As some of you know, I have been living with a rare form of cancer for some time now, called a fibrosarcoma. It's not deadly, but in my case, the location of the tumor, wrapped around my lower spinal cord, leaves me at risk of paralysis if not treated. Recently my doctor informed me that the tumor had returned and I needed another surgery. That happened on April 26th. Since then I have been recuperating at my parents' house. I'm on four types of medication- oxycontin, oxycodone, percocet (all prescribed), and marijuania. This thread is a description of the effects of the marijuania during my rehabilitation.

I was in the hospital for 9 days after the surgery. Throughout that whole time I had little to no appetite. I couldn't eat more than a few forkfuls of food before I felt nauseous. This problem continued for the first 2 days after I returned home. Then my friend visited me and brought along a little marijuania. I smoked a very small amount, and shortly after he left, I became incredibly hungry. I quickly moved to the kitchen and started feasting on anything I could find in the refrigerator. My appetite had not simply returned; it had exploded.

The next day, I made a few phone calls and purchased some marijuania for myself. This was not for recreational purposes (well, ok, mostly not). This was medicine as I saw it. I didn't consume much on a daily basis, only about 1 gram a day. I smoked a little in the morning before breakfast, which was usually enough to last until lunch, and I also smoked again before dinner. I usually smoked at night to relax a little before bedtime. For the first 3 or 4 weeks, everytime I ran out of marijuania, my appetite disappeared until I got more. Now after about a month, I have no marijuania, but my appetite has been strong since it ran out 5 days ago.

Marijuania did have some negative effects as well. It often left me with a pounding headache that would leave me unable to get out of bed for maybe an hour. I also began to build up a tolerance to the THC, so by the end, I had to smoke almost double what I had in the beginning. On top of that, smoking marijuania almost daily for over a month left me feeling burnt out, a sort of sluggish sleepy feeling, all the time. This lasted no more than a couple of days, though. It was also difficult at first to use the right amount. Use too little, and you got no positive effects. Use too much, and you were simply wasted, which is not really what you're trying to accomplish when recovering from a major surgery.

In the end, I found that marijuania had great potential to help ease the process of rehabilitation, esp. for those with a loss of appetite, but the side effects may be too severe for many people to handle. The headaches were a really problem, and I almost gave up on marijuania as a viable medicine until I realized just how much my appetite depended on the drug during the first couple of weeks.

From this study, I've concluded that marijuania could be a viable medicine if doctors can control the amount THC that is used. As it is now, I think it is too easy to abuse and tolerance rises too quickly, making it more expensive the longer it is used. It obviously can't be smoked as a medicine, not only because of the well-documented dangers of smoking any substance, but also because I found it too difficult to control the amount of THC consumed at one time.

Marijuania can be a possible medicine to control appetite, but we have to found a way to nullify the side-effects before it can be widely used. No one wants to have massive headaches while eating dinner, and most patients only want their appetite back, not to get "high."

All comments are welcome, esp. those criticizing my findings or research.

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WARNING: In the unlikely event of an accidental agreement with any or all points made in the above post, contact a clinical psychologist immediately.

The views expressed in the above post are not necessarily those of Joker and/or any of his affiliates.

"You have found the secret message. Do you have too much time on your hands? ...Let it go."

The only thing I'd suggest is asking a doctor if there is something better... but I'm sure you've tried that.
The government really needs to stay out of this kind of stuff. It's between you and the doctor.
I'm sorry to hear about your winding up with cancer. I must have missed that. I really hope you get one of those miracles that eradicates the cancer in your body.

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"Man lives in the sunlit world of that which he believes to be reality. But unseen by most is an underworld, a place that is just as real... but not as brightly lit... A DARK SIDE!"
-opening from Tales From the Darkside

Im not in favor of legalizing Marijuania, It has allot of negative side effects. While i have never used marijuana Ive been aground it enough to see them in friends. I do feel that there should be an actual study on whether it helps cancer patients of not. I doubt it dose it may help you feel better but a joint contains 5 times the carcinogens a cigarette dose.

Aside from a few high-ons, no one claims pot will cure cancer. But it alleviates pain, glaucoma, and troubles with eating. And the side effects aren't any worse than most legal drugs... It's even, unlike many opiate painkillers which can lead to heroin addiction, lacking any major physically addictive properties. I quit with no trouble. I have a harder time quitting coffee ($%&# migraines and fatigue).
It doesn't have to be smoked. It can be cooked into brownies. And if studied, doctors can probably come up with ways to optimize the good effects and minimize the side effects and create a new form (pill, liquid, etc.)

And as far as keeping it illegal... What good has it done? Our jails are overloaded with pot-smokers, some of them turning into criminals in jail. It leads to other drugs and criminal behavior BECAUSE it is illegal and thus associated as not a big jump from one to the other.
Meanwhile kids are switching to inhalants and stealing their parents' prescription drugs- thingsa that are much deadlier and with harsher side effects. Many prescription drugs are opiates that if misused can lead to opiate dependency... thus a spike in heroin usage.
The "War on Drugs" has been poorly aimed, expensive, and not showing of any real results. If anything, treatment shows some results, but mostly with those that want it. Addiction, physical or mental, is a health problem, not a malevolent crime. It's time we treat the crimes of drug users as crimes and their addictions as health conditions.

