I was just wondering if anyone knew what the effects of Marijuana use regarding Chronic Pancreatitis were. I was diagnosed with Chronic Pancreatitis a few years back after the doctors found gall stones in my bile ducts(i was 16 then, im 18 now). As they were operating on me to get the stones out they noticed my Pancrease was hard as a rock. Long story short, i was diagnosed with Chronic Pancreatitis and now i have to take enzymes every time i eat a meal or, you know, ugly, smelly, oily things will come out of my back end. heh... :/ But anyways, the doctors couldn't stress to me enough that i must abstain from alcohal. Fine, i wont drink cause i dont want to die- have diabetes ect. But what about marijuana? I love my pot, it helps me with my appitite, makes me feel swell, and i guess you could say it helps with the pain assoiated with the desease. But is this stuff adding to my condition or does it not effect it? I would really like to know because i would like to lead a long healthy life but i would really have to take another look at things if the marijuana i smoke everday is slowley killing me.
Dear guest, I can tell you that smoking in general affects the pancrease. It is un-advisable to continue smoking cigarettes or marijuana. If you are looking for an appetite from marijuana, ask your doctor to prescribe marinol. If pain is also an issue, look at deseryl or oxycodone.
I too have chronic pancreatitis and I am on several meds, I take oxycodone, dilaudid, morphine, promethazine, for nausea and pain. A far as the not wanting to eat....you have to eat, but try small portions at a time. Sometimes I go for days without eating, and that is no good. None the less back to smoking and pancreatitis, DONT DO IT!
I too have chronic pancreatitis and I am on several meds, I take oxycodone, dilaudid, morphine, promethazine, for nausea and pain. A far as the not wanting to eat....you have to eat, but try small portions at a time. Sometimes I go for days without eating, and that is no good. None the less back to smoking and pancreatitis, DONT DO IT!
I also have chronic pancreatis, and I can tell you that I am 100% sure that it is better than any thing the doctors will do or give you. I've tried it both ways, and without it I took 4 time as much morphine (and the like) and weighed 115lbs., while since I have been smoking pot again, (I'm 50+ and did use it in my younger days), I have gained 25lbs. and the need as I said 1/4 the narcotics (who wants to spend their life slobbering all the time?), and seem to digest my food better! We all dont have the necessary cash to or insurance to get the care i need. I'm like many who was forced to pay FICA tax but now that I need it, (for meds and what little financial support), have been in a 3 year war with social security to get disability. So let those who can afford the best care advise you from their comfortable chair, but the in the real world I can tell you that its not likely you'll find a doc to give you merinol, but will gladly make you a nonfunctional junkie, of course if you can pay thier fees. good luck my friend. rather than puke and grown, I will now eat a sandwich.
I was recently diagnosed with chronic panareatitis, i think it was brought on by eating too much fast food. I drive a cab and everyday I would eat at McD's, wendys,taco bell, burger king.No more! I was told to avoid fatty foods, greasy foods, fried foods,spicy foods,red meat,dairy alcohol and caffiene. Rice is the best thing and veggies are good.I eat fish and some chicken, it seems to be working, I feel a lot better.I'm still experimenting and would like learn more about diet,whats good and what's not recipes etc. You definatly have to quit alcohol. I had pain for a year and a half, off and on till I was finally diagnosed. It cost 15,000 just for tests to find out what I had, colonoscopy,CT scan, etc. As for smoking weed, I dont think it would hurt, pancreatitis is a disease of the gastro intestinal system so I don't think that what you put into your lungs would have that much effect on it. I mean, Oxycondon, morphine are OK but marijuana isn't? Give me a break. Weed is way better than alcohol if you must get high on something and you can quit smoking tobacco if you smoke pot instead.
i too have cp took 3+ yrs to get disabillity. i would have 100% SURLY DIED HAD I NOT USED POT TO HELP AT LEAST KEEP ENOUGH FOOD TO KEEP MY HEART BEATING. so let them say what they will i know.
