I realize that this turned into a wall of text. See TLDR.
I made the decision to seek psychiatric care for what I believe to be ADHD. At my new patient appointment, after being drug tested at the door, we discussed my occasional use of marijuana. They made me agree to completely stop consuming weed and in no certain terms said they would drug test me in a month’s time to make sure I actually quit.
I understand that there is some concern that marijuana can worsen ADHD. I am not in a position to challenge my care provider on the science of the matter. What I don’t understand is why they are taking such overbearing measures to make sure I abstain from marijuana.
For example, when I had a colonoscopy performed a couple of years ago, I was advised by my doctor not to consume any food or liquids within a certain window before the procedure. I simply agreed to fast during that period and that was it. They trusted me to be an adult and follow their instructions. They didn’t check for food in my stomach when I arrived at the hospital.
I should note that this practice primarily practices substance abuse treatment. Could this be a side effect of some zero-tolerance policy? Or do they really believe that smoking marijuana is that detrimental to my well-being?
TLDR; Dr asked me to quit smoking weed in order to get access to treatment. And said they would drug test me.
- Did your Dr also mention marijuana?
- Did they drug test you?
It’s personal, not professional. They’re treating you like a child.
Worth noting that THC turns my ADHD up to 11, so cutting it out is definitely the right answer for me. YMMV.
YMMV indeed. For me, obviously there are downsides like bad memory while high (it’s terrible anyway so fuck it) but it’s about the only way I can get my brain to shut up for a moment. Obviously it’s a case by case basis, but I am all in once the day is done. Can’t when things still need to be dealt with, but at like 9-10pm I’m just done anyway and I’d like a break from the council in my head
I call it the council too. Haha. That’s how I described it to my husband when he asked me once why i was pacing with a weird look on my face. I told him there was a council meeting in my head. But yeah, I finally quit and I did notice slight improvement but it was kind of disappointing that it didn’t improve more. I guess that’s why I quit. I had been using it to cope for a long time and I needed to see what I was like once I got clean. Anyways, I’m about ready to start rambling, i keep typing and deleting but just wanted to comment in the council comment. Fun times.