Marijuana use as marrow recipient

[mindzeye]

Hello all. I was recently diagnosed with AA and was told that I need a marrow transplant for a cure. I just started my first ATG treatment 2 weeks ago, so as you can see this all new to me. As the title states, I've been smoking marijuana to battle anxiety and PTSD for a long time as it's the only thing that works for me and I refuse taking the big pharma drugs (Xanax, etc.). I had a medical marijuana card, but in California it is now legal to possess marijuana for personal use.

Since my diagnosis, I haven't smoked, but my anxiety and PTSD creeps in from time to time and I feel that if I smoke it will help me out some. The only thing that is stopping me is I've been told by a friend that if they do find a suitable donor for me, I can be rejected as the recipient if they find THC in my system. Is there any validity to that? Just doesn't make sense if it's true. I've tried googling, but nothing returns. Thanks in advance.

[Neil Cuadra]

mindzeye,

I'm sorry that you've found yourself in this situation. This news article from 2014 mentions the issue.

Even where marijuana is legal, the chemical content is not controlled, making it a problem for medical study. As a result, less is know about how it affects you in combination with other medications. You can assume that it's an outlier when they look at your medication list and consider what you'd need to take before and during a transplant.

I don't know if there's a rule about THC in your system during transplant preparations. You'll have to ask. Don't worry about bringing up the subject; it's always a mistake to keep information from your physician. If they give you an OK, then you don't need to continue worrying about being rejected for transplant.

If they confirm what your friend said, then you'll have to make a choice. You don't want your anxiety and PTSD to be left untreated, so given that you're between a rock and a hard place I think you should reconsider your stance on other drugs. If the medical team recommends certain prescriptions, even from big pharma, then that gives you a way to stay within the transplant guidelines. And perhaps they'll have suggestions other than big pharma drugs, so express your preference to avoid them.

It's unfortunate that it can take several tries to find the right medication to treat anxiety. Different medications work for different people. So the sooner you start the better. Good luck.

[mindzeye]

Thank you for the reply. I will check with my doctor to clarify.

[Daisyraybell@yahoo.com]

Mindzeye
I had this same issue. You need to call the hospital you will be getting the transplant and ask what there rules are and then you need to find out what the insurance rules are as well because they can deny payment. There is no rules where I am at so I'm not at that fork in the road and hopefully your not either.
Desiree'