Patients shouldn't lie about marijuana to their anesthesiologist 

My doctor had to give me so much anesthesia, he totally knew I'm a dab enthusiast.

anesthesiology needs to convince patients they will not write this stuff down and make it a part of the record.

This doctor is obviously very smart and knows what he's talking about! Great video.

I was upfront with my anesthesiologist about using cannabis, and she actually recommended combining it with my pain meds for increased relief!

when i had a gi issue i went to the hospital and told them and all they did was blame my gi issue from smoking i will never go to the hospital again for a gi issue

One of my friends told their Anesthesiologist that they had never smoked pot in ages because they hate how it makes them cough. The Dr. did not believe them until they told him that they snorted dumptrucks full of coke. Then his reaction apparently went to: *YOU. WHAT?*

Why does RU-vid had the need to put all these warnings. I trust this guy more than any sponsored ad they put on RU-vid

Knowledge is power. I've been sober for a month and already know that you shouldn't lie to any medical professionals, but I appreciate you spreading the knowledge of what can happen if you do lie about drug use. Keep it up man and I wish you the best with your career!

i had elbow surgery a few years ago and the doc said I had the most aneesthesia he had ever given in a 30 year career. smoke daily, but not anymore. Max ain't lyin!

I never lied to my anesthesiologist when having surgery! Great info!! I don’t smoke, I really enjoy donating to the anesthesiologist Foundation, since it was hard for me to go to college because of my cerebral palsy, I really wanted to be an anesthesiologist physician! Happy anesthesiologist physician week! You rock man

Wonderful information! It seems like a huge part of your job is keeping up on all the studies and information that effects what you need to do. No idea how you can keep up with all of it.

Absolutely love watching your videos, Doc!

Another awesome, well-researched video!! Thank you, Dr. Feinstein!!

Why would anyone lie to their anesthesiologist about anything? This is the person whose main goal is to keep you alive. The more information they have, the better.

During my PACE appointment, I stated that I take medical cannabis and she told me to simply not smoke 24 hours before surgery. I still decided not to smoke. It's been a week.

Very educational video! Thank you Max

Super interesting and informative thank you!! As a medical user of weed tablets it’s really interesting to hear about the cross between weed and opioid receptors! Opioids don’t work well on me because of my tissue disorder, I also have a super high tolerance to marijuana so it’s super interesting to hear the two could be connected, just curious about this stuff though your info was super helpful!! Thanks so much have a happy Tuesday :)

Great video Dr! Very nicely done-- informative and well delivered.

OR RN here! 💁🏻‍♀️ Heavy MJ users are, from my close observation, so challenging to anesthetize and control pain intra and postoperatively. They need SO much more medication. If you’re scheduled for surgery and a heavy MJ user, best to cut down before the big day. ❤

I‘m no regular marijuana user but I remember I had a surgery 3 days after a festival where I smoked a lot for two days straight. I did not tell them that since I don‘t do it daily. After the surgery I had the worst headache of my life and when I stood up I had to puke for an hour straight. I was only puking out stomach acid. The doc then came in laughing „why didn‘t you tell us you smoke weed?“ 😂

I had surgery years ago to remove my appendix. I remember having a nurse or anesthesiologist asking me questions and he asked me about marijuana. He must have seen me hesitate, because he immediately followed it up with something to the extent of "Look kid, I don't care what you do in your personal life, I'm just here to keep you alive, so tell me now." We were cool and chit chattin before, so I appreciated his bedside manner.

