Hey guys, I'm new to this forum. I just joined actually. My name is ashpow and I just happen to have Type 1 Diabetes. I've been smoking weed for 2 and a half years now. I've been thinking about doing a study on marijuana and it's effect on my blood sugars. But I need your help. First I will tell you what I have thought of so far, then I will ask a list of questions that I'd like you to possibly answer for me or help me find an answer. I am doing this study for my own personal reasons and if, when I am finished, anyone would like to see the results I would be happy to show them. A Little About Myself: I take 2000mg of Vitamin D, 100mg of Zoloft (prescription) and 1 triple strength Omega-3 pill every morning. I drink a supplement of PEG (prescription) every day at Lunch. I have been diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Depression, Anxiety (social and general as well as the OCD) and possible disordered eating. I also have slight constipation. I take Vitamin D because I live in a place where there is not much sun. The Zoloft is for my Anxieties and Depression. The triple strength Omega-3 and the PEG are for easier bowel movements. Concerning the Diabetes: I wear an insulin pump (Medtronic Minimed Paradigm Revel in Pink). I use a Contour Link glucose meter. Every time I check my blood sugar with this meter (which is every time I check my blood sugar) it transfers over to my insulin pump so I can easily take my insulin. Also, I can upload my insulin pump to the internet on a private account so that I can see my blood sugars and insulin rates over a period of time, such as two weeks. I can see my blood sugars and insulin rates in pie charts and graphs as well. This is so my doctors can check up on me, but I will also be using this to help my study. I will be checking my pump site every day that I conduct the study so that I can be sure I am getting all of the insulin I want. I feel low blood sugars when I reach 4.2 mmol/L (about 75.6 mg/dl), and high blood sugars when I reach 11.5 mmol/L (about 207 mg/dl). I take 1 unit of insulin for every 10 carbohydrates I consume. My basal rates are 12am-1.1 units/hour and 3am-1 unit/hour. I decided to keep a journal. In order for this to work I need to record everything I do, eat, smoke and any stress or other factors that could contribute to a high or low blood sugar. I also need to record my blood sugars and the amount of insulin I take, which the insulin pump I wear already does for me. I will be recording this in my journal also to make looking back on it easier. I'll be conducting the study once a week. I smoke marijuana daily, but I don't want to have to eat the same meals every day. On this day I will wake up at 8am and eat a low fat, high protein, medium carbohydrate, low sugar meal. Every meal I eat will have generally the same amount of calories as every other meal on this day. The same goes to my snacks. The only exception is supper, but I'll get to that later. I will be eating 3 meals and 3 snacks in 2-3 hour intervals. I will also eat 22 grams (more or less) of fiber a day, as that is the recommended intake for someone of my gender and age. Every day that I do this study, I will be eating the same meal plan. I will have a planned day. By this I mean that I will have a relaxed, (hopefully) stress-free day, lacking much exercise of any kind. This is because stress and exercise can affect my blood sugar in a way that could make this study invalid. My day will consist of checking my blood sugars, eating, taking my insulin, watching tv/movies, gaming, reading, things of that sort. For every meal/snack I will wash my hands and check my blood sugar before I eat. I will record this in my journal. I will count my carbohydrates and fiber and take the correct amount of insulin for myself with every meal/snack minus Supper. I will also record this. Every 15 minutes after I have eaten, I will check my blood sugar once again and record it. Before Supper I will check my sugar then smoke some marijuana. Then I will wash my hands, check my blood sugar again, record it, take only half of the insulin I need and then eat. Like my other meals/snacks today, I will check my blood sugar every 15 minutes after I have eaten. Month One: For the first 2 weeks I will smoke a 0.5 gram joint before Supper. The joint will consist of the marijuana, a Ziggy blue paper and a cardboard filter. The next 2 weeks I will smoke 0.5 from my metal pipe, which I will have cleaned immaculately the day before. Month Two: The first 2 weeks of this month I will smoke a 0.5 gram joint just before Supper and another one a half hour after Supper. The last 2 weeks I will smoke 0.5 from my clean metal pipe before Supper and a half hour after supper. I will be checking my sugars before and after I smoke up after Supper as well as before. My Smoking Method: I take big hauls from joints and hold my hits for about a minute. I will take multiple-quick-little-hits a few times throughout the joint. I tend to take slow but big hits and hold them for about 30 seconds when I smoke from my metal pipe. All of this information will be recorded. The only thing I may drink between meals/snacks is water. The only time I can eat anything that isn't on my menu for that day is if I have a low blood sugar which I will be preventing by checking my blood sugars so often. If I do have a low blood sugar I will cancel the study for that day and try the next day. Independent Variable: -The Marijuana (The amount smoked and how it is smoked) Dependent Variable: -Blood Glucose (How it is affected by The Marijuana) Controlled Variables: -Amount of calories consumed (Carbohydrate, Fat, Fiber, Sugar, Protein) -Time that calories are consumed -Subject stays mostly sedentary and avoids stressful situations -When The Marijuana is smoked and how much -When I check my sugars and how often -How much insulin I take I will also be recording in my journal the following things: -How I am feeling emotionally before and after each meal -How I am feeling before and after I smoke the joint -Any sudden changes in mood/emotion -The amount of marijuana smoked in grams -How the marijuana was smoked -The type of high I have gotten -Anything that I feel is important for the study My questions for you are: -Is there anything you think I should add? -Is there anything you think I should change? -Do you think I gave myself enough time to get accurate results? (Should I do the study more than once a week, more then 2 months, etc.) -Are there any other Controlled Variables that I should add? Thank you very much for reading this, I appreciate it very much, ashpow
hey sorry i have nothing to really add but this seems like a well thought experiment and I'm excited to see the results... i would say add a general hypothesis to your experiment.. good luck!
