I went on to explain to her that I have treated hundreds of patients going through chemotherapy and that I expected her to do very well.    She can expect: 1. Less pain 2. Less nausea 3. better sleep 4. Improved appetite and hopefully 5. An improved mood.

Most patients will stop their narcotics all together.   They also stop taking any sleeping pills or antiemetics (anti-nasuea pills).   Most oncologists acknowledge the benefits of using medical marijuana but few are willing to recommend it to their patients.   This patients oncologist was compassionate enough to give her a direct referral to my clinics.

I expect that she will do well.   There is a great dispensary in Long Beach called Herbal Solutions that will take the time to find a strain that works best for her.  Even though she is 77 years old I anticipate that she will be able to use the vaporizer without difficulty.

Lastly, all of our prayers are with her and her husband as they go through this difficult time.   Expect a miracle!!

If you are a patient who suffers from insomnia I would like to give you some alternatives to try if you are not a fan of medical marijuana.

1. Melatonin:  before you skip to the next suggestion you must read this.   Many patients try over the counter Melatonin and say that it does not work.   The typical dose is 3mg.   The problem with over the counter melatonin is that it is not sustained release and has a very short half life.    Secondly, ver the counter products have no standardization which means the dosing can vary and you have no idea how many milligrams you are actually getting.   They are typically NOT micronized and have poor absorption.   Lastly, the ingredients can be contaminated because you ahve no idea where they are being sourced from.

Melatonin should only be used if it comes from a compounded pharmacy.  This insures perfect accuracy in the dose and guaranteed to have no contaminants.   It should also be a micronized (broken down to tiny particles for better absorption) and in a sustained release formula (has a longer half life and lasts through the night).  The typical starting dose is 3mg for men and 1mg for women.   You simply go up by 1mg per night until you find the dose that works.   If you wake up feeling groggy than simply take it 2 hours prior to going to sleep.  Typically doses are between 9-12 mg/night and in some cases up to 30mg.  So it is no surprise that the over the counter products do not work well.

It is very safe and actually extremely good for you.   It is normally secreted by the Pineal Gland in the brain.  It was anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.   There are no adverse effects other than the potential for morning grogginess.   Check with you doctor before you start.

2. Turn it off and shut em down!  How many of you take your iPhone into bed and search the net for a few hours.  How about having the TV on in front of you?   Laptop?      Melatonin is what is secreted and starts you sleep cycle when you go to bed.  However melatonin is inhibited or blocked by any light or stimulus.   Therefore, the room needs to be completely dark (pitch black) for you to enter your normal first stage of sleep.    The constant stimulation of the phone, computer and TV disrupts this natural rhythm and makes it very difficult to maintain a normal sleep cycle.  Only two things should happen in the bed room! Sex and Sleep.

If you can accomplish #2 and try #1 many of you would sleep much better.

Many patients are not aware that they even qualify to use medical marijuana.  In California, there are over 150 different indications to recommend marijuana but the most common reasons people get recommendations for are:

1. Chronic Pain: for things like arthritis, headaches, back pain, dental pain etc.

2. Sleep disorders: primary insomnia to anxiety related sleep disorders.

3. Nausea, Vomiting or Lack of appetite for any reason.

4. Chronic anxiety in patients that do not want to take xanax or valium.

5. Har reduction for people who are addicted to opioids.

If you are wondering if you would qualify to use medical marijuana feel free to pre-qualify for free on our homepage or call our professional staff at 877-721-0047

In this patient he was actually on a 27 hour sleep cycle.    This means that there are times where 1 in the afternoon feels like 1 in the morning.   Obviously it was very disruptive to his daily life and makes it very difficult for him to function at work with massive amounts of caffeine during the day and heavily sedating drugs at night.

Unfortunately caffeine has a ton of bad consequense and this patient was becoming addicted to sleeping pills.   Specifically, he was using more and more temazepam which is a benzodiazepine medication (like valium).   He came to me in search of a potential alternative.

His sleep specialist told him that he may benefit from a trial of medical marijuana.  There is more research coming out that says that indica strains that are higher in cannabinol (CBD) and lower in tertahydrocannabinol (THC) are more sedating than traditional sativa based marijuana strains.   They tend to be less psychoactive and more sedating.  Therefore patients do not get the intense head high but instead a “body relaxation” effect.

Although I have yet to see any major studies that have compared different strains of medical marijuana I do not that patients report different effects when they use indica versus sativa strains.    Much more research has to be done in order to get an answer that will undergo the rigors of scientific scrutiny but until the federal governement re-schedules marijuana it will most likely NOT happen in the United States.

