Cannabis has given me major freedom from all of the Percocet and other pharma that were making me sick.
Editor’s Note: Any testimonials or endorsements found on this site are for anecdotal purposes only. The information in Rxleaf testimonials is not intended as direct medical advice, nor should it be relied upon as a substitute for consultations with qualified healthcare professionals who are intimately knowledgeable about your individual medical needs.
My name is Roxanne. Cannabis as an addiction treatment has relieved me from Percocet, Oxycontin, Lyrica, Clonazepam, Temazepam, and I don’t know how many other trials of pharmaceuticals that kept making me sick.
In 2012, I cold turkey quit 180mg/day of Oxy. By the third day of my detox, my pain was unreal. That’s when my friend brought me a bowl. After hitting it, my pain dropped immediately. That was it! I went to the doctor and he filled out my MMJ paperwork on the spot. Must have been divine intervention because I was the 3rd patient that day to have gone to MMJ to drop pills. I have managed my pain for 5 years now with cannabis only.
“Hey – You Got My Mom Off Pills”
I work as a budtender now and I love knowing the strains and their benefits. I’ve had people come in and say, “My doc don’t want me to come in no more” and “hey – you got my mom off pills.” It’s freaking awesome what the ganja can do and how many lives it has saved. I’ve heard and witnessed so many testimonies!
I also went into trimming in 2015 and I swear it’s therapeutic to hold a football sized cola in my hand, glove and all. And what an honor to fill vape pens for Charlotte’s Web my first day of internship at Hemp Temps. So great…
My Favorite Strains
My favorites are Lemon G13, Master Kush, Banana Kush, and Grapefruit. I lean to the indicas, but plenty of sativas help with the pain too. Sometimes I grab a CBD sucker, makes me a little more comfy in my body. Though I’ve built a little bit of a tolerance, I still maintain wax in my pen. The green gives me more neurological relief. There were a lot of higher pain days when I would have “breakthrough” Percocets. NO MORE. Cannabis gives major freedom from the pharmacy!
From RxLeaf: Percocet Addiction Treatment
Roxanne’s story illustrates the devil’s bargain facing so many people dealing with chronic pain: You can ease the pain with pills and endure the side effects or live with the agony. There’s no good option. Luckily, in Canada and legalized U.S. states a much better option is to use cannabis.
Swapping out pills for cannabis is an increasingly popular — and smart — way to manage pain while avoiding addiction.
Dealing with Percocet addiction can be a long, difficult journey. As a mix of an opioid and acetaminophen (Tylenol), Percocet is not only a power pain reliever, it can also produce euphoric highs, feelings of relaxation, and reduced anxiety. All that combined makes it prone to abuse, whether purposeful or accidental.
People who are prescribed Percocet can become addicted because the drug can re-wire the brain’s reward system, according to research published in Physiological Reviews (2009). [1]Le Merrer, Julie et al. (2009). Reward Processing by the Opioid System in the Brain. Physiological Reviews. 89(4) 1379-1412. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/physrev.00005.2009
The drug changes how the brain doles out its positive rewards (the feel-good chemicals the body naturally produces). The brain is constantly streaming a normal level of feel-good chemicals to keep people at a healthy level of contentedness. But, because Percocet floods the brain with its own feel-good chemicals, the brain slows down its production. Eventually, the body begins to rely on Percocet to feel normal.
What Does Percocet Addiction Look Like?
People under the influence of Percocet may seem drunk. They can have slurred speech, a slight loss of control over their movements, make impulsive or rash decisions, and display poor short-term memory. And that’s the good part.
Once the drug begins to wear off, they can experience headaches, get the chills, become irritable and dizzy, have difficulty sleeping, feel increased depression and anxiety, and cry easily.
That’s why Percocet addiction treatment can be so difficult. It has to simultaneously treat the symptoms of withdrawal — which are extremely varied — while contending with the body’s cravings, which bring in another set of issues.
For many people, like Roxanne, cannabis can be a great step toward healing.
Cannabis treats not only several physical withdrawal symptoms, headaches and insomnia, but also some of the neurological issues as well, including anxiety and depression.
Further, cannabis also helps fill in the gaps in pain treatment that every good Percocet addiction treatment regime needs to include.
Cannabis and Opioids Together
Roxanne found relief by switching from opioids to cannabis. Her Percocet addiction treatment meant forgoing opioids altogether and sticking with natural medicine. But there are other ways cannabis can help treat or deter opioid addiction.
One way is by combining the two. When taken together, cannabis and opioids can produce a more powerful analgesic effect that can help pain sufferers find relief without popping too many pills, according to research published in Neuropsychopharmacology (2018). [2]Cooper, Ziva D. et al. (2018). Impact of co-administration of oxycodone and smoked cannabis on analgesia and abuse liability. Neuropsychopharmacology. 43, 2046-2055. … Continue reading
That can stop opioid addiction before it starts, but it’s important to note that to effectively treat pain this way, patients must refrain from consuming too much cannabis and opioids. In some ways, the best Percocet addiction treatment may be preventing the addiction before it can take hold.
The bottom line is that opioids like Percocet are dangerous. They make incredible painkillers, but can cause serious side effects, just like Roxanne experienced. And it doesn’t stop there. The CDC estimates that forty-four Americans die every day due to opioid abuse. That doesn’t mention the people like Roxanne, who get sick from taking them.
Cannabis offers many patients a better way forward and a chance to recover from addiction.
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