I think I might have it too. Chronic upper left quadrant pain, bloating, and gas(when I am lucky). I had a ultrasound and they say no. HELP.
They did an x-ray on me one time and I told them I had pancreatic episodes before and I know my pain so they looked at my lypase or something a noticed it was elevated even though the x-ray was negative. They don't always catch it. For me they did not catch my pancreatitis for about six years, until I wound up in the ICU.
I enjoy the poster recommends that you should down an opiate cocktail with the prescription drugs such as morphine and oxycodone but mentions to steer clear from smoking marijuana, as it may worsen your symptoms.
To this poster suggesting habit forming, addictive, harmful chemical substances, I ask you... Have you ever compared the side effects of these prescribed painkillers with those of marijuana? Even the anti-nausea's being prescribed have listed side effects of diarrhea and get this, it's weird... NAUSEA. I could be wrong, but isn't the point of taking medication to alleviate the discomfort?Marinol or dronabinol also lists nausea as a common side effect. Marinol is also a synthetic man made compound. Why would you want something tossed together by a couple of mad scientists, when you could have an organic all natural alternative?
Marijuana is extremely efficient at relieving symptoms of pain and nausea without any serious long term side effects. This is the part where all the anti-marijuana bandwagon jumpers will die to chime in and scream that marijuana smoke contains just as many harmful toxins and carcinogens that are found in tobacco cigarettes.
Get this Republicans... most responsible marijuana users don't smoke joints every hour on the hour for 5 min smoke breaks like cigarette smokers. Often times water filtered devices are used to help remove a great bulk of the harmful toxins that are usually caused by the incinerating of plant material. A great bulk of EDUCATED marijuana users have even turned to vaporizing. When marijuana is vaporized no flame is ever introduced to the plant material, this creates a productive dosage with less toxins than you breath on your daily freeway trip to work. So wait, if we have eliminated smoking of the product as being the only REAL danger of smoking marijuana we are left with a non toxic borderline miracle drug? SIGN ME UP!
I have dealt with the pains and discomfort of Chronic Pancreatitis for most of my life, and have been through the gauntlet of prescribed drugs, for pain, nausea, antacid and even depression caused from fearing I'll never have a normal appetite again, and the fear of not wanting to sleep because I know that "male morning sickness" as I have so lovingly nicknamed it, will be waiting for me when the sun rises. I realized that when taking prescription opiates to manage pain, I mostly slept alot, and when I was awake I was irritable, nauseous and full of anger to those around me that lived "normal lives". A friend of mine turned me on to marijuana and I have been using this as my primary pain management and appetite enhancer. With marijuana I am able to live life again, be around friends and family, eat great food and maintain a more healthy weight of 120 as opposed to the doctors remedied weight of 107.
If marijuana works for you, DO IT. Get a vaporizer, learn how to make herbal tinctures with marijuana, learn to cook with cannabis and learn the truth. ALWAYS question your doctor about the possible use of herbal remedies before loading up full of expensive pharmaceutical toxins. :-)
To this poster suggesting habit forming, addictive, harmful chemical substances, I ask you... Have you ever compared the side effects of these prescribed painkillers with those of marijuana? Even the anti-nausea's being prescribed have listed side effects of diarrhea and get this, it's weird... NAUSEA. I could be wrong, but isn't the point of taking medication to alleviate the discomfort?Marinol or dronabinol also lists nausea as a common side effect. Marinol is also a synthetic man made compound. Why would you want something tossed together by a couple of mad scientists, when you could have an organic all natural alternative?
Marijuana is extremely efficient at relieving symptoms of pain and nausea without any serious long term side effects. This is the part where all the anti-marijuana bandwagon jumpers will die to chime in and scream that marijuana smoke contains just as many harmful toxins and carcinogens that are found in tobacco cigarettes.
