Hi everyone--

A few people were wondering about medical marijuana. It is avilable
in pill form. My father obtained it through his neurologist and it
helps with a number of things: anxiety, pain relief, and...here's the
kicker...appetite!

It was a mixed blessing. He was taking one pill three times a day at
first, and it made him quite hungry--which is great if you have ALS
because you want to keep that weight up, and did gain a little weight
with it. However, he also got more constipated. Finally, after a
few months of this, the hospice nurse convinced him to knock the
dosage way back because the pain associated with the constipation and
the difficulty of disimapcting him outweighed any other benefits.

Here's a link to the 2003 article I remember reading, but perhaps
there is newer information someone knows about.

http://www.mdausa.org/publications/a...html#marijuana

Liz
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Thanks for the article link and info Liz--sounds like quite a few PALS
have found relief w/ MJ. I understand that where pill marinol is
effective in appetite stimulation and decreasing nausea, the herbal
form ingested as a vapor (or smoked) has more healing qualitites and
some advantages for relieving other symptoms like muscle spasms.
California and other states (WA?) provide joints and many forms of
plain old 'pot' to medical users. Montana, as another example, allows
a regsitered patient to possess it, but dont help you out on where to
buy it! So it varies by state.
Herbal vaporizers are nice in that the PALS doesnt have to compromise
their lungs by smoking the mj, but instead inhale a vapor that is
collected in a plastic bag after the vaporizer gently heats up the
herb to release the good effects but not the toxins in smoke. I am
not explaining real well, but just wanted anyone with concerns about
smoking to know that there are alternative ways to ingest it.
Inhaling MJ allows for a very rapid relief from pain and spasms,
compared with ingesting it orally. (My husband has used it 3-4x a day
for about 6 months and prefers it to the muscle relaxant drugs--and
our doc said it is way safer and doesnt have the negative side effects.)
Beth
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Living with ALS at yahoo
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group...h-als/messages