Do You Tell Your Dr?

If you regularly smoke medical marijuana, do you tell your GP or other doctors that it is a medicine you use?

If you were admitted to the hospital, would you put it on your list of drugs?

If you see a doctor for a cold or something and they ask for your medications, do you tell?

Ive often thought about telling my family doctor...but hav'nt got the nerve to do so yet...

same here. my doctor is pretty cool but i don't know what she would say.

I think im going to break him in easy and ask him what his opinions are of marijuana...He seems pretty cool too. He studies acupunture and once asked me if i meditate...lol...(maybe he smokes himself)...

it all depends on the situation at hand really...

interesting, a good idea is to document how well its treating whatever symptom you have and compare it to your prescription drugs.

I would want to share this info with my doctor but not knowing the result of telling the doctor is what would stop me.

I told the hospital when I was admitted for a horrible stomach flu because I knew that as a Dr, he has to know what is in your body to treat you properly. I also wanted to go outside and medicate, which I was allowed to do 2-3X a day. They now have a no smoking anything policy and got rid of the smoking patio.

I told my GP because I had been taking 11 scripts for either Fibro or the side-effects brought on from the meds. When I stopped requesting refills, she asked what was going on. So, I told her I had found a more effective pain med and before long didn't need all these drugs. She just looked at me and smiled so I said, "Yes, I have my Dr's Recommendation". She told me I was playing with my life since two of my meds were for BP. I replied that she should check her charts and notice that my BP for the last 2 visits was normal even though I had stopped taking my script. She asked if I though cannabis had controlled my BP and I told her that I didn't know if it cured it or if it just allowed me to stop taking whichever combo of pills that made it go up in the first place since I had never had BP issues until starting all the fibro meds. She just stared.

So, now I only have 1 script that I take as needed(Soma, about 2X/mo) and haven't felt this good in a long time. She can't argue that I'm healthier now than I was before and she has been showing interest in the medical applications on the few occassions I now see her.

I don't think it is a good idea to tell your DR. Your Dr will likely make a note in your file and it could come back to haunt you one day. For example if you have a life insurance policy it could be void, if you get into an accident it could cause issues depending on where you live. It could prevent you from getting a job if you require a clean bill of health. IMHO it is best not to tell. When they ask what meds your taking it is to make sure they don't give you something that will react with what your taking. I have taken all kinds of meds and never had a reaction.

The whole medical profession is a joke with prescribing meds...I was putr on celexa(antidepressant) and it caused pancreatitis, I did a 5 day stint in the hospital from this....When I asked my dr. if it could be the celexa, he replied, I dont think so but let me check. He came back a half hr. later and said nope. I laid in the hospital for 5 days taking my daily dose of celexa. When I was discharged, I went home and did a little research and sure enough, There it was in black n white, CELEXA HAS BEEN KNOWN IN SOME CASES TO CAUSE PANCREATITIS....
I quity the shit, and now im fine....Goes to show how dumb some dr.s are... Its a big money making machine (the medical profession)...
There The biggest drug dealers in America.... Take one medication for one thing and it just fucks something else up....Ill stick to good ole mary jane anyday....

I agree, doctors don't really know what they are doing for the most part. I've been given so many conflicting medications, it's insane. pharmacists are no better, they fill anything you give them without even looking at your other medications.

woods, I worry about it coming back to bite me now that you mention it. They do put all that stuff in the chart when you see them. I alway wonder what they write. I think maybe they don't even believe your symptoms half the time, they probably think you're crazy or you make things up. why woud someone want to pretend they have a terrible migraine? it doesn't benefit me to feel like crap.

I do think it would be good if they documented how people's conditions react to medical marijuana so we could have firm evidence of whether it is helping these conditions & which conditions it helps. I know it helps many people but it's still taboo to tell your regular doctor you're using MM. My doctor is not anti untraditional therapies but I am not sure how she would react to this one.

