My doc said Cannabis use leads to increased need for surgery?

[RAP]

Hi,
My name is Celeste & I'm new here, newly diagnosed (not severe at this time), but have probably had the disease for at least 20 years.
I REALLY don't want to start using the meds generally prescribed for CD & began researching using cannabis instead. I did some searching on my own & also checked out some of the links to research results you guys have provided here (thank you!).
So..I've let my doc know I'd like to pursue this. His assistant told me today that the most recent info he's seen about using cannabis for CD indicates a greater need for surgery later on! I was quite surprised as that was not what I'd been reading! I've left a message with him to please send me a link to the info he's citing.
Meanwhile I just did a new search on my own, and came across this very recent paper out on the NIH site, which could very well be what my doc is referring to (I can't post the link as I've not met the minimum requirement of having made 10 posts yet): "Cannabis use provides symptom relief in patients with inflammatory bowel disease but is associated with worse disease prognosis in patients with Crohn's disease."
Needless to say this alarmed me but I will continue to do even more searching...
So - I'd welcome feedback on this! What do you guys think??
Celeste

 

[FrancisK7]

His assistant told me today that the most recent info he's seen about using cannabis for CD indicates a greater need for surgery later on! I was quite surprised as that was not what I'd been reading! I've left a message with him to please send me a link to the info he's citing.

I'd love to read it as well as it goes counters to how cannabinoids work.

I`ll try to find the full article.

 

[FrancisK7]

Here is the excerpt:

Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Cannabinoids are used by patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to alleviate their symptoms. Little is known on patient motivation, benefit, or risks of this practice. Our aim was to assess the extent and motives for Cannabis use in patients with IBD and the beneficial and adverse effects associated with self-administration of Cannabis.

METHODS:
Consecutive patients with IBD (n = 313) seen in the University of Calgary from July 2008 to March 2009 completed a structured anonymous questionnaire covering motives, pattern of use, and subjective beneficial and adverse effects associated with self-administration of Cannabis. Subjects who had used Cannabis specifically for the treatment of IBD or its symptoms were compared with those who had not. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify variables predictive of poor IBD outcomes, specifically surgery or hospitalization for IBD.

RESULTS:
Cannabis had been used by 17.6% of respondents specifically to relieve symptoms associated with their IBD, the majority by inhalational route (96.4%). Patients with IBD reported that Cannabis improved abdominal pain (83.9%), abdominal cramping (76.8%), joint pain (48.2%), and diarrhea (28.6%), although side effects were frequent. The use of Cannabis for more than 6 months at any time for IBD symptoms was a strong predictor of requiring surgery in patients with Crohn's disease (odds ratio = 5.03, 95% confidence interval = 1.45-17.46) after correcting for demographic factors, tobacco smoking status, time since IBD diagnosis, and biological use. Cannabis was not a predictor for hospitalization for IBD in the previous year.

CONCLUSIONS:
Cannabis use is common in patients with IBD and subjectively improved pain and diarrheal symptoms. However, Cannabis use was associated with higher risk of surgery in patients with Crohn's disease. Patients using Cannabis should be cautioned about potential harm, until clinical trials evaluate efficacy and safety.

 

[FrancisK7]

I find it curious the articles mentions cannabis as a way alleviate symptoms, but not as a means of actually treating the disease to induce remission. There's plenty of documentation out there for them to use in a review study like this.

I'm also concerned about the quality of the sample, since 96.4% of the patients consulted inhaled their cannabis. The research is pretty clear that the cannabinoids have to be ingested to be effective as a long-term treatment. It seems the patients in their questionnaire did not follow any precise regimen or respected any posology the researchers described, but let them do their thing and asked how things were.

I'd have to read the entire thing to say anything more conclusive.

 

[vonfunk]

So much of this is flawed. I already knew that I was going to need surgery, my doctor had been saying I needed surgery almost immediately after diagnosis. The need for surgery came long before I started smoking pot, I started smoking because I needed surgery.

There is another thread discussing this exact same article elsewhere.

http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=60920

 

[FrancisK7]

Well I can't find the article, so I guess I'll have to contact friends who still have valid university credentials to fetch it for me.

For what it's worth, the conclusion mentions there is an increased associated risk with surgery. There's no relation with causality implied here. Considering the small sample and the unreliable method (questionnaire), I have no doubt the researchers bring up possible hypotheses for the higher associated risk. For example, it could be that people who are "desperate" enough to use cannabis in Calgary do so because their symptoms have advanced severely enough, and advanced cases of flares typically require more surgery than mild cases.

I honestly wouldn't worry about it at this stage.

 

[rusty2112]

There are so many positive results from cannabis but someone that is mentally set against it because of the untruths that have been ingrained in people over the many years of " the war on drugs" will always point out the one so-called study that is negative.

I have been using nothing but cannabis for the past two years for crohn's. I have had surgery for crohn's at least eight times. That is when I was on high doses of prednisone and remicade. I have not even had to go to GI clinic since the cannabis started working. It doesn't seem to work for all people but does help a pretty high percentage of crohn's patients that try it from what I have read.

I still have problems because of short gut from all of the surgery and immune system problems from the other crohn's medicine but have not had a direct crohn's flare for the whole two years. I hope this continues to work for me and wish that everyone could get the relief that I have had from the crohn's.

I think that If they just discovered this plant and it was named some different name it would be the biggest medical discovery of our time. But it is pot. That is the only problem.

 

[RAP]

Thank you for the feedback! Your replies sound reasonable & balanced; I agree with you the study does not. I was counting on your insights & thoughts since you guys have been researching this for way longer than I have. I didn't know if there were other studies out there that have found similar dire sounding results, & I saw this paper was pretty recent. The ones I've read so far have all been older.
Also, VonFunk, thank you for the heads-up about that other thread on this issue. I've asked my doc to check it out & get back with me about what he thinks after reading those counterpoints.
I was hoping perhaps to start CBD to not only ease the symptoms I'm already experiencing, but to also, maybe, keep me from getting worse! I just want to be well informed first & not rush into anything that wouldn't be good for my body, now or down the road.