Dr. Feinstein, I enjoy your content, value your approach and perspective (although I don't always share it). Thank for reading this lengthy post. I am pre med. I've witnessed a following situation recently, wanted to see if you could maybe do a video or comment, I am curious to hear your input: During a bx procedure, a patient that came in with high BP (150ish/100ish) and tachycardia (inter ales, but I'm not one to snoop through pt charts without a good reason), needle in the back, second scan, everything routine. Pt stopped breathing suddenly. Anaesthesiologist yanked needle out, turned pt, the face was covered with blood. Suction, carotid massage, bag, critical response team, nurse getting into an argument with anasthesia attending over her "certified in ACLS (or something like that) so it's in my scope of practice" while getting in the way drama, and patient started breathing (although agonal). Sent to ICU. Anaesthesia blamed radiology for "under stimulation" because they were "taking too long". Radiology went with them to ICU to "avoid being thrown under the bus". Pt was under only for 15min, had a needle in already, it was 2nd scan. I'm from path, not a physician or nurse, worked locum tenens in several states, 6Y+ in this field. It was 1st time for me to witness such a rapid situation develop, the drama, and the blatant politics b/t departments. My questions are: What could be the reason for such sudden bleed? Have you had a similar situation during a bx procedure or other? Could the agonal breathing point towards pt responding abnormally to anasthetics? Is narcan (or similar agent against non-opioid anasthetics, if existing) ever used in such situations? How does anasthesia deal with crucial situations like this? How do you even prepare for this in med school? Do you train the techniques on dummies, cadavers, other students, standardized pt, simulations? Is there anything that can prepare you? Is this something that you only can be taken through under attending supervision during residency? What does it matter who ICU blames ? I know it "does not" or "should not", but Dr. Feinstein you're an honest person, you've spoken to some of the BS behind the scenes before, do you have a clue? Finally, the conflict: Initiative is good, it's necessary, but seems like there is more hubris and overconfidence in the mid-level staff recently (esp. nursing), and I've witnessed one where the pt was put at risk, as nurse was getting in the way of attending with suction, to check pulse because of some cert. the nurse took (not hating on nurses , God bless them BTW). Have you seen that kind of conflict in your practice? Do you think there is a "trend" or just the drama aspect being more "memorable" to me, and so there is not a trend just more of my "bias" (don't like the word for what it's become). How do you deal with the conflict in the moment and after? Is there an approach that works both in the moment and in the long-term (so you can be amicable to that coworker in the future)? Thank you again for reading, looking forward to your (and others) input.

This does contain medical advice. The advice being, *Tell your anesthesiologist if you use marijuana.*

Man I went under for the first time(at 40years old) And it was a great experience, nothing to be scared of! crazy how quickly you go out, and in a blink you are waking up with surgery done and a plate on your radius! lol. You guys are rocks stars, thanks for all you do👌

I told them every little thing I could think of, which was just Zoloft, a multivitamin, iron supplement, and that I take ibuprofen for headaches when I get them. She said ‘No drugs? We don’t care, we won’t tell, we just need to know for your wellbeing.’

Im Premed and your videos give me so much inspiration to keep pushing for my dreams !

My first surgery under general anaesthetic was when I was 5yrs old. It was noted by the anaestesiologist at the time that it took longer than expected to put me under and also that I came out of the effects hours sooner than expected. Since then, I have had 5 surgeries, 4 of which I was a chronic marijuana user, and I was totally honest each time. My apparent resistance to anaesthetic was most apparent when I underwent nerve surgery on my hand. I was still fully aware and speaking with the nurses well beyond the "backwards from 10". I'm only a small bloke (around 50kgs at the time) so the anaesthetist was surprised by how much I took to put me under. He kept a close eye on my during the entire surgery, which was a lucky thing. I started waking up about halfway through the 8hrs surgery, and surprised the pants off everyone in the room. I was put under "active anaesthetic" which basically meant they watched and reacted if I started to stir, which I apparently did another 3 times before it was all finished. Much harder to have things like this researched here in Australia compared to the US so I'll probably never have a true reason why I react in that manner.

Went through major back surgery, thanks to me knowing this it went smoothly and woke up with no after effects or even nausea

Some people don’t understand how much lying is possible to complicate a situation for a patient and med.staff proceeding with any type of surgery or treatment. Years ago (somewhere in an Eu country) I would refuse to draw blood / proceed with basic emt care for.., from some drunken patients, because I would have not been wanted to risk my license, but worst being hold accountable for a civil/ criminal penalty if patient life was compromised it. As always 🙂Thanks 🙏 for the video !

Im always straight forward with my doctors.

Great video! And Doc Glauc, always great to see!

Had a dental procedure. The anesthesiologist told me I was maxxed out and did not get twilight sleep and was awake for the procedure. Thankfully, the local took care of the site pain, but the smell of burning bone was something I would rather sleep through. Good to know

Super interesting, thank you!

thx doc. ill keep all this in mind

Good afternoon. Very interesting. When i worked the pts would lie even though we could smell it on them. They should make a commercial on this so more pts are aware of what could happen. Great in info to get out there. Thank u Doctor your the best! ❤❤❤❤

One issue I've seen on lots of medical intakes is that the forms still ask "do you use illegal drugs" or "do you use any drugs not prescribed by a doctor". But in a state with medical marijuana, a registered user could truthfully answer "no" to both, but the medical provider isn't getting the answer they need.