Stay tuned and continue to petition your politicians to put pressure on the government to allow the safe and funded research of medical marijuana.

At the end of my blog I include a basic patient handout that goes the basics about the disease.     My goal is to educate patients on the various uses of medical marijuana to treat a variety of diseases and symptoms.

In this case, my patient was able to stop 4 different medications as a result of using medical marijuana.

1. Tertabenazine:  he had been using this to control his chorea (involuntary muscle movements caused by damage to neurons. For example patients may flex their arms uncontrollably).   This medication also cause him to be nauseous and gave him occasional diarrhea.    Cannabinoids (medically active ingredient in the plant) are known to reduce muscle spasm.   I have seen it used in epileptic patients successfully to reduce the incidence of seizures.   In this case his involuntary movements were kept to a minimum by using an edible in the morning.   He preferred indica strains for this symptom.

2. Ambien: because he was in a wheel chair most of the day he had a lot of muscle soreness and made falling asleep very difficult.    He can now use medical marijuana instead of ambien to fall alsleep at night.  Typically he uses 2 doses of a indica dominant hybrid using a vaporizer 45 minutes prior to lying down.   He says that he now falls asleep within 20 minutes (on avg) of putting his head on his pillow.

3. Ibuprofen:  he used to use a lot of ibuprofen to regulate arthritis and muscle soreness from physical atrophy and being in a wheelchair.    The same edible he uses in the morning to control his chorea also eliminates his need for taking Ibuprofen.   We know that cannabinoids, specifically cannbinol (CBD), has potent anti-inflammatory effects on the body.   Growers of medical marijuana are trying to create high CBD strains to reduce inflammation while also lowering THC levels to limit the psychoactive effects.

4.  Anxiety:  patients with Huntington Disease, or any chronic debilitating disease for that matter, typically suffer from some level of depression and anxiety.    He has been able to stop xanax completely as a result of that same morning edible.

It is pretty humbling as a western trained physician to see patients eliminate 4 FDA approved drugs by using one simple plant.   It really does improve the overall quality of my patients lives.   Less money spent on drugs, fewer drug related side effects and a renewed feeling of being in charge of their lives again.

BASIC PATIENT INFORMATION:

What is Huntington disease? — Huntington disease is a disorder that causes people to move in odds ways and that can affect their mood and the way they think. In people with Huntington disease, nerve cells in a part of the brain die. The disease is passed on in families. If your mother or father has Huntington disease, you have a 50-50 chance of having it, too.

People with Huntington disease usually start to show symptoms between the ages of 40 and 60. Some people show symptoms much earlier.

What are the symptoms of Huntington disease? — The symptoms can include:

• Movements that you can’t control in the face, trunk, arms, or legs
• Feeling depressed, anxious, irritable, angry, or like you don’t care about anything
• Trouble interacting with other people
• Seeing or believing in things that are not there (called hallucinations)
• Trouble thinking clearly and forgetting things
• Weight loss

At first, the symptoms may be very slight, but they slowly get worse over time.

People with Huntington disease are at risk of suicide. If you feel sad or depressed, talk to your doctor or nurse about it. There are often treatments that can help.

Is there a test for Huntington disease? — Yes. There is a blood test to check for the gene that causes Huntington disease. Some people have this test before they show any symptoms. But if you are thinking of having this test, ask your doctor to send you to a genetic counselor before you have the test. A genetic counselor can help you learn about all the possible risks and benefits of having the test. For instance, a genetic counselor can help you find out:

• What the chances are that your kids will have Huntington disease
• How soon you might have symptoms, if the test shows you have the disease
• Whether you could have problems with insurance if the test shows you have the disease

How is Huntington disease treated? — There is a medicine that helps with the movement problems caused by Huntington disease. It is called tetrabenazine (sold as Xenazine®). If it doesn’t work, there are other medicines that can help with movement.

There are no medicines that deal with all the symptoms of Huntington disease. But there are lots of treatments to help with specific symptoms. For instance, people who are depressed or anxious can take depression and anxiety medicines. Likewise, people who see things that are not real can take medicines to deal with that problem.

People with Huntington disease sometimes also use walkers, wheelchairs, or other devices that can help them manage their problems. Plus, they sometimes work with physical or speech therapists to learn special exercises that can help them manage.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for Huntington disease. Most people die 10 to 30 years after the symptoms begin. If you have the disease, talk to your loved ones about the type of care you would like to have when you get really sick. That way they will know what to do, even if you become unable to speak for yourself.

