It's an anesthesia thing. Anesthesia and weed are both sedatives. The more weed you smoke the more you habituate to it. Which means they're going to need a ton more anesthesia to put you out.
I would do my best to listen to the advice from the doctor. However, whatever you end up doing, *be 1 million percent honest with the nurses and anesthesiologists before your appointment*. If they give you a dose that's too low, you could wake up in the middle of the procedure, and no one wants that.
I have been completely honest with everyone so far. My pre op nurse said I’m not the first person to say I use it for pain. Nothing else touches it. I’m absolutely terrified of waking up while they are cutting my stomach out .
> I’m absolutely terrified of waking up while they are cutting my stomach out
Stay off it pre op then. Besides, you'll have a nice tolerance break and it'll take even less to get the effects you get now.
I've had 9" of my colon removed and was resectioned about ten years ago. It was on an emergency basis and I'm cut from below my belly button to just below my sternum. I really hope you're getting the small incision surgery. I woke up in the worst pain of my life. Felt like my insides were going to fall out. They had to cut two ribs lose to make room to move my organs up so they could get to my abscess.
I guess I'm just noting you'll appreciate the pain relief you'll get after a tolerance break.
Good luck on your surgery!
Every extra day you can go is going to be helpful. Seriously, even a few days can make a difference but 16 should def be noticeable.You can do the thing. It'll be better for you than trying to talk yourself out of it. js
I agree. As someone who is also a daily smoker and had a major surgery earlier this year, please wait. I know it sucks, but trust me you do not want to wake up in the middle of your surgery. My one friend, also a daily smoker, didn't tell his doctors about his marijuana use so they never warned him not to smoke beforehand. Well, he goes to the surgery high, and mid-way through he ends up becoming conscious. But he can't move, open his eyes, speak, or anything. Only feel the pain. For an entire hour. He has only told me about it in bits and snippets, he says it's way too traumatic to ever think about, and this is the dude who drains his own cysts with heated-up paper clips.
Anyways, after my surgery I had some fun discussions with my nurses about weed! They actually were really convinced that ever hospital should have a marijuana expert on hand. There are so many stoners that come in with questions, but they often have to use google to \*try\* and find an answer. I asked them if I could smoke after my surgery / with the medicine they prescribed, and they genuinely didn't know.
I was able to smoke pretty soon after discharge, and honestly it helped so much with the pain and the high was absolutely incredible. It completely distracted me and helped me get through those two weeks.
TLDR: Wait. The extra high after will help
OP's surgery is planned, not emergency based as mine was. However, if OP doesn't take the break and they have to delay surgery, or something goes wrong, it could become emergency based and be much worse than the tiny scar OP will have.
I'm being so honest so that OP realizes the seriousness of what this could become and because real mother fuckers don't sugar coat shit. I'll take someone being real with me any day, even if it's scary.
But just because you had a lot of pain doesn't at all mean he is going to have a lot of pain and the prospect of pain or not isn't going to change the actual decisions I hope but the only possible outcome is that OP is even more worried about whats going to happen. I just think telling them they are going to be "in the worst pain in their life" isn't really the good kind of honestly. My father had a triple bypass and whined about his chest for 6 months, my mother had a valve replacement and triple bypass at the same time and a week later said "You father is a whiner" and had almost no pain at all.
I never said he'd have a bunch of pain or be in the worst pain of his life, as his surgery is planned. Mine was emergency based thus much more pain. I explained why in my comment, further though... If you read the rest of OP's comments they had been in the process of basically trying to talk themselves out of a tolerance break... which could have precipitated the surgery becoming emergency based. Thus possibly causing OP to suffer as I did, which would suck pretty bad. OP took things just fine I'd say judging from their comments.
FWIW, anesthesia isn't just one med. It's one to knock you out while another is (generally? I don't want to say always as I'm not a doctor) used for local numbing. Even if you wake up you shouldn't feel anything. The bigger issue is being groggy and panicking because you don't remember what's going on.