Weird timing. I just had an operation 2 days ago. I had to tell the anesthesiologist more than once that I didn't smoke and I don't think he believed me. I must have that look.

Basically do not go into surgery high, same goes for alcohol. And obviously be honest as the doc says here. Really straight forward.

Would it be snobby to ask my Anastasiologist if they’re going to consider heavy marijuana use when taking care of me, and if the answer is no should I go elsewhere to be extra careful ? Is it dangerous or do I just have an increased risk of a an extremely unpleasant experience ? Asking because I have a procedure I’ve been super anxious about getting my wisdom teeth taken out and I smoke a lot and sometimes wake up with night terrors so I’m just anxious all around

I would be curious to hear an anesthesiologist’s take on methadone/suboxone, its efficacy , etc.

THC is a negative allosteric modulater at u- receptor, that’s probably more of the reason then cross tolerance why more analgesic would be needed

I remember a story from my brother. He had to undergo anesthesia, but when they started the surgery, he didn't pass out. He just felt very high and chill, since he's a daily weed user. The doctor asked him if he smokes weed on which he answered yes. The doctors just talked to him while the surgery was happening. He didn't feel any pain or stress, since the drug made him feel good lol

For me it´s even worse, normal painkillers like Ibuprofen never worked and since I´m consuming I need at least 250mg Tramal to work like Ibu 600 on normal people. When I had to go under the knife I´ve told the anesthesiologist how much and what quality I´m consuming and said "you gonna need twice the regular dosis to even have a shot, to be sure the local anesthestic works better use triple dosis on me", she only used double dosis and they had to gas me away because it wasn´t enough and I could still tell where they were poking my hand with the needle. You´re 100% correct.

I had a SVT ablation where I was supposed to have a mild sedative. It was as if they never gave me anything at all and i was 100% awake the entire procedure and in quite a bit of pain. I even mentioned I smoke cannabis!

Thank you! Do you use Sufentanyl in opioids addicted patients? Or what additional anaesthetic options can you give?

had a root canal about 3 months ago and it almost completely slipped my mind to mention it to my orthodontist; I ended up requiring 4x the amount of local anesthesia... not entirely pleasant. My face proceeded to be numb for about half the day

I was honest with my doctors about my cannabis use and I stopped using it a month before my surgery. Overkill, but it's nice to be safe.

As someone who uses prescribed cannabis oil, I was curious how it might affect me for an upcoming wisdom tooth extraction. Hopefully the pain won’t be too much worse than it would have been otherwise… 🤞🤞

First time liker. This is one more reason we should legalize. Because we care about anesthesiologists. Anesthesiologist Lives Matter (ALM). We must make their difficult and stressful jobs less stressful. We can do this by legalizing marijuana and other drugs.

I don’t use anything anymore. For some years now. Life is good completely sober.

I don't partake myself, but I do have friends that do (yeah, right but sadly true. Last thing I need to worry about with my meds is throwing another substance in the mix). Do consumables have a different impact profile than smoking/vaping?

I did not think infrequent super low dose marijuana usage days before surgery would any effect on anesthesia. Can they tell when administering? I understand if it was a chronic current opioid user but weed I did not know. Very interesting.

Somone I know is getting a epidural for a major surgery, and us using fentanyl patches for pain. Does the patient need higher fentanyl in the epidural/spinal if used in the epidural/spinal even though you dont get the "effects" like you might get from directly fentanyl into the bloodline during surgery as well?

I was fully awake during surgery. Drugs didn't work on me. The trauma/ptsd caused me to smoke pot daily.🍻

I figured out the hard way. I did not mention it before the op and my body woke up whilst the operation and my lung started to work against the breathing machine. Got into the intensive care unit after some hours because i had so much water in my lungs.

Good info on Pot vs other common used drugs effects.

