Monday, June 7, 2010

Pancreatitis and Marijuana

Marijuana and PancreatitisIt was well over two years ago now that I encountered my near deadly attack of Severe Acute Pancreatitis. If you've never had a severe pancreatic attack then you simply can't imagine how difficult it is to eat and how important it is to stay away from food, at times, no matter how hungry you are.

Several months after recovering from the pancreatic attack, my daughter and I went to Amsterdam. I'm not a drug person and since the pancreatic attack it was made clear to me that I will never be able to have another drink alcohol again and that in doing so the result could be death... even immediate death. Personally, I enjoy life too much to risk death over a drink so I've never had a drink since and can't imagine that ever changing.

When I was much younger - a teenager - I used to smoke pot. Eventually, it didn't work for me anymore and just put me to sleep so I stopped smoking it. Nonetheless, my daughter has picked up the frivolity and wanted to go to Amsterdam with her friends. This didn't seem like such a great idea to me so I told her I would take her.

During our 6-day stay in this lovely, quaint city we visited several coffee shops. If you don't know what an Amsterdam Coffee Shop is then let me explain: It's a place where you can buy and smoke pot... LEGALLY. Marijuana is legal in Amsterdam.

I ended up smoking a little of the cannabis plant as well as digesting it in a very delicious brownie only to find out that mother earth's natural drug helped my pancreas feel better. I never ate or smoked very much but a very little here and there truly made a difference. It substaintially decreased or eliminated the pancreatic pain more so than any other remedy I've found before or after that time. It was not necessary to smoke or eat enough for it to be mind altering - a very small amount felt like a nutrient to the pancreas. I want to say that it felt like it helped against calcification - which is one of my greatest concerns.

I was recently in Barcelona and found myself again with the opportunity to smoke a little pot and hopped on that bandwagon. It eases the pain of the pancreas. This is my experience. I am not interested in getting high. I don't like the feeling nor is it necessary to smoke or eat that much for the cannibas to work in what seems to be a healing manner for the pancreas. Pancreas and Cannibas

I don't smoke pot at home or anywhere besides the above mentioned. The reason I tried it in the first place was because I had heard of a study that was done on rats where marijuana helped rats with pancreatitis. So, I gave it a shot.

Just wanted to let you know my experience. I know our doctors have a long way to go before they can really be helpful to us sufferers of pancreatitis and we have so few healthy and safe options available to us. I'm not promoting getting high. But I do want to share my experience and what I have found to ease the pain of pancreatitis.

2 comments:

  1. I shared your aritcle with the below post from myself. It was just my thoughts, beliefs and feelings on it all:
    "If anyone has ever had gallbladder pain you know a bit of what pancreatites pain feels like. As bad as gall bladder pain is pancreatites pain is much worse. Acute pancreatites is very dangerous and can lead to death but thankfully it isnt a chronic thing most of the time.
    But those with chronic pancreatites, such as myself, live with pancreatites daily forever. Daily pain, nausea, diarrhea. As the deadly pancreatites spreads to the various parts of the pancreas it kills what it comes in contact with until one day the pancreas is dead.
    My pancreatites went undiagnosed and untreated for decades which lead to it killing my insulin producing cells and that is why I am a very brittle type 1 diabetic. The type 2 dabetes I got from my dad's side of the family.
    The deadly spreading pancreatites has also killed off the portion of my pancreas that makes digestive enzymes. I think I must still produce a tiny bit though. I take a very high dose of enzyme pills with each meal and snack other wise I wont be able to digest the food and will become very very sick and will end up in agonizing pain wishing I was dead.
    But my pancreatites pain is mild compared to some with chronic pancreatites. Some suffer daily labor like pains and need to be on morphine daily for it. They can hardly leave the house due to the nausea, diarrhea and pain.
    If this plant can help them have some relief then why is it illegal to use?
    This plant does NOT need to be smoked to gain its God made madicinal affects.
    I do NOT use this plant. I woud not even know where to get some and I dont wanna know because I would not like jail. But if it were legal I think Id try using it in edible form to see if it gives me some relief.
    God made it. It is not some kind of drug made in a back alley by sleeze balls. It is a wild God made herb.
    The reason the government made it illegal is because the powers that be wont keep getting rich off of us having to buy their deadly narcotic prescription pills. Id rather use a natural God made herb then those kidney killing pain pills but I have to use the pain pills because the plant is illegal.
    Those who dont suffer daily wont understand. If you can eat what you want, when you want and not suffer then you dont understand. if you dont double over in pain wishing death would take you then you dont understand. But for those of us who suffer daily we understand and we want relief."

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    1. I too have chronic pancreatitis and your post rang true with me. I have had gallstones and can assure my experience has been the pain with pancreatitis is far worse. You nailed it !

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