EverythingsHazy
Well-Known Member
If you live in a region where Cannabis is legal, and have discussed it with you or doctor, what does he/she say about it? Does he/she approve of daily usage? What about usage for boredom?
What does your Cannabis-friendly doctor think (legal regions only)?
- Thread starter EverythingsHazy
- Start date
Farid
Well-Known Member
I live in legal MA, but most of this experience comes from when I was medically legal but rec hadn't been passed.
My current Neurologist is very supportive of my cannabis use, and has been very good about hearing my thoughts on the other drugs I am on. If I am not happy with my treatment he does what he can to accommodate me.
They say neurologists are the only doctors who won't encourage you to quit smoking cigarettes, since quitting cigarettes cold turkey can exacerbate many neurological conditions. They seem the most open minded of any doctors I've had.
That said, my previous neurologist wasn't great. He didn't explain things to me, and when he diagnosed me with epilepsy, he pretty much asked me "what do you want me to do about it." I stuck with him until I was hospitalized for a grand mal seizure, which occured because I hated the meds I was on. Every doctor I met with at the hospital was awful. They didn't listen to me when I said I needed to change my meds because I hated keppra. They kept insisting that cannabis is bad for epilepsy, not listening to a word I said.
It wasn't until I had my current neurologist as the attending doctor one day that I had my first positive experience with a doctor at the hospital. He told me that it was common for people to hate Keppra, and that he could easily switch me to another medicine. He also explained that I needed to taper down the dosage or else I'd have more seizures, which was reassuring to me, since I thought I was going back on Keppra forever.
Most importantly, he confirmed that cannabis does not cause seizures, it actually helps prevent them, and that the doctors I had talked to before have no background in epilepsy or cannabis, so what they were saying was nonsense.
When I got out of the hospital I made him my neurologist, and I have been very happy with him.
My previous primary care doctor was anti cannabis, but this is also the guy who let my epilepsy go untreated for several years because he didn't think it was that big a deal (I had parital seizures which are not as visible, but are very strong nonetheless). He gave me shit until I told him that I don't smoke I only vape. He still didn't like it, but his main argument against it was "it's still smoking". When I turned out to have a better lung capacity than most patients because of the bong rips he shut up about it.
My doctor says that (for epileptics) daily use is better than irregular use for cannabis, coffee, and tobacco. It is the stimulating effects of these drugs which can be bad for my condition, so they are only safe if used on a regular schedule. Likewise heroic doses are not recommended for any drug. I never have more than a cup of espresso and a couple bowls. On the rare times I have a cigar I always make sure I have a sugary drink to counteract the stimulating effects of the nicotine.
In general my doctor is supportive of my medical cannabis use because I'm pretty responsible about it. That said, he has told me that he'd rather me smoking weed recreationally than drinking, since alcohol is terrible for epileptics. He'd rather I smoke a 4 gram blunt than have 4 drinks, that's for sure.
I am sure he would not approve of regular use for boredom. That is a recipe for unhappiness. If you are looking to weed to make your life less boring, I really suggest looking elsewhere. If you're using it for boredom once a week it's probably no big deal, but regular use to deal with boredom will just make you more bored/boring.
My current Neurologist is very supportive of my cannabis use, and has been very good about hearing my thoughts on the other drugs I am on. If I am not happy with my treatment he does what he can to accommodate me.
They say neurologists are the only doctors who won't encourage you to quit smoking cigarettes, since quitting cigarettes cold turkey can exacerbate many neurological conditions. They seem the most open minded of any doctors I've had.
That said, my previous neurologist wasn't great. He didn't explain things to me, and when he diagnosed me with epilepsy, he pretty much asked me "what do you want me to do about it." I stuck with him until I was hospitalized for a grand mal seizure, which occured because I hated the meds I was on. Every doctor I met with at the hospital was awful. They didn't listen to me when I said I needed to change my meds because I hated keppra. They kept insisting that cannabis is bad for epilepsy, not listening to a word I said.