A1C effects over long term? Why not try to lead as "normal" a day and get some exercise while you're at it? Why decide to be sedentary? You have too many uncontrolled variables already so may as well not try to live like a lab rat. All of this seems to be as much about perhaps the OCD and all this "recording" is it not? Will you lose the desire to record all of this with cannabis use? Will the study be a "success" if you lose the desire to record? Is it more a study about the OCD or the Diabetes? My three year "study" sites slight lowering of sugar levels with cannabis consumption and a steady A1C in the 6.4 range, same as always. I always wash my hands. It's dirty out there. Check out Granny Storm Crow's list for a plethora of diabetes and psychological studies pertaining to cannabis.
I have to agree with floating_by. While your motivations are unquestionably well-intentioned, and well thought out, I also believe that there are far too many variables to account for. The number of medications you are taking make this an extremely complicated study. My main concern here would be Zoloft, a popular SSRI - Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor. Here is one of MANY studies I found on Google Scholar pertaining to Serotonin, it's inhibition and reubtake: PRECLINICAL STUDY: Effect of cannabinoids on platelet serotonin uptake - Velenovsk[] - 2007 - Addiction Biology - Wiley Online Library There is good clinical evidence that cannabinoids do play a role in the way the body and brain utilizes serotonin. Zoloft could have a many different, unexpected, effects when combined with cannabinoids. Marijuana itself contains hundreds of different canns. This is one of the reasons the synthetic canns have become so popular in research lately. The synths are each a single, exclusive cann, as opposed to the cocktail found in marijuana. Using synths eliminates MANY variables whne conducting these studies. If I were you, I would spend some serious time on Google Scholar reading about the various drugs you are using, particularly when combined with marijuana. You may be able to draw several strong conclusions without having to use yourself as a guinea pig. The conditions you've described are nothing to play around with. Particularly diabetes and OCD. Psychological conditions, in particular, can be seriously and adversely affected by disruptions in your bodies natural processing of serotonin. Proceed with caution.
I'm actually coming off of the Zoloft now, I'm waiting until I'm off of it for a month to start this study. I've talked to my psychiatrist and psychologist about the effect that marijuana has on me and have been high around them, they both agree that it doesn't have any negative effects on my serotonin levels. I will, however, definitely consider going about my day as normal. That makes perfect sense, except for the fact that I need to know that the marijuana has lowered my sugar, and that nothing else has. If I exercise in the morning it can affect my blood glucose later in the day. Also, all of this recording is actually not because of my OCD. I have more compulsions then obsessions. The only obsession I have is with even numbers. But even my compulsions are under control when I have THC in my system. When I am high, I find myself wanting to actually do something important, as opposed to doing nothing like I usually do. I will definitely be able to record all of this and keep up with the study, as I myself have been planning this for some time and would really like to see the results. Really, I'm doing this because I've quit school (medical reasons) and I'm home all day by myself, bored. I'm studying for my GED and that's all I really have to do that's productive in my life. This would actually add some needed structure to my schedule. Thank you so much for you advice and concern. I will be talking to my endocrinologist about this study just to make things clear and safe. PS: A1C - 7.4
Until I posted this yesterday I honestly thought that it would help me absorb more THC and CBD but my best friend explained to me that it doesn't. I realize now that it's pointless. Oh well, we all make stupid mistakes.
