Looking for info about cannabis use to stimulate appetite

I live in Texas and started with THC-9 gummies and tinctures after chemo wrecked my taste and appetite, but they have a couple hrs lag and didnt seem to help. I was prescribed marinol, and it basically saved my life as i coukd eat again. It "kicked in" about 30 min instead of hours. I took 1 in morning that helped with breakfast and lunch. Then a second pill in late afternoon for dinner. I only needed during chemo and about 6 months afterwards.

Marinol (generic name: dronabinol) is a prescription medication used to treat severe nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy in patients who have not responded adequately to conventional antiemetic treatments. It is also approved for treating loss of appetite (anorexia) that causes weight loss in people with AIDS. 6

I live in Texas and started with THC-9 gummies and tinctures after chemo wrecked my taste and appetite, but they have a couple hrs lag and didnt seem to help. I was prescribed marinol, and it basically saved my life as i coukd eat again. It "kicked in" about 30 min instead of hours. I took 1 in morning that helped with breakfast and lunch. Then a second pill in late afternoon for dinner. I only needed during chemo and about 6 months afterwards.

Marinol (generic name: dronabinol) is a prescription medication used to treat severe nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy in patients who have not responded adequately to conventional antiemetic treatments. It is also approved for treating loss of appetite (anorexia) that causes weight loss in people with AIDS. 6

@deanhobart Hi and welcome to Mayo Connect. How long have you been battling cancer? It seems like you have some experience with treatment.

@deanhobart
Hello, did you have any side effects from the marinol?

@joyful23
Yes, I had an improved appetite and was able to eat more regularly and hold my food down. I had been prescribed other things, but nothing seemed to work. I started marinol in 2nd to last month of chemo (it took awhile for insurance to approve after i asked for it) and then continued for almost 1 year. I no longer need it. They originally prescribed 10 mg for nighttime, but i was asleep when it was "working" I made them switch it to 5mg in morning and 5mg in late afternoon to help with lunch and dinner. It took about a week to start working. I didn't notice specific negative side effects in the months after chemo stopped, so any commonly cited were due to the chemo.

@tomrennie
Diagnosed stage 2b in Aug-24 after going to ER thinking I had a gall bladder problem [both parents and 2 siblings had GB removed when adults - although we don't have specific genetic marker for that]. Turned out to be tumor at pancreas crimping my bile duct. They said GB was actually OK, but they removed it in anticipation of Whipple surgery after chemo and installed stent and mediport for chemo that started Oct-24. However, by end of Apr-25 I was no longer surgery candidate due to where detritus from pancreatitus had settled. I was weak from weight loss and malnourishment, then stent got infected (and replaced). I had 12 chemo sessions over 7 mos, followed by 30 days of targeted radiation with chemo pill. Pancreatic cancer treatment completed in Jul-25. Then in Sep-25 I had 1 week of targeted radiation only for coincidental and unrelated lung tumor identified in Aug-24. Now I have checkup CT scan/blood work every 3 mos [ I assume for 3 years]. So far, continuing to recover. Hoping it lasts.