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Gastrointestinal Distress

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[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap]lmost everyone has experienced nausea during their lifetime and most likely will continue to experience nausea sporadically throughout their life. This is because nausea has so many causative factors, and being nauseous on occasion is as likely as experiencing pain on occasion.

Nausea can be acute and last briefly or it can be chronic and incapacitating, leading to debilitating vomiting and interfering with the ability to function on a day-to-day basis. It is not a disease but a symptom of many internally and externally caused ailments such as gastrointestinal imbalances, motion sickness, anxiety, medication reactions, food poisoning and host of other disorders, both physical and psychological.

Whether short-term or recurrent and chronic, there is a cornucopia of nausea medications called antiemetics. One of the most common, bismuth subsalicylate, works by protecting the stomach lining and is found in many over-the-counter medications like Kaopectate and Pepto-Bismol. By blocking H1 receptors in the area of the brain, which create nausea, anti-histamines like Benadryl are effective in treating motion sickness and nausea caused by many medications.

Like most antiemetics, cannabis does not cure the underlying ailment, but mitigates the symptoms. When activated by the THC and CBD cannabinoids found in cannabis, the endocannabinoid receptors located throughout the body produce an anti-emetic response as was noted in a study published in the October 2013 issue of British Journal of Pharmacology finding that THC and CBD “may have therapeutic potential in reducing nausea.”

This was further confirmed in the February 2015 issue of Current Gastroenterology Reports, which reported that “Several cannabinoid receptors, which include the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1), CB2 and possibly GPR55, have been identified throughout the GI tract. These receptors may play a role in the regulation of food intake, nausea and emesis.”

“When treating nausea, it is important to determine the THC/CBD content of the cannabis.”

 

More significantly, this anti-nausea property was found to be particularly effective in treating the extreme and debilitating nausea that comes from the chemo and radiation therapies used to treat cancer. As far back as 1975, a study published by The New England Journal of Medicine reported that “oral tetrahydrocannabinol has antiemetic properties and is significantly better than a placebo in reducing vomiting caused by chemotherapeutic agents.”

The Institutes of Medicine’s 1999 groundbreaking study entitled “Marijuana as Medicine” noted “an inhalation (preferably not smoking) cannabinoid drug delivery system would be advantageous for treating chemotherapy-induced nausea.”

Cannabis works to treat nausea and, other than making a person who is feeling poorly feel better, produces far fewer side effects than almost all current antiemetic medications, both over-the-counter and prescribed.

When treating nausea, it is important to determine the THC/CBD content of the cannabis. If you are feeling nauseous you might not want to experience effects that might intensify the feelings of nausea, so you should choose a cannabis with low THC and high CBD.

The route of administration also needs to be one that does not aggravate the nausea. Although inhalation is a quick route to relief, in some people smoking can trigger additional feelings of nausea especially if you are already feeling nauseous. Use of a vaporizer should reduce the likelihood of additional nausea as no smoke is produced when vaporizing.

A method that was possibly used by your grandparent or great-grandparent to treat nausea was tincture of cannabis. Found in medicine cabinets just about everywhere, this solution of cannabis dissolved in alcohol or glycerin is taken sublingually (under-the-tongue) with effects noticed within three to five minutes. Although the taste is not the most pleasant, it is unlikely to antagonize the nausea.

Edibles are a double-edged sword. If the nausea is being generated from or by the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, getting the cannabis directly into the area where the nausea is occurring could be very beneficial. At the same time, the introduction of food products into the GI tract can intensify the ongoing nausea episode.

Nausea may be part of life, but it doesn’t have to interfere with life. With preventative care and proper treatment that includes the use of cannabis, nausea can be mitigated, allowing the body to recover, regain strength and return to a state of healthful equilibrium.

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