Withdrawal Symptoms Common In Chronic Pain Patients Using Medical Marijuana

January 13, 2021 / Thomas Cohn, MD

As we’ve said on the blog in the past, we’re a proponent of helping patients find a treatment plan that works to help prevent or control their unique chronic pain condition. For many individuals, medical marijuana plays a key role in their treatment, but it’s far from a perfect solution. As we’ve also said on the blog in the past, we want more studies to be conducted on medical cannabis so that we can begin to unwrap this complex component. A recent study did just that, and they found a potentially concerning side effect associated with its use for chronic pain patients.

According to a new study, more than half of all patients who used medical marijuana to help treat a chronic pain condition experienced withdrawal symptoms during even short consumption breaks. There have been documented studies that suggest among recreational users, with about 40 percent experiencing some sort of withdrawal symptoms when not using, but this study took a closer look at these effects on medical marijuana users. Withdrawal symptoms aren’t expressly projected as a user’s yearning for their next dosage, rather, these symptoms can manifest in a number of different ways that affect a person’s health. For example, withdrawal symptoms can affect a person’s sleep, mood, mental state, energy and appetite, and these issues are manifesting in roughly half of medical marijuana users.

Withdrawal Symptoms And Chronic Pain

For this study, researchers polled more than 520 individuals using medical marijuana to treat non-cancer-related chronic pain issues. They were asked if they experienced any of the symptoms after not using for a significant time: Craving for cannabis, anxiety, sleep difficulties, decreased appetite, restlessness, depressed mood, aggression, irritability, nausea, sweating, headache, stomach pain, strange dreams, increased anger and shakiness.

At baseline, 41 percent of people were classified in the mild withdrawal symptom group, 34 percent were in the moderate group, and 25 percent were in the severe group. Additionally, 13 percent of participants saw their withdrawal symptoms rise to the next level by the end of the first year of treatment, and eight percent transitioned upwards by the end of two years.

Interestingly, regardless of the group they were in, sleep problems were the most common symptom. And as we’ve said on the blog, inadequate sleep can have significant effects on your chronic pain condition. Poor sleep quality can worsen pain symptoms, so while some of these withdrawal symptoms may not seem all that bad, they can actually be making your pain condition worse.

At the end of the day, while they are two different treatment paths, a medical marijuana program needs to be implemented much like an opioid regimen for pain. A comprehensive patient profile needs to be developed, the patient needs access to educational material to ensure they understand the potential risks associated with the treatment, and regular checks need to be conducted along the way to ensure everything stays on track. If withdrawal symptoms or other issues are present, specific interventions need to be developed, because it’s unlikely that the problems will go away on their own. In fact, they oftentimes get worse.

So while medical marijuana can be a great addition to a chronic pain treatment plan, we doctors and patients need to be aware of the potential pitfalls to successful treatment so that they can be avoided and managed. If you’re dealing with a chronic pain condition and want help with treatment, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his experienced medical team for more information.

How To Conquer Your Chronic Pain In The New Year

January 5, 2021 / Thomas Cohn, MD

2020 is thankfully in the rearview mirror, but unless you make some positive changes in the New Year, this year may be just like the last, or even worse, for your chronic pain condition. But how can you take control over your chronic pain condition while also accounting for the current COVID-19 pandemic? We share some tips for helping to regain control over your chronic pain condition in the new year.

New Year, Less Pain

It won’t be easy to get a better handle on your chronic pain condition, especially as we work our way out of a pandemic, but planning ahead and sticking to new routines can help you get there. Here are some tips to keep in mind.

1. Make It A Point To Exercise More – Not everything in life is controllable, but the factors we can influence should not be overlooked. Exercise is one of those modifiable factors that we can control that has a direct impact on our chronic pain condition. Exercise will help to strengthen key structures, improve mobility and flexibility, release natural pain relievers in the form of endorphins and help you work towards a healthy weight, all of which can help with pain sensations and tolerance. It’s not always easy to exercise in the Minnesota winter, especially if COVID has closed your gym, but make it a point to exercise 3-5 times a week at home or in a COVID-safe manner. This will help with your overall health as well as your pain condition.

2. Improve Your Eating – Your diet plays a big role in the expression of your chronic pain condition. Poor eating habits can lead to inflammation and nerve compression, and weight gain can put more stress on your joints. On the flip side, healthy eating habits can help to prevent chronic pain symptoms by ensuring your body gets a range of key vitamins and nutrients that support healthy tissue growth and function. Similarly, healthy eating promotes a healthy weight, which keeps excess stress off joints like our hips and knees. You don’t need to eat perfectly every meal, but strive to eat healthier in the new year.