You should always tell your doctor everything. They can't do their job if they don't know all of the parameters and sometimes drug use or just the inhalation of smoke is one of those.

Don't be nervous, doctors have heard it all - honestly some really out there things that none of us would ever consider. They will not suddenly look at you like your a hobbit or a demon and generally don't care what so ever.

A doctor once told me about having to remove a half frozen fish from a mans rear end. I asked him how he and the staff handled it and he said, "No biggie, third time's a charm."

Yes, most Dr's in my area are pretty relaxed about it. I'm sure it depends where you live. Some will treat you and say nothing, some will lecture, and a few will refuse to treat you b/c there is a rule about prescribing meds while someone is using "street drugs".

The Doctor - patient privacy relationship is just that, tell your Dr.... Many of them keep up on medical journals and they all know about Medical MJ to some degree.... I think not telling is a mistake. If you are truly using it for medical purposes and you find relief, tell your Dr.... if you are just getting high, probably not...

Serapis said:

If you are truly using it for medical purposes and you find relief, tell your Dr.... if you are just getting high, probably not...

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I have to agree with this. I didn't start smoking regularly (i smoked a bunch in college, but nothing regularly) until after my first surgery. The Dilaudid I was prescribed was just way to strong for me, hurt my stomach, and just made me feel like a drooling zombie. So I found a MUCH better alternative.

Before my second surgery, I told my new surgeon that I started smoking instead of taking any painkillers. I explained to him why, and to my surprise he was fine with it, agreeing that it isn't nearly as strong as the dilaudid i was supposed to be on. I'm glad I told him, I felt much better knowing that he knew I had marijuana in my system before being given a shit ton of anesthesia and being knocked out for 8 hours.

- Sounds interesting. I wonder what % of people got their recommendation from their own doc or went to another doctor. I went to another doc due to small town chitter chatter.

I went to another because my Dr. had already discussed it with me and questions the new scienctific work. You know, the clinical way of thinking. Something must be repeated again and again with the same results before it becomes accepted. She sees the potential in it, but at this stage isn't willing to bet her practice on it. And that's where the Feds come into the picture for obvious reasons.

Btw, this is developing into a good thread. I see too many people flaming card-holders for "exploiting the system". And while we ALL know it is abused by some, not all of us are just looking to get high.

I find no reason to tell my doctor about use of marijuana.

It interferes with none of my medications.
It will not interfere with any medical practices they wish to do.
It is good to let your doctor know about other medications in case of a bad reaction when mixing.
but what problems arise when smoking cannabis with other meds? I have yet to find one with me personally or hear about one.

So basically , why would you need to tell your doctor? Do you need to in order to receive your medicine?( MMJ)

Most doctors are bias and telling them about your use of cannabis is on a need to know basis and my doctors will never need to know.

told my doctor, now he is no longer my doc, he was to close minded told me " you will most likely be hospitilized because of to much marijuana injestion" then i told him that in history NO ONE has ever died from it. so ya, i tell my doc everytime i goto the ER as well, they generally dont care as long as you are legal, which i am.

BBYY said:

I find no reason to tell my doctor about use of marijuana.

It interferes with none of my medications.
It will not interfere with any medical practices they wish to do.
It is good to let your doctor know about other medications in case of a bad reaction when mixing.
but what problems arise when smoking cannabis with other meds? I have yet to find one with me personally or hear about one.

So basically , why would you need to tell your doctor? Do you need to in order to receive your medicine?( MMJ)

Most doctors are bias and telling them about your use of cannabis is on a need to know basis and my doctors will never need to know.

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My reasoning was that while it didn't interfere with my other meds, it WAS more effective. AND more cost-effective. Since I smoke it, it CAN cause some respiratory problems and if she didn't know, she wouldn't look at the right possible causes when trying to plan a course of treatment.

And that's the only way that the medical community will ever open up to the idea of cannabis as medicine. Again, it is dependent not just on location, but each individual Dr.