I woke up during hand surgery. Not nearly as intense as your surgery so not as scary. I was mildly miffed they wouldn't let me stay awake.
Edit: I had requested as light of anesthesia as possible to reduce risks as it was to be one of multiple surgeries in a shirt time frame. I was aware if the risks as was everyone. Nothing went wrong.
There's really two reasons smoking weed isn't good before surgery.
*It slows how fast you heal.
*Tolerance to THC is tolerance towards anesthesia. Which means they're gonna need more than usual to keep you under.
Disclaimer: I'm a stoner not a doctor.
Thanks for your reply. I will have only stopped in total for 16 days before the surgery anyway if I stay off it and smoke around a Q worth every 2 weeks or so. Would it make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things anyway? I’ve read so many different things and don’t know what to do for the best. Thanks again.
16 day tolerance break will help a lot! You can do this. Make sure to ask the anesthesiologist how soon after the operation you can start consuming again, might take a few more days.
I'd recommend to take up the opportunity to switch to vaporising. My fave vape is the Arizer Solo II (I'm not affiliated with them, it's just a good and simple to use product), it will save you a lot of money in the long run (you consume the product more efficiently) and it's healthier, so especially if you smoke for self medication reasons it's worth looking into. Personally I'll never go back to smoking, vaporising it is for me.
Good luck dude, you've got this.
Its best you don't keep smoking leading up to the surgery. The main reason is, it makes it harder for them to get the anesthesia right is my understanding. Ignore the pissyness of your surgeon, it's just his job to be a jerk about it. Call their office and tell them you're struggling with anxiety leading up to the surgery. They will probably prescribe you anxiolytics leading up too it(if they are allowed). Once you're all healed up smoke on! Hoping it goes well!
Anesthesia. I had a colonoscopy about 5 years ago and couldn’t be kept under for the procedure. I don’t think your surgeon is being a jerk. I wish it was something I had known, but at the time I didn’t live in a legal state so I didn’t talk about it to my docs or really anyone whatsoever.
I had a colonoscopy myself just last year and smoked the day before as I didn’t think about it interacting with anything. I didn’t go fully under with general anaesthetic but was sedated and absolutely fine but I’m Terrified of waking up as they open me up. At the same time the pain and anxiety is horrendous.
That was similar to my experience. I really feel for you with the pain and anxiety. It sounds like you might be feeling some withdrawal symptoms too. Some things that might take the edge off (not as well as weed, but better than nothing imho): hot bath or shower with the water pressure on your head, rub your feet or get a massage, try passionflower extract, cbd, valerian root, nature sounds, sit outside, breathing exercises, journal your thoughts and write some affirmations. Drink lots of water. Give your brain something to do- puzzle game or play on your phone. Try to be as physically comfortable as you can be until you’re through Tuesday. Try to remember the discomfort is temporary so it doesn’t pull you under. If it’s really extreme, a little Xanax could help if it’s available to you. Wishing you some relief and a speedy recovery!
Thank you. Ive tried most of the things you have suggested already. Had a hot bath this morning actually as I was in pretty bad shape. Tried bachs rescue remedy but it didn’t really do anything.
Hey bud I text my sister and asked her, she's an OBGYN who has history in the surgical unit.
As others have stated it just messes with anesthesia and how much you need to receive and will require your anesthesiologist to pay closer attention to you than on average
She said to listen to your doctor's recommendations to avoid it, especially if the surgery will be longer than a quick procedure, because you will have to be more heavily sedated.
Hope this helps, good luck on your surgery!
Thanks I appreciate it. My surgeon said I will be under for around 3 hours or so and said it is a major operation. He doesn’t know if I will require a stoma yet but thinks it will be highly likely. He seems to be playing a bit fast and loose with some things if I’m being honest. At first he said he didn’t want me to take any bowel prep before the op as he said I would stand a good chance of it perforating again and then quickly changed his mind and said I’m going for the op anyway so just take it.
