Breaking free from pain and finding my lost mojo, thanks to cannabis: A healing epiphany

Surgery for a torn rotator cuff suffered while hiking the Colorado Trail led Dean Krakel to try marijuana for pain relief during his recovery. (Courtesy of Dean Krakel)

By Dean Krakel

The pain begins as a slight thrumming at the base of my left wrist. Buzzing up the underside of my forearm, it electrifies my poor torn bicep and sets my shoulder afire. I imagine a small leering gargoyle perched there.

Back in the bad old days, I’d pop a prescription Percocet to tame the pain horse. Now I put a cannabis-infused topical on my left wrist to calm things down. If the pain stays crazy, I’ll take a small hit of shatter from a vape pen. That always works.

Three months out from rotator cuff and bicep surgery, a bout of intense pain still occasionally surprises me. Generally it happens at night. Usually it’s bantamweight and short-lived. These days I am mostly pain-free. Three or four times a week I do aggressive physical therapy. I’m trail running again, albeit slowly, doing light workouts, pumping iron with a manly five pounds.

On those days or nights when I’m not feeling so pain-free, I treat it naturally.

When I tell people I’m using cannabis to deal with post-surgical pain, there are always some eye-rollers. Like, “Oh, sure.” Several of my friends assume I’m so self-medicated, I’m stoned whenever I’m talking to them.

Read full article at thecannabist.com