Doctor disclosure...thc

[thatgirl]

doctor disclosure...thc

so i have been dealing with cd almost my whole life but i have just been diagnosed for good this month (i had a diagnosis for a couple of months but they took it back when i switched docs)...when i went to college i had what i now know to be mr first severe flare...i lost my appetite and would become overwhelmingly nauseous when i would smell food some of the time ( i thought it was just that the cafeteria food was bad)...i also started to experience the fatigue and arthritis pains at around the same time...like a lot of other college kids i was also starting to experiment with marijuana...i realized very early on that i was getting relief from the mj for the indigestion (that i again chalked up to the inferior food)...over the years i have found that the mj was the only thing that worked consistently and immediately...for the last 7 years i have been plagued with cvs (cyclic vomitting syndrome) and subsequently have learned during various er visits that i am allergic to ALL anti-emitics (zofran, raglan, compazine and the like) so that really only leaves me with mj to treat the nausea that plagues me eveytime i eat more than a mouthful...but it also relievs my pain (allowing me to function ) creates an appetite and helps me to combat the fullness factor (allowing me to maintain a healthy weight)...having said all of this i have yet to tell any of my docs about my mj use...as a young woman (28) i am aware that people my age are often seen as drug seeking because 1. mine is the rehab generation and 2. young people don't get sick or experience real pain...i have been labled as drug seeking on several occasions when my mom took me to the er explaining all of my gi problems (before and during the crohn's diagnosis)...however i'm getting tired of "hiding" and would like to be up front about my mj use...now that i have a definite diagnosis from a doc that i trust i would like to approach my condition differently as i am in it for the long haul...having said all this is there any one out there in the same situation and if you are a mj user who has disclosed to your doc how did you go about it...help please

 

[Valentina]

maybe the attitude in Canada is a bit different. I know people who actually have been offered a perscription (not for UC or CD that I know of, but Cancer, glucoma and a few others). I only used it a few times for a pretty short period of time to actually help with problems I was having with crohns, and I really felt it helped me at the time. Ive never really been a big user, but Im surrounded by it where I live, so its always been there. I would never think twice about telling my DR that it had helped me, Im sure she would give me a look, but she gives me a look when I go into her office with a sunburn. lol
Maybe ask your DR how they feel about it before you admit to how it has helped you, that way you get an idea of how they will respond. good luck! and dont feel bad about it! at least not to me!

 

[mikeyarmo]

My doctor recently asked all patients to fill in a survey to see if they used anything like marijuana to cope with pain. I do not think he did it to see what awful patients he had, but rather so he could truly understand. I do not think that a doctor can judge a person who uses it for pain relief (or to combat other symptoms) and you should have no feeling of embarrassment in telling you doctor about it. Your doctor makes lots of people go on all sorts of drugs, so he/she should be happy that you found one that helps you!

 

[kc0eks]

I brought this up to my GP once and he wanted me to see my GI about it. My GI wont do nearly anything, so I didnt bother.

It would be nice if the drug didnt have such a bad rap, cause it works damn well.

 

[Kate]

I spose it depends what you country fells aboutthe drug im not so sure that if i were to decide to use it that i would disclose it because im not so sure it would be ok for them to condone

 

[DarrylP_Ajax]

I brought this up to my GP once and he wanted me to see my GI about it. My GI wont do nearly anything, so I didnt bother.

It would be nice if the drug didnt have such a bad rap, cause it works damn well.

But nonetheless it has a bad rap, and for good reason lol. Seriously, if u were to play that word game where u say a word and the person responds with the first thing that pops in your head, i am sure the first thought when mentioning mj for the common person is not going to be "natural herb with medicinal properties to help ppl overcome sickness".....the first thing most ppl will think of is the 30 yo high school dropout that used to go to school with them that now sits outside of the local 7/11 all day in his 1992 Civic hatchback and still lives in his parents basement....or at least thats all i remember of anyone i knew in high school that were big mj users, they basically are either still in high school or gave up because they were always to stoned to come to class....but, as with everything, stuff can be used in the right way, with purpose, and others ways for there non-intended purpose....

