Celiac / Crohn's (autoimmune diseases)

haydenxxl

Well-Known Member
Anyone have celiac, crohn's or colitis?

I have celiac (no gluten , wheat, oats, barley, rye) but the doc is testing me for Crohn's next week. Nervous...

Anyway I have noticed that when I vape my stomach stops hurting and I stop having diarrhea flare ups.

Can anyone relate? trying to figure out if i'm the only one that notices vaping MMJ helps with these diseases
 

TheBlazingBeast

Well-Known Member
Hey @haydenxxl

I can't speak much from her experience, but I have a friend with crohn's. When we first met I thought her to be just another stoner chick, but MJ provides relief she can't find from big pharm labels. For her, this plant gives her a significant improvement in her quality of life. With cannabis it's not as daunting to get out of the house and live like a normal person. When she is medicated she doesn't have to worry about the pain or make adjustments in her daily activities to appease the constant symptoms.

While my use is primarily recreational, I have a sensitive stomach that will throw nausea my way every so often. When I go through spells of with no to little usage I exhibit unpleasant symptoms to a small degree. Think to a some what lessened appetite and increased stomach sensitivity that usually wouldn't be so persistent.

If you stomach throws you for a hitch, pack one up & vape the chronic!:brow:
:peace:
 

bellas

Well-Known Member
I have IBS-D (similar to what you have) and have found vaping helps with anxiety, nausea, intestinal pain, intestinal cramping, and definitely helps calm flare ups when they happen. I have been able to regain a semi normal life since I started vaping. Certain strains help me more than others = Northern lights, Afghan, Blue Cheese, ect. I have found that glycerin tincture can be very helpful as well, it is more of a body high effect. The alcohol tincture is out as even in tiny doses I have a reaction. It's too bad that Doctors are still skeptical about the medical benefits of marijuana. I have had to do most of my research without the input of my Dr as she is not advocating the use. I had to explain to her what a vaporizer was. Her opinion was that I would be better off with Pharmaceuticals than marijuana. Ultimately we agreed to disagree.
 

haydenxxl

Well-Known Member
@bellas im in TX so i just cant even mention the MMJ to my doc croc
so higher indica strains work for you? i've found edibles work the best and i have noticed that too about the indicas!
 
haydenxxl,

DDave

Vape Wizard
Accessory Maker

haydenxxl

Well-Known Member
@DDave wow I had randomly came across that article yesterday, you are on top of your stuff haha!
Speaking of Israel, Did you hear about the strain they bred a few years back that has no THC? Would be interesting if we could get a breeder to do that in the states...
 
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DDave

Vape Wizard
Accessory Maker
@DDave wow I had randomly came across that article yesterday, you are on top of your stuff haha!
Speaking of Israel, Did you hear about the strain they bred a few years back that has no THC? Would be interesting if we could get a breeder to do that in the states...
@haydenxxl, thanks! An FC member posted about Crohn's in a thread I was participating in and I've tried to stay on top of the subject since.

Isreal is rocking the medical mmj research and I did read up on a new strain called Rafael. It appears on Leafly.

A good article is also....
http://www.medicalmarijuanablog.com/marijuana-strains/rafael-cdb-strain.html

Sounds promising in the same way that Charlotte's Web is...
 

ataxian

PALE BLUE DOT
Anyone have celiac, crohn's or colitis?

I have celiac (no gluten , wheat, oats, barley, rye) but the doc is testing me for Crohn's next week. Nervous...

Anyway I have noticed that when I vape my stomach stops hurting and I stop having diarrhea flare ups.

Can anyone relate? trying to figure out if i'm the only one that notices vaping MMJ helps with these diseases
I have SCA yes à gluten free/dairy free ďiet helps!
Vaporizing helps a lot!
 

thotfulspot

Active Member
I've got Crohn's and have been better in the last 6 months since I started mmj than in the last 20 years. It also helps with the side effects of the pharmaceuticals I have to live with. I've spent the last few years on a weekly Humera injection. That's double the usual dose. We're going to try going back to the biweekly schedule soon.

