Crohn's Disease - does cannabis help?

Posted by eltrosewater @eltrosewater, Aug 13, 2018

I am wondering if anyone has had success with cannabis use to treat and manage Crohn's Disease symptom and has gotten their Iowa Department of Public Health form stating they have a condition that qualifies them for the Iowa program signed by their gastroenterologist. My current medical team either claims cannabis does not help Crohn's symptoms and pain, or acknowledge it does and tell me privately in-person they will not sign the form because their supervisors have informed them they will lose their jobs.

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oldkarl | @oldkarl | Sep 17, 2018

In reply to @eltrosewater "I don't belief Crohn's is something that can be cured. It is a chronic and progressive..." + (show)

@eltrosewater

I don't belief Crohn's is something that can be cured. It is a chronic and progressive condition, like arthritis and Alzheimer's. You can make diet changes, eliminating the foods you know to exacerbate symptoms, but you will always have symptoms to some degree, from what I understand.

I have friends who live with Crohn's Disease and manage their pain and intestinal inflammation with cannabis, sometimes in addition to prescribed medicine, sometimes without. The best medical science can do for people living with Crohn's Disease seems to be bowel resections with an eventual colostomy anyway, and in the meantime high doses of pharmaceuticals that reduce our immune system response. The side effects of these immunosuppressants include catching a potentially fatal disease that has long been thought to be eradicated in our country, such as tuberculosis, catching an infectious disease that is rare enough most doctors don't recognize the symptoms until they are very severe such as meningitis, and an increased risk of cancers such as lymphoma. I had to sign a waiver to start my most current biologic immunosuppressant stating I would hold no one liable for catching a potentially fatal disease or getting cancer. The decreased immune response can also lead to rapid onset of symptoms and a less effective containment of the pathogens in my body, so that I don't get sick more often than others, but when I do it worsens very rapidly and I take about 2-3x to recover. Add on top of this that people living with Crohn's Disease are so used to feeling sick on a daily basis and tend to ignore more innocuous symptoms until it's time to head to the ER and be admitted to the hospital, and it's a lot of pain and suffering that could easily be avoided. You'd think insurance companies would be gung-ho about medical cannabis too, since it's not as expensive as the federally approved pharmaceuticals, which don't really work too well anyway and we end up with lost time in the hospital away from work and school or both, and it seems insurance companies are basically going with the lowest level of preventative care that is financially possible for them to do without overtly breaking laws protecting consumers.

The CBD component is anti-inflammatory, so it helps with the constant intestinal inflammation from my immune system attacking my colon. The THC component is analgesic, so it helps with the pain that comes with Crohn's symptom flares. The tricky part is that cannabis can have both a stimulant and a depressant effect. In states where cannabis is legal as medicine or even as a recreational substance (like alcohol, cigarettes, foods high in sugar that we are just now learning the sugar industry knew were addictive in the 1970s), the rates of alcohol and federally prohibited substance abuse tend to decrease. A friend of mine from out west told me once that people think cannabis is a gateway drug, but she believes the real gateway drug is alcohol, and describes cannabis as an exit drug. Alcohol and cigarettes have negative effects on our health, and everyone is aware of it, but a plant that can be used as medicine is treated just the same as methamphetamine or heroin.

Of course if you don't respond well to cannabis, it's a good idea to avoid it. A lot of people are genetically more susceptible to alcohol and tobacco/nicotine dependence, but both of those are decriminalized for individuals at least 21 and 18, respectively. That doesn't mean no one should be able to make the choice to use those substances if they want to, so why should medical cannabis, which has evidence mounting that it is helpful in Crohn's management, be any different?

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@eltrosewater Back to Crohn's. my family and I for several generations have been diagnosed with some form of hereditary Amyloidosis. At the moment my version is mostly Gelsolin, and several others have or have had before death. There is also Multiple Myeloma, Lect2, Apolipoprotein, Carnetine, Crohns, Lupus, and several other Lite Chain mutations. There are well over 1,000 Lite Chain forms, and every person's form is different. Some may respond well to cannabis, some will not. Anyway, my sole point here is that the market push by greedy unskilled diagnosticians who stand to reap huge income from unwarranted sales and usage is dangerous to everyone, not just the patient. Finally, the patient must make the choice.

