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Do you tell your doctor you smoke pot?

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The thing is, most doctors seem to have had a distinct lack of education wrt cannabis in the first place. All the doctors I have seen almost seem to have been put under pressure by their peers to conform with consensus and take the opinion that it's a serious risk factor in causing psychosis etc. and is a major public health problem - they just seem unable to put it in context.

I get what you're saying about the younger ones though. However, I don't think that's due to their education, I think it's because of changing attitudes in general.
 
Thats the first thing i say when i walk into his office " Hey doc I smoke cannabis"
 
This issue is of special concern to me right now.

Last month, I had to see my physician (instead of just picking up the script) because I asked to be switched to XR. I was asked to give urine-- right after I'd just peed. I stayed about 20 minutes and "tried" 3 more times but couldn't get a drop. ANY OTHER TIME I'd have had no problem giving clean urine -- I had quit pot last summer... But I'd randomly done some cocaine the night before 8)

Then, my Ex called and told the nurse all kinds of things about how I abuse it, etc etc etc (I told her I didn't want to know what he said. She knows about our domestic issues.). So, she said that I'd have to be giving a drug test at my next appointment -- and pill counts.

The problem is that I started smoking pot on New Year's. I found out that it is the BEST medication for me. However, I do still want to get the Adderall + Klonopin.

My options are
A) Cancel my appointment (this Friday the 21st). Say I'd like to go off the meds for 6 months. (Nurse might still want me to come in to talk to Doc about it + give urine anyway.)
B) Give urine w/ THC, and give nurse a head's up (talk about an exceptional, recent use OR as PP mentioned -- bring in research to support use of pot for depression)
C) Just stop seeing him and get Adderall from a girl I know who sells it every month.

What do you think? What might you do?

FYI, Adderall + Klonopin AREN'T the best thing for me, but it can help from time to time. I do binge on the Adderall, but also I use it to get things done, too. Pot is the best, but it makes me tired which I CAN'T. STAND. I hate feeling tired; I have a LOT to do.

responses greatly appreciated!
 
Yeah I tell them. It wouldn't really matter if I didn't tell them because I have asthma attacks and other hospitalizations on my record from drug use. I suppose I could try the whole "oh NOW I quit" type thing, but I don't really feel like it.
I've never had a problem from a doctor because of me smoking weed or doing drugs.
 
CoffeeDrinker said:
Yeah I tell them. It wouldn't really matter if I didn't tell them because I have asthma attacks and other hospitalizations on my record from drug use. I suppose I could try the whole "oh NOW I quit" type thing, but I don't really feel like it.
I've never had a problem from a doctor because of me smoking weed or doing drugs.
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I'm not expert, but aren't your medical records private? Unless you disclosed the info or your doctor is the one who hospitalized you, I don't think they have access to information about your interactions with other doctors.
 
Yes, because my doctor refers me to people who sell me my pot. :D
 
I remember I went on an ER visit because of a blackout from benzos when I was 17, parents didn't know what to do I guess. I went to the doctors for a regular physical, the doctor goes "You had an ER visit last week?" Looking at the computer records. I asked her kindly not to look at it and I said I didn't want to talk about it. The bitch then said "I'm looking at it right now." She then said "oh, you came up positive for benzos?", and talked to me for an hour criticizing me and asking if I was depressed or had family problems. "No.", I said, "I was just curious, that's all." She didn't really believe me I guess.

When I went to the bathroom she talked to my dad about it, questioning him. My dad told me himself he had no idea that would show up and he himself told me he was sorry.
 
Of course. Your physician should be aware of all drugs/medications/supplements you take.

They are legally bound to keep it between the two of you. And if one has a serious medical condition, information about current recreational drug use could be of vital importance.
 
it depends on the doctor, obviously.

mine recommended to my parents i be kicked out "not next week, not tomorrow, but today" when i told him.