Get this Republicans... most responsible marijuana users don't smoke joints every hour on the hour for 5 min smoke breaks like cigarette smokers. Often times water filtered devices are used to help remove a great bulk of the harmful toxins that are usually caused by the incinerating of plant material. A great bulk of EDUCATED marijuana users have even turned to vaporizing. When marijuana is vaporized no flame is ever introduced to the plant material, this creates a productive dosage with less toxins than you breath on your daily freeway trip to work. So wait, if we have eliminated smoking of the product as being the only REAL danger of smoking marijuana we are left with a non toxic borderline miracle drug? SIGN ME UP!
I have dealt with the pains and discomfort of Chronic Pancreatitis for most of my life, and have been through the gauntlet of prescribed drugs, for pain, nausea, antacid and even depression caused from fearing I'll never have a normal appetite again, and the fear of not wanting to sleep because I know that "male morning sickness" as I have so lovingly nicknamed it, will be waiting for me when the sun rises. I realized that when taking prescription opiates to manage pain, I mostly slept alot, and when I was awake I was irritable, nauseous and full of anger to those around me that lived "normal lives". A friend of mine turned me on to marijuana and I have been using this as my primary pain management and appetite enhancer. With marijuana I am able to live life again, be around friends and family, eat great food and maintain a more healthy weight of 120 as opposed to the doctors remedied weight of 107.
If marijuana works for you, DO IT. Get a vaporizer, learn how to make herbal tinctures with marijuana, learn to cook with cannabis and learn the truth. ALWAYS question your doctor about the possible use of herbal remedies before loading up full of expensive pharmaceutical toxins. :-)
I suffered more at the hands of the multitude of very strong opoid painkillers prescribed for chronic pancreatitus than was necessary. After being a zombiefied wreck for the best part of two years i made a decision i would rather be in pain than contend with the problems of long term painkiller use (i'm sure you all know them). After going through an extended period of cold turkey due to the way in which i was weaned of the various pills i found that cannabis use was a much better way of lessening the discomfort doled out by the disease.
It has helped me regain some of the weight i lost, increased my appetite, (i would often go 5-6 days without eating as the pain intensified when food was taken) and helped settle my nerves a bit as they had become quite frazzled by two years of relentless hurt.
Due to using cannabis i have managed to rid myself of fentanyl, Dihydrocodiene and diazapan habits and while it was not easy with pot as a crutch, it would have been a hell of a lot harder without. The one problem i could forsee if you plan on using pot as part of ongoing treatment for the pain (apart from legality issues) is that when the disease strikes you are not in any condition to be out trying to find a sativa source.
It has helped me regain some of the weight i lost, increased my appetite, (i would often go 5-6 days without eating as the pain intensified when food was taken) and helped settle my nerves a bit as they had become quite frazzled by two years of relentless hurt.
Due to using cannabis i have managed to rid myself of fentanyl, Dihydrocodiene and diazapan habits and while it was not easy with pot as a crutch, it would have been a hell of a lot harder without. The one problem i could forsee if you plan on using pot as part of ongoing treatment for the pain (apart from legality issues) is that when the disease strikes you are not in any condition to be out trying to find a sativa source.
Hiya folks,
I have a bit of professional background regarding these issues, as well as having a wife who is a long-term (6 years) sufferer of Chronic Pancreatitis (CP). Some of the responses I'm seeing here are making me cringe.
There are a few things to take into account here. First off, while there are no clinical studies to determine whether or not smoking (tobacco) can potentially cause a worsening of CP, there is certainly an abundance of anecdotal evidence indicating that it could POTENTIALLY cause a worsening in SOME patients. While many patients do experience an improvement in their CP symptoms after giving up smoking, many do not. Quitting smoking certainly does help a patient's overall health and well-being, however, and if even just for this it is certainly recommended.
