3 ms·

Off topic, but I was diagnosed with ADHD about 10 years ago, been taking methylphenidate ER ever since. Throughout the years I have had over ten different docto

by zxcvcxz 12y ago

Off topic, but I was diagnosed with ADHD about 10 years ago, been taking methylphenidate ER ever since. Throughout the years I have had over ten different doctors at the same location and I informed each doctor that I was a marijuana user. Recently my latest doctor decided to drug test me, before asking any questions about my usage or even looking at my file he stated he would no longer prescribe me my medicine because I use marijuana and "those two don't interact well together". When I repeatedly asked him to back up his opinion with actual evidence (studies), he repeatedly refused. He would not even explain the reaction that marijuana had with ADHD medication. After less than three minutes I was asked to leave his office. No discussion about my condition was allowed. I'm aware that the doctors opinion is what goes and he has all the power, but I feel I've been wronged. I really need this medicine and it's probably does more harm to kick me off cold turkey without even looking at my file than to let me smoke marijuana with it, and I feel that his opinion is based more on politics than rigorous medical study. I have a feeling if I was an alcohol drinker he would have no problem. So it goes.

jp555 12y ago
That is strange. My doctor finds no problem with my cannabis consumption while taking methylphenidate. I don't find they interact in a negative way, however I find too much coffee + methylphenidate is very counter productive. The caffine stimulation seems to totally overwhelm the focused stimulation of the methylphenidate, and not in a good way.
snarfy 12y ago
> I'm aware that the doctors opinion is what goes and he has all the power, but I feel I've been wronged. He actually has little power. You can go to a different doctor. There are many people that abuse this fact, e.g. keep switching doctors until they find one that prescribes them painkillers, but in your case it sounds perfectly valid. You have ten other opinions that think it's perfectly fine to combine your meds.
- zxcvcxz 12y ago
  The problem is that I go to a mental-health center and because of my financial situation they only charge me three dollars a visit. I'm going to look for other doctors, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to find another health center willing to work with poor people. We'll see..
userbinator 12y ago
and I feel that his opinion is based more on politics than rigorous medical study. He might also be worrying about the chance that if something bad did happen, he could be in a lot of trouble. In general, doctors can be quite risk-averse.
mej10 12y ago
Get a new doctor.
- jdefr89 12y ago
  Great advice. "I am going to doctor shop until I find someone who gives me the pills I want..." No..
  - mej10 12y ago
    Here is what OP said: > After less than three minutes I was asked to leave his office. No discussion about my condition was allowed. You have to be able to discuss anything about your health with your doctor. This is simply unacceptable behavior from the doctor and means s/he should find a new one.
  - DanBC 12y ago
    It is good advice. You should be able to be honest with your doctor and they need to be honest with you. If my dr said cannabis had adverse interactions with one of my meds I'd expect to see any one of NICE guidance[1], or a BNF (British National Formulary) or MIMS (Medical Information Monthly) or similar reference, or at least some study showing a link. [1] see the errata on the front page of the NICE guidance for schizophrenia which talks about hydrocarbons from cigarretes. http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg178 http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg178
  - facetube 12y ago
    When you structure your health system as a marketplace full of competing for-profit health care providers, don't be surprised when consumers start shopping.
jdefr89 12y ago
