Posted on 02/06/2023 6:27:53 AM PST by NautiNurse
People who use cannabis may need more anesthesia during procedures, but many remain wary of mentioning their habit
There’s a surprising side effect of a marijuana habit that many people don’t know: Regular users may need more anesthesia during medical procedures to remain sedated.
As more states allow people to smoke pot and eat edibles legally, more doctors say they are asking about marijuana use—and urging honesty—before surgeries or procedures because habitual users may need more anesthesia and painkillers. In one study, people who reported they used cannabis required more anesthesia than people who didn’t use it.
“It’s incredibly important to disclose your cannabis use to your anesthesiologist,” says Staci Gruber, director of the Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery (MIND) program at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., who co-wrote a recent study in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry looking at interactions between cannabis and other drugs.
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It isn’t clear if the anesthesia complication is largely limited to people who use THC, the main psychoactive component of marijuana and what causes the high, or also extends to people who take cannabidiol, or CBD.
[Snip]
Some patients who were regular cannabis users needed two to three times the normal amount of the anesthetic propofol to stay under, he says. He and others in his practice also had to start adding other drugs sometimes used in sedation such as fentanyl and ketamine to maintain sedation for patients who were becoming restless during oral surgeries.
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Research on cannabis is scant, and often relies on self-reports, which aren’t always reliable.
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(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Remember: Your experience is an anecdote.
Can’t recall meeting a pothead who was an over-achiever.
Elon has done ok....
I’d say using it once a month is “regular”.
Guess this is like the fact when you use drugs, you get too used to them. MJ is a depressant, so the effects of another are not enough anymore?
Anyway, who can put up the “ha ha” Nelson sign?
And always have a bag of Doritos handy in the OR.
There you go. I’ve never met Elon Musk. Then again, Elon is an exception to more things than cannabis consumption.
Ha! Don’t know too many oral surgeons who will interrupt a procedure to suppress munchies. Too messy.
Golly! People who use narcotics need more narcotics to have the same effect? Excuse me, but as a long-term dope smoker, I’m skeptical. How much dope does one need to smoke in order to be considered a ‘chronic user?’How much anesthesia is considered normal for a person? How high does one need to get in order to be considered high? These seem very subjective and as such vulnerable to bias.
We need studies, lots and lots of studies confirming this claim before I can accept it. That’s because I suspect you have an agenda: you’re trying to institutionalize sobriety.
Sorry dude, don’t pass the pipe around ... not inhaling!
LOL--pothead observation skills. Check out definition in Post #1. As for anesthesia, there are well documented drug dosage ranges by body weight, liver function, etc. That's why anesthesiologists go to school for so many years.
Institutionalize sobriety? Not even close, but I can think of some ETOH and dope addicts who might benefit from withdrawal and rehab.
but I can think of some ETOH and dope addicts
Lots of MDs and RNs at AA and NA meetings, just saying .
Not sure what point you are trying to make. Plenty of high stress careers have people who get addicted to mind altering substances. You fault these people for getting help via AA and NA? Why?
Drug tolerance, requiring larger doses to achieve the same effect, is a well studied and documented phenomenon. If you are a long term user it’s very likely that you have to smoke more to achieve whatever result you seek. It’s basic science.
How did I fault them? Read into things much ? Lol
Then share your point for the post. Just sayin’.
WOW! Far Out! More anesthesia, wow, far out..............
Imagine how far he could have gone if he eschewed the weed.
LOL
I got off “the farm” 41 years ago. Doctor told me to ALWAYS make anesthesiologists aware of my alcoholism and addictions whether I was clean and sober or had relapsed.
That being said, I always enjoy these threads as I get lessons on disingenuousness and passive aggression. Nobody beats a FReeper at these two endeavors. 🤕
With the growing acceptance of THC as a recreational drug, I expect a lot more is going to be learned about the effects.
Sort of like how a chronic alcoholic needs different pain killers.
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