You might still require conventional Western medical procedures—such as surgeries—while receiving cannabis treatment. You may be wondering if cannabis will impact your anesthesia needs, whether you’re planning a more involved procedure or going in for a routine colonoscopy. For expert guidance and legal access, consider obtaining an online medical card to discuss your options with a healthcare professional.
Although the physical interactions between cannabis compounds and anesthesia formulas are not well understood, we do know that regular cannabis users may require more anesthesia during surgeries. Therefore, medical professionals—both conventional and cannabis clinicians—generally advise against using cannabis for a few days prior to surgery.
As a patient using medical cannabis, what else should you know before undergoing surgery? We’ll go over what we know about cannabis and anesthesia below, how it may help you recover, and how to talk to your doctors before your procedure.
Cannabis and Anesthesia: Key Facts You Should Know
We can begin by discussing what we know about cannabis and anesthesia, including what anesthesiologists advise, the particular safety measures to be taken when using edible products, and what to discuss with your healthcare providers prior to your procedure.
Why Anesthesiologists Advise Avoiding Cannabis Before Surgery
For at least a few days prior to your procedure, anesthesiologists generally advise against using cannabis, even for medical purposes. Why?
Cannabis may affect your:
- Likelihood of developing nausea
- Pain levels
- Drowsiness or alertness
- Dose of anesthesia
Prior to and during surgery, all of these factors are crucial:
- Nausea: Studies indicate that regular cannabis users empty their stomachs more slowly than non-users. It is crucial to have an empty stomach during surgery because vomiting could cause you to inhale stomach contents. Respiratory difficulties could result from this, increasing your risk of developing more issues.
- Pain levels: To numb your body and avoid excruciating pain following surgery, your doctor may give you painkillers (such as intravenous opioids) during and right after your procedure. Cannabis does provide significant pain relief, so using it prior to surgery may increase your pain threshold. Your pain medication dosage may become more complicated as a result of these changes in your pain threshold.
- Drowsiness or alertness: Cannabis can either make you feel more relaxed and alert or more drowsy and focused, depending on the strain you choose. However, putting patients to sleep is one of the goals of anesthesia. You will require more anesthesia than anticipated to fall asleep if you take a stimulating dose of cannabis prior to your procedure.
As you can see, cannabis has the ability to change a number of bodily systems, which is advantageous when used properly. Its ability to heal has brought relief to many patients, but it can also make things more difficult for your anesthesiologist.
What to Know About Edibles
Avoiding edibles is particularly crucial in the days before surgery.
As previously stated, in order to avoid aspiration and vomiting, which could impede breathing, surgeons must perform surgery while your stomach is empty.
You must avoid edibles prior to surgery (for however long your surgeon recommends) because they are food products and will pass through your digestive system normally.
The Importance of Open Communication with Your Healthcare Providers
It’s important to let your anesthesiologist know about any recent or ongoing cannabis use because it can affect your ability to digest food, your ability to tolerate pain, and how easy it is to fall asleep.
In order to assist your surgical team as much as possible, be sure to:
- Mention use during your pre-op appointment: In order to discuss specific aspects of your health and give your anesthesiologist vital signs (such as body weight), you will probably have a pre-operation appointment with your surgical team. You should now disclose that you are using cannabis for medical reasons. In light of this, your healthcare providers will provide you with extra instructions for preparing for surgery.
- Provide details: Provide your surgery team with as much information as possible regarding your cannabis treatment, including your dosage, frequency of use, and the strain you have chosen (as well as whether it is more sedative or stimulating). All of this will assist them in accurately determining the dosages of your medications on the day of surgery.
- Follow their instructions: Regardless of the circumstances, adhere strictly to the instructions given by your surgical team. If they advise you to refrain from using cannabis for several days prior to your procedure, have faith that they are aware of how their treatment plans will affect you. You can avoid surgical complications that could affect your recovery (or the outcome of your procedure) by adhering to your preparation instructions.
Medical Marijuana and Surgery Recovery
You might want to resume your cannabis treatment course as soon as possible after your surgery is finished, and this is probably a good idea. Medical cannabis may aid in several aspects of recovery from surgery, but you should consult your provider and abide by their recommendations.
Pain Relief Considerations
Whether it is applied topically, smoked, or consumed, cannabis can provide pain relief. Instead of using opioids to treat your pain, you may even decide to use cannabis.
For patients who:
- Know the dosages and strains required to effectively reduce pain because they are already using cannabis for chronic pain.
- Have overcome prior opioid dependence or reduced their risk of developing dependence while in recovery.
If you intend to use cannabis to manage your pain following surgery, don’t forget to discuss this with your healthcare providers. In a later section, we’ll provide some advice on how to initiate that conversation.
Maintaining a Healthy Diet
Following surgery, you may experience difficulties with:
- Nausea
- Low energy
- Aches and pains
- Trouble sleeping or increased drowsiness
All of these could affect one of the most important aspects of your recuperation: eating a healthy diet. If you’re not eating well after surgery, you may jeopardize your recovery, regardless of whether you’re too exhausted to prepare healthy meals or too sick to eat.
Fortunately, cannabis can increase appetite, a phenomenon known as “the munchies.”
In fact, you can take advantage of the munchies. You may encourage yourself to eat more, a greater range of foods, or the foods that your surgical team recommends by increasing your appetite.
Sleep and Recovery
Surgery recovery can affect your sleep, as we mentioned above. You may find that you’re too wired to sleep or that you’re too exhausted to keep your regular schedule.
Sleep is essential for our bodies’ recuperation. Our bodies use sleep as a time to repair muscles, digest food, strengthen our immune systems, and more. You risk missing out on other important components of your recovery plan, such as exercise and food, if you’re sleeping too much.
This is another area where medical cannabis can be helpful.
If you experience any particular sleep issues following surgery, you may require either:
- A stimulating strain: A strain that boosts energy, focus, and alertness may help you stay up all day, keep a healthy diet, and complete your post-surgery workouts.
- A calming strain: A more calming strain will help you wind down before bed, fall asleep faster, stay asleep all night, and have more restful, rejuvenating sleep.
Discover Your Medical Cannabis Options with Online Medical Card
Whether a patient is getting ready for anesthesia or just trying to control daily symptoms, each patient needs a different approach to care.
Online Medical Card is a cannabis-informed healthcare provider that can assist you in creating a care plan and applying for a medical card. We are committed to helping licensed clinicians receive the all-natural, plant-based care that patients require. Additionally, we offer guidance on how to grow 99 plants in CA legally for medical use.
To find out more about medical cannabis treatment, make an appointment with one of our providers.
