Marijuana (Cannabis) and Cystic Fibrosis; A Case Study
October 24, 20098 CommentsDisease Treatment
arthritis,
cystic fibrosis,
Dr Sean Breen,
GERD,
joint pain
Just yesterday I evaluated a 19 year old male patient who was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. He and his mother came in to see me because he had used cannabis in the past to specifically treat the heart burn and joint pain that he suffered on a daily basis. In addition he claimed that when he inhaled cannabis into his lungs using a vaporizer it helped to clear out some of the mucus that patients develop on a regular basis. He wanted to see if becoming a medical marijuana patient was possible.
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that effects 1/4000 newborns in the United States. The main defect in patients with cystic fibrosis is in a protein that regulates chloride transport across the cell membrane. The result is that CF patients produce large amounts of mucus in the lungs and pancreas leading to difficulty breathing and poor digestion. It is typically diagnosed when newborns fail to grow properly or when children have breathing difficulties early on in life. The average life expectancy is 38 years.
This 19 y/o patient uses numerous medications to loosen the mucus secretions in his airways. At the time of my evaluation he was being treated for active tuberculosis which is not uncommon in patients with CF. Because of the thickened mucus in his airways, bacteria typically can grow without an appropriate immune response. All of these medications that he was taking was causing nausea, GERD, lack of appetite and joint pain. For his pain he was prescribed oxycontin and given trazodone to help him sleep. His mother was concerned about the high addictive properties in opiate narcotics and wanted her son off them.
Cannabis was an excellent supplement to his medication regimen. He will be able to stop taking oxycontin for pain. He will be able to eliminate the trazodone for sleep. In addition his appetite will certainly improve and his GERD symptoms should be reduced greatly. As his mother explained to me in my office, “when he uses cannabis his quality of life improves.” If that is the goldstandard for prescribing a medication then certainly this is a case where you can easily make an argument for medical cannabis.
If you would like to visit with Dr. Breen to see if cannabis can help you with your illness simply visit our website at www.MCSoCal.com and pre-qualify for free online. Or call 877-721-0047. We have clinic locations in Encinitas, Long Beach and Irvine.
I like this info shown and it has given me some sort of commitment to have success for some reason, so thanks.
As the saying goes, “sharing is caring”. I really like the way you write this article and thanks for sharing this piece of info! It saves my day in some methods
Perhaps you could get this info to Senator Jamie B. Raskin of Montgomery County, co-author of a medical marijuana bill in Maryland. He has recently been diagnosed with cancer but says he will forgo using cannabis as he has a history of Cystic Fibrosis and asthma. I think cannabis can be used for asthma as well. Of course everyone is different but we all need information to make informed decisions.
This doesnt show anything at all. Its only conclusion are hypothetical potentials to changes in medication. This is the same as saying ” he will win the national lottery”. Sadly this is just someone selling snake oil as a panacea for every ailment to desperate people. I would doubt this will be published .
Your comment makes no sense and is baseless. The point of the post was to show that cannabis was helping with teenager, not that it was curing him of cystic fibrosis.
I have cf and have been using marijuana through a vaporizer for 5 years now and have lived a wonderful life with less stomach pain and a excellent appetite. It is very different then smoking, it does not leave your lungs with any tar but can still irritate your throat a little. I have found that it produces a cough deep enough to clear thick mucus, and not leave me actually producing mucus afterwards like smoking does. All in all it has helped me regardless of any studies. Im sure it varies case to case as well, so really it’s all how it helps you personally. Also if anyone with cf is thinking about trying this for help, I would start at a temperature of 335 F. This temperature seemed to hit the jackpot with airway clearance, any temperature above that seemed to be a little harsh and would leave me coughing with less airway clearance and more irritated throat.
Hope this helps anybody!
Marijuana is already a medicine and helps out a lot of the population weather you want to admit it or not. The fact is that it’s improving life for a lot of people with numerous conditions and will always be a medication no matter what the government classifies it as.
Cheers
Interesting. If you can relay my message to him he should look at gluten as a problem with his gerd and such. Most CF patients have trouble with gluten 99% do not know it. I know i have cf and celiac. Interested in more info vaporizing cannabis. Do you still have a high effect. What about ingesting it.