Two years ago a patient of mine named Brain sat in the orthopedic spine specialists examination room anxiously awaiting his recommendation.   He had herniated 2 discs (L3-L4 and L4-L5) and was having sever pain and occasional numbness down his right leg.   The pain was debilitating and it was keeping him from working as [...]

Today in Irvine I tok care of a 68 year old women who came in with her husband to see if medical marijuana can improve the quality of her life. She started experiencing symptoms of dementia in 2007 and was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Her husband of 21 years wanted to try medical marijuana for her because she has been “increasingly agitated, can become violent and frequently has sundowners syndrome.” He is hoping that medical marijuana can help “calm her” when she gets in these agitated states. I was happy to help them. READ ON…

Yesterday in Irvine I took care of a 59 year old women who had been taking Arimidex (Anastrozole) following treatment of Breast Cancer. She was experiencing a variety of side effects from the treatment, specifically hot flashes, nausea, lack of appetite and headaches. Her symptoms were also compounded as a result of having to stop estrogen replacement therapy because her breast cancer was estrogen receptor positive (meaning that estrogen accelerates the growth of the tumor).

She came to me because for the past month one of her friends had convinced her to try medical marijuana for her symptoms and she has felt amazingly better. READ ON…

Lately I have been taking care a numerous patients who have been diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). They are coming in mostly because of the side effects of the medications that they have been prescribed. The three most common medications that I see are ADDERALL, STRATTERA and VYVANCE.

All of these medication are stimulants (amphetamines) and have very similar side effect profiles. The most common reasons that patients with ADHD are seeking treatment with medical marijuana are … READ ON

Since 2008 I have been working full time discussing medical marijuana with my patients. More and more patients are coming in complaining of worry, anxiety, panic attacks and sleepless nights. Relationships, families and friendships are being strained because people are worried about how to make ends meet. Most of them at some point speak to their family doctor about their symptoms. Many of them get prescribed Ambien for sleep, Xanax for anxiety or an SSRI like Lexapro for depression. Some do OK but for many of these people the medication is not working or the side effects outweigh any benefit they are receiving.

MORE AND MORE ORDINARY PEOPLE ARE TURNING TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA FOR RELIEF.

Just this morning my first patient was a 46 year old man who has been working as a landscape architect his whole adult life. Since 2008 he has been out of work and has had to take handyman jobs here and there just to make ends meet. He has been happily married for 20 years but the financial strain has been “so hard on my wife and I”. As he is telling me this story tears are forming in his eyes and his head down at his chin. He is a very hard working, proud man. He wants to take care of his family but “does not know how much longer I can handle the stress.” READ ON…

Today I took care of 79 year old women who suffers chronic pain from severe arthritis in her hands, hips and feet. For the past 10 years she has used medical marijuana exclusively. She did bring in a plastic bag full of old medications and dumped them on my desk. They consisted of NSAID’s, Opiates, Muscle Relaxants, Benzodiazepines, Sleep Aids and a antacid for reflux.

She was happy to report that since she started using medical marijuana she has not had to take one other medication! Cannabis use in the elderly is rapidly increasing. Elderly people socialize together and talk. As soon as she told all her friends at Leisure World about her success they are ready to sign up. READ ON…

Today I went to a celebration of the life of Heather Faith Beyer. She lost her battle with Breast Cancer last week at the age of 27. She was newly married and had everything in life going her way prior to being misdiagnosed/diagnosed. She had a great husband, family, was an Angels strike force team girl and had a love for life like you can’t imagine.

As I sat in the audience of 1000 or more people that Heather touched I was blown away by the message and lessons she left us.

Until the day she died, she had this incredible FAITH that Jesus Christ was her savior and that she was going to be in heaven with him. When everyone else was praying for a miracle, she thought “God will use me more in death than he ever could in life.”

I pass this message to you as a testament to her faith. No matter what hand God deals you in life, the gift of Christ is that he will be there to walk along side you. There is no greater gift than the peace that comes with knowing you are destined to be in heaven with Him. Nothing else matters.

As you read this, I want you to think about what you would do if you knew you were going to die in 24 hours. Who would you call? What would you visit? Who would you hug and cry with? Really focus on that and think about it.

NOW GO AND DO IT! Our deaths can happen at any moment. One minute we are full of life and the next we are gone forever from this earth.

More importantly, ask Jesus what he wants out of your life. Reconcile His will with yours. Only then will you experience the full fruits of what you were put on earth to accomplish.

I was raised Catholic and never really considered these questions until I started asking them. Church was always a check in the box on Sunday. I am glad that God put people like Heather in my life to show me that there is so much more for me on earth.

Today I took care of a 61 year old male who was diagnosed with Erythromelalgia, also known as Mitchell’s Disease, who suffered from extreme pain. For the past year he has been using medical marijuana to treat his pain with “excellent results”.

I first noticed this patient because he was sitting in my waiting room with no shoes or socks on and his feet up on the coffee table which seemed a little odd until I saw his feet and then understood. To see a picture of what I witnessed and what someone who suffers with this disease has to deal with READ ON…

Yesterday in Long Beach I evaluated a 37 year old black women with the diagnosis of systemic sclerosis. She came to me because she had tried medical marijuana 3 times over the previous month to treat chronic daily pain and had a significant reduction in her symptoms.

She explained that she had been using “everything under the sun” to treat her joint and muscle pain but marijuana gave her the most relief. In addition she happy that there are significantly less sever side effects of using marijuana vs optiats and NSAID’s.

READ ON…

Almost all of my patients ask me which type of medical marijuana they should use to treat their specific complaint. If you were to walk into dispensary you will probably have the option to try one of 30 different strains of medical marijuana. Which one is right for you? In this post I am going to try and give you a general idea of how to approach picking the correct marijuana strain. READ ON…