[Illspawn]

My Wife was referred to a Pain Management Doctor at UCLA, she has L1 to S1 disc herniations.
He Refused to treat her because she was honest and put Cannabis on the medical forms that ask what OTC Meds she was taking.
She told him the reason she uses cannabis is because it only took 2 years to get a PM appointment.
He started squawking about how it was illegal under Federal Law (Yadda Yadda Yadda ad naseum!)and Marijuana didn't actually work for chronic pain.

I ask him where he got his information? Straight from the DEA Website?
Was it was truly about her using a Natural Herbal Medicine, or was it really about his fear of losing that little 8 digit number the DEA gives him. So he can continue making his Porsche payments and Italian Shoes, by scripting lots of Oxys, Vicodin, and Percs?
HE went very pale then was freaking LIVID! I must have touched on a sensitive area.
I've never seen a Medical Professional (so he says) have a Meltdown, Chernobyl style!!
I'll be talking to the Board of Regents of U.C.L.A. on Monday, and the director of patient services on Tuesday.

[Bogart McKilo]

That story is incredible. This refusal to treat human beings for that reason is based in superstition and gullibility. You lit a real fire under his ass when you implied as much by supporting mainstream pharmaceutical interests over common sense and the law.
I'd have liked to be a fly on the wall during that discussion.

[KushMeister]

Is it possible to supply that doctors name. Might come in Handy, when some of us who are annual contributors, do a little 'name dropping' in letters or emails to them...uhhh, before we send in our donation checks.

[KushMeister]

Damn!
The mose I think of this, the more it pisses me off!

Almost wants to make this lifetime Bruins fan, start rooting for SC!



Nahhhhhh!!!!

[Nene Bunz]

Wowwwwwwwwwww. Let us know what happens after you've made your case and they decide what actions to take with that "doctor."

[tomo7]

Originally Posted by KushMeister

Damn!
The mose I think of this, the more it pisses me off!

Almost wants to make this lifetime Bruins fan, start rooting for SC!



Nahhhhhh!!!!

I've been steaming too since I read the opening post on this thread! I Don't even know what to say? all I can say right now is I too wish I was a fly in the room cuz i would have buzzed right down that docs throat and

[spanky]

as i've gotten older and more comfortable in my adult skin i realized that just because you're a doctor doesn't mean you have any common sense or understanding of human behavior. what a dick, it's not nice to wish things on people but that dr should wake up and call you in the morning and apologize and help your wife...or else the fat dog is gonna start wishing!

[Illspawn]

Originally Posted by KushMeister

Is it possible to supply that doctors name. Might come in Handy, when some of us who are annual contributors, do a little 'name dropping' in letters or emails to them...uhhh, before we send in our donation checks.

Dr Wangle at Les Kelly / UCLA Healthcare

[endlesssky]

hey, there, it sound's like the norm to me, most DR, don't even look at the charts at all, i was refered to UCSF and then to UCSF again, and then Stanford my DR would not take no for an anwer, but it was not him being decrimnating against, it was me that went threw all of it, the DR at Standford said i had been drinking when i had been sober and clean for 5 years and no mmj at that time and because my ammionia level was so high and i looked to good to be that sick he said, and would not give me a transplant, or even put me on the list, UCSF, told me to stop all meds including mmj at the time i went to see them and i stopped all meds including my mental health meds, i go back, he says they changed their policy and becuse i am bipolar and have three blood disorders they won;t even try, they told me no one wants my case to complicated, which has been the story for way to long, i was diagnosed with Addison's now because of the meds i take for that it made me dieabectic with all the lovely side effects to go with it, my DR wants to put me on meds that will lower my bloodsugar, and i am on meds to bring it up and keep it their , but it's to high so he wants to give me something to bring it down, and what if it doesn't stop dropping with the meds yesterday i eat then ate like an hr later a nice meal and my suger dropped for no reason at all to below 108, now if i had taken that med he asked me to , i would be in hospital now on IV dextros,, WHAT I AM SAYING !!! IS IT NOT THEM GOING THOUGH ALL THIS STUFF, IT'S US WITH ALL THE PAIN AND GAS IS SO HIGH, to travel, the nerolgist wants to send me to a UCLA for neropthy pain and mucel wasting decease, with that said. they want to take all my opiate's away. i forsee lot's of pain in my future, i hope you all do well and feel much better and don;t let the man keep you down. endlesssky