What if I want to get pregnant? — Talk to your doctor nurse before you start trying to get pregnant. If you are taking medicines, you might need to switch to different medicines that are safer for a baby. You also might want to talk to a genetic counselor about the chances that any children you might have would develop Huntington disease.

I use medical marijuana twice per day.  Once when I wake up before I take my morning walk and once before I go to bed.  I no longer use motrin or vicodin to treat my pain.   I can finally sleep without having to take trazodone or ambien.

Medical marijuana provides me with the relief I need to enjoy the day.    Yoga, walking and more time with my grandchildren once again!

My name is Greg and I am a medical marijuana patient.   I am 47 years old and a father of 2 teenage daughters.   I just lost my job and have no idea how I am going to continue to pay my mortgage and support my family.   For the past 3 months I have not been able to fall asleep without taking 4 drinks of alcohol or pop an ambien.   My health is deteriorating.

A friend of mine recently convinced me to try medical marijuana.  For the first time in months I fell asleep and woke up feeling rested.   I use cannabis indica 30 minutes prior to going to bed and sleeping 8 hours per night.

Medical marijuana is giving me my life back.

My name is Paul and I am a medical marijuana patient.  I am a 27 year old high school math teacher who was diagnosed with testicular cancer.  I am right in the middle of chemotherapy treatment and surviving because of marijuana.

I vaporize 3 times per day to relieve the nausea and improve my appetite.   Although my oncologist would not recommend marijuana to me personally, he sent me to a doctor who would.  I want to thank my local dispensary for being so compassionate.   I know it will only be time before I start teaching again.  I miss my students!

My name is Jennifer and I am a medical marijuana patient.   I am a 20 year old student in my junior year at UC Irvine and suffer from migraine headaches.   When I get a migraine I am completely debilitated.  I can not attend class or study for exams.

The medications my doctors at Kaiser prescribe do not work.   I no longer can tolerate vicodin and imitrex only works occasionally.

Since using medical marijuana two times per week I have reduced the frequency of my headaches considerably.  When I get headaches marijuana allows me to fall right asleep and I wake up feeling much better.   Medical marijuana has been a Godsend in my life.

I will graduate on time!

Medical marijuana is not what you think it is.   Everyday people making educated decisions to take control of their health.

Find out today if you qualify to use medical marijuana to improve the quality of your life. 877-721-0047 or visit www.MCSoCal.com and pre-qualify for free.

Step 1: Determine if you have a qualifying diagnosis
Most patients think medical marijuana can only be recommended for dying patients or those with severe disabilities. In California, that is not the case. The most common reasons patients receive a medical marijuana card are:

a. Chronic Pain: any condition where chronic pain is a component can qualify. For example, back pain, joint pain, post-operative pain etc.

b. Muscle spasms: can be for many reasons but things like Multiple Sclerosis, Restless Legs Syndrome

c. Nausea and Poor Appetite

d. Insomnia and Anxiety

e. Mood disorders such as depression.

f. Inflammatory bowel disease including Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Crohns Disease and Ulcerative Colitis

***There are over 250 indications that we can recommend cannabis for. You can simply call our office and find out if your diagnosis will qualify. 877-721-0047

Step 2: Gather your medical documentation.
When you see a doctor for medical marijuana he will need to review your medical records and verify your diagnosis. You can simply contact your treating doctors office and ask that they release your medical records to you. They simply have you fill out a form.

Step 3: Locate a doctor that is specialized in recommending medical marijuana
Dr. Breen has extensive knowledge about the medicinal benefits of using marijuana and will be able to answer any questions you may have. Visit our website at www.MCSoCal.com and see our office locations in Irvine, CA and Long Beach, CA

Step 4: Simply bring in your documentation.
At your appointment Dr. Breen will review you medical records, go over all the benefits and risk of using medical marijuana, perform a physical exam and then determine if it is an appropriate treatment approach.

Step 5: Purchasing your Medicine at a Medical Marijuana Dispensary
Doctors are not allowed to provide you with the medical marijuana so you have to go to a local medical marijuana dispensary. You will need to bring your written recommendation signed by Dr. Breen They will make a copy of it and verify your eligibility by using our 24 hour online verification system. You can then purchase up to 8 ounces of medical marijuana.

The process is as simple as that. Dr. Breen and the staff of MCSoCal will make sure that all your questions are answered before your leave our office. We realize that for many patients this is a very new experience and can be nerve racking. We want to assure you that your doctors visit will be very professional and compassionate.

Thanks for visiting our site and reading our blog.