I think what he is getting at is marijuana may be the reason you cannot focus well. I don't think a study needs to be done to show using marijuana can have a negative impact on your short term memory and attention span.
- zxcvcxz 12y ago
  Marijuana helps me concentrate though. It slows down my thoughts enough to let me process them. I would have gladly accepted this answer from him, but he refused to talk about it. I live in a state where marijuana is highly illegal and having a prescription back up actually allows me to smoke less marijuana. I typically only smoke at the end of the day when the methylphenidate is worn off and if a I take another I can't sleep. I don't think that there is any real evidence that marijuana lessens the effects of methylphenidate (certainly no studies) or has any interaction with it at all. The main thing I'm upset about is that there was no discussion allowed. He has no idea of what my usage habits are or why I use.
takeda 12y ago
After quick search [1][2][3] I'm not surprised your doctor was hesitant, if something would happen to you he would be the first to be sued and possibly lose his license. You still have option to go to a different doctor who is willing to take that risk. If taking the drug is important to you, what about not taking the drug with marihuana? [1] http://ritalinaddictioninfo.com/addiction-information/dangers-of-combining-marijuana-and-ritalin/ http://ritalinaddictioninfo.com/addiction-information/danger... [2] https://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=96384 https://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=96384 [3] http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46740 http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46740
- zxcvcxz 12y ago
  [1] >A person who abuses Ritalin and combines the drug with marijuana is likely to make very poor choices, such as increasing the dose of Ritalin or combining it with other, more dangerous drugs. This is pretty much the only risk they state. That I might get so out of it I start mixing more drugs with it. There are no sources on the site either. The name of the site is also "ritalin addiction". Ritalin is not even known to be highly addictive, but if it is, isn't it more dangerous to abruptly cut off my (high) dose of the extended releases form of Ritalin (concerta) that I've been taking continuously for nearly ten years? [2] the user snorted the methylphenidate. I don't snort pills or anything else. [3] anecdotal. If you read the thread the user was inexperienced with marijuana and it sounds to me like they may have had a panic-attack. If my doctor tried to use any of this as "evidence" to support his claim, he would not have had to ask me to leave. I totally agree that there could be some danger, but what I'm really upset about was the fact that he wouldn't allow a discussion about my condition at all or explain the dangers. I would argue the risks of abruptly quitting concerta out weigh the risk of lowering my dose and having a discussion about the risks and giving me the chance to choose to quit smoking marijuana over the next month. since we're linking to unscientific studies, here is one that supports my claim that quitting a high dosage of methylphenidate abruptly is a bad strategy: >3. Cold Turkey vs. Tapering >How did you quit Ritalin? Did you abruptly stop and quit cold turkey or did you conduct a gradual taper? Many people can quit “cold turkey” without noticing much of anything. Others who quit cold turkey have a very difficult time coping with the severity of withdrawal. It is usually best to conduct a gradual taper by slowly reducing your dose over a period of weeks (or months in more long term users). >The more gradually you taper, the easier it will be for your brain and body to readapt to functioning without the drug. By tapering you are giving your body and brain increments of time to adjust to functioning with reductions of your Ritalin dose. If at any time during tapering you notice severe symptoms that are difficult to cope with, you may want to taper at an even more gradual rate. http://mentalhealthdaily.com/2014/06/25/ritalin-methylphenidate-withdrawal-symptoms-duration/ http://mentalhealthdaily.com/2014/06/25/ritalin-methylphenid...

