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

Transverse Myelitis is a disease that affects the spinal cord.   MRI’s demonstrate lesions in the spinal cord which cause pain in the areas of the body affected by the nerve root (or brach of nerves that leave that segment of the spinal cord).

There are many reasons that patients can develop injuries to their spinal cord.   The most common are a decrease of blood flow (acutel or chronic) which causes the affected area of the spinal cord to die.  Patients can also have inflammatory disorders such a SLE (lupus), Sjogrens Syndrome, Behcets Syndrome, Sarcoidosis, and other auto immune diseases that cause inflammation and damage to the spinal cord.  Patients can also have infections that damage the spinal cord.  Examples are epstein barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus, mycoplasma, influenza, measles, varicella,rubeola and mumps.    Herpes Simplex Virus and  herpes zoster (shingles) can also cause an acute infectious myelitis.

Regardless of the cause of the spinal cord damage, most patients experience sever pain and difficulties sleeping as a result.   This is where medical marijuana comes into play.   There has been plenty of research demonstrating marijuana’s ability to reduce pain associated with damage to the nerves (neuropathic pain).  Patients with HIV and Diabetic neuropathy have been studied at the UCSD Medical Cannabis Research Center.  All showed dramatic improvement in patients symptoms.

What my 61 year old patient was telling me about “getting my best night’s sleep in as long as I can remember” is fairly common.   I never want to set patients up for disappointment and tell them it will work for sure but I am always confident in cannabis’ ability to produce a sound nights sleep.   In addition it should also decrease the amount of other pain medications that patients require.  LESS VICODIN, LESS MOTRIN and LESS NEURONTIN etc.   This is a very good thing.

If you suffer from chronic pain or transverse myelitis and would like to speak to a doctor about using medical marijuana feel free to contact me anytime by calling 877-721-0047 or through our website at www.mcsocal.com

Be blessed,

Dr. Breen

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

OK here it is.  The brain is considered our central nervous system.  The spinal cord and the nerves that exit the spinal cord that project to all of the organs, muscles, vessels and skin are considered the peripheral nervous system (there is also an autonomic nervous system but ignore that for now)   Think of nerves like the electrical wiring that runs throughout the house.   To keep this simple let’s take the bones and tissues of the knees (a common complaint I see is arthritis of the knee)  If you have pain in the knee it is because the nerves (wires) that originate at the knee are in a very excited state.  They get activated and send the signal through the nerve (headed to the brain ultimately) which makes it first connection in the spinal cord.

Once at the spinal cord that nerve typically connects and communicates (via neurotransmitters… chemicals that allow one nerve to communicate with another) with a new nerve in the spinal cord which runs all the way up the spinal cord and terminates in the brain.

Once in the brain that signal is processed and it sends it back down a new set of nerves (originating in the brain) which run back down through the spinal cord.   So thus far we have knee—–>Spinal Cord—–>Brain—–>Back down spinal Cord—–> lastly a nerve leaves the spinal cord and ends back at the knee where ultimately the patient feels pain.

They way marijuana works (that we know of thus far) is that it specifically binds to a receptor on the nerves themselves and blocks or slows down the transmission of pain up and down the spinal cord to the brain. The electrical wiring (nervous system) in our body has what we call receptors on it along the way (Think of receptors as door locks).   Each of these locks has a specific key that opens it and causes it to have a specific function.   When you inhale cannabis you inhale specific “keys” that go and search out these specific locks on the nerves.   When they find them they bind to them and cause the nerve to be less excitable which ultimately slows the transmission of pain throughout the nervous system.

Now, in my effort to keep things simple and stupid I know that there are scientists out there who will read this and say… “yeah but thats not exactly how it works.”  However, in a more general sense this is how marijuana reduces pain in the body.

If you are a person that wants to get into the nitty-gritty science behind this you can read plenty of studies which discuss the physiology of CB1 and CB2 receptors.   The CMCR at UCSD has published a study on cannabinoid analgesia and it is accessible online.

