Marijuana And Diabetes

hi,my grandpa has had diabetes for a couple of years now and now his leg started going numb so doctors prescribed him a drug that was supposed to help with the pain he'd been having in his leg. after taking the drug for about a month he began feeling weak and his blood/sugar level was way higher than it should have been every night when he tested himself. he did some research and found out that the drug shouldnt be taken with patients who have diabetes. the next morning he called his doctor to tell him that he wanted to stop taking the drugs because of what they were doing to him. the doctor said he could stop for for now but the pain was going to get so excrutiating in his leg that he will probably want to get back on them by the end of the year.

i put a plant in my grandpa's backyard and i know he's open to the idea of using cannabis... i just don't know if it'll have adverse affects on his diabetes. i typed in the question on google but every forum i went to to see the answer to similar questions that people had, the responses were mainly that "pot" is bad and it seemed none of the responses had any medical backing, just opinions by people who i don't think know any better.

thanks for any and all input!

i can't tell you the specifics on how MJ affects diabetes
but i have seen a number of people with diabetic neuropathy try MJ for their pain, some seem to get strong relief
guessing that's what your grandfather was diagnosed with

good luck to both of you

I think people give it bad rep with diabetes because of the drop in blood sugar MJ does to you. You ever notice the munchies? lol

Hey how's it going?

Well I've done a little research into the topic and well just found a site with the question and quite a few answers.....the link is http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Diabetes---Juvenile-Type-I/effects-of-smoking-marijuana-and-being-diabetic/show/419248

and here's an example of one of the answers, "I have over the past 12 months done a lot of research on this subject and to my surprise there is a surprising amount of literature on this subject out there:
Let me pre-emt this discussion by saying that I do not advocate the use of drugs, however, I have used Marijuana before my Type 1 diagnosis and cocnsistently (thougfh moderatly) since, I have discussed this at length with my doctors who given the results that I have experienced are happy for it to continue.
I have been experimenting on my self with BG test every 30mins or so, eating exactly the same meals at the same times to check the BG curve whist using and not using cannabis.
The result, startling at it was, consistently was the amplitude of the curve was considerably shallower with cannabis, I took it one step further and found that with a combination of cannabis and X-4 units of insulin my BG would simply not get above 11(19
where as with the X units (4 more than previously) and the same food,(no canmnabis) the BG 15-60 mins after a large meal (identical meal to prior) would surpass 13.5 (243) for brief periods.

the conclusions and this is consistent with previous findings is that cannabis can be used in conjunction with insulin to "smooth out "the BG curve, this is why despite a relatively high sugar diet, my control is exemplary, my HAb1c is always well sub 6.0
but most importantly the curve, ie the extremities of high and low are never beyong the 4.5- 10 region (81-180).

I am a succesful entrepreneur and MD of my own company, the use of marijuana is the UK is legal for personal. (though not for sale). In conclusion, some groups advocate the use of Marajuana for treatment of diabetes exclusively, see medical marajuana .com though obviously for type 1 insulin should not be used to replace insulin though can be used succesfully to complement it.

Let us not forget that it the high and lows that cause diabetic side effects, if one can keep the range of BG within the aforementioned ranges, the risk of complications tend to zero or at least decrease considerably.

The "munchies" as they are often refered to are just a healty person's way of dealing with a very mild Hypo, Cannabis LOWERS BG level, though an immunity will develop in time, this lowering normally causes the body to crave sugar and sweets in order to correct the low. In diabetics, it is not difficult to beat this feeling with will power, it ceases to be an issue after a short while."

So in short according to what this person and some others are saying is that Cannabis can lower your blood sugars but as long as you eat what you normally eat you wouldn't have to take as much insuliin as you normally would because the Cannabis is working to help lower/keep your blood sugar down. Its interesting to say the least. I never would have thought a plant could help keep blood sugars down....smoking a plant at that....

Here is another site i found to support what is being said...... http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Diabetes---Juvenile-Type-I/Marijuana-and-Diabetes-Type-1/show/942131

Hope this helps.....

