http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20015148-10391704.html

Although the study had only 23 patients in its pool I think their findings align with my conversations with over 5000 patients who I have treated for chronic pain.

The reason why cannabis works to control pain is because our body harbors receptors to the medical active ingredients in the plant (cannabinoids) throughout our nervous system.   Specifically the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves.   Researches identified these receptors in the mid 1990’s and also identified a cannabinoid called anadaminde that our body produces naturally. This was a significant finding as it gave validity to the stories of patients who state that cannabis is just as effective as any narcotic in treating pain.

One of the advantages that cannabis has over other pain medications is that it does not have the serious side effects that you get with NSAID’s and opiates (Vicodin, Oxycontin, Percocet, Morphine, Fentanyl).   Specifically cannabis is not addictive, does not produce nausea and constipation and also is not going to tear a hole in your digestive tract or shut down your liver.   In fact if NOT smoked cannabis has not been shown to be toxic to any of the major organ systems.   ALL OF THESE ATTRIBUTES AD UP TO AN IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE…. IMMEDIATELY.

Today in my Irvine office I had 17 patients, 12 of which requested evaluation for chronic pain from a variety of disorders.   One man had daily headaches with nausea for the past 2 years.  Another women suffered from severe menstrual cramps.    I had one 61 year old mother who was hit by a drunk driver going 90mph in 1985 and shattered her pelvis and lumbar spine.   She has been using cannabis daily for years to help her get to sleep and reduce the pain after work.

Many of you reading this have no idea that you can get relief for chronic pain using medical marijuana (cannabis).   You DO NOT HAVE TO SUFFER LIKE YOU CURRENTLY ARE ANY LONGER!  Simply contact our office to come in and receive a recommendation to use medical marijuana.  You have nothing to lose.  If it doesn’t work than simply do not use it.   If it works then GREAT!

I have offices in Long Beach and Irvine and you can contact us by calling 877-721-0047 or through our website at www.MCSoCal.com

Be blessed,

Dr. Breen

Medical Marijuana Reduces Chronic Pain Study Shows; Dr. Sean Breen is a post from: Medical Marijuana Blog

I am often amazed by just how much NSAID’s are used in traditional medicine to control chronic pain.    When I was a military doctor with the Marines corpsman often handed out 800mg Motrin like they were candy.    And older patients who suffer from arthritis and other joint pain regularly rely on these medications to reduce inflammation and pain.    I don’t think the average person understands the underlying risk of taking these medications regularly.

NSAID’s work by reducing pain and also by limiting inflammation.    Recently there have been some solid studies on the increased risk that they pose to patients if used chronically.    Specifically, they have been shown to increase the risk of heart attack and stroke in healthy patients.   This study: http://www.renalandurologynews.com/nonaspirin-nsaids-may-raise-rcc-risk/article/146731/      demonstrated an increased risk of Renal cell Carcinoma.   My patients Nephrologist and Oncologist directly related his cancer to his use of medications.

Medical Marijuana has been shown to both reduce inflammation and pain in people who have chronic pain.   Its benefits have been demonstrated even in lower doses which is great for patients who do not want to feel the “high” with use.   Many of my patients just need to vaporize a small amount of a less psychoactive strain such as an indica like afgan kush.    It has more of a body affect and is more relaxing and sedating than some of the sativa strains.

If you would like more information about the use of medical marijuana feel free to contact me by calling 877-721-0047 or through my website at www.mcsocal.com

Be blessed,

Dr. Breen

Medical Marijuana: NSAIDS, Tylenol and Increased Risk for Renal Cell Carcinoma; is a post from: Medical Marijuana Blog

In my clinical experience discussing the use of medical marijuana with patients I have seen fantastic results with women in their late 40’s and 50’s who use it to treat peri-menopause and menopause.   It really helps reduce the mood swings and improve sleep.   Most people do not consider sleep deprivation a “serious medical illness” and critics of California’s medical marijuana laws often point out that it was intended for seriously ill patients and has been abused.   I would argue differently.

SOLID SLEEP is VITAL to HEALTH.  I will say that one more time.  A GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP IS VITAL TO MAINTAINING YOUR HELATH.  Many of our hormones, to include Human Growth Hormone, are triggered by the sleep wake cycle.   This means that when it gets dark and you go to bed the body signals itself to secrete HGH.   HGH is responsible for growth and regeneration of tissues.  It is vital to good health.  If you are not sleeping you will not be in good health. Period.