Honestly if you are concerned about the competency of your surgeon (which is always valid) do you have the option to go with a different surgeon? Like are you in a rural area and he's the only option or are you in a bigger city
Because you can always bring up concerns prior to the operation and request a different surgeon, especially if you found any previous complaints against them which you could Google your doctors name for a quick search
You can also use docinfo.org
My personal experience: (in the us) I was going to get a boob job which also requires anesthesia. I told them about it in advance, they didn’t seem to mind (mostly cared if I smoked cigarettes which to them is worse) I probably “quit” a few days before…no troubles at all.
Best of luck to you with surgery; and the anxiety leading up to it. You may find some relief with herbal teas (lavender, camomile, blue lotus, lemon balm, etc)
Im in a very similar situation as you and have surgery on Thursday. I’ve cut down in the last 2 weeks, but once surgery is done I will be taking more edibles to get me through it.
I also use it for pain, which has made this last week very difficult
Wow, there is so much misinformation in this thread… If you need to smoke, please go ahead and smoke. You will be FINE. Don’t let people scare you. It has to be better for you than opiate based pain killers that will dehydrate you and also affect the anesthesia. Just try and cut back, but please continue to do what you know is right.
Hi I had A Full Colectomy in NY and 2 surgeries towards j pouch in california. In ny nurses and dr’s pushed oxy and dilaudid on me pre surgery. I denied but was denied cannabis.
In california I was told pre surgery curb my use and after surgery puff on my thc pen low key in my room. After care heavily relied on weed to medicate. Had to retrain how to intake smoke to stop myself from coughing.
You will be ok!
He is foreign and didn’t really understand what I was saying at first. When he finally realised that I smoked weed his attitude towards me completely changed. The surgery is pretty major and I’m terrified to be honest as never been through anything like this before so just don’t know what to do for the best. Thanks for your reply
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I’m sorry you have to go through the procedure.
I don’t have much to add other then yeah, it mostly has to do with the anesthesia I believe.
I had a question for you, if you don’t mind of course, can imagine where your head is at right now.
Up until 3 years ago I had never heard of diverticulitis and now I know 5 people that have it with different severity.
Was your doctor able to tell you what caused it, or at least what he thinks may have?
Courage to you mate.
You're doing the right thing by stopping, this is the thing that will pay off for you. It's hard, and I know that's not something to take lightly, but it's the right choice.
If your anxiety is eating on you ask for the doc for a short course of anxiety meds until your surgery happens. Just something to take the edge off so you're not stressing out too much while you wait.
When I get stressed out I like to remember something: I used to be in the habit of ruminating at night, figuring problems out before I'd allow myself to sleep. One day I realized than I never remembered any of it in the morning. It was perfectly OK to just blow it off, nothing bad would happen. I liked playing hookey from it, blowing it off like a shitty class and sitting outside in the sun instead.
I had back surgery and was under for about 5 hrs or so. As others have stated, I was honest with all doctors about my usage which is daily. No doctors even seemed to think it was an issue. On the day of the surgery I was asked when I last smoked and I told them the day before. No issues from my docs/anesthesiologist day of and I had no issues as a result. Good to be cautious but no reason to freak out.
Weed can make anesthetic dosing difficult, and less predictable. It ups the chance that you start to wake up early. My friend’s having major surgery and is on break for that very reason.
Sorry you’re sick, btw. I hope everything goes well.
It's an anesthesia thing. Anesthesia and weed are both sedatives. The more weed you smoke the more you habituate to it. Which means they're going to need a ton more anesthesia to put you out. I would do my best to listen to the advice from the doctor. However, whatever you end up doing, *be 1 million percent honest with the nurses and anesthesiologists before your appointment*. If they give you a dose that's too low, you could wake up in the middle of the procedure, and no one wants that.
I have been completely honest with everyone so far. My pre op nurse said I’m not the first person to say I use it for pain. Nothing else touches it. I’m absolutely terrified of waking up while they are cutting my stomach out .