If you suffer from pain and would like to discuss using cannabis to improve the quality of your life please feel free to make and appointment to come in and see me at my Irvine or Long Beach CA office.   Simply call 877-721-0047 or pre-qualify for FREE at www.mcsocal.com

Be blessed,

Dr. Breen

How does medical marijuana (cannabis) reduce pain? is a post from: Medical Marijuana Blog

The study examined the risk of heart attack and stroke in over 1 million patients who averaged 39 years of age and had no significant health problems (high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes etc) over an 8 year period.    They found that patients who regularly used NSAID’s to treat chronic pain were 29% more likely to have a heart attack or stroke.   This is significant because how many people do you know (you included) head to the local CVS and pick up a bunch of Motrin for that chronic pain or ache without considering the side effects??  They estimate that 20% of the population has been PRESCRIBED (not including those who get it over the counter) NSAIDS at one time or another for pain.

We are beginning to understand in medicine that many treatments that we used to believe were safe are actually significantly dangerous to patients (for example hormone replacement therapy in post-menopausal women).   NSAIDS can cause significant gastro-intestinal bleeding and now we find out increase the risk of heart attack and stroke significantly.

One thing the study did find is that if you really need to use an NSAID for pain the safest one in the study was Naprosyn, commonly known as Aleve.

You may not know that there are over 60 cannabinoids in the cannabis (marijuana) plant that exert their effects on the body.  Many of them specifically decrease the inflammatory response and thus reduce pain.   Cannabis has very few unwanted side effects.  You can not overdose from it!   It does not effect your kidneys or liver.  It is not addictive.  It does not cause ulcers or bleeding.  It is one of natures best remedies for pain and inflammation.

I can not tell you how many older patients I see everyday that want to stop taking their “pain pills” for chronic pain.   The stories I hear about how cannabis has improved the quality of their life are truly remarkable.  They love being able to vaporize it as opposed to having to smoke it.

I HIGHLY recommend that if you are suffering from chronic pain (for any reason) that you come into my office and we can discuss the benefits and risks of using marijuana to treat your symptoms.   Simply call 877-721-0047 or pre-qualify for free online and one of my staff will contact you shortly.

Dr. Breen, Medical Director, Medical Cannabis of Southern California

NSAIDS (motrin, voltaren) increase risk of heart attack and stroke study finds; Medical Marijuana as an alternative is a post from: Medical Marijuana Blog

Marijuana has been studied pretty extensively for patients suffering from neuropathic pain.   UCSD Cannabis Research Center recently completed a study about the beneficial affects of cannabis for peripheral neuropathy.   It showed that even in low doses cannabis can reduce the pain associated with diabetic and HIV associated neuropathy.

This patient had been using cannabis for the past two weeks without the Lyrica and reported a greater reduction in his overall symptoms.  In addition it improved his sleep which had a huge impact on his day to day life.  He was no longer groggy throughout the day and his work productivity improved.

Interestingly he found an indica strain of cannabis that did not stimulate his appetite which would have been counter-productive.  Some strains of cannabis are more likely to increase a patients appetite.

In my practice I see all types of chronic pain patients who benefit from cannabis.  If they are using another medication and not seeing the results they need or are having too many unwanted side effects then it is definitely worth it to give cannabis a try.   Most patients do extremely well and can stop taking their prescriptions within a few weeks.

If you would like to learn more about getting a medical marijuana evaluation so you can legally use cannabis in California feel free to make an appointment by calling 877-721-0047 or visit us online at www.mcsocal.com and pre-qualify for free.

Dr. Breen

Marijuana as alternative to Lyrica (Pregabalin) for Peripheral Neuropathy is a post from: Medical Marijuana Blog

1. The anxiety they experience.

2. The anger they may feel at times.

3. The depression, isolation and loneliness they feel.

4. The chronic pain that they are suffering from.

It is quite an honor and a privilege to be able to sit down with them and TRULY understand what they are going though.   Most of them need ongoing therapy which hopefully they get through the VA.  However instead of having to take oxycontin for pain, xanax for anxiety, ambien for insomnia and lexepro for depression they can simply try medicating with cannabis to regulate all of these symptoms.   I have had great success with many veterans over the past two years and really enjoy working with them.  They truly are the few and the proud.   They simply need help.