It wasn't until I had my current neurologist as the attending doctor one day that I had my first positive experience with a doctor at the hospital. He told me that it was common for people to hate Keppra, and that he could easily switch me to another medicine. He also explained that I needed to taper down the dosage or else I'd have more seizures, which was reassuring to me, since I thought I was going back on Keppra forever.
Most importantly, he confirmed that cannabis does not cause seizures, it actually helps prevent them, and that the doctors I had talked to before have no background in epilepsy or cannabis, so what they were saying was nonsense.
When I got out of the hospital I made him my neurologist, and I have been very happy with him.
My previous primary care doctor was anti cannabis, but this is also the guy who let my epilepsy go untreated for several years because he didn't think it was that big a deal (I had parital seizures which are not as visible, but are very strong nonetheless). He gave me shit until I told him that I don't smoke I only vape. He still didn't like it, but his main argument against it was "it's still smoking". When I turned out to have a better lung capacity than most patients because of the bong rips he shut up about it.
My doctor says that (for epileptics) daily use is better than irregular use for cannabis, coffee, and tobacco. It is the stimulating effects of these drugs which can be bad for my condition, so they are only safe if used on a regular schedule. Likewise heroic doses are not recommended for any drug. I never have more than a cup of espresso and a couple bowls. On the rare times I have a cigar I always make sure I have a sugary drink to counteract the stimulating effects of the nicotine.
In general my doctor is supportive of my medical cannabis use because I'm pretty responsible about it. That said, he has told me that he'd rather me smoking weed recreationally than drinking, since alcohol is terrible for epileptics. He'd rather I smoke a 4 gram blunt than have 4 drinks, that's for sure.
I am sure he would not approve of regular use for boredom. That is a recipe for unhappiness. If you are looking to weed to make your life less boring, I really suggest looking elsewhere. If you're using it for boredom once a week it's probably no big deal, but regular use to deal with boredom will just make you more bored/boring.
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Baron23
Well-Known Member
I live in Maryland. Our patient registry just opened this past Monday and based on the first letter of my last name, I can register starting next Monday.
In anticipation, I discussed this with my long time and highly valued Primary Dr. She knows that I vaped for sleep and pain and that this reduced my demands for narcotics, muscle relaxers, etc.
However, she declined to register to provide MMJ certifications for two reasons; 1) she knows nothing about it have been taught nothing in med school or continuing education on cannabis and; 2) there is still some risk to her license in her opinion and I can't blame her for being abundantly cautious.
So, we agreed that I would see another Dr who does specialize in cannabis certs and I'm all set up.
Every Dr I have talked to about it seem ok with the idea.
In anticipation, I discussed this with my long time and highly valued Primary Dr. She knows that I vaped for sleep and pain and that this reduced my demands for narcotics, muscle relaxers, etc.
However, she declined to register to provide MMJ certifications for two reasons; 1) she knows nothing about it have been taught nothing in med school or continuing education on cannabis and; 2) there is still some risk to her license in her opinion and I can't blame her for being abundantly cautious.
So, we agreed that I would see another Dr who does specialize in cannabis certs and I'm all set up.
Every Dr I have talked to about it seem ok with the idea.
howie105
Well-Known Member
My primary doesn’t care as long as she knows I have a handle on the repercussion of use. Her employer has an anti pot policy she has to respect and work around which is about all I can ask for. Third party practitioners don't seem to have any interest for the most part but I do mention it during initial visits to be fair.
His_Highness
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
I've recently come out of the MJ closet and when it came to doctors I pulled another person out of that closet with me.
The person I pulled out of the closet wasn't willing to admit use to the family like me ..... but a hospital stay caused by a sudden 24/7 case of migraines followed by brain surgery for an aneurysm that didn't cure shit was enough to open up about MJ to the doctors, especially neurologists.
I found that our neurologists were VERY open to medical MJ to relieve pain and nausea and even as a migraine reducer of sorts. The two most open neurologists at the hospital recommended another neurologist outside the hospital because he was also known to be open to more holistic approaches and was well respected. This is the good news.....
