"Also I read pot will slow down recovery and make scarring more prominent. Is this true? How long after surgery should I wait before vaping. I use Cannabis for insomnia, anxiety and tummy issues from anx. Thank you "
Hi there!
Since you’ve stopped six days prior to surgery, you should be fine.
There are three main considerations:
- Smoking marijuana can lead to respiratory complications during and after surgery. However, when considering your abstinence of 6 days, and that you vaporize cannabis, respiratory complications are unlikely: The temperature of combusted cannabis is much higher than vaporized cannabis. Additionally, vaporized cannabis does not release the lung-damaging byproducts of combustion, which also interfere with wound healing.
- Heavy use of cannabis may alter the metabolism—via competitive inhibition—of most anesthetic agents, which would necessitate higher amounts of anesthetic. This effect would be of meaningful concern if used the day of, or heavily the day prior.
- If used the day of, or heavily the day prior, cannabis may also lead to unpredictable fluctuations in blood pressure, which might make the case much more complicated for the anesthesiologist.
I hope this helps!
Regarding the scarring:
If anything, cannabis (not smoked) would only help prevent scarring.
Scarring (fibrosis) is defined as the formation of excess fibrous connective tissue which occurs after an injury, such as a surgical incision.
There are a few studies which suggest that cannabis attenuates the fibrotic response:
"CB2 agonists attenuated the infiltration of inflammatory cells in bleomycin-induced skin fibrosis."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4757881
drkim
"Our findings indicate that CB2 limits leukocyte infiltration and tissue fibrosis in experimental dermal fibrosis. Since selective CB2 agonists are available and well tolerated, CB2 might be an interesting molecular target for the treatment of early inflammatory stages of systemic sclerosis."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19333940
However, CBD binds the CB2 (Cannabinoid 2) receptor very weakly; THC binds the CB2 receptor with high affinity — so it would be THC, rather than CBD, attenuating the fibrotic process in the manner described above.
Although, a study published in 2011 did conclude that "CBD treatment attenuates diabetes-associated myocardial fibrosis."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3026637/
There was also a study that concluded that "a combination of the oils of four plants: sesame (Sesamum indicum L.), wild pistachio (Pistacia atlantica Desf.), hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), and walnut (Juglans regia L.) significantly reduced the healing time from major burns.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5292211/.
So, rather than exacerbating the scarring process, cannabis might reduce scar formation, and it might even shorten healing time.
I would recommend:
https://www.hellomd.dev/products/5b6e09bd96120c00012c6935/13-releaf-balm
It’s a 1CBD:3THC cream, that I believe aligns well with the above research.
I hope this helps!
drkim