In addition, when you are tired you have less energy to handle the challenges that are inevitable in life.  You are more cranky, you have less of a SEX DRIVE which affects the relationships in your life.  Sleep is definitely a commodity and many patients use cannabis EXCLUSIVELY to help them sleep at night.

If you get the right strain of cannabis you can certainly reduce the anxiety and mood swings that occur with menopause.   YOu do not have to use strains that are very psychoactive.  There are many indica strains that effect more your body than your mind and many people find that they can still function normally even while medicated.

If you are a patient going through or in menopause I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU to at least consider is marijuana is something that can improve the quality of your life.   If it doesn’t work you can simply NOT USE IT.   In the meantime you have not harmed yourself in any way.

Be blessed,

Dr. Breen

Menopause and Medical Marijuana; Alternative Treatments is a post from: Medical Marijuana Blog

For those of you reading this who have no idea what gout is let me give you the basics.  Gout is an acute arthritis that occurs from the build up of uric acid in the blood.   Uric acid is produced in the breakdown of purines (high protein foods) and other nucleic acids.   There are many foods that we eat that are high in purines.  Alcohol! Meats, Fish, Lentils, Beans, Spinach and a few others. There are also medications that lead to the build up of uric acid in the blood.  Diuretics (for blood pressure), low dose aspirin, and niacin.   Either one of two things leads to the build up of uric acid.  Either the body is overproducing it or the kidneys are not excreting it adequately.   So patients with kidney disease can have issues.

What happens is the uric acid builds up and crystalizes in the joints.  Typically it affects the joint of the big toe (1st MCP joint).  Attacks can be extremely painful and the joint will become severely inflamed.   Typically doctors will treat acute attacks with high dose NSAIDS like alleve, motrin or indomethicin.  The problem for many patients is that they can not take NSAID’s because of the side effects.

Cannabis contains over 60 medically active ingredients that we know of.   Collectively they are called cannabinoids of which THC is only one of the them (the main psychoactive ingredient).   We know that we have receptors to these cannabinoids in our nervous system (brain and spinal cord) which are responsible for its analgesis(pain reducing) properties.   We also discovered that we have receptors throughout our immune system (spleen and certain immune cells).  It is by this mechanism that we suspect cannabis can reduce inflammation.

The interesting thing about cannabis is that patients experience many different effects.  Some patients state that they still feel the pain but “don’t care or focus on it as much” and some patients clearly state that the pain is reduced significantly.   I would imagine that there is both a reduction in inflammation in addition to an increased pain thresh hold via a direct  effect on the nerves themselves.  Regardless, cannabis has very few unwanted side effects.     It is not toxic to any of the major organ systems (if not smoked) and there is next to no chance of physical addiction or overdose.

Although most patients do not want to experience the psychoactive effects of cannabis (euphoria, loss of coordination/balance, short term memory loss) I had an 89 year old female patient today who told me that “it actually makes me feel happy!”  She suffered from debilitating pain and the vicodin was no longer working for her.    In comparison to opiate medications it does not cause nausea, constipation, lack of appetite or addiction.

In the end I always tell patients “if this is something that improves the quality of your life… use it!  If not, then simply don’t use it.”  Most people will find SOME benefit.  Improved sleep, less pain, less anxiety, a little better mood, improved appetite etc.

If you would like to be evaluated by me to see if you could benefit from using cannabis I would be happy to take care of you.  Simply give us a call at 877-721-0047 or contact through our website at www.mcsocal.com

Be blessed,

Dr. Breen

Medical Marijuana and Gout; An Alternative Treatment is a post from: Medical Marijuana Blog

Most people today are not familiar with the Polio Virus.   The first epidemic in the United States was in Vermont in 1916 where over 9000 people were affected.   Most famously, FDR contracted Polio in 1921 and when he assumed the Presidency of the United States in 1932 he was for the most part wheelchair bound.   In the early to mid 1950’s there were 50,000 cases per year in the US which led to frantic research on a vaccine.    Thanks to Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin a liver vaccine was created and the last indigenous case in the US of Polio was in 1979.