Hard to believe the difference it's made.
 

thotfulspot

Active Member
Mostly concentrates. I use a Haze vaporizer for most. Shatter, wax, crumble and some prefilled vape cartridges. I've been trying a SUBOX mini for vaping for the last couple weeks. The prefilled cartridges I've been trying only take a couple hits to make me comfortable. I'm sure that is less than most people would use. It probably interacts with some of my other meds. It helps a lot with depression that comes with Crohn's and other autoimmune diseases.

I do use some edibles. Mostly chocolate bars if I can't sleep. I need something that breaks down quickly. I had my colon removed almost 20 years ago. They were able to reconnect what was left, but a lot of foods don't have a chance to break down. Chocolate, gummy bears, and other things like work OK. No where near as effective if I need something quickly.

I've been able to start biking and some mild hiking. I can't remember the last time I was able to do things like that regularly. My Crohn's has spread to other areas which is what started me to try mmj. I'm still feeling my way around different strains and delivery methods that help me the most. At least we have been able to put off more surgery.
 
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bellas

Well-Known Member
what works better for you, vaping or edibles?
I have a really tough time with edibles.
High fat/sugar content = IBS-D

I use glycerin tincture and it really helps with cramping and abdominal pain. It's relatively easy to make your own. If I feel a "flare up" just starting I will use the glycerin. It really helps my body simmer down. Then I vape to maintain for pain and nausea. It has really made such a difference in my life.
Tinctures are much more of a body high to me, therefore they can often help more than vaping alone. I recently tried "fire cider" with THC and was surprised my body would tolerate it and got great pain relief.
 

ReggieB

Well-Known Member
I have crohns and a bonus IBS component on top, my crohns is supposed to be in remission but my body tells me it's not. I find that vaping helps with cramps and stress (stress is a factor in flare ups for some crohns sufferers).

I would like to try concentrates to see if it's a better experience, I haven't really tried edibles as I struggle with most food on a daily basis, on the surface I probably look like I'm being very fussy but anyone that has this knows that some days it doesn't matter what it is, you can't stomach it.
 

haydenxxl

Well-Known Member
It helps a lot with depression that comes with Crohn's and other autoimmune diseases.
Wow they cause depression? I did not know that. I have struggled with depression since around the time I was diagnosed with celiac, I could never figure out why.
 
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haydenxxl

Well-Known Member
@ReggieB @bellas cant tell you how great it feels to hear someone else who has experience with flare ups. flare ups really are the most frustrating thing ever for me, its so hard because whenever i am having a flare up and cant stomach anything (like you said bellas), the only food I can have (that causes the least amount of pain) is white rice. After eating white rice for 3 meals a day for a few days....it gets old
 
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thotfulspot

Active Member
Wow they cause depression? I did not know that. I have struggled with depression since around the time I was diagnosed with celiac, I could never figure out why.

Very common from the drug and medications. I was put on dangerous levels of the steroid Prednisone. Nasty side effects both physical and mental. That was about the only medication they had at the time. I went from being a very active outdoor person at 6'-6" and 200 pounds to 300 pounds and then deal with 100 pound swings with flare ups. After a year I had so much damage to my colon I had the choice of having it removed or be dead within 2 months. It fell apart during the surgery and I spent 3 months in the hospital.

That and fighting the disease caused depression and PTSD. I've been fighting that ever since. I've been told by a series of doctors that those issues are common. We moved to Arizona a year and a half ago. Before that I was in Chicago with some of the best doctors available for Crohn's. They had a psychiatrist on staff because it was so common with their patients. They recently passed mmj laws there, but there wasn't a program in place before we moved. It's well known the mmj helps Crohn's and other autoimmune diseases. My new doctor here had no problem signing me up. I'm seeing the doctors in Chicago in December. It will be interesting to see what they have to say since I had been flaring constantly for 6 years.

It's not a cure all. I still have to be on too many pharmaceuticals. It helps with the everyday pain and emotional stress. The quality of life is much better. If it helps me with the extreme case, I'd hope it would help others more.
 