The bad news is that each of them said the same thing.....you have to exhaust every other potential solution, no matter how much more harmful than medical MJ, before they could formally recommend it. So basically anything that can help the symptoms no matter how bad for you could be enough to eliminate the recommendation. This could be because Florida's medical expansion is very recent and it's starting to look like it'll be a long while before they relax the laws enough to be truly useful. The old rules still apply as well....if you're a chronic pain sufferer and get caught using MJ - you are done being given opiates.
If it makes anyone feel better.....Botox for migraines is a fairly recent find with a 70% success rate and it's even recognized by the medical insurance companies..... BUT even with a 70% success rate you have to exhaust every other possible solution before they will approve Botox.
The person I pulled out of the closet wasn't willing to admit use to the family like me ..... but a hospital stay caused by a sudden 24/7 case of migraines followed by brain surgery for an aneurysm that didn't cure shit was enough to open up about MJ to the doctors, especially neurologists.
I found that our neurologists were VERY open to medical MJ to relieve pain and nausea and even as a migraine reducer of sorts. The two most open neurologists at the hospital recommended another neurologist outside the hospital because he was also known to be open to more holistic approaches and was well respected. This is the good news.....
The bad news is that each of them said the same thing.....you have to exhaust every other potential solution, no matter how much more harmful than medical MJ, before they could formally recommend it. So basically anything that can help the symptoms no matter how bad for you could be enough to eliminate the recommendation. This could be because Florida's medical expansion is very recent and it's starting to look like it'll be a long while before they relax the laws enough to be truly useful. The old rules still apply as well....if you're a chronic pain sufferer and get caught using MJ - you are done being given opiates.
If it makes anyone feel better.....Botox for migraines is a fairly recent find with a 70% success rate and it's even recognized by the medical insurance companies..... BUT even with a 70% success rate you have to exhaust every other possible solution before they will approve Botox.
Baron23
Well-Known Member
I don't live in FL anymore but I have followed the reports closely.
IMO this is because your Governor and legislators are doing everything they possibly can to undermine the democratic vote that modified your constitution to incorporate legal MJ.
Me....I say vote them out of office and make them work for a living. Dem or Rep....don't matter. Either honor the voter's will or go find some other trough to feed out of.
Just saying! LOL
cobra505
Defined
How about this question? You have a primary care doctor who believes but the hospital he works for has a strict policy against it.
EverythingsHazy
Well-Known Member
Just to clarify, when I say daily use for boredom, I don't mean getting stoned and doing nothing. I mean getting a buzz so that things that normally are boring to you, seem more interesting, and are therefore, more captivating. With productive things, rather than just forcing yourself to do them because you're supposed to, and being bored/uninterested the almost the entire time, it can help make them more fun.
This lack of focus/interest might have to do with either/both depression/ADD, and it definitely seems like Cannabis can mitigate those symptoms. The concern with daily use for this reason, would be the possibility of increasing those uninterested feelings when you are sober, but I genuinely believe that some people have a physical cause for lack of enthusiasm in regards to things that are satisfying or entertaining/captivating to most of the general population, and that Cannabis can help with that. Even things that should just be relaxing for most people, like lying on the beach, or watching a funny show on Netflix, can lack the ability to hold the focus of someone with these symptoms, and fail to provide that same relaxation. Racing thoughts and restless energy can make a lot of things uncomfortable.
Doctors tend to medicate these symptoms with either anti-depressants (for general lack of enthusiam/excitement)
or amphetamenes (for focus).
Baron23
Well-Known Member
Find a different Doc for your certification. That's what I did and my primary knows it. No secrets, just medication.
C No Ego
Well-Known Member
so anytime a medication goes against a political system doctors need to follow political sway... the doctors will ask the closest politician if it's ok to make their patients better with a medication but only if the politician says it's ok!! doctor- politician- people... in that order
howie105
Well-Known Member
C N Ego "so anytime a medication goes against a political system doctors need to follow political sway... the doctors will ask the closest politician if it's ok to make their patients better with a medication but only if the politician says it's ok!! doctor- politician- people... in that order"
Sounds really wrong and yet its SOP for most doctors because its not only the political types that get between the patient and the doctor but employers, insurance companies, drug companies, churches, etc that may hold some control to your medical access and management. That's one of the reasons I don't want any of the same ham handed clowns between myself and my plants. Legalization can be just another form of self inflicted policing if we aren’t careful.
