A doctor has warned that cannabis smokers should be completely honest with their anaesthetist if they ever have to have surgery – and honestly, this is a piece of advice worth taking.
You can see what the expert has to say about it in the video below.
It’s only a short video, but it’s a good piece of information to have.
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Basically, if you’re someone who smokes weed habitually, then you will probably need to have more anaesthetic than someone else in order to get you out for your operation and - crucially - to stay out.
Waking up during surgery sounds genuinely like one of the all-time worst experiences that a person could have.
It’s nightmare fuel.
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Anyway, this vital piece of information was shared by TikTok doctor Kunal Sood MD, who wrote: “Did you know if you do cannabis (marijuana) long term you will require a higher dose of anaesthesia to achieve the same effect.
“Make sure you tell your anaesthesiologist if you smoke or consume cannabis.”
And there’s plenty to back up the doctor’s opinion, as well.
On the website for Harvard Health, they also implored cannabis users to tell their doctor about their use before going down for surgery, encouraging people to get past the fact that they might not want to discuss it.
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In an article on the subject, they recommended: “Because marijuana has a variety of effects on the body and on anaesthesia [sic] medicines, it is crucial that anyone undergoing a preoperative evaluation disclose their marijuana use.
“Don’t worry that your anaesthesiologist [sic] is judging you. That’s not our job!
“Our job is to understand your health and body in order to provide you with the safest and most pain-free procedure.”
The piece continues: “Since marijuana and anaesthesia both affect the central nervous system, people who use marijuana regularly may need different amounts of anaesthesia medicines.
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“In order to know which medicines and how much to use, your doctor needs to know ahead of time how much and how often you use marijuana."
“Regular users of marijuana generally need larger doses of anaesthesia medicines in order to achieve the same degree of sedation.
“If you don’t tell your anaesthesiologist how much marijuana you smoke, he or she may underestimate how much anaesthesia will be needed for you to ‘go to sleep’ and stay asleep during your procedure.”
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There you have it - this is exactly why you need to tell your doctor about these sorts of things before you get ready for surgery.
You’ll thank them afterwards when you have had the procedure and not woken up right in the middle of it.
Tom Wood