Marijuana/Canabis

[Neal22]

Hello all,

Just wondering if any of you have discussed Marijuana use in conjunction with compensated cirrhosis..? I appreciate your comments,

NEAL

[AyrshireK]

Neal, if you are in the UK then (a) cannabis is currently illegal so a doctor isn't likely to say yep go ahead. (b) if transplant were ever to be required then ongoing illicit drug use is seen as contraindicatory to transplant - even cannabis if taken regularly. (c) smoking cannabis is detrimental to your lung health, if your lungs are not healthy and you require transplant you can be ruled out of the procedure. One of the big tests of transplant assessment is lung health & circulatory system and if you fail on these then that's it - the anaesthetist will say no to transplant.

Everything you ingest has to be processed through your liver so having an already severely damaged liver you could put it under more pressure if you are asking it to process the toxins in dope.

If you are talking oil rather than smoking weed the commercially available cannabis oils arn't in a sufficient strength to provide much theraputic benefit and arn't processed and controlled in the same way that medical cannabis oils which some people now have on prescription (mainly for epilepsy).

Lots of good reasons there not to further risk your liver health.

Katie

[Hidden]

Hi Neal and welome,

There has been research that suggests that marijuana / cannabis is helpful in many different illnesses and conditions.

Cannabis is legal for personal and medicinal use in a few countries but not the UK.

Until smoking marijuana is legal, its clearly going to be frowned upon and of course nobody here would encourage a criminal offence.

This from The British Liver Trust website

"Cannabis is a psychoactive drug. It can aid relaxation (though may also induce anxiety and paranoia). It is linked to untoward effects on motivation and judgement. It is also linked to the “gateway theory”, where people who start using this drug may move onto other harmful drugs. There are some clinical reports of direct effects on the liver. As such, the use of cannabis is actively discouraged."

If you are having problems coping with the symptoms of cirrhosis then you need to go back to your GP or consultant and discuss other ways to improve your quality of life.

Sorry if that's not the answer you wanted, but please stay in this forum for the support and advice that we are all happy to give when you're having difficulties with your illness.

[Neal23 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you very much for the info...

[gml99]

What about edibles?

[AyrshireK in reply to gml99]

Still illegal in the UK and also still has to be processed by your liver.

[ajandy]

All of the studies that I have found say that there are no harmful links to marijuana with the liver, and may have some benefits. The problems are the legacy association as a gateway drug, and the lack of quality studies. Even in legal areas of the US there seems to be some disagreement. I think that transplant doctors have the biggest issues with it and it can keep you off transplant lists.

[Kabla87]

Yes , my husband has stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver and he uses thc gummies to sleep and it works very well, he is not crazy about the initial head high he gets but as soon as that wears off, usually an hour or so he is able to go to sleep and it's a very deep sleep. We do live in the US and he has his medical marijuana card. He is not and never will be eligible for a transplant due to other health problems. He never drank alcohol or done illegal drugs but has been on many diabetes drugs for the last 25 years. Good luck