Polio is a virus which is contracted through the oral-fecal (poor hand washing) route most commonly but is also transmitted from patient to patient through mucus secretions.   It typically causes a febrile illness that can mimic meningitis (fever, neck pain, malaise, headache)  and usually is self limiting.   For many patients the virus also attacks the spinal cord and cause the typical lower leg paralysis (acute and sometimes permanent (less than 1% of Cases).   As a result patients have muscle wasting and chronic weakness. Many times patients with polio have super thin calves and ambulate with a limp.

My patient suffered from sever muscle wasting and has had difficulty walking since he contracted it as a child.   Unfortunately he fell three years ago and fractured his femur.   Since he has had significant pain.  Because of his limp he also has severe lumbar spine pain (lower back).  His doctor gave him the standard cocktail of Motrin, Vicodin and Trazodone to assist with sleeping.   All of these medications had side effects which were intolerable.

He had tried cannabis a few times in the past week in edible form and had significant relief.   He was told it was an indica strain (LA Confidential) which is more sedating and less psychoactive than the sativa strains.   He came to my office in hopes of a treatment that he can use the rest of his life to improve his sleep and limit his pain.    With the use of a vaporizer he can inhale it SMOKE FREE and ODORLESS.

If you suffer from chonic pain or contracted polio and would like more information about how cannabis can improve the quality of your life contact us through our website or by calling 877-721-0047

Be blessed,

Dr. Breen

Medical Marijuana and Polio; Supplemental Treatment is a post from: Medical Marijuana Blog

Here is a picture of how sever the skin manifestations can be with this disease.

Notice how debilitating this can be especially for an 18 year old male.    A picture is worth a thousand words.  You can imagine why this would cause anxiety and difficulty sleeping.

It is not uncommon for patients to come in as a result of side effects to medications.  This case was no different.  He has to take his seizure medication every day but he also has to live with the side effects (anxiety and insomnia).    All his doctor had to offer him was a sleeping pill (ambien) and an anxiolytic (like xanax).  My patient did not want to start taking any more medications out of fear of even more side effects or even addiction and prefers to just use cannabis in the evenings.

Keppra is  also known as levetiracetam is used to treat seizures.   We do not know how it works ironically other than it has an effect on the central nervous system.   If you read the package insert it has over 28 known side effects.    Anxiety and difficulty sleeping are just 2 of them.

Marijuana affects the brain by binding to receptor sites on the nerves themselves and makes them less “excitable”.    It also has very few unwanted side effects.    Strains which are lower in THC (indicas typically) work without the severe “high” that is experienced when using a sativa strain.

If you would like more information feel free to contact me by making an appointment to come in.  877-721-0047. or visit our website at www.mcsocal.com

Medical Marijuana and Neurofibromatosis; A Supplemental Treatment Plan is a post from: Medical Marijuana Blog

Brandon, I pray that marijuana helps you get though your day with a sense of peace and happiness.   I hope and pray that your parents can get some respite in the coming days, months and years as they take care of you.   I pray that God works a miracle in your life and helps you heal and get better.  Amen.

Medical Marijuana and Autism; Prayer for Brandon is a post from: Medical Marijuana Blog

My thought is that both would be better off taking small doses of cannabis using either the vaporizer or an edible throughout the day.   It will certainly help them get sleep and should help relive the pain from their arthritis.  They wouldn’t have to deal with the severe nausea and constipation they are having…. and it may actually improve their mood and make their life worth living.   Right now they are both just marking time trying to survive and get through the day.  There is very little quality of life.

Unfortunately on of the lives in Ohio and the other in New York, two states that do not have medical marijuana laws.    So unfortunately they have to suffer or try and get it illegally (not happening).

I personally believe that medical marijuana’s greatest use is with our elderly population.  It helps with all of the things that plague the majority of our elderly population.  Chronic pain, arthritis, difficulty sleeping, depression and loss of appetite/weight loss are all things that cannabis can help very much.  Also, patients who are at the end of their life can at least get some comfort in their last days.  Palliative medicine (to make comfortable) is an emerging application to cannabis.   I know in my heart this will become more and more common place in our end of life community.

I would really encourage sons and daughters to look into medical marijuana for their parents.   It will solve many of their issues or at least improve the quality of their life… even if only minimal.

If you would like to speak with me in person please call 877-721-0047 and make an appointment to come in.  I would be happy to take care of you.

