How Medical Cannabis is Helping Crohn's Disease Patients

More than 3 million people in the United States suffer from inflammatory bowel disease, nearly 800,000 of whom have Crohn’s disease. If you find yourself struggling with the pain and limitations of Crohn’s disease and you’re frustrated by the lack of treatment options, it may be time to give medical cannabis a try.

At Coastal Wellness Centers, our team offers medical cannabis to patients for a wide range of chronic health conditions, from multiple sclerosis to Crohn’s disease. This treatment approach is offering our patients the ability to lead happy and productive lives in the face of frustrating and debilitating health issues. If you’re struggling with Crohn’s disease, here’s a look at how medical cannabis can play a role.

Behind Medical Cannabis

Long before cannabis came under fire as a recreational drug, it was used for millennia in medical treatments. In fact, it was prescribed in China as a treatment for arthritis as early as 2737 BC. To better understand why medical cannabis is prescribed as a medical treatment, it’s helpful to take a look at how it works with the human body.

Each of us is naturally equipped with an endocannabinoid system (ECS), which is a cell-signalling network that influences major functions in the body, including the nervous and immune systems, among others. To fire your ECS, your body produces molecules called endocannabinoids, which bind to receptors in your body and signal your ECS. What researchers have found is that cannabis, which comes from the cannabis plant, contains two ingredients that bind to the molecules in the ECS: delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).

How Medical Cannabis Fights Crohn’s Disease

The symptoms of Crohn’s disease are varied and come and go with flare-ups. Common side effects include:

• Abdominal pain

• Diarrhea

• Fatigue

• Fever

• Rectal bleeding and discharge

• Nausea

• Loss of appetite

What we’ve found is that many of these symptoms can be treated through medical cannabis, as the THC and CBD interact with your endocannabinoid system to better regulate your gastrointestinal health. To give you an idea of what we’re able to accomplish with medical cannabis, many of our patients report:

• An increase in appetite (as well as less nausea)

• Pain reduction

• Less diarrhea

Rest assured, we will work with you to fully evaluate your Crohn’s disease and design an individualized plan and dosage regimen to best address your unique symptoms.