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…

Today at my Irvine office I evaluated a 51 year old women who wanted an evaluation to see if medical marijuana could provide relief for some of the symptoms she has been experience as a result of menopause. Specifically she had been suffering from severe hot flashes which caused secondary insomnia. As a result of not being able to sleep well she was “always tired” during the day. Her ob/gyn had tried prescribing paxil and ambien to help relieve her symptoms but the side effects were worse than what she was trying to relieve. A few weeks back a friend of hers that had a medical marijuana card for chronic pain gave her some marijuana to try to improve her sleep. The results “were amazing” she told me.

As medical director for Medical Cannabis of Southern California I frequently evaluate women who suffer from the symptoms of perimenopause. Fortunately cannabis can be a great alternative treatment for many of the symptoms women experience during this time.