What to tell your GI?

[tonimacaroni]

Hypothetical quesiton here... Say you lived in a state where mm is illegal, and not really even close to being legalized. You have found a source and ingest/smoke the herb when in major flares. It's the only thing that helps you eat, sleep etc... Do you tell your GI that you are using mj? What are the consequences if you do/don't tell them?

 

[FrancisK7]

I would only tell him or her if I knew for a fact she'd be receptive to the idea.

If I had the slightest doubt I would not say anything.

MMJ does not interact with any other treatment you may be taking for your colitis, so there's no consequence that may affect your short term health that will come from not telling him. If you do tell him and he is a bigoted/ignorant doctor, it may impact your doctor-patient relationship.

Since you do not live in a state where it is legal he couldn't prescribe it to you. Rather than telling him you want to take it, why not present him with some literature and ask him what he thinks about it all?

That will give you a clue about his position.

 

[tonimacaroni]

Thanks good to know, in case it ever comes up....

 

[Sebastien]

why not present him with some literature and ask him what he thinks about it all?

That will give you a clue about his position.

LOL, "hello doctor, here is a book about pot, read it pls, and prescribe some to me"


OP, you should really tell your Doc, he will see it in your blood tests anyways, legal or not, you HAVE to tell your Doc what you take. It might not affect your other treatments, but it is still a medecine you take.

 

[FrancisK7]

The GI will not see it in the blood tests.

Blood tests for THC are very expensive and uncommon, THC is usually tested through urine.

 

[Sebastien]

My GI looked at his screen and asked me "since when do you smoke pot" :/

 

[FrancisK7]

Did you do a urine test, or was he looking at a blood panel and said that?

Regular MMJ users can test positive up to 100 days after last use with a urine test. Blood tests for THC levels are completely non standard, typically used only in cases of criminal investigations where impairment is suspected. The urine test does not detect THC but a metabolite it leaves behind, so the urine test cannot be used to determined impairment, only if you have had marijuana or not.

For a GI to purposefully request a THC blood test would be seen as a waste of taxpayer's money and the RAMQ would never allow it. Either he suspected you used, wanted to confirm it, bluffed about seeing results to get you to admit it, or he had you pee in a cup for that purpose.

Either way it's weird.

 

[Sebastien]

i never peed in a cup. but with your explanations i see this weird too.

 

[FrancisK7]

Is your GI in Ontario or the Quebec side?

 

[Sebastien]

Quebec.

 

[FrancisK7]

Yeah, there's a 90% probability he lied. RAMQ is cheap as hell, there's no justification for a GI to order a special THC test on your blood panel. It's not even available on the standard forms, so he would have had to request it all specially for you.

How is your relationship with this GI?

 

[Sebastien]

He is a new guy, i don't know him, he does not look like he cares, he didn't listen to me really. I tried to let him know i was on prednisone before, and it didn't work.. his reply was. "It didn't work with your previous doc, not me"

 

[Biek]

Hypothetical quesiton here... Say you lived in a state where mm is illegal, and not really even close to being legalized. You have found a source and ingest/smoke the herb when in major flares. It's the only thing that helps you eat, sleep etc... Do you tell your GI that you are using mj? What are the consequences if you do/don't tell them?

I told my GI dr on one of my first visits to her. I told her about how I got addicted to the pain killers when I first got diagnosed and put on opiates and have steered clear of them since then. I told her I smoke MJ daily and that it helps with pain, nausea, insomnia and increases my appetite. She was very supportive and even gave me the impression she wished it would be legal for everyone. I live in KS where its illegal but I think enough people are learning that it really does have medicinal value and its not just a recreational drug to "get high". I would love to move to Colorado to get my treatment legally but I'll have to stick to the tried and true way I've been getting it for the last 10 years. Doctors have privacy laws they have to follow. You don't have to worry about your doctor calling the police on you as that would be illegal. They can only contact the police if they feel you are at risk to hurt yourself or others. I would say to you that if your doctor isn't sympathetic to your illness and frowns on your mj use, I would simply find a new GI.