3. Improve Your Sleep Habits – Another controllable aspect of your health and in turn your chronic pain condition is your sleep quality. Now we know that it’s easier said than done to say “get quality sleep,” but if you make a concentrated effort to improve your sleep, you should see the fruits of your labor shortly thereafter. To improve your sleep quality, make your bedroom an ideal sleep environment. Keep it dark, cool and free from distractions like phones, televisions or books. Go to bed around the same time every night, and once you’re in bed, focus all your efforts on falling asleep. Don’t spend 45 minutes watching Netflix before playing on your phone for 20 minutes and then calling it a night at 11:15. When you get in bed, your only goal should be to fall asleep and stay asleep. Control what you can control in your sleep environment, and your sleep quality should improve.

4. Find A Specialist You Can Trust – Finally, if you feel like your current pain care provider just isn’t giving you the attention to detail that you know you deserve, consider looking into new options in the new year. We’re accepting new patients and our number one goal is to help you find an individualized solution to your pain condition. We know that everyone’s pain situation is unique, so we don’t just group you in with all other patients. Your pain condition in a one-of-a-kind issue that needs to be treated as such to get the best treatment results, and we know that we can provide you with that level of care and attention to detail. Let Dr. Cohn and his team help you make 2021 the year you put your chronic pain condition behind you.

5 Non-Physical Factors That Influence Chronic Pain Perception

December 28, 2020 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Chronic pain is oftentimes treated as a physical problem, but there’s much more to it than that. There are a number of other factors that play a role in the onset or alleviation of chronic pain symptoms, so being aware of these factors and doing your best to control the modifiable aspects can really help you in your quest to manage your chronic pain condition. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at those factors and explain how to use them to help control your pain symptoms.

Non-Physical Factors That Affect Chronic Pain

Here’s a look at some non-physical factors that influence how you interpret or perceive chronic pain:

1. Psychological – We tell all of our patients that chronic pain is oftentimes just as much of a mental battle as it is physical. Learning about your chronic condition and working to improve your mental health can be just as important in helping control symptoms as treatments like physical therapy. Make sure you don’t ignore your mental health when it comes to dealing with the fallout of a physical condition.

2. Emotional – Physical pain can also throw our emotions out of whack, and that can hinder our ability to successfully treat our physical ailment. A physical ailment can leave a person feeling annoyed, angry or short-tempered, none of which will help with getting control over your pain condition. It’s easier said than done, but find healthy ways to control your emotions and reach out to your doctor if you’re feeling depressed or angry about your physical condition.

3. Stress – Stress is also a huge component of how chronic pain develops and is perceived. Stress from daily life or your work environment has been shown to trigger tension headaches or inflammatory responses from the body, both of which can serve to make your pain condition worse. Don’t let stress bottle up inside of you, find healthy outlets like exercise or yoga to help you relieve stress.

4. Educational – The fear of the unknown can leave patients overstressing about certain aspects of their health, which can serve to make pain worse. Conversely, many patients who take the time to learn more about their specific chronic pain condition end up in a better position to make healthy choices to help manage symptoms. Turn to your doctor or trusted medical resources online for more information about your condition and treatment strategies for alleviating symptoms.

5. Our Bad Habits – Finally, there are vices in life that can make your chronic pain condition worse. Smoking, for example, can restrict healthy blood flow and contribute to degenerative spinal disc disease. Similarly, heavy alcohol use can lead to nerve damage, which can affect how pain signals are sent or interpreted by the brain. Getting control of your chronic pain condition includes making positive changes on your daily habits that could be having a negative affect on your health. Do some self-reflection and assess whether certain lifestyle choices are making your pain condition worse.

If you keep these tips in mind and do what you can to help control them, we’re confident that you’ll be putting yourself in a good position to beat your chronic pain condition. For more information or for help with any aspect of your pain care, reach out to Dr. Cohn’s office today.

What To Look For In A Pain Care Specialist

December 21, 2020 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Pain isn’t created equal, and either is pain care. As a patient with such a highly individualized issue like chronic pain, you should be treated by someone who is going to do all they can to help you find a solution to your specific issue. Not all pain care providers are built the same, so it’s important that you take the time to find someone who is right for your situation.

But how do you know what you should be looking for in a pain management physician? We explain some traits and abilities you should look for when trying to find the right physician for your chronic pain issue.

Finding The Right Chronic Pain Specialist

When trying to find a specialist to help with your chronic pain issue, it’s important that you don’t just pick the closest physician to your house or the first one you come across in-network. You need to look at some other relevant factors if you want to give yourself the best chance at finding a physician who can treat your pain issue. Here’s what you’ll want to look for.

1. Depth Of Knowledge – Most general practitioners have a wide breadth of knowledge, and that allows them to provide professional care for a number of different issues. However, for a specific condition like chronic pain, you want to find someone with a deep knowledge and years of experience on the subject. Although we’ve noted that pain is highly specific to the individual, drawing on the experiences with past patients can make all the difference in finding a solution to the problem presented by the current patient. Find someone with years of experience in the specialized field of pain management.