MCSoCal Staff

Dementia is becoming an epidemic in our society.   It is believed that 50% of patient 80 years old will develop dementia and/or Alzheimer’s.   Neurologists believe that this progressive disease can be traced back 30-40 years before the onset of symptoms.  Because of this they are starting to look at lifestyle and nutritional programs from a more preventative mindset.   There is no cure and very little great treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

Current Alzeimer’s treatments aim to increase the levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine by blocking a enzyme called cholinesterase.   This is exactly how the drug Aricept works.  Unfortunately these medications come with unwanted side effects and also are not curative.  At best it delays progression of symptoms 6-12 months.  The most common side effects of Aricept are:  Nausea, vomiting, lack of appetite, weight loss, insomnia and muscle cramps.

Medical marijuana works very well to combat these side effects.  In addition it is very calming.  Typically patients need 1 or 2 doses of an indica strain and they feel very relaxed.   I have treated elderly patients with excellent results.   To me this is one of the most exciting areas of cannabis research.

In addition to acetylcholine, Alzeimers patients have overactivity in the neurotransmitter glutamate (which is very excitatory).   Cannabis is a known antagonist of glutamate receptors, meaning it works to reduce its activity.   This is not well know in the medical community but is known in the literature.  This is very exciting for patients that have too much stimulation of glutamate in the brain.    For health care providers reading this, specifically cannabis blocks the AMPA receptor for glutamate.

Agitation and dementia in the elderly is becoming much more common as patients age.   Typical medications are often over sedating and do not work that well because of the side effect profiles.   I believe that medical marijuana is an excellent alternative to try.

For more information please feel free to contact me through my office at 877-721-0047.

Have a great day!

Be blessed,

Dr. Breen

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

…insomnia and decreased appetite.   These drugs work on the central nervous system by blocking the re-uptake of norepinephrine and dopamine (both sympathetic nervous system neurotransmitters).   Because they act to keep people hyper-vigilant and focused they come with a bunch of unwanted side effects.  The most commons side effects are:

1. Insomnia 2. Decreased Appetite 3. Dry Mouth 4. Nausea 5. Vomiting 6. Abdominal Pain 7. Diarrhea 8. Irritability 9. Headaches 10. dizziness 11. Anxiety

Listed are 11 common side effects which most patients do not want to deal with.  The problem is that these drugs are VERY effective at treating ADHD so most patients will experience significant improvement in productivity and ability to focus.   However they need help dealing with the side effects.

Today I had 3 patients coming in because of insomnia and poor appetite related to ADHD medications.  Medical marijuana is an outstanding option for the because 1. The correct strain of marijuana is very sedating and 2. Marijuana is an appetite stimulant.

Most patients only have to take one dose of an indica strain 30-60 minutes prior to going to bed.  They typically report falling asleep very quickly and also wake up feeling rested.  Contrast that to traditional sleeping pills like Ambien or Lunesta where patients wake up feeling extremely groggy.

In addition these patients feel like eating again.   Without proper nutrition no one is going to feel or be healthy.   Eating a well balanced diet is tantamount to feeling healthy.  I can not tell you how many patients skip breakfast and lunch because of these medications.   There is no way that they can live long healthy lives with dinner as their first meal of the day.

Physicians really need to pay attention to side effects of the medications they commonly prescribe.   Many times patients complaints are a direct result of drugs they have been prescribed.

If you have ADHD and are one of these medications and would like to explore using medical marijuana to combat the side effects feel free to give my office a call at 877-721-0047 or visit us online at www.mcsocal.com and pre-qualify for free.

Be blessed,

Dr. Breen

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…

I can not tell you how many patients come in to see me every day with his same story.   The economy is affected peoples health adversely.   The reason he wanted to try medical marijuana is that the Xanax made him too groggy in the morning and he has been drinking more than usual in the evenings.   He recently read of an NHL hockey player (Derek Boogard-New York Rangers) who overdosed on xanax and alcohol and he became very afraid of the same thing happening to him.   His goal is to replace both the alcohol and xanax with medical marijuana in the evenings.   He admitted to using it sporadically for the past 2 months with excellent results.

The bottom line is that medical marijuana can be an excellent sedative for sleep and an excellent anxiolytic for anxiety.    If used in small amounts, patients can still function throughout the day without having to get “high” like back in the 1960′s.    If vaporized they do not have to expose themselves to any carcinogens or carbon monoxide.

As far as the strain, patients can pick which one works best for them.   Traditionally, indica strains are more sedating and less psychoactive (less “high”) than sativa strains because of the lower concentration of THC.     I recommend that patients try multiple strains to find the one that alleviates their symptoms the most and that they tolerate the best.

If you have questions regaring medical marijuana or would like to make an appointment feel free to contact me at 877-721-0047.

Be blessed,