There is no reliable evidence published, anecdotal or otherwise, that supports the claim that smoking marijuana has either a positive or negative effect specifically in CP. That being said, it does have very good antiemetic and appetite stimulant properties for many patients, though not for all. Furthermore, making the jump to the conclusion that smoking marijuana is bad for CP based upon the belief that smoking tobacco is bad for CP is completely illogical and unsupported. Even if there was hard scientific proof that smoking tobacco had negative effects on CP (which there isn't) it would not mean that smoking marijuana has the same negative effects. Tobacco has innumerable (400+) additives which are added for one reason or another, while marijuana generally does not. The act of smoking itself, regardless of the material smoked, can cause problems in the lungs. However, as one poster pointed out above, the sheer quantity of smoke inhaled when smoking marijuana is significantly less than that with smoking tobacco. When ingested in other forms (vaporization for example) the amount of smoke becomes a non-factor.
The positive effects of marijuana (appetite stimulant, anti-emetic, augmentation of pain control) will vary by degree in each patient. Some report no positive effects whatsoever, while others point to marijuana as being the difference between being able to tolerate the condition or not. Again, there are no reliable clinical studies available to show one way or another what the overall level of effect is. Even if there was, the effects are variable and differ in each patient.
Regarding the claim that marijuana is superior to other synthetic medications because it is "organic" or "all natural" is just plain silly and amounts to nothing more than misinformation. First of all, if you are claiming that marijuana is organic, while other things are not, then you are misusing the term organic, and perhaps do not know what it means to begin with. To claim that something is preferable because it is "all natural" OR to claim that something is less desirable because it is "synthetic" is similarly irresponsible; not to mention that characterizing synthetic medications as being "thrown together by a couple of mad scientists" illustrates either an ignorance of how medications are developed and those that develop them OR an agenda whereby propaganda such as this will further the cause. If we are to believe that things that are "all-natural" are good for us, then might I suggest that tonight you eat a dinner consisting of oleander and poison ivy leaves, and wash it down with a nice cup of hemlock. I assure you that your "all natural" dinner will leave you longing for something a bit less natural.
For the record, legalities aside, neither opiod pain medications, synthetic anti-emetics or marijuana is going to be equally effective in all patients. Each will work better in some patients than in others and each has an important place in the treatment of chronic conditions characterized by pain and nausea, and none are particularly superior to the other.
For the original poster (OP) of this thread, I certainly can't tell you definitively if marijuana is going to ultimately help, harm or have no effect overall on your CP. No one else can either. So if you have anyone telling you that it is definitely going to hurt or help, you should be skeptical of their motivations. Certainly there is a legal issue since the possession and use of marijuana is currently illegal in most jurisdictions. That issue aside, the best way to determine whether marijuana, or any other therapy, helps or harms is to try it, ideally under the direction and supervision of your physician. I'm sure you probably will not be likely to discuss this with your doctor due to the legalities, but it is the safest way and the best way to avoid untoward drug interactions. And besides, patient confidentiality means your doctor is not allowed to narc you out.
Good luck with whatever you ultimately decide to do.
I have a bit of professional background regarding these issues, as well as having a wife who is a long-term (6 years) sufferer of Chronic Pancreatitis (CP). Some of the responses I'm seeing here are making me cringe.
There are a few things to take into account here. First off, while there are no clinical studies to determine whether or not smoking (tobacco) can potentially cause a worsening of CP, there is certainly an abundance of anecdotal evidence indicating that it could POTENTIALLY cause a worsening in SOME patients. While many patients do experience an improvement in their CP symptoms after giving up smoking, many do not. Quitting smoking certainly does help a patient's overall health and well-being, however, and if even just for this it is certainly recommended.
There is no reliable evidence published, anecdotal or otherwise, that supports the claim that smoking marijuana has either a positive or negative effect specifically in CP. That being said, it does have very good antiemetic and appetite stimulant properties for many patients, though not for all. Furthermore, making the jump to the conclusion that smoking marijuana is bad for CP based upon the belief that smoking tobacco is bad for CP is completely illogical and unsupported. Even if there was hard scientific proof that smoking tobacco had negative effects on CP (which there isn't) it would not mean that smoking marijuana has the same negative effects. Tobacco has innumerable (400+) additives which are added for one reason or another, while marijuana generally does not. The act of smoking itself, regardless of the material smoked, can cause problems in the lungs. However, as one poster pointed out above, the sheer quantity of smoke inhaled when smoking marijuana is significantly less than that with smoking tobacco. When ingested in other forms (vaporization for example) the amount of smoke becomes a non-factor.