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bellas

Well-Known Member
@ReggieB @bellas cant tell you how great it feels to hear someone else who has experience with flare ups. flare ups really are the most frustrating thing ever for me, its so hard because whenever i am having a flare up and cant stomach anything (like you said bellas), the only food I can have (that causes the least amount of pain) is white rice. After eating white rice for 3 meals a day for a few days....it gets old
Sounds really familiar eating rice. Oatmeal and potatoes are the other two items I can usually eat without too many problems. I have started making soy milk and soy yogurt which has felt incredible adding something new to my diet. Thank you soy.
People tend to think I'm a really picky, healthy eater because I won't eat out or par take in eating if I don't know how it was prepared. It gets incredibly hard to explain to people that just because coconut oil is a "healthy" oil doesn't mean I can eat it. Things like that make life stressful which just causes "flare ups".
 

ReggieB

Well-Known Member
@bellas @haydenxxl I have been through most medications, steroids are just nasty, currently on azathioprine (immunosuppressant), which leaves me feeling run down and incredibly tired. I've settled on potatoes as being fairly benign, garlic and onions seem to be potential triggers (although nothing and anything can seem to set things off) but it's been incredibly hard to nail down, garlic and/or onion are in a lot of stuff and it's almost impossible to avoid without going to a totally bland diet or cooking everything from scratch, which you don't necessarily have the energy or inclination to do in the middle of a flare up, when I do have the energy I have to contend with being a terrible cook.

I don't eat out much, or go out much, I have to pick and choose the times and events that I go to because it *will* make me more ill for weeks afterwards, not sure if that's the crohns, ibs or a bit of both, either way there's a price to be paid for having fun :/ I've been diagnosed about 5 or 6 years now (it was a long time being diagnosed after I presented to my doctor for the first time, ) but was probably suffering and didn't know it up to 10 years before I went to my doctors. During that time it put a lot of stress on relationships, arranging to go out and do things then not being able to because I was incapacitated and got very very fussy about food

One of the big problems for crohns is apparently smoking tobacco, I'd been a smoker for 30 years until a month ago. Since I've given up I feel mentally brighter in myself but still struggling with a massive lack of energy, probably attributed to a terrible sleep pattern and waking up randomly, trying to sleep with cramps/stomach ache is a pita, sometimes literally.

I'm now combustion free, I vape at the moment, that may change as I do more research.
 

thotfulspot

Active Member
I have to avoid the usual acid causing foods. Things like tomatoes and most other vegetables. I call it the twinkle diet since I can't eat much that's good for me.

I've improved my sleep habits by taking Colestipol (anti diahera) and a half dose of a triple strength Bangh chocolate bar about an hour before bed. I was always up every couple hours to use the bathroom or because of cramps or other pain. I add a couple hits of a prefilled pen cartridge if my mind is still not letting me sleep. I've slept for 8 hours straight the last couple nights.
 

ReggieB

Well-Known Member
@thotfulspot Pretty much the kind of diet I have, fruit and vegetables are a nightmare, insoluble fibre irritates some crohns and colitis sufferers and I always had a problem with tomato, lettuce and cucumber before I knew I had crohns and it got full blown, so I tend to avoid leafy stuff or things with skins on, along with things that are too acidic, I also use lactofree milk, some of us don't metabolise the sugars in 'normal' milk very well, I cut out as much as possible at home that might be a risk.

Stress is definitely a trigger for me, I'm not sure whether it's because my self dosing has been uneven since I stopped smoking tobacco both with nicotine and mmj as I am currently having a small flare up, my pain levels are up and my stomach has gone into it's default trapped wind/constipation/diarrhoea cycle. Thankfully the pain level is controllable with mmj.

I may just have to tough it out on the nicotine stress because I really want that stuff out of my life, after reading up on the effects of synergens in mmj I started to look into tobacco a little deeper and what I'm reading makes me more and more determined.
 

thotfulspot

Active Member
We've never been able to figure out why I don't have a problem with lactose. Probably from growing up in Wisconsin eating or drinking it daily. I hate that cycle. Even without flaring I have to deal with it. At least the pain is manageable.
 
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ReggieB

Well-Known Member
I've been through all sorts of diets and still haven't figured it out, I was on a liquid only (water + modulen powder) diet for 4-5months which is supposed to reset your stomach flora and didn't do a thing to help.

When I'm not having a flare up, I have IBS to contend with, it complicates things because symptoms are similar which makes it harder to spot problem foods when everything's a problem :D

I do still fight back and eat things I like from time to time but it's a calculated risk with accepted consequences that I might have to go through.
 
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