2. A Listener – Does your current physician really take the time to listen to your story and apply those facts to your treatment, or do your words seem to be going in one ear and out the other? They say that “doctor knows best,” but that doesn’t mean the patient can’t provide crucial and relevant facts to assist in the treatment process. A great doctor really listens to the patient and uses this information to provide the best level of care. If you feel like you’re being treated as just another patient and the doctor seems to have their mind made up before you even get a chance to talk, consider looking for a different specialist to help with your pain.

3. Willing To Adjust – Another thing that both patient and provider need to be willing to do is adjust to roadblocks that develop, because they always do. If they didn’t, chronic pain would be easy to treat. Your provider needs to be able to look at the changing landscape of your pain condition and make adjustments to account for these potential obstacles to successful treatment. This may involve finding new forms of physical therapy, adjusting if pain injections are no longer as effective as they used to be, or consulting another professional when a problem proves mystifying. If you feel like you’re just trying the same old techniques that haven’t been working, why should you expect anything to ever change?

4. Seeks Long Term Solutions Over Short Term Relief – Any pain physician can write a prescription for painkillers and provide their patient with short term relief. It’s a passive solution that is like putting a band-aid on a bullet hole. Painkillers absolutely can be part of a comprehensive treatment plan, but they shouldn’t be the focal point of your care. You want a pain care provider that pursues active treatment options that will help you find long term relief. If your doctor isn’t working towards long term relief, switch physicians.

If you can find all four of these things in your care provider, odds are you’ll have an increased likelihood of regaining control over your pain condition. Dr. Cohn has done this for countless patients in the past, and he can do the same for you. For more information, or to set up an appointment, reach out to his clinic today.

Surviving The Holidays If You Have Chronic Pain

December 14, 2020 / Thomas Cohn, MD

The holiday season is upon us, and while it’s often marketed as the happiest time of the year, for individuals with chronic pain, the holiday season is often filled with stress and pain. Those two things – stress and pain – often go hand in hand with one another because stress can be a chronic pain trigger, and the holidays can be one of the most stressful times of the year, in turn making it a painful time of the year for chronic pain sufferers.

And while we don’t have all the answers to make your holiday season perfect, there is a playbook you should follow if you want to help prevent against painful flareups. Below, we share some tips for surviving the holiday season if you have chronic pain.

Pain, Stress and the Holidays

This blog is going to focus on some of the major stressors of the holiday season and tips for alleviating this stress so that they don’t become a source of a chronic pain flareup.

Finances – Money can easily become tight during the holiday season if we’re not careful, and money is one of the most common sources of stress during everyday life. Develop a budget, limit your spending and make sure that you don’t go into a financial hole trying to buy things during the holiday, because this can lead to stress and pain flareups.

Diet – A poor diet can also trigger inflammation and a pain flareup, so try to eat somewhat healthy over the holidays. It can be easy to indulge in Christmas candy and stocking stuffers, but if you eat too much sugar, your pain condition may be more present throughout the holidays. Strive to make more healthy food choices during the holidays.

Limited Exercise – Exercise is a great way for us to manage stress, but oftentimes it can be tough to perform your regular exercise during the holidays. You may be crunched for time because of the holidays or find it difficult to perform a workout when it’s cold and dark most of the day, but don’t avoid physical activity. If you find yourself getting stressed, carve out time for some simple exercise, because it will be beneficial for both your mind and body.

COVID Stress – Obviously the coronavirus is still a major problem in Minnesota and throughout the United States, and fear of contracting the virus during family gatherings or church can lead to a lot of internal stress. Put your health first and avoid unsafe gatherings. You’re not a Grinch or a Scrooge if you skip out on certain events this year because of rightful concerns over the coronavirus. Don’t add stress to your plate because you felt obligated to go to an unsafe gathering.

Take Time For Yourself – If you’re one of those people who wants to please everyone else during the holidays, you need to make sure you’re taking some time for yourself. Because if you don’t, stress will catch up with you. Practice some yoga or meditation, or just wake up 30 minutes before everyone else and take some time to enjoy your morning coffee in peace. If you take time for yourself, you’ll be better able to care for others during the holiday.

Sleep – Finally, make sure you are getting enough quality sleep each and every day. Lack of sleep can lead to inflammation and chronic pain flareups. We know that this is easier said than done, but force yourself to head to bed at a reasonable time and make your bedroom an ideal sleep environment. Improving your sleep quality is one of the easiest ways to limit stress and chronic pain flareups.

If you need help with any of the above aspects, or you want professional assistance with your pain condition, reach out to Dr. Cohn’s office today.