Mary Jane...friend or foe?
It feels a little strange to be posting about marijuana and I hope no one is offended by the subject, but I have questions and no type 1 diabetic friends to ask. So in short, I am an 18 year old getting ready to start my freshman year of college and with college comes the chance to try some new things, pot included. I've heard mixed reviews about the combination of pot and diabetes, but all my information so far has come from random google search results so I don't really trust anything I've read. The appeal of pot is that it may be a safer alternative to drinking at parties, so please keep in mind that if I were to smoke it it would not be on a daily basis or as some kind of alternative treatment to my health condition.
So my questions are:
can smoking pot, like alcohol, cause one's bloodsugar to crash?
is it harder to detect lows while high?
is it relatively easy to remember to test?
(this question may seem silly, but my brother told me smoking pot speeds up your metabolism temporarily) if pot does speed up your metabolism, would smoking it and not eating anything (including low-carb stuff) cause bloodsugar to crash?
is it safe to fall asleep while high? (with alcohol, it may be harder to wake up if you go low while asleep)
any general comments/tips/experiences would also be appreciated
If you can't tell, I'm kind of a worrier, haha. I just like to try to get a general idea of how certain things could affect me before I try them. Also, I'm aware that everyone's body handles things differently, like I said, I just want a general idea so I can be prepared.
Also, what are people's experiences with harder drugs? I'm in no way interested in trying any for myself, I've just always been kind of morbidly curious about that sort of thing.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by jrtpup on -
We won't, EVER, all agree here. I think we CAN agree that we want everyone to be safe. The beauty of TuD is that one can get such a variety of opinions when there is a question.
Megasaurus, I hope your original question was addressed so that you can make your own, educated choice.
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Permalink Reply by nataliant on -
Hey there--
I started casually smoking with friends toward the end of college (was not on the pump then--hated it and went back to shots) and peaked with one particular friend during my MFA program the 2 years after. Words of advice based on my experience:
-ALWAYS be sure the people you're smoking with know you're T1. Everyone will be grateful for the information if anything comes up.
-I found, like others have mentioned, some strains would significantly raise my heart rate in the first 15 minutes. That would make me think I was dropping low, but my sugar would actually be fine. It's just that it's a similar symptom to hypo, so it can be unnerving. Just test as often as you like. It's the best way to stay on top of it.
-Munchies were really my biggest T1 killer. I experienced a good amount of highs while high... not because I didn't take a shot for my food, but because I then kept eating beyond what I thought I would. Then I'd have to correct. You should do your best to eat things that won't raise your sugar--yeah celery may not be it, but there are lots of options--beef jerky or nuts or something. Really the munchies for me were more about constantly chewing rather than feeling hungry. Even gum can be good if you need to cut yourself off.
-I did not see lows come a result of smoking. Same with highs. It didn't seem to directly affect my BG, but the things I did (namely eating) of course had an effect.
-When drinking heavily in college, I found I had much less control or interest in my blood sugar than when I was smoking weed, and eventually smoking became a preferred pasttime for this reason. You can be safe, but you have to really make the effort. It's easy enough to just enjoy the high and say-- I'll worry about my blood sugar in a couple of hours. At that point, you may be working to bring down a high number which, especially over time, is so not worth it.
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Permalink Reply by Linda G on -
I still say it's NOT WORTH THE RISK! I'm not a stick in the mud...I did my fair share of grass (ex flower child)!!! BUT I did not have diabetes back then.
You have too much on the line here!!
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Permalink Reply by cp1943 on -
Personally I wouldn't, partly because I like to feel as a diabetic that I'm in control and partly because my son was diagnosed as having schizophrenia almost 20 years ago and he is convinced that it was caused by recreational use of hash (and not very often). An acquaintance of mine had the same experience but her son was a regular user. I know this is very controversial but it's worth thinking about. I'm not against it per se. My son was also diagnosed as having diabetes 3 years ago but that is not relevant, except in terms of his medication which is known as a possible causal factor. Naturally the fact that I am type 1 is relevant, which is a source of sadness for me, but not something I can change.
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Permalink Reply by JaninaWalker on -
cp1943 please research the name
Dr Abram Hoffer +schizophrenia
Both you and your son would benefit from B vitamins. I use them intensively since I used them to completely overcome neuropathy in 2002-3 and I have read a few of Dr Abram Hoffer's books. I also had befriended two schizophrenic people in their 20s when I was in my late 20s and it was why I tried to get into medical school when I was 29, from leaving a career in banking with an MBA, so that didn't work out, but I have been helping a doctor I really like for his leanings toward alternative medicine because I believe so strongly in orthomolecular medicine.
The best way to learn from doctors is to buy their books as you can not learn much in short 10 minute doctor visits and besides which we are supposed to be our main care takers so we have to do the work and learn on our own, so please discover the many books mentioned on this site www.doctoryourself.com
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