eltrosewater | @eltrosewater | Sep 17, 2018

I agree. Part of making a choice is becoming as informed as possible about the possible options. I and my friends know a lot about Crohn's Disease and related symptoms. Pharmaceutical companies and doctors (currently) know extremely little about medical cannabis, because it is federally prohibited for any use so it cannot even be widely researched. If a medical research team tried to study it with a large enough sample, it would be an enormous undertaking, because of the Schedule I status, which says it has no medical value and is highly addictive. What I am afraid of is pharmaceutical companies finally figuring out how to replicate the cohort effect of natural medical cannabis, synthesizing it and making it more potent and probably addictive/dangerous, then sending representatives out to every clinic and hospital and private practice to push the synthesized drug on doctors, who don't learn about medical cannabis in med school. Sociological studies have already shown that doctors will prescribe a particular drug a patient asks for more often than not, so if all that doctors know about medical cannabis is that it can possibly do this and possibly do that, they'll have to rely on the pamphlets the pharmaceutical reps give them and maybe a small vacation to a conference about their specialty, sponsored by some pharmaceutical company. As you said, it should be up to the patient and technically is, but if all doctors know about it is what they learn from the pharmaceutical industry, patients will be prescribed it and it will have no beneficial effect for their particular symptoms, or worse, they could get into a car accident or become dependent on the substance. I had an internship in college at a local neuropsychology clinic, and the doctor I shadowed would often send me into an exam room to talk with patients while he ate donuts and listened to a pharma rep talk about the wonders of some new drug for Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, etc.

Mamacita, Alumna Mentor | @mamacita | Sep 17, 2018

In reply to @rabecca "I have some questions, but I don't know anyone else who has crohns. Some other Crohnies..." + (show)

Yez! We will talk@ Love and light, Mamacita

John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | May 3, 2019

In reply to @arick21 "Hi! I am a 41 year old female, dx with Crohn’s in 2016 after a two-week..." + (show)

Hello @arick21, welcome to Connect. There is another discussion on Connect where your post may have more visibility with members discussing symptoms similar to yours. I'm tagging our moderator @ethanmcconkey to see if we should move your post to the following discussion where you will be able to meet other members with similar symptoms.

> Groups > Autoimmune Diseases > Diagnosed with Crohn's but having weird symptoms
-- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/diagnosed-with-crohns-but-having-weird-symptoms/

You mentioned your recent labs pointed towards malnutrition yet you are unable to lose weight. Have you discussed this with your doctor? I did run across an interesting article discussing the topic that may provide more information for you.

6 Surprising Health Conditions that Hinder Weight Loss
-- https://www.canadianliving.com/health/nutrition/article/6-surprising-health-conditions-that-hinder-weight-loss

arick21 | @arick21 | May 3, 2019

In reply to @johnbishop "Hello @arick21, welcome to Connect. There is another discussion on Connect where your post may have..." + (show)

Hi @johnbishop. Thank you on the posting guidance and the article. I really appreciate it.

mountainocean | @mountainoceangirl | May 3, 2019

In reply to @arick21 "Hi! I am a 41 year old female, dx with Crohn’s in 2016 after a two-week..." + (show)

Hi arick21, I read your post and wanted to reply. I also am a female in my 40 s who has Crohns Disease. I was diagnosed at age 25. Through this long journey of living with the disease for over 20 years, first I just wanted to say.. don’t give up in trying to find answers! I got help and second opinions at Mayo Rochester and it was totally worth it. The doctors there are so knowledgeable and kind and set me on the right path in terms of meds and healing. Also one thing I have seen over the years is that Crohns is a really individual disease. That means everyone’s Crohns is unique. I have two close girlfriends with Crohns and their disease is very different to mine. Yet here we all are with Crohns! So in summary, don’t give up, keep seeking your truth and answers. And know there are lots of other Crohnsies out there all with very different symptoms.. but suffering from this same inflammatory bowel disease!

arick21 | @arick21 | May 3, 2019

Hi!
I am a 41 year old female, dx with Crohn’s in 2016 after a two-week affair of chronic diarrhea and nausea, with subsequent dehydration, weight loss, fatigue. Colonoscopy did show chronic ulcerations. Prior to that event, I had irregular BM’s, but nothing significant. Since my diagnosis, I have chronic abdominal bloating, abdominal pain, fatigue, no diarrhea, fatigue, have GAINED 20 lbs. I am on Pentasa and take various supplements. I recently had labs done, and there are a few directing to malnutrition, yet I cannot lose weight!

I also have early onset disc dysplagia in lumbar/sacral spine. I am active and live a healthy life. I am not certain Crohn’s is the correct dx, especially with the absence of chronic diarrhea and constpation. Does anyone have any feedback or advice? I am at a loss and wonder if I have something else going on.

Thank you!

Keith Moon | @jcarndt | Sep 26, 2019

I've had Crohn's disease for many years. My energy level is usually pretty low, but several times a month I get hit with major fatigue that lasts for 3-4 days, and leaves me unable to do just about anything. Have any of you experienced this, and what do you do to get through it ?

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