Crohn's Disease and Vaping Cannabis

[Crohnie]

I can't be the only one on this forum with Crohn's Disease, so I decided to start a thread about the benefits of vaping cannabis for those with Crohn's.

Crohn's can have different symptoms depending on what part of the bowel is affected. In my case nausea, lack of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, too frequent bowel movements, and joint pain are the primary offenders. I've found that vaping cannabis can dramatically improve the suffering caused by Crohn's.

Nausea/Lack of appetite/Vomiting: Something I deal with on a daily basis. I can literally go from puking my guts out to eating a full meal 5 minutes after vaping some herb.

Diarrhea/Too frequent bowel movements: Even taking my prescriptions and with my Crohn's "under control" I was still having diarrhea and more bowel movements in a day than most people have in 3 weeks. When I vape cannabis, I have almost no diarrhea, and the number of bowel movements are cut in half.

Joint pain: Joint pain associated with Crohn's is similar to arthritis, but with no actual joint damage. I've had occasions where it was so bad, I was walking down the street like an old man when I was in my 30's. Once again, vaping cannabis comes to the rescue and keeps me off of opiate pain killers.

I hope this thread is informative and please feel free to share your experiences!

 

[fake name]

Hey crohnie, you ever deal with intestinal bloating? That's my main issue that I deal with with cannabis. IDK if I have crohns, ibs, or what, no insurance to check it out, but I have syndromes of it. Intestinal bloating that starts with lower back pain and then turns to other stomach issues.

For my syndromes I used to vape flower and it helped some. It worked better preventively or at the first sign (lower back pain) then when I was actually going through the issue. I've started using oils to deal with the problem and have had dramatically better results. The buds would help alleviate the problem, but oils make it a non-issue. At the first bit of back pain I take a dab and I am completely fine. Also, ive noticed it seems to last longer. When I vaped buds it would give me relief for as long as I was high, maybe not even that long. With dabs, however, it continues to be a non-issue a while after I'm not high anymore.

 

[Vape-Nation]

Cheers Crohnie — I too have it and typically use herb to reduce trips to the bathroom, increase appetite, and reduce nausea. I definitely feel a difference throughout my body during flare-ups as cannabis helps reduce the inflammation.

The higher the CBD content of the cannabis the better it is for inflammation and nausea, so I tend to get buds like Grandaddy Purple or anything crossed with Afghanni.

Also, I've had tremendously good luck with the Paleo Diet in drasticaly improving my symptoms and the way I feel — but it's very difficult to avoid all carbs and sugars unless you're cooking every meal yourself at home.

 

[Alan]

Definitely seems to be a connection between cannabis and the GI tract.

I have had very good luck with fresh papaya, aloe vera juice, and yogurt smoothies. The seeds from the papaya are very potent and seem to have a very positive impact as well. You just have to get past the taste. Certainly better than dealing with the pain. I dehydrate / save the seeds and eat a handful as needed. Have also been removing the skin from almonds before eating them my soaking in water. Has made a tremendous difference.

 

[Fame Is A Vapor]

It's nice to see what you started here, Crohnie. I've had Crohn's and ankylosing spondylitis for over five years now. Combusted on a daily basis for 15 years until last year, when I quit smoking altogether (cigs too, thank god) thinking it might help improve my health. A part of me knew that MJ was helping with my pain and symptoms, whereas tobacco certainly wasn't, but I also knew that I'd never quit cigarettes if I didn't also quit MJ for a time. So I did.
Anyway, I also started eating Paleo, which has helped immensely when I can stick to it, but unfortunately it hasn't cured my Crohn's like it has for others, I still flare up, just not as regularly. In fact, recently it's regressed a bit, and I don't know why. So, given the recent study from Meir Medical Center in Israel, where 10 of 11 Crohn's patients saw a positive clinical response to medical marijuana (specifically sativa, which surprised me given that most Crohn's patients cite the CBDs in indicas as being beneficial), I've decided to finally get my MMJ card and begin a controlled regimen of MMJ combined with the Paleo diet. I'm here at FC because I fear that combusting again will just lead me back to cigarettes, and given that I'm on TNF-inhibitors now, well, smoking just isn't a great idea with a shut-down immune system. I should get my card any day now, so wish me luck! And I wish you all the same, too.