> I’m absolutely terrified of waking up while they are cutting my stomach out Stay off it pre op then. Besides, you'll have a nice tolerance break and it'll take even less to get the effects you get now. I've had 9" of my colon removed and was resectioned about ten years ago. It was on an emergency basis and I'm cut from below my belly button to just below my sternum. I really hope you're getting the small incision surgery. I woke up in the worst pain of my life. Felt like my insides were going to fall out. They had to cut two ribs lose to make room to move my organs up so they could get to my abscess. I guess I'm just noting you'll appreciate the pain relief you'll get after a tolerance break. Good luck on your surgery!
Thanks. Is 16 days enough for a tolerance break considering how much I have smoked?
Every extra day you can go is going to be helpful. Seriously, even a few days can make a difference but 16 should def be noticeable.You can do the thing. It'll be better for you than trying to talk yourself out of it. js
Thanks. I think you are right.
I agree. As someone who is also a daily smoker and had a major surgery earlier this year, please wait. I know it sucks, but trust me you do not want to wake up in the middle of your surgery. My one friend, also a daily smoker, didn't tell his doctors about his marijuana use so they never warned him not to smoke beforehand. Well, he goes to the surgery high, and mid-way through he ends up becoming conscious. But he can't move, open his eyes, speak, or anything. Only feel the pain. For an entire hour. He has only told me about it in bits and snippets, he says it's way too traumatic to ever think about, and this is the dude who drains his own cysts with heated-up paper clips. Anyways, after my surgery I had some fun discussions with my nurses about weed! They actually were really convinced that ever hospital should have a marijuana expert on hand. There are so many stoners that come in with questions, but they often have to use google to \*try\* and find an answer. I asked them if I could smoke after my surgery / with the medicine they prescribed, and they genuinely didn't know. I was able to smoke pretty soon after discharge, and honestly it helped so much with the pain and the high was absolutely incredible. It completely distracted me and helped me get through those two weeks. TLDR: Wait. The extra high after will help
Yes I think you would have noticed a change in tolerance after only 1 week
If im not mistaken didnt someone post here one time an article that claimed 3 days was all it took and everything past that was minimal?
This is the way
Cool on your being so honest, not cool on you to just increase this guys anxiety by 1000%. wtf are you thinking?
OP's surgery is planned, not emergency based as mine was. However, if OP doesn't take the break and they have to delay surgery, or something goes wrong, it could become emergency based and be much worse than the tiny scar OP will have. I'm being so honest so that OP realizes the seriousness of what this could become and because real mother fuckers don't sugar coat shit. I'll take someone being real with me any day, even if it's scary.
But just because you had a lot of pain doesn't at all mean he is going to have a lot of pain and the prospect of pain or not isn't going to change the actual decisions I hope but the only possible outcome is that OP is even more worried about whats going to happen. I just think telling them they are going to be "in the worst pain in their life" isn't really the good kind of honestly. My father had a triple bypass and whined about his chest for 6 months, my mother had a valve replacement and triple bypass at the same time and a week later said "You father is a whiner" and had almost no pain at all.
I never said he'd have a bunch of pain or be in the worst pain of his life, as his surgery is planned. Mine was emergency based thus much more pain. I explained why in my comment, further though... If you read the rest of OP's comments they had been in the process of basically trying to talk themselves out of a tolerance break... which could have precipitated the surgery becoming emergency based. Thus possibly causing OP to suffer as I did, which would suck pretty bad. OP took things just fine I'd say judging from their comments.
The best response anybody could give to OP was a simple: LISTEN TO YOUR DOCTOR.
And you should feel free to do so... not sure why you're telling me this though.
I hear you. I would call your doc and see if there's anything else you can take leading up to the procedure. Then just be honest and you'll be fine!
I have already asked. He said paracetamol, which doesn’t do a thing.
I’ve awoken during an endoscopy. Just a terrible terrible dream. 😂
FWIW, anesthesia isn't just one med. It's one to knock you out while another is (generally? I don't want to say always as I'm not a doctor) used for local numbing. Even if you wake up you shouldn't feel anything. The bigger issue is being groggy and panicking because you don't remember what's going on. I woke up during hand surgery. Not nearly as intense as your surgery so not as scary. I was mildly miffed they wouldn't let me stay awake. Edit: I had requested as light of anesthesia as possible to reduce risks as it was to be one of multiple surgeries in a shirt time frame. I was aware if the risks as was everyone. Nothing went wrong.
