Doctors & patients are saying about 'A-Fib.com'...
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Dr. Douglas L. Packer, MD, FHRS, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
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Jill and Steve Douglas, East Troy, WI
“I really appreciate all the information on your website as it allows me to be a better informed patient and to know what questions to ask my EP.
Faye Spencer, Boise, ID, April 2017
“I think your site has helped a lot of patients.”Dr. Hugh G. Calkins, MD Johns Hopkins,
Baltimore, MD
Medical Marijuana: A-Fib Patients Offer Personal Experiences
Due to the increased use of medical marijuana in California and other states, we should soon be getting more data on marijuana’s effects on Atrial Fibrillation.
Several readers with A-Fib have emailed me to share their experiences and observations with marijuana. There seems to be a lot of interest every time I write about this topic.
How about you? I’d love to get more first-hand feedback from A-Fib users. Please email me.
First-Hand Experiences: A-Fib and Medical Marijuana
Jim, an A-Fib patient, has kindly shared his personal use of marijuana and how it helps him. He has tried various meds, cardioversion, and had a failed ablation. He owns his own business in California and is under a lot of stress.
♥ JIM: “Because of all of this, I was having trouble sleeping and was getting very stressed out. But instead of taking something pharmaceutical, I turned to medical marijuana. It changed my life. I come home at night, have some marijuana edibles, and the stress goes away. I sleep wonderfully at night, waking up fresh and ready for another day.
I told my doctor who understands. He says that marijuana edibles shouldn’t have anything to do with A-Fib, and that I can continue to take them.”
On the other hand, John writes that:
♥ JOHN: “99% of his A-Fib attacks occurred while under the influence of marijuana.”
And others add their experiences:
♥ JONATHAN: “I tried a tiny bit of brownie for the first time since being diagnosed with A-Fib (occasional episodes). It was OK until about two hours later. I went into A-Fib and, a bit later, came the closest I ever have to blacking out. I don’t think it’s for me anymore.”
♥ WILLIAM: “The A-Fib ablation has been very successful, except the two times that I went into A-Fib after smoking marijuana. I’m a lifelong recreational marijuana smoker, also smoke to relieve the pain from six surgeries on my right arm. Both times that I’ve gone into A-Fib since my last ablation have been after smoking marijuana. After the latest episode I’ve quite smoking marijuana because of the evidence that it can lead to A-Fib.”
♥ SCOTT: “I am currently 55 years old and have been through 15 cardioversions due to A-Fib. I smoked marijuana pretty much daily and noticed that, when I smoked, my heart rate went up. So, I stopped smoking altogether. Since quitting smoking marijuana 7 years ago, I have not had a single case of going into A-Fib. I’m positive that the two are related.”
Scott added that he also stopped drinking which helped. He used to drink a six pack daily.
PODCAST: Marijuana—Good, Bad or Ugly for Patients with A-Fib?
For my most recent report about A-Fib and Marijuana, listen to my Podcast with Travis Van Slooten, publisher of LivingWithAtrialFibrillation.com. (About 18 min. in length.) Includes transcript.
Marijuana—Good, Bad or Ugly for Patients with A-Fib?
With Steve Ryan and Travis Van Slooten (18 min.)
