Are you supposed to tell your doctor if you smoke weed?

[Portasaurus]

Always wondered if you're supposed to tell your doc if you enjoy dope or not.

I figure this community is probably a good place to ask for real-life experience with this dilemma.

I've attached a poll to help collect the responses. I briefly considered adding a "Bush smoked some asmag before knocking down T1 and T2" option, but then people would just vote for that and effectively not answer the poll. So yeah.

Thanks for your input!

[loramin]

I do all the time (and not just to the doc who gives me my weed prescription).

Let me put it like this:

A) the doc is bound by law (patient confidentiality) not to tell anyone (unless maybe it's a felony or something ... not sure about the details, but don't tell your doc you deal heroin and you'll be fine)
B) would you want to die because you didn't tell your doctor about a drug that interferes with the one he just prescribed to you? (not sure such a drug even exists, but I'd rather be safe than sorry)

Usually when I tell the doc it's because he/she asked "Do you smoke", and when I reply "Just weed" they laugh and move on to the next question.

[Big_Japan]

Pro tip: there is virtually nothing useful medically about knowing someone smokes weed. If you're going in for respiratory or psychosomatic problems, or you're older with cardiovascular issues, then maybe at that point. But you shouldn't be smoking weed daily at that point, you fucking degenerate.

Telling your doc you use drugs is wayyyy more likely to affect his judgment in prescribing drugs with abuse potential than to improve the care you get.

And if you think that shit stored in electronic medical records is actually confidential I've got a bridge to sell ya.

[Swish]

Just finish with "snitches get stitches" and you'll be good.

[khanable]

Don't lie to your doctor or your lawyer

Everyone else is fair game

[Greegon]

yeah... don't tell your doctor you smoke weed while it's still illegal, unless you're there about lung problems.

lollol, ur info ain't private dawg

[Darkatar]

If your doc has a problem with you smoking weed (excluding the fact you're inhaling plant matter combustion byproducts) you should get a new doc.

You should probably tell him if you're taking any meds, especially if you take respiratory meds. He's your doctor, not the police.

[myriverse]

Don't lie to your doctor or your lawyer

Everyone else is fair game
Yes. It's important that a doctor know these things for diagnoses.

Just know that the Feds do not recognize doctor-patient confidentiality. Generally, it's an ethics thing, not a legal one, but many jurisdictions do honour it, as long as there's no threat to others.

[Skittlez]

Pro tip: there is virtually nothing useful medically about knowing someone smokes weed. If you're going in for respiratory or psychosomatic problems, or you're older with cardiovascular issues, then maybe at that point. But you shouldn't be smoking weed daily at that point, you fucking degenerate.

Telling your doc you use drugs is wayyyy more likely to affect his judgment in prescribing drugs with abuse potential than to improve the care you get.

And if you think that shit stored in electronic medical records is actually confidential I've got a bridge to sell ya.

Spoken like a true addict.

[feanan]

If you want the fact that you smoke pot to be permanently in an electronic file somewhere that the government has access to...than yes.

[2pacalypse]

the amount of submission to perceived medical authority in this thread is pretty comical. Do some research on marijuana drug interactions; they don't exist outside of subjective effects when taking antipsychotics.

It's useless information and exposes you to the potential prejudices of the doc, altering his prescribing practices not on the basis of proper medical care but out of liability management. This effect can be overt or hidden; extant or not. Medicine is a business first, and it has to function within the Empire. It's a political reality related to the drug war and is less of a problem in some US states than in others, so your mileage may indeed vary.

When you start to feel sick the first confounding variable you need to remove is drug use. I don't really get how you could need to say to a doc that you smoke weed unless you're a degenerate daily weedsmoker who is allowing addiction to fuck with his health. If you're not at that point, why would you choose to have this datapoint added to your NSA file?

[loramin]

Thread summary:

If you are a paranoid conspiracy theorist who thinks that doctors are part of a great Orwellian apparatus designed to screw you if given even the slightest opportunity ... don't tell your doc.

If on the other hand you have a sane, rational world view, then you have absolutely nothing to be afraid of so you should tell your doctor.

Meanwhile, those of us who have actually done exactly that are still waiting for the black helicopters to come take us away.