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"Man lives in the sunlit world of that which he believes to be reality. But unseen by most is an underworld, a place that is just as real... but not as brightly lit... A DARK SIDE!"
-opening from Tales From the Darkside

I read a report about a recent study claiming that moderate users of marijuania suffer no higher risk of lung cancer than those who don't use marijuania. The study was done in California, however, which I think makes it highly suspect.

Using marijuania didn't have any effect to reduce pain, and of course I can't really commnet about glaucoma, but in terms of appetite, it was amazingly effective. I told my doctor about my appetite problems, and he had no idea how to solve it. He certainly didn't mention any possible medications for it. I told him about my marijuania use and how much it help my appetite, and he of course recommended that I shouldn't use it because of the health risks, but then went on to say that I should use anything available to keep up a strong appetite, as that is one very important factor in recovering.

I agree a lot more serious research has to be done to determeine the viability of medical marijuania, and we need to find a cheaper more effective way of getting it into our body.

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WARNING: In the unlikely event of an accidental agreement with any or all points made in the above post, contact a clinical psychologist immediately.

The views expressed in the above post are not necessarily those of Joker and/or any of his affiliates.

"You have found the secret message. Do you have too much time on your hands? ...Let it go."

...These kids get a slap on the wrist compared to marijuania arrestees.

__________________
WARNING: In the unlikely event of an accidental agreement with any or all points made in the above post, contact a clinical psychologist immediately.

The views expressed in the above post are not necessarily those of Joker and/or any of his affiliates.

"You have found the secret message. Do you have too much time on your hands? ...Let it go."

The Drug laws are way messed up, I do find it kind of sad that the legal penalties are more harmful than the drug itself.

I'm a medical miracle unto myself. My condition is so rare, half my treatments are experimental; one needed compassionate consent from the FDA as it was unapproved. Compassionate Consent, man! That's just crazy! I've got all sorts of pins, rods, and screws holding my spine together. The other day the receptionist handed me a card before my treatment and told me to leave it in my wallet until Sunday. It read, "Joker will emit detectable levels of radioactivity until June 25, 2006." Is this a joke? I got people calling me wanting interviews about new radiation treatments, and so forth. I tell them, "Pay me!" and they hang up. But I'll tell ya, even if I achieve nothing else in life, I can die proud knowing my body helped advance medical science.

Hey we got a lot in common. You better get yourself tested!

**jinx**

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WARNING: In the unlikely event of an accidental agreement with any or all points made in the above post, contact a clinical psychologist immediately.

The views expressed in the above post are not necessarily those of Joker and/or any of his affiliates.

"You have found the secret message. Do you have too much time on your hands? ...Let it go."

Hey, I can relate to your story. I had a pancreatic cyst that turned malignant, and as you may know the survival rate for pancreatic cancer (with the traditional treatment, which is Gemzar infusions) is about two percent.

To make a long story short(er), after doing considerable research on my own, into the biochemistry underlying the condition, I chose to enter an experimental treatment study using one of the new "drug cocktails" that are coming out of Europe (mostly Sweden, some from Germany and France).

But, it's nasty stuff. Very nasty. I was flat on my back for two days out of the week, then half-capable for another two days, then for three days I'd be more or less normal, then it'd be time for another round of treatment. This went on for about six months.

Well, I discovered (accidentally, through a complete coincidence) that marijuana not only took care of a lot of the pain in my digestive system, but also relieved the accompanying mild depression.

Like you, I was having real problems eating. I got pancreatitis twice, 'cause the meds released some gallstones, so on top of the nausea I had to go on a liquid diet for a couple of weeks at a time. Which got to be a bit of a problem, 'cause severe munchies aren't good when you can't eat anything.

But it worked, that's the bottom line. It worked, and I told my doctor(s) about it, and they didn't seem to mind, in fact they were rather curious about how it was going to interact with the experimental meds.

I don't know where you're located, but out here in the LA area we have "pot clubs", where you can buy marijuana for medical purposes (with a prescription, of course). They're not exactly legal, but there's no enforcement either, so they operate more or less in the open. So that was good, 'cause I didn't want Nicky going down to the street-corner for any local "product".

And, I quit as soon as the cancer went into remission, 'cause generally speaking I find that pot makes me lazy and stupid, which is not a good combination when you're trying to get a PhD. But it was fun watching "Three Stooges" re-runs for a couple of days a week...

Anyway, good luck with your situation, and feel free to PM me if you'd like more info on mine.

Here in the NYC area we have "pot clubs", where you can buy marijuana for medical purposes (without a prescription, of course). They're not at all legal, and there's plenty of enforcement, too, but they still operate more or less in the open.

__________________
WARNING: In the unlikely event of an accidental agreement with any or all points made in the above post, contact a clinical psychologist immediately.

The views expressed in the above post are not necessarily those of Joker and/or any of his affiliates.

"You have found the secret message. Do you have too much time on your hands? ...Let it go."