So curious as to where i would fall with anesthesia substances levels. Ive been a daily cannabis user for 15 years, averaging about 5 grams a day, upwards of 14 grams. Only 3 years into daily use i got 4 molars pulled for braces. I actually woke up a few times during the surgery, i specifically remember a crunch then waking up as my tooth came out of my mouth, then again at a less memorable moment. At the end of the surgery i was coming through as they were still laying out the last stitching. I was alert and stable (balance and consciousness) less than 5 minutes post surgery and literally standing trying to convice them i was reasy to leave while they all stood there mildly confused as to how i fought the anesthesia as much and as well as i did.

I love these sorts of videos. Considering probably in 10 years I’m guessing we may see shrooms sold along side pot at dispensaries at the very least. My curiositites have defiantly expanded to what would happen on acid/shrooms/etc say at different dose levels and timings. Say dropped a crazy amount of acid maybe a 10 strip of acid gel tabs or you got a half ounce of shrooms that you somehow loaded up on right before being walked back, didn’t say anything to anyone and no one saw anything. That would be enough that I’m not sure the benzos would do much…. But idk.

That's good to know. I'm a huge stoner and an oldster. Always be truthful with physicians of any type! They only want to help you.

my anesthesiologist told me literally midnight the night before to stop is okay, my surgery was at 9am, it was a nerve repair in my left ring finger, and i smoke about 2 ounces a week

I am a HEAVY cannabis user, and everything you said is essentially the opposite for me. I have had numerous surgeries, looking at 4-6 more in the next 1-2 years. I use cannabis up till the morning of, never had a complication. I also tend to handle pain better then most people (could be the mix of meds I take, and a nervous system retrained by desensitization due to hypermobility). Just make sure to always state that it's not the same for each person, as we all got diffent biochemistry and biology. Videos and studies that talk the similar language make my medical treatments harder to get, as providers tend to onlth think the newest studies show the best info, when they simply need a diffrent study to show different results.

Yeah I didn't disclose about 6 years ago for a laparoscopy. Because it's illegal in Australia and I didn't want it on up record. Also nobody asked and I didn't think it was a big deal. When I woke up after surgery in the recovery I was SCREAMING in pain. They were so confused. Needed a much higher pain killer dose.

@MaxFeinsteinMD Hi I have a question, I did not lie about using marijuana, but my recent anesthesiologist said not to use nicotine a bit before and while recovering from surgery but I smoked it literally minutes before surgery and during my whole recovery, so I was wondering what tobacco/nicotine does to the anesthesia because I had zero unusual side effects after waking up, and what risks I may have ran myself

Max. If you read comments. Here's a topic for a future video. An MD's view on anesthesia vs that is a certified nurse practitioner anesthesiologist...

Thank you, thank you Dr. Feinstein, I am doing a presentation on Marijuana as a flavor enhancer and your citations were very helpful in my research. Thank you again from The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, New York. I own you one Dr.

Doctor never even asked me. Maybe I had told someone else and they didn't need to. It's hard to remember.

I had my wisdom teeth out and told everyone I'd smoked a joint that day. Apparently they didn't give me the proper dose and I woke up halfway threw the procedure, they jabbed me in the neck witha needle pretty quick and I was more messed up than I'd ever been for about 3 days

I’m a chronic marijuana smoker and I have a pretty low resting heart rate like typically in the 50’s some times even dips down into the 40’s

Thanks Doc :)

lol this happened to me at the dentist. The numbing wouldn’t work and they had used the max amount they could give a person at one time. Dentist never told me or asked me if I smoked weed. I ended up figuring it out myself through research and just stopped smoking 12 hr before the dentist.

I wonder if it’s different now here in Canada. Like do people still try and hide it like they used too before legalization?

had a sawmill accident droped a lathe head on my leg had a 40 cm gash every moment when i was home was high and didn't even need to use painkillers once or twice at the beginning but still 3 months on the bed and was fine and dandy but I've got a decent pain tolerance so idk

Can you do one on alcohol? / alcoholics / what’s the anesthesia plan for a functioning alcoholic that in both scenarios they have either lied before surgery about how sober they are and also if they’re telling the truth that they’re so alcoholic they still felt the need to drink because they have to otherwise they’d experience withdrawal symptoms

Is it known if any of the heart related problems caused by marijuana use are caused by the chemical components of marijuana specifically THC or CBD or if it is the inhalation of smoke or vapor that causes the problems

What about kratom? I didn't know this until like a year afterwards but I heard that kratom makes anesthesia less effective?