If you are a veteran and would like to discuss the benefits and risks of using cannabis for medicinal purposes feel free to make an appointment.  call 877-721-0047 or send me an email and I will answer your questions.

Semper fi,

Dr. Breen

Veterans and Medical Marijuana; A Special need is a post from: Medical Marijuana Blog

Doctors are very quick to hand out prescriptions for opiates such as vicodin, soma, percocet, fentanyl, morphine etc.  Many MD’s have no idea what else to do to treat patients with pain.   They don’t have the skills to treat the anatomy like an Osteopathic physician, can not adjust like a chiropractor or treat pain with needles like an acupuncturist.  They simply hand patients a script and hope for the best.   I know that sounds very simplistic and condescending but honestly in many cases it’s the truth.

Opiates can cause nausea, constipation, pruritus and can be highly addictive.   Cannabis has none of these side effects and has been proven to have analgesic properties even in small doses.  If vaporized patients expose themselves to NO smoke or carcinogens.

If you are taking opiate medications for pain and would like to see if you can benefit from using cannabis feel free to give us a call and schedule an appointment. 877-721-0047

Be blessed,

Dr. Sean Breen

Tired of Pain Pills (Vicodin/Percocet/Soma)? Try Marijuana is a post from: Medical Marijuana Blog

The University of California at San Diego’s Cannabis Research Center completed a study that showed that even in small doses cannabis provided adequate pain control.   They determined that patients do not have to “get high” to get the benefit from the plant.   That is significant because many patients still ned to be able to function while they are medicated.

Opiates not only cause similar cerebral alteration but are nauseating, constipating and can be highly addicting.   For this reason many patients are afraid to try them.  In addition many patients state that they simply “do not work.”

If you are scheduled for surgery or are suffering from post operative pain and would like to see if cannabis can improve the quality of your life simply schedule an appointment with my staff and I will be happy to take care of you.  877-721-0047 or pre-qualify for free at www.mcsocal.com

Marijuana (Cannabis) and Post Operative Pain; is a post from: Medical Marijuana Blog

Typically diabetic neuropathy starts by affecting the peripheral nerves to patients feet and legs.  They can experience sharp pain when walking, decrease sensitivity to temperature, tingling, numbness and eventually when the nerves because completely destroyed no feeling at all.  I once took care of an elderly women with severe diabetic neuropathy who fractured her ankle to the point where her tibia was protruding directly through her skin.  Basically it snapped in half.  Amazingly she felt NO PAIN because her nerves were destroyed.

Many patients get put on medications such as gabapentin (neurontin), narcotics like vicodin and even anti-depressants such as amitryptiline.    Most patients report very little relief in their pain but also have unwanted side effects.   They report a significant reduction in their pain with even small doses of cannabis.   They can use it as often as they need without any fear of overdose, addiction or end organ damage.  They also can medicate using a digital vaporizer which makes it odorless and smoke free!

If you would like more information on cannabis and chronic neuropathic pain or would like a consultation please give us a call at 877-721-0047.  Dr. Breen has offices in Irvine and Long Beach California.

Diabetic Neuropathy, Neuropathic Pain and Marijuana (Cannabis): An Alternative Treatment is a post from: Medical Marijuana Blog

What is interesting is that researches found that patients do not have to get high in order to get pain relief.   They found that cannabis used in smaller amounts was just as effective as patients who took larger doses.

These findings are very significant as many patients do not want to lose any of their mental faculties when they are medicating for pain relief. Patients can vaporize in small doses and still be able to function.

If you would like to read about these studies you can visit UCSD’s website at http://www.cmcr.ucsd.edu/

If you suffer from chronic pain and would like to see if cannabis can improve the quality of your life feel free to give us a call at 877-721-0047 or visit my website at www.mcsocal.com

I look forward to taking care of you.

Respectfully,

Dr. Breen

Marijuana and Chronic Pain Research: Small doses effective. is a post from: Medical Marijuana Blog