And sweetie, you really should look for high CBD cannabis. CBD does more for diabetics than THC! Cannabidiol Preserves Retinal Neurons and Reduces Vascular Permeability in Experimental Diabetes (abst - 2004) Cannabidiol Preserves Retinal Neurons and Reduces Vascular Permeability in Experimental Diabetes -- Liou et al. 45 (5): 860 -- ARVO Meeting Abstracts Neuroprotective and Blood-Retinal Barrier-Preserving Effects of Cannabidiol in Experimental Diabetes (full - 2006) Neuroprotective and Blood-Retinal Barrier-Preserving Effects of Cannabidiol in Experimental Diabetes Cannabidiol arrests onset of autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice (full - 2007) http://safeaccess.ca/research/pdf/WeissCBD_ArrestsDiabetesNeuropharmacology2007.pdf Cannabidiol Attenuates Cardiac Dysfunction, Oxidative Stress, Fibrosis, and Inflammatory and Cell Death Signaling Pathways in Diabetic Cardiomyopathy (full - 2010) http://www.natap.org/2010/newsUpdates/marijuana.pdf Granny
i am very interested in this as my older sister was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as of 04' and she smokes multiple times a day. ill be following this without a doubt. god bless
There are just too many variables which can affect sugar levels, however. Get a cold, stress, etc. It's unlikely that your sugars would swing in 15 minutes' time, so why not just test before toking and after to see if there are any immediate effects, and maybe again in an hour to see if they continue? I'm on the same pump and everything, and I think you'll put yourself through a lot of work to learn cannabis affects things just slightly to the positive side for diabetics pertaining to bloodsugars if my experience is typical, which it seems it is from others' accounts. It's certainly not like you can stop taking your insulin. Diabetes very much seems to be about inflammatory responses in the body, and I think cannabis once again acts as this "gateway" to allow better metabolism of the insulin via better absorption with cannabis opening these gateways and lessening inflammation in the body. There would be much better clinical trials to find this out which won't have all these variables, so don't live like a lab rat would be my suggestion.
As I mentioned before, you don't know me or how my body reacts to anything. You may have Type 1 Diabetes and even use the same pump but nobody is affected by the disease in the same way. There is no "typical experience" when it comes to Diabetes Mellitus. And yes, my sugars do fluctuate in 15 minutes. Very much actually. I'm not stopping taking my insulin. I'm taking half of my insulin for one meal, in one day of the week. I know how my body works. I have reason to believe that the study will work well enough so that I won't need the insulin I miss on this one day. Please don't try to educate me on this, I'm not trying to be rude but I almost died from this disease when I didn't take insulin for a year and a half. I know what that's like. I'm never going back. I'm a healthy person and wouldn't want it any other way. I will not be living like a lab rat. I will have one day of the week where I monitor myself very well, which is what I should be doing anyways if I want to figure out my patterns and such. This is for no one else's benefit but my own. I have nothing better to do with my day, so why not do something I want to do and that will help me in the long run.
Sorry to say, this is exactly the point. Therefore, simple logic would conclude, that the results of your study would be useful only to you. As Floating_By said, there are too many variables and not enough control, including differences between yourself and others that aren't cannabinoid related at all. This isn't meant to be discouragement at all. By all means, carry on. You may find the results to be of great personal use. I just think it would be irresponsible not to point out to other diabetics who may be looking at your personal study as proof of one thing or another, that it really isn't proof, or even evidence, of how their bodies may or may not react under the same circumstances.
That is why I said that this is for my benefit only. Your post was unnecessary. I posted this to get ideas from other people, to see what I might need to make this study better for me. I also posted this is case anyone was interested in following my experience. I did not, in any way, hint that this would be for other people with Type 1 Diabetes. Please stop posting irrelevant subjects. We've gone through this, I am doing this for personal reasons only. Again, I'm not trying to be rude, it's just frustrating when people tell me something, that I have already pointed out myself.
You are not here to determine what posts are necessary or unnecessary. If you simply want to publicize your experiment without critical feedback, there is a blog function for just that. You are on a public, moderated forum. This is how it works. I believe my posts are neither necessary or unnecessary, they simply are. Nothing in this thread strikes me as irrelevant. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and has the right to post feedback. You posted your intentions on a public forum and people have responded. We will likely continue to do so. All this being said, please carry on!
That being said, most adults would read all of my post or posts before replying. As I said, this is something for my own personal benefit. That is all I said to you, which is what you were telling me. All I am asking is to not repeat something I have already said, and go about it as if I didn't state it earlier.
This is really cool, and I definitely applaud you for it. It's really important to know your own health, and you are definitely taking that bull by the horns. One suggestion I might have for you is to eat it instead of smoke it. I hypothesize that you'll see better results if you take it internally, as you lose so much potential when you smoke it (upwards of 60% in some cases). Not to mention, it lasts longer physically and a smaller amount might last longer dosage wise than smoking the same amount. Heck, you could even add it on to your study, trying smoking before edibles. I'm interested in the results...
Heya OP, just came across your thread! Hopefully your still at it! I am a type 1 diabetic myself, and have been for around 12 years. I am on the minimed insulin pump as well and have been very interested in the effects that Cannabis possibly may have on my blood sugars. Although I have come to determine there are no true scientific studies out there done in controlled environments that are directly related to Type 1 Diabetes. I am glad that I have found your thread and am in the process of reading the whole thing! I wish you good luck and hope you have success, will keep me hopeful that there very well might be good news for Type 1 Diabetics like you and me!
Thanks for taking an interest. Of course, as I mentioned to the other posters, this is a study for my benefit only, and because Diabetes is such a touchy disease, it won't determine whether cannabis helps you keep your sugars level or not, but it could always lead to better medical studies.