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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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74 Year Old With Palpitations And Night Sweats. Concerned About Marijuana Exposure. Due To Stress?

I'm at my rope's end. My 74 year old mother is waking up with heart palpitaions and night sweats. She's convinced that they're caused by another member of our household who smokes marijuana and simply won't take his habit outside. She shuts herself up in her room. as do I, but he fires up an average of 2-3 times a day, either in the living room or the den, and she insists that every time it happens, she goes into the one of these rooms and catches him in the act. It should also be mentioned that she is currently under a tremendous amount of stress from
external factors.
I can't get her to go to her doctor, because she's afraid the secondhand exposure to marijuana will show up in either her blood or urine, making the doctor think that she's a user.
In your opinion, is it the marijuana, or the stress causing her palpitaions, or the stress? Can she be allergic?
Obviously, she needs to go to the doctor to ascertain exactly why she has this problem, but can secondhand exposure to his habit cause her to test positive as a user?
Wed, 15 May 2013
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Psychiatrist 's  Response
Hi there ~

I understand the concerns for your mother and believe that she needs to get out of the habit of using marijuana. It seems to be the cause of her problems and getting off of it would need medical and psychiatric solution. I would also think that you should take your mother to a group where they talk about the ill effects of usage. It may also be useful to provide information from an outside source like a social worker who can help in your case. I would think that medications are not the only answer, although they can be a big part of the answer and you need to have her see a psychiatrist. I hope this helps.

Take care and have a lovely day!
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74 Year Old With Palpitations And Night Sweats. Concerned About Marijuana Exposure. Due To Stress?

Hi there ~ I understand the concerns for your mother and believe that she needs to get out of the habit of using marijuana. It seems to be the cause of her problems and getting off of it would need medical and psychiatric solution. I would also think that you should take your mother to a group where they talk about the ill effects of usage. It may also be useful to provide information from an outside source like a social worker who can help in your case. I would think that medications are not the only answer, although they can be a big part of the answer and you need to have her see a psychiatrist. I hope this helps. Take care and have a lovely day!