by zxcvcxz 12y ago

jp555 12y ago

That is strange. My doctor finds no problem with my cannabis consumption while taking methylphenidate. I don't find they interact in a negative way, however I find too much coffee + methylphenidate is very counter productive. The caffine stimulation seems to totally overwhelm the focused stimulation of the methylphenidate, and not in a good way.

snarfy 12y ago

> I'm aware that the doctors opinion is what goes and he has all the power, but I feel I've been wronged. He actually has little power. You can go to a different doctor. There are many people that abuse this fact, e.g. keep switching doctors until they find one that prescribes them painkillers, but in your case it sounds perfectly valid. You have ten other opinions that think it's perfectly fine to combine your meds.

zxcvcxz 12y ago
The problem is that I go to a mental-health center and because of my financial situation they only charge me three dollars a visit. I'm going to look for other doctors, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to find another health center willing to work with poor people. We'll see..

userbinator 12y ago

and I feel that his opinion is based more on politics than rigorous medical study. He might also be worrying about the chance that if something bad did happen, he could be in a lot of trouble. In general, doctors can be quite risk-averse.

mej10 12y ago

Get a new doctor.

jdefr89 12y ago
Great advice. "I am going to doctor shop until I find someone who gives me the pills I want..." No..
- mej10 12y ago
  Here is what OP said: > After less than three minutes I was asked to leave his office. No discussion about my condition was allowed. You have to be able to discuss anything about your health with your doctor. This is simply unacceptable behavior from the doctor and means s/he should find a new one.
- DanBC 12y ago
  It is good advice. You should be able to be honest with your doctor and they need to be honest with you. If my dr said cannabis had adverse interactions with one of my meds I'd expect to see any one of NICE guidance[1], or a BNF (British National Formulary) or MIMS (Medical Information Monthly) or similar reference, or at least some study showing a link. [1] see the errata on the front page of the NICE guidance for schizophrenia which talks about hydrocarbons from cigarretes. http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg178 http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg178
- facetube 12y ago
  When you structure your health system as a marketplace full of competing for-profit health care providers, don't be surprised when consumers start shopping.

jdefr89 12y ago

I think what he is getting at is marijuana may be the reason you cannot focus well. I don't think a study needs to be done to show using marijuana can have a negative impact on your short term memory and attention span.

zxcvcxz 12y ago
Marijuana helps me concentrate though. It slows down my thoughts enough to let me process them. I would have gladly accepted this answer from him, but he refused to talk about it. I live in a state where marijuana is highly illegal and having a prescription back up actually allows me to smoke less marijuana. I typically only smoke at the end of the day when the methylphenidate is worn off and if a I take another I can't sleep. I don't think that there is any real evidence that marijuana lessens the effects of methylphenidate (certainly no studies) or has any interaction with it at all. The main thing I'm upset about is that there was no discussion allowed. He has no idea of what my usage habits are or why I use.

takeda 12y ago

After quick search [1][2][3] I'm not surprised your doctor was hesitant, if something would happen to you he would be the first to be sued and possibly lose his license. You still have option to go to a different doctor who is willing to take that risk. If taking the drug is important to you, what about not taking the drug with marihuana? [1] http://ritalinaddictioninfo.com/addiction-information/dangers-of-combining-marijuana-and-ritalin/ http://ritalinaddictioninfo.com/addiction-information/danger... [2] https://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=96384 https://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=96384 [3] http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46740 http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46740

zxcvcxz 12y ago
[1] >A person who abuses Ritalin and combines the drug with marijuana is likely to make very poor choices, such as increasing the dose of Ritalin or combining it with other, more dangerous drugs. This is pretty much the only risk they state. That I might get so out of it I start mixing more drugs with it. There are no sources on the site either. The name of the site is also "ritalin addiction". Ritalin is not even known to be highly addictive, but if it is, isn't it more dangerous to abruptly cut off my (high) dose of the extended releases form of Ritalin (concerta) that I've been taking continuously for nearly ten years? [2] the user snorted the methylphenidate. I don't snort pills or anything else. [3] anecdotal. If you read the thread the user was inexperienced with marijuana and it sounds to me like they may have had a panic-attack. If my doctor tried to use any of this as "evidence" to support his claim, he would not have had to ask me to leave. I totally agree that there could be some danger, but what I'm really upset about was the fact that he wouldn't allow a discussion about my condition at all or explain the dangers. I would argue the risks of abruptly quitting concerta out weigh the risk of lowering my dose and having a discussion about the risks and giving me the chance to choose to quit smoking marijuana over the next month. since we're linking to unscientific studies, here is one that supports my claim that quitting a high dosage of methylphenidate abruptly is a bad strategy: >3. Cold Turkey vs. Tapering >How did you quit Ritalin? Did you abruptly stop and quit cold turkey or did you conduct a gradual taper? Many people can quit “cold turkey” without noticing much of anything. Others who quit cold turkey have a very difficult time coping with the severity of withdrawal. It is usually best to conduct a gradual taper by slowly reducing your dose over a period of weeks (or months in more long term users). >The more gradually you taper, the easier it will be for your brain and body to readapt to functioning without the drug. By tapering you are giving your body and brain increments of time to adjust to functioning with reductions of your Ritalin dose. If at any time during tapering you notice severe symptoms that are difficult to cope with, you may want to taper at an even more gradual rate. http://mentalhealthdaily.com/2014/06/25/ritalin-methylphenidate-withdrawal-symptoms-duration/ http://mentalhealthdaily.com/2014/06/25/ritalin-methylphenid...