Medical Marijuana for Sleep Apnea!?

[sleepguide]

Sun-Sentinel ran an article actually suggesting marijuana is a treatment for Sleep Apnea ! : http://www.sleepguide.com/forum/topics/ ... -for-sleep

"There is no sense of euphoria among the men, each weary from grinding pain. Their maladies include cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, neck, back and spinal problems, nerve disorders, depression and sleep apnea, for which they take a cabinet full of prescription painkillers and other medications. Marijuana provides only temporary relief. For them, marijuana is not the ticket to a better life, but to a temporarily less difficult one."

[araminta]

I can see it all now: Americans flood their doctor's offices to get tested for sleep apnea, in hopes of qualifying for medical marijuana.
Now that would be ironic.

[TSSleepy]

Here's a paper where they saw that THC's effect as an inhibitor of serotonin receptors brought about increased respiratory stability in rats.

Good enough for me! Hey Phelps, pass the bong!

http://www.journalsleep.org/ViewAbstract.aspx?pid=25731

[yorkiemum01]

Where do I sign up?? LOL

[Linus]

Oh dear. Let me guess. One of those Electronic cigarettes will be used, or maybe people will put that THC junk in the humidifier tank.
That is all we need. A bunch of tired people who are not non-motivated due to their "medicinal" THC use.

[DreamStalker]

Oh dear. Let me guess. One of those Electronic cigarettes will be used, or maybe people will put that THC junk in the humidifier tank.
That is all we need. A bunch of tired people who are not non-motivated due to their "medicinal" THC use.

I don't think THC causes non-motivation ... quite the opposite I think. There are other cannabinoids (like CBD) that may cause lethargy (non-motivation) as well as pain relief but THC does not make people tired.

Like everything else in this world, all have both good and bad aspects to that which we call life ... after all, living is hazardous to your life

[Julie]

I disagree that MJ does not make people tired. It might not make them "tired", but it will make them sleepy, and is that something you really want to see in someone with apnea? The temptation to find a reason to smoke/toke is probably pretty strong but I wouldn't take it very seriously if it was recommended on that (OSA) basis! Now if you just want to go ahead anyway and find some... I guess that would be another story though.

[Sleepin'jax]

So much for the possibility of weight loss affecting one's therapy.....ALL those munchies!!

[DreamStalker]

I disagree that MJ does not make people tired. It might not make them "tired", but it will make them sleepy, and is that something you really want to see in someone with apnea? The temptation to find a reason to smoke/toke is probably pretty strong but I wouldn't take it very seriously if it was recommended on that (OSA) basis! Now if you just want to go ahead anyway and find some... I guess that would be another story though.

I didn't say MJ does not make you tired. I said "THC" doesn't make you tired. MJ consists of several cannabinoids, THC being just one of them. Different ratios of the cannabinoids result in different physilogical effects.

I didn't say I wanted to go find some. I said there are good and bad aspects to everything.

[ARW80]

When I got my CPAP the first thing I thought was how easy and fun it would be to convert it into a water bong with the humidifier. hehe. This would be a dream come true!

[tattooyu]

When I got my CPAP the first thing I thought was how easy and fun it would be to convert it into a water bong with the humidifier. hehe. This would be a dream come true!

Oh shit, I nearly peed my pants with that one! Where would the carb be, though?

Back to the good ol' high school days for apnea treatment...

... no where the hell are my shoes? Is there any cereal in the house?

[kebsa]

the THC component of MJ has been shown to have beneficial effects for people with many serious medical problems and it does not seem to have the negative effects that are associated with MJ. MJ is made of a quite a huge list of components and as such, it can have negative effects- some are mild but others, such as precipitating the appearance of major mental health problems such as schizophrenia, are really serious! IN the UK they have produced the thc component as a presctiion drug that is used for a variety of problems in hospicce patients. this can range from stimulated appetite and helping with nausea through to helping with pain control.
I do know that some states in the US do have patients who have been allowed to have medical mj but it was in the form of cigarettes- i saw a guest on the montel show who was one of the few who had been allowed medical MJ, and he spoke of how every month a large tine with his months supply of the meds arrived- i do have issues with the use of MJ that has to be smoked! as with tobacco there are components that when burnt and inhaled, do damage the respiratory system- i have cared for too many patients with endstage COPD to think that smoking anything is benign. But i have no issue with the active component of the drug being isolated and then produced for medical use.

i have dealt with svere chronic pain for many years, i have required opiate analgesia in a variety of forms- fentanyl patches, morphine slow release tabs, morphine syrup and so on- some years back when i was still trying to get my pain undercontrol and i was finding life very hard to cope with- a concerned friend got hold of some weed for me to see if it would help- for me, it did nothing except made me feel a bit off balance! i am a non smoker and i hated the idea of having to smoke and hand rolled joint, no filter etc- not the answer for me!

[karen5]

I have sever apnea and use CPAP--I can tell you I feel much better with MJ than without---without it my symptoms increase dramatically--headaches,sweating,tired.....I found that the THC does something to the REM stage that actually helps the apnea--I found this was true on my own even before reading the article so I do believe it is true

[Rustyolddude]

Prior to and through prohibition, MJ use was legal. It wasn't until William Hurst & Harry Anslinger demonized it and campaigned against it. It wasn't until the Marajuana Tax Act of 1937 that it was pseudo outlawed. The SCOTUS later ruled the MTA '37 to be unconstitutional and the Drug Control Act of 1970 was passed to outlaw MJ and other drugs. Setting aside the intoxicant side of the MJ issue, the history of MJ use and leading up to it's control is is quite a good history lesson in the incremental loss of freedom. Even doctors at the time of of the MTA '37 campaigned to keep MJ legal. But the media, i.e. Hurst made wild claims regarding the effects of MJ on society and Congress subsiquently passed the MTA.

[Arizona-Willie]

Marijuana stays illegal ( federally ) because the liquor companies pay our Congresscritters millions of bucks every year in " campaign contributions " to see that it stays illegal.

They know if you could stop on the way home at the Quick Trip and pick up a joint or two for a little relaxation that evening you wouldn't buy their booze.
The liquor companies would be in big trouble.

Why buy booze and wake up with a hangover feeling like crap when you could smoke a joint and wake up feeling fine?

We have the best government money can buy.