One person I don’t lie about my Drugs, Stuff or anything is the Anästhesist (sorry german), my Dad was one of the People who invented the Modern Form of these Machines with Dräger Medical. We even have some laying around the house still, we hold a Patent on some stuff for these and I have a lot of Pictures of the Development and some Medical Awards still he achieved with this. Sad he Passed away in Fall 2023 so Interviewing him for this is impossible now. I miss my Dad and he is basically a Hero to me. 😢

Their not there to bust you but to knock you out safely.

I’d be really curious to hear your take on Kratom as it pertains to anesthesia.

Idk if this is relevant but I had to get full deep cleaning on my gums a couple months ago I decided to get high asf off wax right before they started working on my gums let me tell you for a whole hour while the anesthetic kicked in my whole body starting making uncontrollable spasms and they had to stop multiple times because how jittery I was throughout the whole process they thought I was in pain although I didn’t feel anything as far as pain goes I thought I was going into a seizure until it started wearing off

When I got my wisdom teeth out at 16 they were really adamant about me being honest about my marijuana use. One of the best decisions I've ever made. They knocked my ass right out.

I remember when I was a teenager, I had knee surgery and when I got back home the following day I tried smoking pot and it felt like I was about to die

I feel like one of the few thats never tried weed or anything like that. It's not legal in Noway. Although I think it can be a good think for those with pain if used properly.

I've always told my doctors that I smoked marijuana. They would laugh at my honesty to the "Do you smoke" question because I'd always say, "Not cigarettes!"

I have also told the hospital I am on medical cannabis and the treatment I got changed they looked at me differently

Sorry I'm confused as to how marijuana is used to help with pain for some while also having so many side effects that reduce other pain management drugs effectiveness, to me as a non expert those sound like complete opposites. Love the video man

even if they lie because its illegal in their country you should perform a drug test to check anyway, it stays in your system for up to 90 days so its easy to find, if these are the effects then always do a blood test before its simple lol. you are the professional here

Too real. I woke up a bit too early after my aortic root repair and yeah now I’m certain it’s because I didn’t tell the anesthesiologist I smoked weed. What a bizarre sensation to feel the breathing tube though - definitely won’t forget that!

I had more complicated surgeries and everytime I smoked before and after non stop and never had any problem ,I m a chronic since 18 years ...idk,for some is cool and for others is not .. Also ,I prefer to manage my pain with cannabis after any operation !!!

Never had a problem under anesthesia

*rips bong* man that's crazy.

I had surgery a few months ago and before they put me to sleep I told the anesthesiologist I smoked weed daily and she laughed at it as I was so worried to tell her for some reason😂everything was fine though but yes definitely let them know!

I went to the dentist high on weed. They gave me laughing gas and told me I was supposed to be fucked up. I literally didn't even feel it at all the woman even turned up the gas and I was hitting that $h/t like a gas mask bong. Straight ripping it, am I an anomaly or did the weed in my body make me resistant to laughing gas?

Im on medical marijuana for 2 years now and will have a procedure with anesthesia someday this year. I told the doctor that I take it medically and he said great, then we need to use less medication. And now I fear he has no clue what he does and I will be awake because everyone online tells me the total opposite is the case. Its not that bad I guess since its only a smaller thing but I have also a very low pain tolerance due to my disease and I also had an event last year where after a local surgery the pain medication didnt worked. I didnt met the anesthesiologist yet, maybe he know better, but I fear their incompetence

If we can't lie, then legalize then... In my county you can get 6 years in prison...

i told them i do smoke before a wisdom teeth removal, after they put the needle in my iv, i only remember asking "oh is that the anesthesia?" and then i woke up 52 minutes later

Max, I heard about agitation upon emergence in users of psychedelic mushrooms. Is that true?

This is like really cool man

found this out the hard way when they didn't give me enough for wisdom teeth surgery and i was semi awake while they shattered my molars and pulled them out chunk by chunk.

I value my life. I have, and would again, stop consumption specifically FOR surgery. Non-permanently, mind you....But I do tolerance breaks anyway, and one time is as good as another. I would ask ahead of time, not delay surgery. I had outpatient surgery without being asked, and it seemed to take quite a bit more anesthesia to cause the area proper numbness. Didn't ask, didn't tell. I'm 65 and I no longer care whether they approve or not, so they are going to get the truth. Thanks for a clearer picture.

Really clean and empty hospital in New York.. Does it not get suspicious?