The liver doctor said that the pain in my enlarged spleen probably wouldn't be reduced even after weight loss. My primary care physician (PCP) gave me some oxycodone, but its fairly addictive so he probably won't refill it more than once or twice. So that leaves me with nothing really. Vicodin has too much Acetaminophen (Tylenol). He did say I could take up to 1mg of Tylenol a day. That won't even touch my pain and I'm not convinced that it won't promote more inflammation.
However, both doctors said that medical marijuana won't hurt me and it would probably be effective. In the State of Colorado medical marijuana is legal with a permit. In order to get a permit all you have to do is go to a doctor that is willing to write an affirmative consultation and then file with the state for certification. Even though the state has been cracking down on the medical marijuana industry, it is still relatively easy to get a permit.
Perhaps if I didn't have three impressionable young men I might consider it, but I do and I don't think its the right thing for me right now. I reserve the right to change my mind. Even if I did use medical marijuana, I wouldn't smoke it. To be honest, I don't like smoking anything. It makes my lungs feel congested. If I ever tried marijuana as pain management, I would use edibles like brownies or... I don't really know what's available, but I've heard that there are a lot of options. Probably my biggest hesitation is the fact that, while it is legal at the state level, it is still a federal crime.
At the time of this writing, my spleen is about a 6 on the 1 through 10 pain meter. Not enough to cry out, but still distracting. Maybe its more scary than painful. Every time it hurts like this I know that the blood flow through the liver is slowing enough to bloat and enlarge my spleen. That's scary. I'm afraid of bursting my spleen and needing a splenectomy.
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