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.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Pancreatitis & Honey

pancreatitis and honeyOne of the main reasons I created this website was because there was so little out there on Pancreatitis. I hope that this website will somehow help. I'm not very good about updating it because I'm busy with life. I'm thrilled to have a life to be busy with! Also, perhaps because I'm not sure I'm a good representative for those suffering from pancreatitis.

Honestly, I'm probably a rather average example of a person living with pancreatitis. I try to do the right things. I try to eat well and stay away from the things that are harmful to my pancreas. But, in all honesty, I'm not great at achieving this goal.

I remember when I first came out of the hospital - over two years ago now - and I had a very difficult time eating. At one point, I had a spoonful of honey. Immediately, there was a calming sensation in my pancreas. I don't know what the relationship is between honey and the pancreas but I believe it is a healing and healthy relationship.

If you are having a difficult time with food but you are hungry all I can tell you is what worked for me. I had a teaspoon of honey and it made my pancreas feel better... and I wasn't so hungry.

Honey is filling. If you try this let me know your results. Don't eat a gallon of it (or anything else) and expect positive results with or without pancreatitis. Or, if you know why the system seems to react positively to honey, please share. I'm guessing it probably has enzymes that the pancreas prefers... but that's just a guess.


Below are a couple articles I found on the topic:

THE BENEFITS OF BIOPOLLEN HONEY

HONEY AS A SWEETNER

HONEY AND DIABETES