You might want to print out and share 2 UC studies with that Dr or the others you plan to visit over the next few days. UC Davis & San Diego both recently published studies that show moderate amounts of THC do help with pain.

I know a chronic pain specialist associated with UCLA...Would you like the info? I'm not sure if your insurance will cover her but you can try. I don't know how she feels about cannabis though. I never told her I use it.

[Frankie]

It's really just a matter of educating health care professionals, usually attained thru ongoing CEUs, informational bulletins from AMA, etc.

Problem is the feds can and do come down hard on med pros, and they freak as a result. Getting that DEA number is not like getting a driver's license. My wife protects hers like it's the Holy Grail. And it is, if you lose it or get it suspended or restricted you might as well just quit.

While perhaps his reaction was over the top, you've got to consider his point of view. Enough about the fancy shoes and cars...these people have earned the right to direct their professions as well as the right to earn a high income. Getting a medical degree, doing residency and all that is required to become a doc and maintain it is extremely difficult and expensive and a 10+ year process. So, yeah, when a doc is confronted with a patient like this, they can be mettlesome. They don't like to watch their professional careers flash before their eyes just so they can make an "exception" to federal regs. Ain't gonna happen, people.

That being said, things are changing albeit slowly. The burgeoning library of scientific studies showing the benefits of MMJ are just too hard to ignore, and many credible scientific and medical orgs are proving just that. But the bottom line is the docs won't move much from their positions until the feds do. Change is coming, the timing is uncertain.

[djicon]

Wow, is he really that ignorant? I mean you think, he's a doctor, went through school, how can he be such a moron? Is it because he really believes mmj is so bad or because he can't write a script and make his $$$ from it? What he is doing is loosing credibility in my book, if he doesn't take the time to investigate alternate therapies, he has no business practicing. His responsibility is to help heal using whatever works whether it is western or eastern medicine.

[Frankie]

Originally Posted by Illspawn

Dr Wangle at Les Kelly / UCLA Healthcare

Here's a lookup utility from the Cal Med Board allows you to get basic info:
http://www.medbd.ca.gov/lookup.html

Could be the guy's still feeling his way. He's new to the state (relatively) and prolly the practice. WHen you talk to pt servs, get some names of some rheumatologists. Also get the names of the researchers of the mmj pain studies; contact them directly for leads on docs more likely to advocate mmj fro pain.

Gotta remember that about 1/2 the docs in Cali are ready to bolt due to the liability sitch, medmal insurance costs, overregulation, payment caps and now the upcoming comprehensive health care plan. It's just a bad situation all the way around.

I have a great G.I doctor that for once understands the benefits to me. I hope you find a doctor you can be honest with. I NEVER put on any paperwork i smoke marijuana. I only tell the doctors of the record .

[zbestwun2001]

This is 100% B.S.
I am always very upfront, sometimes to a fault, with my medical professionals.

While I have seen a couple wince when I told them I was a MMJ patient, I have NEVER EVER been refused any type of treatment, whether it be pain management, or from my primary care physicians.

While my own MD will not write a rec. because he just don't want the DEA in his business, if it was federally legal also he would write it immediately.

You are correct in talking to patient services.

much love and good luck,
zb1

[gmoney666]

i hate to say it, but I am totally against telling your doctor that you use weed for meds. The sad truth is it will be used against you more than not. Even if your doctor is cool with it your insurance company can drop you once they read his report!

Scarry sh#$t....... but a sad fact we americans must live with and try to change. I suggest posting that docs number here and see how many people call and complain. Things need to change!!!!!