 

[kc0eks]

But nonetheless it has a bad rap, and for good reason lol. Seriously, if u were to play that word game where u say a word and the person responds with the first thing that pops in your head, i am sure the first thought when mentioning mj for the common person is not going to be "natural herb with medicinal properties to help ppl overcome sickness".....the first thing most ppl will think of is the 30 yo high school dropout that used to go to school with them that now sits outside of the local 7/11 all day in his 1992 Civic hatchback and still lives in his parents basement....or at least thats all i remember of anyone i knew in high school that were big mj users, they basically are either still in high school or gave up because they were always to stoned to come to class....but, as with everything, stuff can be used in the right way, with purpose, and others ways for there non-intended purpose....

I can agree with all of that as well. Though the effects of mj are not really that big of a deal, and if you have a brain you use it responsibly, just like with all drugs (legal or not).

Without it, im not sure where I would be pain wise right now. Prescription meds dont really seem to work!

 

[~TN~]

Times are changing folks. 13 states in the USA allow medical marijuana. That is 1/4th of the country.

I am frustrated by the above posts. Stereotypes mentioned above are so wrong & make me shake my head in disgust.

It is time for people to wake up & realize the truth about one of the oldest natural remedy in history.

Prescription pain meds are so much worse for you than the natural herb. No one has ever died from an overdose of cannabis but vicodin, loratab, etc...well I am sure you can google pain killer overdose.


With that being said, I wouldn't tell my doc about using cannabis because of a chance of losing your health ins.

 

[drew_wymore]

I told my doctor about it and he didn't have any issue with it. He mentioned some studies that showed that prolonged use could cause GI issues that mimic Crohn's though. Otherwise he promised to keep it off the record which he did.

 

[soupdragon69]

There is another angle that my gastro nurse raised recently and there is a core of crohns patients that have ongoing intense pain with minimal inflammation (but it is ongoing inflammation that they cant nail or get on top of and seems to constantly trigger a flare over a period of time) that is difficult to see on scope or biopsy...

She has been doing alot of research and networking with colleagues in relation to the levels of pain crohns patients suffer and acknowledge to me last week there is soooo much they (medical profession) just dont know about crohns.

From the MJ perspective I have to say for me personally its not something I would be inclined to try to wont knock anyone who feels it helps them..

 

[GregD]

I would encourage you to be as open an honest with your GI as possible. You do not have to worry about any legal ramifications. Your doctor is bound by non-disclosure laws. He can only break confidentiality if he/she believes that you will cause harm to yourself or others. If you have candid conversation about how MJ has helped you and your GI still labels you as a "drug seeker," I think it is time you found a new doctor.

I have also used MJ to control my CD symptoms, with very positive results. I told my GI about my usage during my first appointment with him. He told me that many patients have found MJ to be effective and if I lived in a state with medical MJ laws, he would prescribe it to me. Recently, when I told him that I had to stop using it because of my job, but still occasionally smoke cigarettes, he tried to convince me that if I felt the urge to smoke something, it should be MJ, not tobacco.

In response to Darryl's comment, I agree that MJ has a "bad rap." However, it is unsubstantiated stereotypes, like the ones you decribed, that propagate the plant's negative stigma. These types of uneducated generalizations lead to the senseless and counterproductive drug policies in this country that prevent countless suffering people from obtaining safe and effective relief.

In the past, I have used MJ frequently. Yet, I graduated Cum Laude, at a top university, in three years. I now have a great career that earns over six figures. I know dozens of very successful people who still use MJ. I also know a lot of people who live on their parent's couch, who have never used it.

I just wish people would elevate the discourse on drugs use to a level based on facts and logic, instead of false conceptions and innuendo.

 

[~TN~]

You are lucky to live in a MMJ state. Do you take advantage of WA's laws?

I told my doctor about it and he didn't have any issue with it. He mentioned some studies that showed that prolonged use could cause GI issues that mimic Crohn's though. Otherwise he promised to keep it off the record which he did.