-GQ

he did some research and found out that the drug shouldnt be taken with patients who have diabetes.

lawsuit anyone?
thats pretty fucked up, i'd get a different doctor who actually knows what he's doing. next time you might not be so lucky and find him dead or in a coma after the doc gives him the wrong medicine again.

been diabetic 20 years, been smokin 7 .. im 23 i smoke everyday.. weed doesnt affect diabetes

thanks toronto gq and everyone for all of the answers and insight. my gpa has only tried marijuana twice but he's ready to get on the boat after i explained the natural therapeutic effects to him. the only thing he's worried about is getting the munchies because he has to watch his weight lol.

gimmenobammerweed said:

thanks toronto gq and everyone for all of the answers and insight. my gpa has only tried marijuana twice but he's ready to get on the boat after i explained the natural therapeutic effects to him. the only thing he's worried about is getting the munchies because he has to watch his weight lol.

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I'm diabetic. I know this will sound strange but tell him if he gets the munchies to try using a little weed.

If I'm hungry and I smoke it calms my stomach and the hunger melts away. It works well enough for me that I can do it to the point of starting to go hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) and that's where any danger comes in for your grandpa. Most people think diabetes IS high blood sugar but high blood sugar is a actually a symptom of diabetes. Diabetes is your body not being able to process all the sugars in your system properly so what happens is unless we regulate our sugars we end up with wild blood glucose swings. Diabetics who either don't know they have it or are not controlling the disease tend to not eat until they feel "the jitters" (from low blood glucose) and then they "binge" sending their sugars through the roof. Either one can kill you, high or low.

So it's very important a diabetic eats at least 3 regular meals a day with a snack planned in there too, more often with smaller portions can be even better. If your grandpa is eating like he should then he probably will not have to worry much about feeling any munchies at all. As far as watching his weight goes not eating is worse than eating. The key is you have to try and get him more active. Get the best "UP HIGH" weed you can find for him (NO AK-47!!!) as it can be a truly motivating stone. I bet if he's not very active now if you get him out doing something with the right buzz and it will become his morning pick me up!

Personally I think cannabis may increase blood sugar slightly just like smoking a cigarette does but it's a temp thing (its part of why cig smokers feel a "boost" after smoking) and as far as I can tell with my diabetes it's not an issue.

Good luck with your grandpa!

smoking marijuana is not good for diabetes. people with diabetes have poor circulation. smoking marijuana is also bad for your circulation. vaporizing might be ok, but im not 100% sure on that. a lot of people with medical conditions try and use it as an excuse to get pot. i dont blame them but to be realistic, pot is not good for diabetes patients. neither is smoking tobacco.

gimmenobammerweed said:

thanks toronto gq and everyone for all of the answers and insight. my gpa has only tried marijuana twice but he's ready to get on the boat after i explained the natural therapeutic effects to him. the only thing he's worried about is getting the munchies because he has to watch his weight lol.

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Your very welcome......

A lot of people take marijuana for diabetes, I know a guy that eats 3 pot brownies a day and under his doctors direction no longer needs to use insulin, for him marijuana is basically a cure for his diabetes that he has lived with for over 50 years.


Different medications effect different people differently and that is no different for marijuana, marijuana can help things in some people and the result could be the complete opposite in another individual.

gimmenobammerweed said:

thanks toronto gq and everyone for all of the answers and insight. my gpa has only tried marijuana twice but he's ready to get on the boat after i explained the natural therapeutic effects to him. the only thing he's worried about is getting the munchies because he has to watch his weight lol.

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If he's hurting, the munchies aren't going to be much of an issue overall, right? MJ helps me with chemo-related neuropathies -- my fingers and toes shoot pain and sometimes go numb. And the pain it can't relieve it helps me deal with, keeping me relaxed. Yeah, you wanna eat more and in my case my judgment is impaired so I tend to overeat. But I make it up with better eating sober and exercise. And gramps can go easy on it and keep only healthy foods in the house if he's really that into the weight loss. Also, get him a vaporizer. Smoking has its own problems and a vape will make your weed last longer. I like seeing someone trying to take care of their family with this amazing plant. That's what this is all about. Respect, and +rep.

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