Tag Archives: cannabinoids

Cannabis for IBD 

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IBD, or inflammatory bowel disease, is basically a condition that’s not fun for a lot of people. It causes inflammation, bleeding, pain, diarrhea, tiredness, loss in weight, and it’s a major problem. The thing with this, is you have three major types—ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and also indeterminate bowel disease. This is something that’s distinguished by the location of this, and some of the symptoms. It’s not totally clear about how this comes about diet, smoking, pollution, and even genetics may play a part in it, since it’s attributed to gut bacteria. 

The scary thing is that this is increasing a lot in various countries and such, and currently, the main medical treatment includes steroids, aminoacylates, biologics, and immunomodulating drugs that can help with the pain. sometimes, you might get surgery too, where part of your gut is removed. 

The problem is though, up to 40% of people with this actually don’t do well with treatment, and about half of them stop responding during the maintenance periods. This also doesn’t stop the possibility of colon cancer either. That’s why many are using alternatives, including cannabis, to help with this. 

ECS and your gut 

The ECS, or endocannabinoid system, is basically an evenly-distributed system all throughout various parts of your body, and it’s involved and does a lot for you. It involves the circulation of different cannabinoids, enzymes, and also helps regulate aspects of different parts of the body, including your gut. 

Some experiments have perform and different results on this, especially in those animals that are treated for IBD by looking at the ECS. Some studies actually saw major changes in inflammation of the gut, and some actually found that the colons weren’t as inflamed as before, and it suggests a link between the ECS, and your gut microbiome. 

Cbd Oil And Capsules

There are other animal studies too, where cannabinoids from plants actually helped to activate your ECS, and it did prove that there was less secretions, gut motility, inflammation, and it boosted the activation of the immune system, and it also showed that it activated your CB1 receptors, and also did decrease your motility and bowel tone, and it also showed that it reduced the release of various chemicals that are inflammatory from various immune aspects. 

Studies of CBD for IBD 

There are also some studies that have tried to use CBD for this. While THC does have some studies that show the motility of the gut did get better, CBD is better for helping with the immunomodulatory of the gut, and also reduced inflammation in the animal studies that were there. 

However, it was found that THC is good for colon health, stimulating the mucus in there, improving the good bacteria by also making sure that it did work with the immune and gut cells to help with inflammation. 

In some studies that were done in 2021, they used randomized, double-blind, placebo trials in over 30 people that had UC, and 56 different people who had CD, and it was found that the cannabis in this improve their quality of life and they had beneficial effects that weren’t directly a part of the inflammatory improvements. 

It was also found that a quarter of these respondents were also noticing less pain in their abdominal area, less cramping, sleep issues, and also anxiety, and it helped with the management of various symptoms of IBD, and also helped a lot more, especially for long-term users. 

It’s clear that with this, cannabis can help with a variety of conditions, including treatment for IBD, and might be a better alternative to typical treatments. 

Cannabis and SSRIs 

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SSRIs are basically medications used to help with psychological conditions, specifically depression and anxiety. The use of marijuana with this can sometimes create some side effects such as dry mouth, sleep issues, and dizziness. This may have some moderate interactions, however. medical cannabis is also used to help with the intake of antidepressants though, and also headaches, appetite issues, and also insomnia too. While depression is sometimes a big part of anxiety, you can use medical cannabis to help with this. 

So what are they? 

These are basically a class of different antidepressants that use serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors, and it’s similar to other antidepressants. 

Some of the most common are the following: – Prozac 

  • Oxactin 
  • Cipramil 
  • Prilligy 
  • Cipralex 
  • Seroxat 
  • Lustral 
  • Brintellix 

These work in a way to help increase your serotonin in the body on the extracellular level.  This also limits the resorption that happens in the presynaptic cells, to increase such. 

This is something that’s strong in affinity with the serotonin transporters, but it’s weak for dopamine and norepinephrine, so it can actually help with interacting that. It also is good for helping to start action in your sigma receptors. Fluvoxamine is another major agonist, and setaeline is an antagonist of that receptor, and paroxetine doesn’t interact significantly with the other receptors. 

There isn’t one specific mechanism for this, and instead it can be used for a variety of different situations. That’s because our brain chemistry is way too complex to be a one-size-fits-all sort of thing. They also may take a bit to work, and sometimes, they don’t work for everyone. 

