurant and after leaving it I being too relaxed made a wrong step and turn the feet inside and got severe ankle injury. The pain was so unbearable, that I after few steps I lost consciousnesses and passed out. Luckily, there were some people around who took care of me. There were some similar ankle injuries for me in the past when being sober, so usually I do not faint due to pain. That event makes me convicted that despite weed being capable to cope with chronic pain, but when you get injured when you are high, the feeling of sudden pain intensifies. Could you share your experience if you had similar?

 

[arb]

Pain is pain and you ride the wave till it subsides.............regardless.
Cannabis is a awesome distraction for me.

 

[Madri-Gal]

Well, I've had opiates and injured myself, and the pain is pretty bad. I've used cannabis, injured myself ... and acute pain hurts. Cannabis shines for me in chronic pain management, but it's not exactly a numbing agent. Neither are opiates. Honesty, if I were to injure my ankle so bad I passed out, I'd take it as a sign to stay off it. If it didn't hurt that much, I'd be hopping around and making it worse. Pain is a useful signal. Sometimes it reminds us to ice and elevate our injured ankle, get x-rays to see if it's broken, switch to more supportive shoes, or whatever we need to do to care for our injury, and take steps to prevent a recurrence.

 

[black1234567]

Yes, the pain is useful signal, of course. It seems, ankle injury is one of most painful. Even profesional soccer players writhe in pain on stadium field when they injury ankle.

 

[YaMon]

I’ve sprained both of my ankles about a dozen times, the worst was where I had to be placed in a split cast until the swelling went down. The swelling was so severe it placed pressure on the nerves, Cannabis only took my mind off of the pain. Cannabis did not mitigate the pain and I find the same to be true for most other meds I have taken, but in that case opiates were welcome.

To the OPs question, I suspect for the smaller injuries I have sustained Cannabis made me oblivious, but for severe pain like having my back go out ion me, Cannabis is likely more of catalyst as I probably moved stupidly to initiate the episode.

 

[shredder]

IME it depends on the pain. It may actually intensify short term acute pain. Almost like sex is intensified but in a positive way. Being high will also add some confusion and that doesn't help, and then confusion can bring on panic. Like a snowball rolling downhill.

But once the swelling starts, and your in a better place mentally, it does help reduce inflammation and helps you cloud the pain.

Once I snuck in a couple medicated cookies in the hospital. I was there for a back operation. After the operation, the next day, I refused pain meds and ate a cookie. It seemed to intensify the pain. But a few days later it seemed a great help. The difference may just have been a mental difference idk.

For long term nerve pain that I had, I tried 3 different medications. Lyrica, cymbalta, and nerottin. None worked. Actually lyrica helped a little but it also left me feeling goofy. But within a month or so of daily mj use that pain just faded away. My left leg is numb, but without pain now.

 

[YaMon]

My left leg is numb, but without pain now.

Amen to that!

 

[TheResistance]

IME cannabis is just a mental relaxant from the pain, slight pain relief but mostly just something that helps distract. Now headaches and similar are a different story...directly helpful.

 

[HighMtnSkier]

I've been nursing a recent injury. I took a pretty big crash skiing on 2/12/19. Got launched into the air and crashed on my left side into a snow bank at 26 MPH. The most painful in the bruised ribs. In fact, this made inhaling very difficult for the first few days after the crash. I sprained my shoulder and I've got a classic skiers thumb that I still can't fully use.

In the crash, I also cracked the left transverse process of my L4 vertebrae. The neurosurgeon who evaluated me told me I've very lucky that's it's just a hairline and it's right in a spot that he often partially shaves away when operating to relieve some swelling. I never had any back pain. He basically advised me not to do that again for the next 6-8 weeks.

The point of all of this is with all my injuries, I never used any painkillers stronger than Tylenol/Advill. I hit my vape hard during the 90 minute drive home from the mountain that day. I knew I wouldn't get any higher, but I also knew it was keeping me focused on my driving.

I even hit the vape while I was in the ER. Shit, I was there for 5 hours and was getting bored. Over the next few days I started to feel a little better, so I started going to Physical Therapy 3 days a week to get my range of motion back. After each PT session as soon as I get back home, I vape to relax, as I'm usually still sore.

This is my third injury in under a year that required me to go to PT. I smashed my hand mountain biking in June, and sprained my ankle in November of 2018. I'd hate to live in a world where I don't have cannabis for all my injuries.

 

[Creeper]

I agree with pretty much everyone, acute pain it sometimes isn't the best thing but it can be useful for chronic pain management.

Luckily I've never injured myself badly while medicated but I have tried to take it for neuralgia (some of the worst pain you can feel) and it barely had any effect.

I do like stacking cannabis with other pain meds though it's pretty complementary and easy to dose if you vape, that way I can take less opioids overall. I'm no doctor though so YMMV and be safe.