By Jacob Mirman, MD
I see many cannabis patients each week who have seen significant improvements in their health as it relates to the qualifying conditions of medical marijuana. An added bonus of treating patients with cannabis is that often they experience some excellent “side benefits” as part of their treatments.
- One man showed me a photo of himself from 4 years ago. He was fat, suffered from diabetes and looked very depressed. A friend of his in Seattle suggested that he take cannabis which can be used for diabetes in there, although it is not a qualifying condition as yet in Minnesota. He showed me before and after photos and he looked fat and depressed before cannabis and after a year looked chipper and fit. Once he started cannabis he began to feel less depressed which helped him lose weight, which was a huge benefit for his diabetes. So in essence, cannabis helped his depression which helped his eating and his eating helped his diabetes.
- Another male patient who qualified for cannabis due to pain got excellent results for his pain. But he had diabetes as well and a welcome side effect was that the medical marijuana was very beneficial to that disease. He started the process he was taking 90 units of insulin a day and he was also on Metformin with an A1C of 13.5. When he came in a year later to get re-certified he was off of Metformin and down to only 16 units of insulin; which equated to an 80% reduction in insulin. His A1C was 6.5. As a third bonus he found that his PTSD had dramatically improved.
- Another male patient qualified for medical marijuana because of back pain, and claims that for him it “is a miracle” because his pain level is down to almost zero. He stopped taking 15 medications including 4 heavy-duty pain medications and some muscle relaxers. As an added unforeseen bonus, he was also able to stop the Prednisone he was taking for his asthma which is almost gone. I’ve had three separate cases so far where patients have had a great improvement from asthma.
To be sure, we are not suggesting using cannabis for diabetes and asthma, as these are not qualifying conditions for medical cannabis in Minnesota. But these side benefits are surely welcome.
Gregory Mazo, PhD has developed a unique method to treat stuttering.
Dr. Mazo is a provider at Life Medical whose specialty is psychotherapy. Over the course of many years he has developed a special psychotherapy-based approach to treat stuttering that has helped many patients overcome this disability.
Dr. Mazo also treats people for a wide variety of conditions, including anxiety, depression, OCD, insomnia, etc. He can often help people with a range of physical conditions, such as hypertension, stomach pains and headaches, when these issues are secondary to some emotional/psychological issue.
To read Dr. Mazo’s full biography CLICK HERE
What types of treatments are used to help patients overcome stuttering?
Dr. Mazo uses a program consisting of a combination of three types of therapy to treat patients with stuttering:
- Psychological exercises
- Breathing exercises
- Relaxation exercises
How do the treatment exercises vary?
The first thing Dr. Mazo does treating patients with a stutter disorder is to determine the cause of the stuttering. In the patient’s first consultation appointment he performs a careful evaluation and assessment to determine which exercises are appropriate for each patient. He talks with the patient about the end result they would like to achieve, and he determines a plan based on their goals.
Many patients that come to Dr. Mazo are delighted with the results of his program. They have previously tried multiple techniques to treat their stuttering with no success such as hypnosis and speech therapy; but have had great success with Dr. Mazo’s help. Patients have told him that their lives have improved dramatically once their stuttering was under control; they tell him they are so happy not to “feel different” anymore.
Stuttering can have many causes including:
- Neuroses
- Brain damage
- A sudden fear
- Anatomical problems in the voice system
What is the average length of treatment to get stuttering under control?
Every patient is different, and the more compliant a patient is about doing the exercises at home, the more quickly the results are seen; but in general an average treatment is one appointment a week for 3 – 4 months.
How does a stuttering patient go about making an appointment with Dr. Mazo?
Patients call Life Medical at 952-933-8900 to make an appointment with Dr. Mazo. He treats patients who speak English and Russian. His office hours are 9:30 am – 5:00 pm Monday – Friday. Our staff members are able to help patients determine whether the cost of the appointments will be covered by their insurance carrier. In most cases these appointments are covered. Life Medical accepts all types of insurances as well as patients who want to pay out-of-pocket.
Here are some short case study examples of patients that have been helped by Dr. Mazo:
PATIENT ONE; 17 YEAR OLD BOY:
A young man came to see Dr. Mazo and at the time his stuttering was so profound he could not pronounce many words. He had a breathing problem and was experiencing frequent panic attacks. After a course of breathing exercises and relaxation exercises the young man’s panic subsided and subsequently his speech improved dramatically.
PATIENT TWO; 21 YEAR OLD WOMAN:
At age seven a dog jumped on this patient’s shoulders and gave her a very bad fright; so profound she couldn’t speak. This fearful incident was the start of her stuttering. Dr. Mazo talked to her about her past history, the event with the dog and about her years of stuttering. The patient started special breathing exercises and eventually her stuttering was greatly improved.
PATIENT THREE; 22 YEAR OLD MAN:
When he first started grammar school around age 6 this young man experienced great fear when the teacher called on him for answers at school. He was very afraid that he would give the wrong answer. The breathing exercises developed by Dr. Mazo helped him become much more relaxed and that led to a dramatic improvement in his condition.
PATIENT FOUR; 35 YEAR OLD MAN:
This patient had been stuttering for many many years. As a result of the special psychological and relaxation exercises recommended to him by Dr. Mazo, the patient not only had a vast improvement in his stuttering but also experienced benefits with other psychological aspects such as memory and concentration.