Medical Marijuana and End of Life Care; It’s impact on the Elderly is a post from: Medical Marijuana Blog

I can not begin to tell you how important it is that you monitor your blood pressure and get it under control if it is high.   I see so  many patients (many in their 20’s and 30’s) who have high blood pressure but do nothing about it!! Many times they just do not want to take a medication or are not willing to eliminate the salt and caffeine out of their diet and start exercising.

The problem with walking around with high blood pressure is that your heart is being worked way to hard.  Because the heart has to pump blood against increased pressure in the blood vessels it becomes overworked, enlarges, requires more oxygen and ultimately fails.    The analogy I like to make is imagine driving down the freeway at 75mph in 3rd gear.  Your getting there but your engine is working WAY TOO HARD.   You need to put your car in 5th or 6th and take the load off the engine.   This is what dropping your blood pressure to 120/80 does for your heart.

Normal blood pressure is 120/80 (in that range) and it is considered high when either the top or bottom number hits 140/90.   Once it hits 140/90 and above you start to put a strain on your heart.

BUT WAIT; it is not only your heart that gets affected!!!   High blood pressure destroys your kidneys.   The increased pressure of the blood that is being filtered by your kidneys literally damages the tubes in your kidneys that filter out your blood.  IF YOU LET HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE GO UNTREATED FOR TOO LONG YOU END UP ON DIALYSIS 3X/WEEK WAITING FOR A KIDNEY TRANSPLANT.

Now lets just say that your kidneys do not get damaged and your heart is fine…. YOU STILL ARE AT RISK FOR HAVING A STROKE DUE TO AN ANEURYSM IN YOUR BRAIN.   The blood vessels literally get to the point where they “pop” (for lack of a more scientific word).  You lose oxygen to your brain cells and are now left having someone to wipe your butt the rest of your life.   NOT GOOD

My point of pointing these things out to patients is because I see so many patients who do not take their blood pressure seriously. They  continue to drink coffee, eat salt, drink beer and not exercise.   OR… they don’t want to try a medication “just because” they don’t want to be on meds.    Let me say one thing and please do not take offense to this.  YOUR DOCTOR COULD CARE LESS WHAT YOU DO.  HE DOESN’T THINK ABOUT YOU WHEN YOU LEAVE HIS OFFICE.   IT IS UP TO YOU TO MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION.    HE HOPES YOU TAKE HIS ADVICE BUT YOUR DECISION DOES NOT AFFECT HIM.

I really encourage you to take your blood pressure seriously.  If you have to be on a medication…. SO WHAT!   High blood pressure medications are very easily tolerated and you can take them every day for life and be fine.    The alternative is a heart attack, stoke or kidney failure…. ALL OF WHICH SUCK BIG TIME.

I’ll leave you with this. The number one cause of death is cardiovascular disease.   Not cancer, not accidents, not anything.

Now go take care of your blood pressure!

Be blessed,

Dr. Breen

Medical Marijuana and High Blood Pressure (Hypertension); Kidney Failure Patient is a post from: Medical Marijuana Blog

This photo is off a child who suffers from this disease.   Patients get blisters that can occur anywhere and typically all over the body as a result of trauma to the area (simple trauma like bumping your arm)    My patient today lost the ability to use all his fingers and toes because of sever scaring as a result of the blistering.  He ambulates primarily in a electric scooter but can walk a little bit at a time.

His blisters are extremely painful and he said he has a very hard time getting comfortable at night.   Not surprisingly all of the opiates (fentanyl, Morphine, Vicodin etc) his doctor prescribed did not relieve his pain and actually caused severe gastrointestinal symptoms.   He came in with his mother and told me that for the past three months he has tried medicating with cannabis to get some relief and to their amazement it has worked great.  He said it is the only thing that makes him comfortable.   They were so encouraged by our visit now that he and his Mother can safely access cannabis through a local collective.

Luke if you happen to stumble upon this blog… I want to tell you a few things.   Your positive attitude is amazing, inspiring and humbling.  You are a rock and it was truly an honor to take care of you.  I can’t imagine what you are going through and your positive outlook will make me a better person and doctor.   I left my office today with just such an incredible sense of gratitude for everything I have in my life and prayed that you find comfort and relief in your days ahead.    I hope and pray that cannabis continues to help you.   Thank you for coming into my life and truly inspiring me.  If there is anything else I can do please let me know!

Be blessed,

Dr Breen

Inherited Recessive Epidermolysis Bullosa and Medical Marijuana; An Alternative Treatment is a post from: Medical Marijuana Blog