The positive effects of marijuana (appetite stimulant, anti-emetic, augmentation of pain control) will vary by degree in each patient. Some report no positive effects whatsoever, while others point to marijuana as being the difference between being able to tolerate the condition or not. Again, there are no reliable clinical studies available to show one way or another what the overall level of effect is. Even if there was, the effects are variable and differ in each patient.
Regarding the claim that marijuana is superior to other synthetic medications because it is "organic" or "all natural" is just plain silly and amounts to nothing more than misinformation. First of all, if you are claiming that marijuana is organic, while other things are not, then you are misusing the term organic, and perhaps do not know what it means to begin with. To claim that something is preferable because it is "all natural" OR to claim that something is less desirable because it is "synthetic" is similarly irresponsible; not to mention that characterizing synthetic medications as being "thrown together by a couple of mad scientists" illustrates either an ignorance of how medications are developed and those that develop them OR an agenda whereby propaganda such as this will further the cause. If we are to believe that things that are "all-natural" are good for us, then might I suggest that tonight you eat a dinner consisting of oleander and poison ivy leaves, and wash it down with a nice cup of hemlock. I assure you that your "all natural" dinner will leave you longing for something a bit less natural.
For the record, legalities aside, neither opiod pain medications, synthetic anti-emetics or marijuana is going to be equally effective in all patients. Each will work better in some patients than in others and each has an important place in the treatment of chronic conditions characterized by pain and nausea, and none are particularly superior to the other.
For the original poster (OP) of this thread, I certainly can't tell you definitively if marijuana is going to ultimately help, harm or have no effect overall on your CP. No one else can either. So if you have anyone telling you that it is definitely going to hurt or help, you should be skeptical of their motivations. Certainly there is a legal issue since the possession and use of marijuana is currently illegal in most jurisdictions. That issue aside, the best way to determine whether marijuana, or any other therapy, helps or harms is to try it, ideally under the direction and supervision of your physician. I'm sure you probably will not be likely to discuss this with your doctor due to the legalities, but it is the safest way and the best way to avoid untoward drug interactions. And besides, patient confidentiality means your doctor is not allowed to narc you out.
Good luck with whatever you ultimately decide to do.
Use a vaporizer instead of smoking. Problem solved.
I've been reading all your posts and decided to chime in myself on my experience. In 2008 after experiencing increasing pain in my abdomen I had an MRI where the doctors discovered a small tumor in my pancreas. I had radical surgery including a resection of my pancreas and a "whipple procedure" that included removal of a portion of my stomach and my entire small intestine. And those of you up on the statistics know that there is a 95% chance I won't be here much longer.
I am alive and after a few years have started experiencing chronic pancreatitis. I keep to my non/low-fat diet and watch the calories. But daily I am on a rollercoaster of varying degrees of pain and nausea. I haven't been prescribed anything for the nausea but have been prescribed oxycodone and vicoden for the pain. After reading a recent study and talking to my doctor ...on the side...he agreed that I should try a little marijuana to cope with the pain and nausea. Marijuana is less harmful on the body than vicoden and can in one shot help with the symtoms. I have an executive position with my company and do not smoke while I am working and opt for small dosages of vicoden to get through the day. But when I am home I have found just a few puffs of weed work wonders.
I am alive and after a few years have started experiencing chronic pancreatitis. I keep to my non/low-fat diet and watch the calories. But daily I am on a rollercoaster of varying degrees of pain and nausea. I haven't been prescribed anything for the nausea but have been prescribed oxycodone and vicoden for the pain. After reading a recent study and talking to my doctor ...on the side...he agreed that I should try a little marijuana to cope with the pain and nausea. Marijuana is less harmful on the body than vicoden and can in one shot help with the symtoms. I have an executive position with my company and do not smoke while I am working and opt for small dosages of vicoden to get through the day. But when I am home I have found just a few puffs of weed work wonders.