[Swish]

http://www.inquisitr.com/wp-content/2010/07/smoke-weed-every-day.jpg

[Millburn]

B) would you want to die because you didn't tell your doctor about a drug that interferes with the one he just prescribed to you? (not sure such a drug even exists, but I'd rather be safe than sorry)

I agree with you but it should be noted that doctors generally aren't aware of potential prescription contraindications. If anything this is an argument to tell your pharmacist you smoke weed. :P

[Sajuuk]

I love how someone could have a full time career, went to college, never got in trouble with the law, didnt leech using their parents money while a job was attained, have decent relationships and social life, but if I smoke weed everyday im degenerate. Such narrow minded people. I dont understand... maybe Im too high... too much kei...

To OP, might as well tell them, no one really cares. The government is not going after you and a current/future job wont know you told a doctor you smoke the whacky tobaccy.

[Kimm Bare|y]

I was honest. Dr. was nonjudgmental while listing the risks/consequences and offered suggestions to improve my health.

[Locust Abortion]

I think it really depends on your doctor. It also depends on where you live.

[apio]

If you smoke pot for a very long time it can cause you to be more resistant to opiate based anesthetics. As someone who once woke up in the middle of his lung surgery, I suggest you tell your Anesthesist about it when you go in for the pre surgery Q&A. There is a reason they ask you this kind of stuff.

In any other case I would probably keep it to myself

[Sidelle]

If you smoke pot for a very long time it can cause you to be more resistant to opiate based anesthetics. As someone who once woke up in the middle of his lung surgery, I suggest you tell your Anesthesist about it when you go in for the pre surgery Q&A. There is a reason they ask you this kind of stuff.

In any other case I would probably keep it to myself
Not trying to derail thread but that happened to me too.

I woke up while still on the operating table during abdominal surgery. Thankfully it was at the tail end of things. It was the most horrible experience and I'll never forget it. I was completely paralyzed, still intubated, and couldn't even groan. These two nurses were chit-chatting as they practically did a "1... 2 ... 3..." and flung my ass roughly off the operating table and onto a gurney and it hurt like nothing I can remember in my life. One of the women finally noticed my eyelash flutter or something (I remember desperately trying to open my eyes) and she goes, "um, I thought I saw her eye move" or something similarly stupid. Then someone finally mentioned my elevated heart rate.

Took the bitches long enough to figure it out...

I later got a blood infection and abdominal abcesses. I think it was a problem with an antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Almost died. Spent 3 months in that hellhole hospital. Took another few months at home to put some weight back on and get strong again. Even with youth on your side this sort of shit can happen to anyone, by the way.

Anyway... let's just say I've had some very bad luck with the medical community in Buttf--k, Pennsylvania. Would rather die at home at this point than go back to that hospital for anything. Ever.

[2pacalypse]

I love how someone could have a full time career, went to college, never got in trouble with the law, didnt leech using their parents money while a job was attained, have decent relationships and social life, but if I smoke weed everyday im degenerate. Such narrow minded people. I dont understand... maybe Im too high... too much kei...

To OP, might as well tell them, no one really cares. The government is not going after you and a current/future job wont know you told a doctor you smoke the whacky tobaccy.

take a good hard look at quoted post if you think the justifications for calling you degenerate are too thin

[Pookieson]

Tell your doctor everything.

The only exception to this is if you plan on being in the military or working for any contractor which needs DoD clearance, particularly ones which require higher clearance levels. Examples would be military officer, any job which operates in a government DoD/DoE national lab, or working for contractors such as SpaceX, Ratheon, Northrop and Grumman(sp?), etc.

You of course have the option of lying at the stage of background checking, but it is better to have kept your friends/doctors/neighbors in the dark if you are going down this road. And yes, they really do get in touch with your friends and knock on neighbors doors, etc. asking about you if the clearance is high enough.

However, outside of this small band of careers you have no reason to lie. The government doesnt give a fuck if you smoke weed. The NSA is less interested in your actual details and more interested in having them if they should ever need to pull you up. If youve gotten to the point which the NSA is pulling your file, your fucked anyway. Having pothead on your profile wont matter.

[Swish]

http://i.imgur.com/XEY5rWo.gif