it's a witch hunt. and it's a huge shame that we have to watch what we say about our lives. being forced to lie is one of the worst parts of prohibition. this comment spelled that out nicely:
My honesty with everyone around me about my drug use keeps me in check with addiction because I don't ever need to hide it.
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As strongly as I feel that smoking pot shouldn't be a big secret, I've learned that the world works much differently, and that playing along with the game now and then can be in my best interest much of the time. I told my new Primary Care Doctor that I smoke pot "now and then" (thats what they all say, right?). He didnt seem to phased by it, didnt tell me to stop or ask me for anymore information on it. 8 months later, my shoulder was still hurting pretty badly from a recent dislocation, which had been reset in the ER but still hurt. I told him and he said he didn't feel comfortable giving me pain medicine because of my "history" (actual word choice). He recommended an orthopedic doctor for me to see about it instead (with whom I was unable to get an appointment for 2 weeks, during which I would have been in pain. Thanks, doc.). Fast forward again, and i'm suffering from pretty bad insomnia (non-drug related). He refuses to even prescribe me AMBIEN. You won't even give me Ambien just because I smoke pot? Looking for a new doctor now. The moral: You have more to lose than to gain by telling them you smoke pot.

But, on the flipside of that, I was open and frank with my childhood neurosurgeon about my smoking. I had asked him about the possibility of mmj when I was 18, and he said "Well I can't prescribe that, but in my opinion, if you find something to be giving you pain relief and its not causing any major problems, then go with whats helping your quality of life." He was a liberal guy, and a jazz pianist, so he's a safe bet in general, but, I also had known him since I was a young child, and he had performed 4 spinal cord surgeries on me. So that was a very trusting, well-established doctor/patient relationship, which is also a factor of course. It really comes down to trust, and knowing who your doc is and what he (or she) is like.

As strongly as I feel that smoking pot shouldn't be a big secret, I've learned that the world works much differently, and that playing along with the game now and then can be in my best interest much of the time. I told my new Primary Care Doctor that I smoke pot "now and then" (thats what they all say, right?). He didnt seem to phased by it, didnt tell me to stop or ask me for anymore information on it. 8 months later, my shoulder was still hurting pretty badly from a recent dislocation, which had been reset in the ER but still hurt. I told him and he said he didn't feel comfortable giving me pain medicine because of my "history" (actual word choice). He recommended an orthopedic doctor for me to see about it instead (with whom I was unable to get an appointment for 2 weeks, during which I would have been in pain. Thanks, doc.). Fast forward again, and i'm suffering from pretty bad insomnia (non-drug related). He refuses to even prescribe me AMBIEN. You won't even give me Ambien just because I smoke pot? Looking for a new doctor now. The moral: You have more to lose than to gain by telling them you smoke pot.
 
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It's never been a relevant topic, so no.

I will once I am being prescribed medicinal marijuana. %)
 
^ Good idea. Make it happen! It's incredibly easy, in most states. Here in CA its a joke how simple it is, actually.
 
Tell your doctor, but find a good one. Trust me, once you get a doctor that knows what he's talking about, its great.
 
I told my doctor (at my university medical center) that I smoke weed, but I lied about how much. I told them a few times a week, when in reality, i smoke about 4-6 times a day. It varies though because financials and my schedule. I'm not really sure how differently they think of me, since I only go to the doctor if I'm dead, dying, or bleeding excessively.
 
I told my doctor I smoked weed every once in a while and he told me he thought it was better than smoking cigs. And he didn't ask if I did anything else, which I would have told him about if he had.
 
I told my doctor I was a medical marijuana patient in California, but only told them about my current prescriptions as far as drug use. Good thing too. She gave me shit for it, even though I was prescribed it by a doctor for severe chronic back and neck pain. She also gave me shit for drinking a 12 pack a week though, too. Then she gave me some pills that she told me would kill the pain and help me sleep at night (sounds like pharma-weed to me), but when I looked it up online (she had spelled it incorrectly) it turned out to be some fucked up antidepressant. Side effects included dry mouth, heart palpitations, and suicidal tenancies. It was also toxic to the liver and heart. Sounds WAY worse than an eighth and a 12 pack per week. Fuck doctors.
 
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If my doctor is going to judge me and not give me equal treatment as someone who doesnt get high then they don't deserve my money
 
The dentist asked today if I used "controlled substances." I said "occasionally." lol...I smoke everyday.
 
I never thought anyone other than my psychiatrist knowing would be of benefit. Having been part of it my whole life, I would say the medical community in the southern United States as a whole don't really inform themselves about cannabis at all. Most Dr.'s seem indifferent about it and not many seem to know very much at all about its medical effects. However, I doubt they are indifferent to a point where any particular reaction to acquiring information about past use can be predicted in a professional setting.
 
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