Sounds really wrong and yet its SOP for most doctors because its not only the political types that get between the patient and the doctor but employers, insurance companies, drug companies, churches, etc that may hold some control to your medical access and management. That's one of the reasons I don't want any of the same ham handed clowns between myself and my plants. Legalization can be just another form of self inflicted policing if we aren’t careful.
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C No Ego
Well-Known Member
hopefully we will be seeing a new breed of doctors with huge BALLS!!! just show the closest politician the size of the new doctors BALLS and the politician will back down lol
CarolKing
Singer of songs and a vapor connoisseur
I've talked to my family doctor who I've had for 20 years about cannabis. The HMO where he works at this time doesn't give out authorizations for cannabis and this is WA where medical cannabis has been available for almost 20 years.
The state legislature even said that they wanted medical cannabis users to get their mmj authorization from their regular doctors.
I have been going to a naturopath for 3 years to get my mmj authorization yearly. I take any added documentation that is needed for my file.
The legislature was even going to have doctors, nurse practitioners or naturopaths that give out more than 30 medical authorizations a month, they would be tagged or checked on in some way. They didn't want folks going to cannabis clinics to get their mmj authorizations. Go figure some folks aren't able to go to their regular doctors. Doctors are still worried about their careers with these archaic society norms.
Edit
There is so much misinformation out there regarding cannabis. They don't have much in the teaching curriculum where our doctors learned to be a physicians. My doctor said they didn't even talk about it when he went to medical school.
The state legislature even said that they wanted medical cannabis users to get their mmj authorization from their regular doctors.
I have been going to a naturopath for 3 years to get my mmj authorization yearly. I take any added documentation that is needed for my file.
The legislature was even going to have doctors, nurse practitioners or naturopaths that give out more than 30 medical authorizations a month, they would be tagged or checked on in some way. They didn't want folks going to cannabis clinics to get their mmj authorizations. Go figure some folks aren't able to go to their regular doctors. Doctors are still worried about their careers with these archaic society norms.
Edit
There is so much misinformation out there regarding cannabis. They don't have much in the teaching curriculum where our doctors learned to be a physicians. My doctor said they didn't even talk about it when he went to medical school.
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C No Ego
Well-Known Member
doctors will be all over it once synthetic cannabinoid formulas are the norm... and patients will not even know that cannabis based molecules are used in their medication once pharma gets a hold of it... who actually asks what is in the medicine? mr doctor, can you give us a run down on that ingredient list LOL
Aimless Ryan
Came to read about grinders; fucked combustion
If it's already known that they are cannabis-friendly, what is there to answer here?
Interesting question, though, for anyone here in Ohio, where it was legalized almost a year ago. The new legislation went into effect last September, but probably no one has been able to take advantage of it yet, even though it was said that doctor referrals would allow us to buy in other medical states until the new industry is up and running in Ohio.
I usually avoid doctors, but I haven't been able to avoid them for the last year, due to very nasty injuries. What I've learned over the last year is that most doctors are even more sadistic, stupid, and arrogant than I already thought. Although I haven't become legal yet (despite the fact that I'm pretty much the poster boy for why Ohio legalized), I have dealt with immense doctor stupidity in pain clinics regarding cannabis use, where I have been unable to receive any treatment specifically because all these assholes love to make believe testing positive for cannabis medicine is a legitimate reason to deny medical help to those who probably need it most; people like me, who can't stand up (unless I've taken an oxycodone in the last 30 minutes to five hours). Proof.
Interesting that you mentioned boredom in the original post because that's probably the biggest reason why I use cannabis anymore. Which I guess became evident to me sometime last year, after oxycodone (for my injuries) ended up helping me in so many ways I had previously hoped cannabis would help me.
Interesting question, though, for anyone here in Ohio, where it was legalized almost a year ago. The new legislation went into effect last September, but probably no one has been able to take advantage of it yet, even though it was said that doctor referrals would allow us to buy in other medical states until the new industry is up and running in Ohio.
