Should I Continue Or Abstain From The Practice Of Smoking Marijuana Medically For Arthritis And Insomnia Before And After Cataract Surgery?

Posted on Tue, 12 Jun 2018

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 12 Jun 2018 Answered on

Wed, 15 May 2024 Last reviewed on

Question : I smoke marijuana medically for arthritis and insomnia and am 74 yrs old. Will be having cataract surgery in a couple of months what are your recommendations regarding continuing the practice or abstaining before and after surgery and for how long in each instance

Answered by Dr. V. N. S. Parinam (4 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Marijuana before and after cataract surgery

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
I am a practising ophthalmologist for 8 yrs.
I personally feel you should avoid medical marijuana at least one month before surgery and even after it. It would hamper your ability to understand and follow the directions given by your doctor, also hampers judgement taken by you.
If you are unable to stop smoking marijuana, I would suggest in the form of capsules or tinctures. Smoke causes some irritation and can lead to coughing. Cough can raise pressure and delays healing process post surgery.

Hope this helps.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Remy Koshy

Follow up: Dr. V. N. S. Parinam (10 hours later)

Thank you for your response but I was seeking more of a physiology guided answer that relates to how smoking marijuana may affect the surgery itself. For instance, after smoking, typically there is redness in the eyes for a few hours due to vascular dilation in the eye. How does this affect the surgical procedure, or does it ? Issues that relate to inability to follow doctor's directions etc are meaningless to me as I am perfectly aware during and after smoking. Additionally, I only have one dose (smoke) late in the evening as that is how my insomnia is treated. I am not an all day smoker. Additionally, the issue of coughing is not too significant as I am able to control that. Kindly respond again.

Answered by Dr. V. N. S. Parinam (17 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Marijuana smoke

Detailed Answer:
If it is a mild user of the marijuana, it should not be a problem. Besides it controls the pressure in the eye ball. If you have a control on its use then you can go ahead with surgery but please inform your doctor about its use. The doses of other drugs, anesthetic etc would definitely vary during and post surgery.
There is limited research on smoking medical marijuana on blood pressure, vascular dilatation and is complex too.
But the fact is right after the smoke it shortly raises the blood pressure and reduces. Long term smoking is supposed to maintain good blood pressures. So we should measure how much does it raise after the smoke and if it is ok before the surgery and after cataract surgery.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar