Marijuana and Depression

[BayAreaWomen]

Has anyone tried marijuana to help with feelings of depression? Can it be harmful to one while on treatment. I haven't smoked in 10 years, but the way I've been feeling lately, I've been thinking about it. It use to make me laugh alot. I just finish shot 7 and I actually don't feel bad at this time, but there's tomorrow. Has anyone's face gotten smaller during treatment. Thanks All. baw

[mauilady]

I've heard it works to alleviate some of the symptoms, but personally, I never liked the stuff too well.  If I had, I probably wouldn't be HCV positive... :-0



Nice quake today... scared the s~~~ out of me!

[Lady E]

Yes, I use mj a little bit just to help my mood feel lighter.

A couple of tokes a day..nothing huge. But I find that it doesn't really do alot for me unless I'm doing it with somebody else (which is rare as my hubby doesn't smoke it)

Also, yes, my face has gotten smaller..and so has the rest of me for that matter. I've lost about 20 lbs since mid july while on tx. I also got my hair cut at end end of July. My customers at work tell me I look 10 years younger and ask me if I started working out. I tell them I've changed my eating habits. (If they only knew) *rolling my eyes* I've noticed this past week that my hair is starting to fall out too. Hairs on the pillow, in the sink, etc. I think this side effect is going to bother me the most.*heavy sigh*

Best of luck & wishes to you.

E

[Lady E]

One more thing. I think smoking mj magnifies the brain fog thing too. I certainly doesn't help with forgetfulness, clumsiness etc..tho it does take the edge off of stress a little bit. I'm thinking of giving up using it on a daily basis.



Maui-Glad to hear you are fine after Hawaii's earthquake!!

It must have been a very scarey event for you!



Have a good week.

E

[painterlady13]

OMG I'll bet it did.  Just watching Good Morning America and seeing the pics from the shaker you all had.  Looks like if you were posting you are ok in your area.  Thank goodness.  Take care and watch for those aftershocks, they can be almost as bad. IMHO being a california native.

[painterlady13]

I have considered doing the same as far as trying pot to alleviate some of the depression sides in conjunction with the wellbutrin I am already taking as it doesn't work for the crying bouts. Pot used to help there.



On another note you might want to google it as there have been some conflicting studies that are both for and against it. And then make your decision after you read both opinions. I don't have those links but I know there are others here that will.  Good Luck.

[hippygem]

Medical marijuana users are more likely to finish hepatitis C treatment and so are more likely to be cured, according to a newly published study conducted in San Francisco and Oakland.

Other studies have shown marijuana relieves symptoms, but medical marijuana advocates said this could be the first to show improved cure rates for a life-threatening illness.



The study is by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and the Oakland-based Organization to Achieve Solutions in Substance Abuse (OASIS). It was published in the European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. It found marijuana users being treated for HCV three times more likely to have a "sustained virological response," meaning the virus can't be detected six months after treatment ends.



HCV treatment with ribavirin and interferon causes severe side effects, so many patients quit the long regimen too early.



Of 71 HCV patients studied, 21 finished with a sustained virological response: 12 of the 22 cannabis users and nine of the 49 nonusers.



"Modest" cannabis use may offer symptomatic and virological benefit to some patients... by helping them maintain adherence to the challenging medication regimen," the study concluded.



Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., issued a news release touting this as "a landmark study, showing that medical marijuana can literally save lives. Every day that our government continues punishing the sick for you.



This is just some information I came across, dont think of leaping into smoking pot, do your own research and find out more on this subject, remember pot is illegal, but maybe there is a way to have it for medicinal purposes, check with your GP.

[NYgirl]

Wow that waS some biggie! Did you have any damage?  Being from NY that would have FLIPPED me out - in fact it's the ONLY reason I've NEVER been to California I'm too scared of them!



I was camping once sleeping on the ground when we had a little tiny 3.2 and that scared the beejezus out of me so bad...I can't even IMAGINE a 6.6? Isn't that what it was?



You Hawaians are braver than us New Yorkers I tell you that! All we have to worry about are terrorists, dirty bombs, nuclear explosions and Indian POint Nuc. power plant blowing up.



Seems there is a better chance to STOP those things rather than an earthquake! (I'm being serious!)

[SoCal Lady]

Re:  your face "getting smaller".  



Could it be that you had bloating prior to treatment, and that the bloating is being reduced?  



Here's my new symptom. (13/24 injection last night)  I experienced a sharp pain about 6 times, during my sleep time, in the front of my ankle----as if a sharp nail was trying to emerge from my bone.  It almost made me want to cry out in pain, except that it was over, almost as soon as I felt it...



These SXs are so unpredictable.



Have a good day everyone!

[mycoldfeet]

San Fransisco, and Oakland published those studies? Sounds like Berkley.

[wanpow]

Hey, Yes I found smoking MJ very beneficial during my brief stint on meds as well as now while i'm not treating. The benefit I experience more than any other it that it slows down my thinking process,  forces me to live in the moment thus helps me to listen to my body and respond to it. ...via  deep breathing, stretching, relaxing.  The laughter helps release tension too. lmao

[orphanedhawk]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SEPTEMBER 12, 2006



Medical Marijuana Boosts Hepatitis C Treatment in New Study

UC San Francisco Researchers Find Marijuana Users Three Times More Likely to Successfully Eliminate Virus



CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications, 202-215-4205 or 415-668-6403



SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA -- A new study from the University of California, San Francisco, just published in the European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, suggests that medical marijuana boosts the success of treatment for the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Untreated HCV can lead to liver failure and death, but in the new study, marijuana users being treated for HCV were three times more likely to have a "sustained virological response" -- i.e. HCV could not be detected six months after they completed treatment.



While extensive research has shown that marijuana can provide symptom relief, this is believed to be the first published study linking marijuana to improved cure rates for a life-threatening illness.



HCV treatment utilizing the drugs ribavirin and interferon is notorious for its severe side effects, including nausea, vomiting, weight loss, sleeplessness, and depression, which cause many patients to discontinue the long, demanding regimen prematurely. In this study -- which focused on a difficult patient population: seventy-one recovering drug users receiving methadone maintenance while simultaneously being treated for HCV -- those using marijuana were significantly more likely to complete their treatment regimens. The researchers, with UCSF and OASIS in Oakland, California, theorized that marijuana relieved the patients' medication side effects sufficiently to allow them to complete treatment, and concluded, "our results suggest that moderate cannabis use during HCV treatment may offer significant benefit to certain patients."



Overall, 54 percent of marijuana users had a sustained virological response, compared to only 18 percent of non-users. The study was published alongside a commentary by a separate team of Canadian researchers describing the evidence that marijuana relieves debilitating side effects of treatment for HCV, cancer and AIDS, and calling for patients to be "legally permitted" to use it.



San Francisco patient Brian Klein, 48, (not a participant in the study) credits medical marijuana for enabling him to be successfully cured of HCV in his second attempt at treatment, in 2003-4. "One of the main reasons treatment succeeded was that I was able to stay on my medications, " he said. "The first time I tried treating my HCV, in 2001, the nausea was so bad I couldn't even keep water down, and I had to stop after two months. Medical marijuana allowed me to successfully treat my hepatitis C and clear the virus."



"This is a landmark study, showing that medical marijuana can literally save lives," said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "Every day that our government continues punishing the sick for using this medicine is literally a crime against humanity."



With more than 20,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://www.mpp. org.



REFERENCES:

Sylvestre DL, Clements BJ and Malibu Y. Cannabis use improves retention and virological outcomes in patients treated for hepatitis C. European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2006, 18:1057-1063.

Fischer B et al. Treatment for hepatitis C virus and cannabis use in illicit drug user patients: implications and questions. European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2006, 18:1039-1042.



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[mauilady]

Think I'd rather have an earthquake than a terrorist...