I usually avoid doctors, but I haven't been able to avoid them for the last year, due to very nasty injuries. What I've learned over the last year is that most doctors are even more sadistic, stupid, and arrogant than I already thought. Although I haven't become legal yet (despite the fact that I'm pretty much the poster boy for why Ohio legalized), I have dealt with immense doctor stupidity in pain clinics regarding cannabis use, where I have been unable to receive any treatment specifically because all these assholes love to make believe testing positive for cannabis medicine is a legitimate reason to deny medical help to those who probably need it most; people like me, who can't stand up (unless I've taken an oxycodone in the last 30 minutes to five hours). Proof.
Interesting that you mentioned boredom in the original post because that's probably the biggest reason why I use cannabis anymore. Which I guess became evident to me sometime last year, after oxycodone (for my injuries) ended up helping me in so many ways I had previously hoped cannabis would help me.
EverythingsHazy
Well-Known Member
Being cannabis-friendly doesn't mean they agree with frequent/daily use. It just means they aren't hardcore against it, and are willing to provide proper medical insight into its effects, rather than saying "I can't give you the 'ok' or a recommendation to use it."
I'm from MA where recreational marijuana was just legalized in November. I've discussed it with my long-time GP relative to the fact that I've started using cannabis in addition to the yoga, Qi Qong, and acupuncture that I already do for health maintenance. I don't have a medical card for marijuana and have never requested one, and I don't take any psychotropic medications. His comment during our discussion: " Marijuana is a lot better than the antidepressant and antianxiety medications that I prescribe for people on a regular basis."
EverythingsHazy
Well-Known Member
I'm very tempted to take a trip out to MA or CO, to speak with a Cannabis-Friendly Dr., and see what he'd recommend given my specifications. I don't know if one visit would be feasible, but it'd be worth a shot, and at least a cool trip to vape on if nothing else, haha.
Farid
Well-Known Member
What exactly is it you would ask them? There must be a doctor lurking the boards.
I'm surprised to hear micnadkel's doctor say such positive things about cannabis for depression. That's one place where most doctors are very hesitant to introduce cannabis. Definitely a step in the right direction.
I'm surprised to hear micnadkel's doctor say such positive things about cannabis for depression. That's one place where most doctors are very hesitant to introduce cannabis. Definitely a step in the right direction.
EverythingsHazy
Well-Known Member
I'd ask the following:
1. Would they consider daily Canabis vaping safe, in regards to health and brain changes? If so, what's the max "safe" vaporizing dose they'd consider safe?
2. Would the recommend Cannabis for treating lack of interest and the resulting boredom/amotivation to do things? It certainly makes things more interesting, and helps focus on one thing at a time, for long periods of time. Are the potential negatives of this kind of use worth avoiding it? Is it going to make these feelings significantly worse during periods of abstinence?
3. How much do you have to consume, for the THC that is stored in your body (fatty tissues) and released into your bloodstream, to cause you to have less energy (lethargy) during period where you feel sober? I don't like the idea of not being able to have normal levels of energy during the day, prior to a vaporizing session. Also, how long does it take for those levels to drop to negligible levels, given my preferred dosing.
Silver420Surfer
Downward spiral
LoL
I can guarantee the majority of doctors will not have the knowledge/training and /or mass research done on those topics to be able to answer those questions.
C No Ego
Well-Known Member
check out...... healer dot com
they talk about micro dosing to find healthy levels of cannabinoids
EverythingsHazy
Well-Known Member
Unfortunately :/
Now that Canada is legalizing it, we can hopefully get more legit studies done.
Thanks. I'll definitely check that out.
stressed
Well-Known Member
i'm in arizona. i use the veterans administration. i haven't seen a doctor just a nurse practitioner but she's pretty good. i told her about my getting a medical pot card and she didn't say a word, she just wrote it down.
my pot doc is a different doctor. the office looks like my bedroom in 1970. black light posters, hippie type paintings, hendrix, tie dyed type stuff. makes me feel right at home.
EverythingsHazy
Well-Known Member
I'm curious what your Cannabis-friendly doctors would say about Cannabis' long-term effect on memory/memory related diseases.