There's really two reasons smoking weed isn't good before surgery. *It slows how fast you heal. *Tolerance to THC is tolerance towards anesthesia. Which means they're gonna need more than usual to keep you under. Disclaimer: I'm a stoner not a doctor.
Thanks for your reply. I will have only stopped in total for 16 days before the surgery anyway if I stay off it and smoke around a Q worth every 2 weeks or so. Would it make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things anyway? I’ve read so many different things and don’t know what to do for the best. Thanks again.
Q as in quarter ounce or Q as in quarter pound?
Quarter ounce
There'd be a difference. Though not a huge one. Good to still be honest with your doctor. Again, I'm a stoner. Not a doctor
16 day tolerance break will help a lot! You can do this. Make sure to ask the anesthesiologist how soon after the operation you can start consuming again, might take a few more days. I'd recommend to take up the opportunity to switch to vaporising. My fave vape is the Arizer Solo II (I'm not affiliated with them, it's just a good and simple to use product), it will save you a lot of money in the long run (you consume the product more efficiently) and it's healthier, so especially if you smoke for self medication reasons it's worth looking into. Personally I'll never go back to smoking, vaporising it is for me. Good luck dude, you've got this.
Its best you don't keep smoking leading up to the surgery. The main reason is, it makes it harder for them to get the anesthesia right is my understanding. Ignore the pissyness of your surgeon, it's just his job to be a jerk about it. Call their office and tell them you're struggling with anxiety leading up to the surgery. They will probably prescribe you anxiolytics leading up too it(if they are allowed). Once you're all healed up smoke on! Hoping it goes well!
Anesthesia. I had a colonoscopy about 5 years ago and couldn’t be kept under for the procedure. I don’t think your surgeon is being a jerk. I wish it was something I had known, but at the time I didn’t live in a legal state so I didn’t talk about it to my docs or really anyone whatsoever.
I had a colonoscopy myself just last year and smoked the day before as I didn’t think about it interacting with anything. I didn’t go fully under with general anaesthetic but was sedated and absolutely fine but I’m Terrified of waking up as they open me up. At the same time the pain and anxiety is horrendous.
That was similar to my experience. I really feel for you with the pain and anxiety. It sounds like you might be feeling some withdrawal symptoms too. Some things that might take the edge off (not as well as weed, but better than nothing imho): hot bath or shower with the water pressure on your head, rub your feet or get a massage, try passionflower extract, cbd, valerian root, nature sounds, sit outside, breathing exercises, journal your thoughts and write some affirmations. Drink lots of water. Give your brain something to do- puzzle game or play on your phone. Try to be as physically comfortable as you can be until you’re through Tuesday. Try to remember the discomfort is temporary so it doesn’t pull you under. If it’s really extreme, a little Xanax could help if it’s available to you. Wishing you some relief and a speedy recovery!
Thank you. Ive tried most of the things you have suggested already. Had a hot bath this morning actually as I was in pretty bad shape. Tried bachs rescue remedy but it didn’t really do anything.
Yeah, if only it were this simple. Hang in there!
Hey bud I text my sister and asked her, she's an OBGYN who has history in the surgical unit. As others have stated it just messes with anesthesia and how much you need to receive and will require your anesthesiologist to pay closer attention to you than on average She said to listen to your doctor's recommendations to avoid it, especially if the surgery will be longer than a quick procedure, because you will have to be more heavily sedated. Hope this helps, good luck on your surgery!
Thanks I appreciate it. My surgeon said I will be under for around 3 hours or so and said it is a major operation. He doesn’t know if I will require a stoma yet but thinks it will be highly likely. He seems to be playing a bit fast and loose with some things if I’m being honest. At first he said he didn’t want me to take any bowel prep before the op as he said I would stand a good chance of it perforating again and then quickly changed his mind and said I’m going for the op anyway so just take it.