It can sometimes cause issues with the synapses, but over time, it starts to get a bit better. 

They also can help with other problems including PTSD, eating disorders, or even Social Anxiety Disorder.  It can work for OCD and chronic pain too. 

The benefits and Drawbacks 

The problem with cannabis s that there are cannabinoids within the compound itself that inhibit the P2C19 enzymes, which means that it can sometimes cause problems with metabolizing them. 

Not to mention that CBD does modulate the serotonin in this, and THC also activates the receptors that inhibit serotonin, impacting uptake.  That also means that it can cause problems with the issues that are assumed with cannabis along with SSRIs. However, mixing this can help with getting relief immediately for depression and anxiety.  This also can act directly on the serotonin receptors in particular. 

It also can help with managing different side effects that come with this, including antidepressant uptake, helps with headaches, appetite issues, nausea, GI issues, and insomnia. There is also a chance that it can reduce the antidepressants needed, and some people who don’t like antidepressants may use this, since it’s not as addiction-risking in a lot of cases. 

Plus, cannabis has a lot of natural stress-boosting aspects to this, including limonene, pinene, along with linalool. The risk however are definitely worth mentioning. Dosage is a big part of this, since cannabis can be potent as a natural antidepressant, and if you take too much, it can make this worse. 

High levels of THC do deplete your serotonin, which is why you may feel more depressed especially if you take too much. It can also impair how your liver metabolizes all of this. There is also a rare instance of serotonin syndrome, which is something that can come about because of too much cannabis with antidepressants. 

It’s best to make sure tat if you use this, you’re mindful of the effects, and if they get bad, stop taking them immediately for your benefits. 

All about the Munchies 

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If you’ve heard about cannabis, you’ve probably heard about the munchies. That feeling of hunger where you want to raise your fridge like a bear before the hibernation season is something that people associate with being high.

Why does it happen? What is the reasoning behind this? We’ll go over what it is, and why it tends to happen sometimes rather than others. 

What is It? 

This is basically the hunger pangs and the response of taste that happens when you have cannabis.  Cannabis does influence certain parts of both the body and the brain whenever our body is feeling hungry, and it can make us feel like we’re in starvation mode, hence why stuff may just taste better when you’re high.

It’s also why the cravings get really bad and are able to see advertisements and want to just run to the nearest fast food restaurant.

They also feel a sense of pleasure when they eat things, and that sensation where you’re able to enjoy the food that you have is something that can become a binge eating feeling if you’re not careful. 

Why does it Happen? 

Why do you get the munchies? 

This is because of your endocannabinoid systems starting to get some sort of interaction. 

The endocannabinoids can actually control the intake of food, the appetite, and sometimes, your energy. While this can turn off the pain receptors, it can sometimes stimulate digestion, and cause you to be hungry. It can also cause the body to mimic typical eating habits.  It can also cause you to feel like you have to eat. That’s also partially why whenever people have eating disorders, they may encourage people to have cannabis, since it can help give them the sensation that they need to eat.

The body gets stimulated to create more ghrelin, which is of course, the signal that says, you need to have more food. When you eat, it increases the leptin levels, making you feel full too. 

Sometimes as well, it’s because of the olfactory sensations being stimulated. It may just be all in your nose. 

What about Edibles 

Typically, the munches can happen up to 10 minutes after, and last up to 3 hours in certain cases.  You will also feel this even if you eat edibles. THC products that have edibles also can create this, and it means that you may still get the munchies, just maybe a bit later since the body needs to absorb and change this.

The Bet Ways to Stop This 

If you’re tired of the attack cravings, the best thing to do is know when you’re going to have it, and plan activities that’ll keep you busy, avoiding the temptations that are there. If you know you’re going to get high, maybe have dinner beforehand.  You should try to consume this not on an empty stomach.  You should try to consume foods high in fat as well.

Also, try to keep snacks that are healthy and prepare for these beforehand so that you can figure out what you want to eat, and where you should avoid binging, and also overdoing them. keep the snacks away from where you are, and don’t go to places that trigger this. Try to avoid watching anything with ads as well that might trigger you.

If you’re someone who just can’t hold back, try to have stuff that has textures that are crunchy.  Veggies that are crunchy, or even fruits are good.  You may also start to notice that you can eat these when having the munchies, and it can turn to healthy eating too.