Friend keeps blacking out?

this exact same thing happened to my buddy last week. we went snowboarding for the week. he did eat like 3 bowls of cereal beforehand tho. we smoked a bowl and then got online for the lift. he was having aa cig and finished..2 mins later, hes layin in the snow passed out. we walked him inside and he passed out 2 more times. odd. he was fine to ride for about 4 runs and then he quit bc he was beat. donno if it was the cig or the weed or something unrelated, but ive been smoking for 5 yrs and never felt like i was gonna pass out from weed. i know a cig could do that tho in the morning.

 

i don't have crohn's, but sometimes when i smoke a lot in the morning and don't eat anything, i'll find that i almost black out if i get up too fast.

 

For anyone who doesn't know what chron's disease is:
Crohn's disease (also known as Crohn-Leśniowski Disease, or "Charlotte Forditis" morbus Leśniowski-Crohn, granulomatous colitis and regional enteritis) is an inflammatory disease of the intestines that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from anus to mouth, causing a wide variety of symptoms. It primarily causes abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody), vomiting, or weight loss,[1][2][3] but may also cause complications outside of the gastrointestinal tract such as skin rashes, arthritis and inflammation of the eye.[1]


From what i've briefly read, sounds like there should be no relation between his illness and passing out because of smoking weed. but im certainly no doctor.

After a little googling, i found this story that the author stated the marijuana actually helped him combat the symptoms of it.
Heres a couple more links from google, didnt read all of it but it may help:
Marijuana (Cannabis Sativa / Indica) for Crohn's Disease -- Maintenance - User ratings & reviews - Revolution Health
Medical Marijuana - Crohn's Disease Support Forums
Can marijuana help people with Crohn's disease or other gastrointestinal disorders? - Medical Marijuana - ProCon.org

These links all say it helps with fighting the symptoms (another win for MMJ), the last one even lists pros and cons of marijuana in relation to chron's.

And finally search results on passing out from weed: passing out from weed - Google Search
hope that helps.

 

Hm maybe he had some chrons thing and some low blood pressure related thing, it's very strange. Maybe try edibles, 'cause it's possible that he's like dehydrated and smoking makes it worse.

 

i read this cuz ive been fainting alot latly (more than normal but not every day...like 1 every 3 months) and when i saw he had crohn's i was glued to the story cuz i too have crohns....i think mine has something to do with me taking a perc when i was in pain like a mo-fo and i fell and hit my head on the tile floor....(i dont have headaches so i dont think i caused any permanet brain damage....but us crohnies have some gnarly stumic aches that can make u pass out...and mexican food probly made it really bad (with crohns ur not sapposed to eat a lot of stuff and a lot of it is in mexican food)

 

Ya got too many things going on to get to the root of it. "Wake and bake at noon" would suggest a night of partying the night before, no? Although marijuana can be part of a crohn's disease sufferer's treatment regimen, I suspect this kid isn't taking the best care of himself. Would that be a fair assessment? I have Crohn's and have never had issues with fainting after a bowl. Might be one of his meds, might be any number of things. But it doesn't sound like this happened after a restful night's sleep, proper nutrition, and other necessities in keeping healthy with this disease.

 

lol i didnt catch tha noon wake n bake....good eyes

 

he never ate the mexican food, he passed out while they were ordering it.

 

That could very well be the case. I'm also diabetic and my sugar levels can drop after a session. One can just plain be physically exhausted from the Crohn's as well. Gotta take good care of yourself.

 

I would say blood sugar as well. You sleep 8 hours- no food = low blood sugar, Wake and bake- blood sugar drops more. Walk around- using up more blood sugar. Sugar fuels your muscles and brain. You get shaky and faint.

Large doses of sugar can cause a sugar crash later in the day. You eat your sugar coated Sweeties breakfast cereal with a spoonful or three of sugar, add some high fructose corn syrup in a fake juice and maybe a piece of toast with jam - your blood sugar goes up through the roof! Too much blood sugar can cause damage to your body. Your body goes and responds by pumping out massive amounts insulin to take care of the sugar. BUT then your body keeps on pumping after your levels are normal. Blood sugar keeps dropping and you "sugar crash"! If the drop in blood sugar is big enough, you faint!

So eat a good, healthy breakfast (or at least have a glass of milk) when you get up.

 

We have a winner.

I've had the same thing happen to me(Im also 19, and have crohns) I was at work, overnight, and hadn't eaten in a while (happens to us crohnies) and all of a sudden I blacked out and fell down hitting the shelf and tile. Came to a minute or so later and got some orange juice and some cookies and I was all better.

 

This

 

I'd agree with the low blood sugar for the guy in the mexican resteraunt. Sounds about right.

To the guy with his buddy when they were snowboarding... he did eat before he left, so thats not that issue. He smoked a few bowls, then smoked a cig before getting on the lift. Depending on where you were snowboarding (especially if you are in the west coast, such as northern Cali or CO) the higher you go up in altitude, the less oxygen there is. If you are not used to the elevation, smoke bowls/cigs, it's depriving your brain from the already lower oxygen air. Not enough oxygen to the brain= fainting. Tell your boy to slow down on the smoking when up there. I'm not saying to stop smoking while snowboarding (that's almost a crime), just space it out over time. dont power smoke the bowl, take a hit, wait 15min, take a hit.... IMO your high is better and longer. hope this helps.

(I was infantry and crosstrained as a medic... I have a bit more knowledge then most, but I am by no means a doctor.)

 

sounds almost like poor blood circulation.

 

Yes but consider the fact he is ingesting a substance that causes blood pressure to increase, thus improving circulation. Low blood sugar is the case here. Your friend having a skinny build at a height of 6'3" supports this hypothesis, as it sounds as though he has a high metabolism. If this is a one time thing, I would say your friend was malnourished at the time--an imbalance of glucose molecules between his cells and blood vessels. If the fainting persists, your friend would do well to be tested for diabetes. Test kits are available for a few bucks at a pharmacy.

Ask your friend if he takes Sulfasalazine and if not, specifically what he does take to treat his Crohn's. Many Crohn's medications have been known to lower blood sugar to abnormally low levels, this coupled by malnourishment is a recipe for fainting spells.