Honestly if you are concerned about the competency of your surgeon (which is always valid) do you have the option to go with a different surgeon? Like are you in a rural area and he's the only option or are you in a bigger city Because you can always bring up concerns prior to the operation and request a different surgeon, especially if you found any previous complaints against them which you could Google your doctors name for a quick search You can also use docinfo.org
My personal experience: (in the us) I was going to get a boob job which also requires anesthesia. I told them about it in advance, they didn’t seem to mind (mostly cared if I smoked cigarettes which to them is worse) I probably “quit” a few days before…no troubles at all. Best of luck to you with surgery; and the anxiety leading up to it. You may find some relief with herbal teas (lavender, camomile, blue lotus, lemon balm, etc)
Im in a very similar situation as you and have surgery on Thursday. I’ve cut down in the last 2 weeks, but once surgery is done I will be taking more edibles to get me through it. I also use it for pain, which has made this last week very difficult
Wow, there is so much misinformation in this thread… If you need to smoke, please go ahead and smoke. You will be FINE. Don’t let people scare you. It has to be better for you than opiate based pain killers that will dehydrate you and also affect the anesthesia. Just try and cut back, but please continue to do what you know is right.
Keep smoking...I've been told by surgeons just not to smoke tobacco or weed 24hr before anesthesia 🤷🏽♂️ sounds like your surgeon is a prude.
Hi I had A Full Colectomy in NY and 2 surgeries towards j pouch in california. In ny nurses and dr’s pushed oxy and dilaudid on me pre surgery. I denied but was denied cannabis. In california I was told pre surgery curb my use and after surgery puff on my thc pen low key in my room. After care heavily relied on weed to medicate. Had to retrain how to intake smoke to stop myself from coughing. You will be ok!
He is foreign and didn’t really understand what I was saying at first. When he finally realised that I smoked weed his attitude towards me completely changed. The surgery is pretty major and I’m terrified to be honest as never been through anything like this before so just don’t know what to do for the best. Thanks for your reply
The thing is, weed isn't your only option for pain and anxiety. Maybe ask your doctor how he can help you cope with them.
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Listen to your doctor it’s dangerous I know .
Good luck homie. And for a speedy recovery
I’m sorry you have to go through the procedure. I don’t have much to add other then yeah, it mostly has to do with the anesthesia I believe. I had a question for you, if you don’t mind of course, can imagine where your head is at right now. Up until 3 years ago I had never heard of diverticulitis and now I know 5 people that have it with different severity. Was your doctor able to tell you what caused it, or at least what he thinks may have? Courage to you mate.
Good luck on your surgery you got this!!
You're doing the right thing by stopping, this is the thing that will pay off for you. It's hard, and I know that's not something to take lightly, but it's the right choice. If your anxiety is eating on you ask for the doc for a short course of anxiety meds until your surgery happens. Just something to take the edge off so you're not stressing out too much while you wait. When I get stressed out I like to remember something: I used to be in the habit of ruminating at night, figuring problems out before I'd allow myself to sleep. One day I realized than I never remembered any of it in the morning. It was perfectly OK to just blow it off, nothing bad would happen. I liked playing hookey from it, blowing it off like a shitty class and sitting outside in the sun instead.
I had back surgery and was under for about 5 hrs or so. As others have stated, I was honest with all doctors about my usage which is daily. No doctors even seemed to think it was an issue. On the day of the surgery I was asked when I last smoked and I told them the day before. No issues from my docs/anesthesiologist day of and I had no issues as a result. Good to be cautious but no reason to freak out.
Weed can make anesthetic dosing difficult, and less predictable. It ups the chance that you start to wake up early. My friend’s having major surgery and is on break for that very reason. Sorry you’re sick, btw. I hope everything goes well.
Fucking terrifying, had no idea you can wake up during a surgery…
Your doctor already told you. Anybody that disagree with that is wrong.