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

Today in Irvine I had the pleasure of taking care of a 15 year old boy named Raymond who is in his 4th year of chemotherapy treatment for a cancer known as Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor (DSRCT). He came in with his Mom today because for the past 4 months he has been using cannabis to increase his appetite, reduce his nausea and vomiting and give him any respite from his cancer. Per his mother, “marijuana is the ONLY thing that gives him any relief and hope.”

Raymond’s oncologists would not recommend cannabis to him because of his age so they landed in my office as a side trip while visiting Disneyland for the first time. RAYMOND NEEDS GOD TO HEAR YOUR PRAYERS! READ ON…

Today in my Irvine clinic I took care of a 40 year old women named Janice who was diagnosed with breast cancer on August 2, 2010. About 2 months prior to that she noticed a “lump” in her right armpit (axilla). She went to her primary care physician to have it evaluated and he told “it’s definitely not cancer” and just to watch it for a month. Not convinced she went to a general surgeon who also told her “I don’t think it is cancer” but scheduled her for a needle biopsy to see exactly what it was. It turned out to be primary breast cancer which had metastasized to her lymph nodes. The reason why she came to see me is that the chemotherapy was causing her terrible nausea, lack of appetite and vomiting. She wanted to use medical marijuana to ease her suffering.

Recently I have taken care a handful of HIV+ patients who are taking the medication Atripla and also using medical marijuana to combat it’s side effect. HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a virus that attacks the bodies immune cells leaving the patients susceptible to infection. Treatment has come a long way and today patients can live practically normal life expectancies if they follow a medication regimen to keep the viral activity down and their immune cells up. Unfortunately many of these medications have severe side effects that affect a patients overall quality of life. Nausea, lack of appetite and weight loss are just a few of the ones I have been seeing patients for.

As medical director of Medical Cannabis of Southern California I often evaluate patients suffering from ADD/ADHD who are taking stimulants like Concerta and want a medical marijuana recommendation to combat its side effects. Today I evaluated a 21 year old male college student who had been taking Concerta for the past year but had to stop because it was causing a significant lack of appetite, weight loss and insomnia. These are very common complaints from patients who are treated with stimulants. Although he said he could focus slightly more the insomnia and lack of appetite was causing more difficulties than the ADHD itself. He had been using cannabis for the past month with excellent results and wanted to speak with me about getting a medical marijuana recommendation.

This morning in my Irvine CA office I had my annual follow up with a 22 year old female who came in last year as a result of severe Irritable Bowel Syndrome or commonly known as IBS. Her symptoms were severe nausea, lack of appetite and intermittent diarrhea. She explained that for past year her symptoms have improved tremendously. She has been medicating with a sativa strain twice per day and very rarely has nausea. Her appetite is greatly improved and she very rarely has any diarrhea.

Last week in my Irvine office I had a mother and her 18 year old daughter named Jhenna come in for a cannabis recommendation. Jhenna stated that she had been suffering from anorexia for the past 4 years. Her weight had plummeted to 94 lbs 12 months and she is 5’8″ tall. It started while pursuing a modeling career upon entering high school. Amazingly for the past year she has controlled her appetite and weight loss by medicating with cannabis on a daily basis.

Today in Irvine I had a 25 year old patient by the name of Naya. The reason why she is coming in is because a few weeks ago she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a cancer that effects the white blood cells called Lymphocytes. She is going to be starting chemotherapy shortly and is using cannabis for the nausea, pain and lack of appetite that comes from chemotherapy treatment. Cannabis is an amazing medication for cancer patients because it is the ONLY thing that will eliminate the nausea and improve a patients appetite. Unfortunately Naya is also 6 weeks pregnant and at the time of my appointment was losing her pregnancy due to her illness. So on top of dealing with a new diagnosis of cancer she is grieving the loss of her first child.

Today in my Irvine office I met with a pleasant 61 year old women who had estrogen receptor positive breast cancer and was currently undergoing treatment with the drug Femara (letrozole). Unfortunately it is causing severe nausea and decreasing her appetite.