It only took 50 years to arrive at an acurate diagnosis of pancreatic cystic fibrosis. Some dedicated Doctors, and some not so much, took my money and came up with pseudodiagnostic names like "nervous stomach". After a CT showed a tiny amount of calcification in my pancreas that was "unremarkable", my wife took the helm and found Dr. Steven Freedman at Beth Israel Deaconness Center in Boston. Freedman patiently listened to my complaints, asked my family history which reads like: paternal Grandmother death age 47 pancreatic cancer. Father, death age 48 malnutrition & pnuemonia, autopsy; pancreas autodigested. He said, I think we can get to the bottom of this fairly quick. With a hose down the nose, he performed what is known as an endosecretin test. It is an old school method of stimulating the pancreas with the Hormone; secretin, hooking a tube to the sphicter of odi ( the place in the small intestine where the pancreatic juices and bile join with stomach acids to digest your food) and sucking what comes out of the tube for an hour. Afterwhich, they measure primarily the concentration of sodium bicarbinate that was captured. In my case, I broke the known world record in terms of concentration. My juices, which were the viscosity of cold honey were not leaving my pancrease, along with the amalayse, lipase, and concentrated sodium bicarbinate, I was autodigesting my pancrease. If you are frustrated with throwing money down a rabbit hole. Tell your GI doctor to perform this test. According to Dr. Freedman, he had lost count of the number of false negatives he had seen in reports from Doctors sliding by with the "Gold Standard" CT. Keep in mind that you don't have to be an alcoholic to have severe chronic pancreatitis. In can be idiopathic, or in my case with the confirmation of genetic testing, Cystic Fibrosis. I am at the limit of analgesics that I can take for what is accurately defined as "chonic acute, necrotic pancreatitis" I am considering using orally administered medical marijuana, but would like to find a study on the efficacy before moving into this therapy. Even something substantive from an MD, or DO that has some knowledge of the end effect. Most narcotics, excepting meperidine interfere somewhat with the biliary system, putting the sphincter of odi into spasm and increasing the serum concentration of amalayse in the pancrease. I no longer have a gall bladder, but in spite of the prediction that by now, I shouldn't have anything left of my pancrease, it still is there, hard as a stone, but there none the less.
I have had CP for 6yrs. I spent 7mths suffering being fed through a JG tube, which was more awful and painful then the not eating at all. I have lost over 100lbs in the last 2yrs from the lack of being able to eat or even drink water. I have found that after awhile even the pain meds stop helping and NONE of them make eating a desirable thing, or even a possiblity. I have smoked cigarettes for 15yrs and Yes I know they say I should quit but when it was the only thing I could physically do on some days it made it possible to get through the day. My husband, after watching me shrink away for yrs and the immense pain I was in suggested I try smoking pot. It did make the pain somewhat better and made eating something I wanted to do, instead of avoiding at all costs! I am still losing weight but the pot helped slowdown the process and it improved my mood. I had gotten to the point where being alive wasn't very desirable anymore. I was seriously wanting to die ALL the time. I dont endorse the use of drugs but smoking pot helped me more than I can express in words. It was also something I informed my Dr. of and she was OK with it also. My CP is now to the point where they want to do a distal pancreatectomy, not something I want to happen but we will see what the future holds.
Ha! You sound like me! I had a sphincter of Oddi test, can't remember the name, but it was a two parter that required 4 days in the dang hospital and two separate surgeries. What they found was my sphincter of Oddi was locked up tighter than a federal prison. Said they'd never seen anything like it, I was absolutely not getting any nutrition whatsoever, which explained my 60 pounds in 3 months weight loss. I still suffer every single day, and have a multitude of auto immune disorders. Just tired of living my life in the bathroom.