Your medical cannabis journey simplified: find partnered dispensaries, explore pricing options, earn rewards, and get answers to FAQs, all in one spot.
Wasting Syndrome is a common condition on many lists that set out the qualifying conditions for medical cannabis. Many may not know this, but Wasting Syndrome is an AIDS-defining condition which entails undesired weight loss combined with a runny tummy or weakness and fever. This weight loss includes loss of fat and muscles, which in Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) patients can cause more problems.
Wasting syndrome can also become present as a result of cancer, tuberculosis, superior mesenteric artery syndrome, and a few others. However, Wasting Syndrome is the most common and prevalent in HIV/AIDS patients.
Wasting Syndrome can cause AIDS patients to lose 10% or more of their body weight in combination with dealing with diarrhea, weakness, and/or fever which can last at least 30 days. Once AIDS patients have lost weight, it becomes challenging for them to regain it. The muscles and fat tissues ‘waste’ away
This condition can be caused by advanced AIDS, inflammation, or opportunistic infections but is ultimately due to the chronic illness of HIV/AIDS. Patients struggling with this syndrome get full quickly and easily or they may have no appetite at all. The loss in weight, diarrhea, and lack of appetite also means that the body is not getting all the nutrients from food. AIDS patients need their bodies to hold on to and make use of as many nutrients as possible in order to prevent worsening the condition.
See If You Qualify For Medical Marijuana -Select Your State!
The most important treatment for Wasting Syndrome is the antiretroviral medication administered for AIDS, however there are additional measures a patient can take in order to assist with the signs and symptoms of the syndrome. Along with planned and healthy meals, patients can make use of cannabis.
Current Treatment Options:
Steroids. The testosterone and anabolic steroids are useful in building up muscle and restoring the mass. However, there are major downsides to this treatment such as the risk of being infertile.
Human growth hormones are used to gain weight and build lean muscle mass, but it can also lead to joint pain, high blood sugar, and muscle pain. This treatment is also expensive, costing more than $40 000 per year.
Eating habit adjustments by taking nutritional supplements that provide nutrients that are easily absorbed. Patients may even set up an eating schedule to ensure that they eat at specific times, even when they aren’t hungry.
How Can Cannabis Help With Wasting Syndrome?
Cannabis can reduce nausea and vomiting in patients. Management of nausea and vomiting is vital in the management of Wasting Syndrome.
Cannabis can stimulate the appetite in the patients. This is important for ensuring the patients are still getting in nutrients from food. Eating also helps reduce the extremity of weight-loss. Patients with Wasting Syndrome experience loss of appetite.
If Wasting Syndrome causes the patient any pain or inflammation as a result of other symptoms, cannabis can be used to reduce both the pain and inflammation.
As you can see, cannabis is very useful in the management of Wasting Syndrome. Luckily, the condition is on the ‘qualifying conditions’ list for medical marijuana. Besides all the benefits, cannabis is also very safe to use and presents with less severe, if any, adverse side effects.
The effectiveness of cannabis as a treatment for managing Wasting Syndrome has been proven in several studies, including one that makes use of a product-placebo approach. This means that one group was treated with cannabis, while the other was treated with a placebo. The results displayed that those using cannabis gained weight and dealt with the syndrome better as a whole. More studies can be found published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
Although the focus was on patients with HIV/AIDS suffering from Wasting Syndrome, cannabis can still help any patient with the syndrome, even if it came about as a result of a different type of chronic condition.
Chane Leigh, aka The Bud Fairy, is a South African cannabis advocate and enthusiast with a firey personality and a thirst for travel. She loves to educate people and to question the norms.
Cannabis tinctures are relatively new on the scene compared to the long, thousands-year-old history of the cannabis plant itself. It was first recognized for its medicinal use in European medicine in 1839, and by 1851, medicinal cannabis tinctures had made their way into a drug almanac known as the United States Pharmacopeia. Despite prohibition throughout…
Mental health is crucial to our well-being. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that more than one in five U.S. adults is currently living with a mental health condition. The effort to destigmatize the conversations around mental health is recognized from Mental Health Awareness Month in May to World Suicide Prevention Day in…
Cannabis access has expanded significantly in recent decades. Many states with medical programs have recently adopted recreational legislation allowing anyone 21 years and older to access the plant. This expanded access may leave you wondering if you should bother getting a medical card when you can just purchase cannabis from a recreational store. Medical and…
As cannabis use and accessibility grow nationwide, many universities have established pathways to study the business and science of the plant. Students can research cannabis and its many compounds, pharmacology, cultivation, business, marketing, public policy, and so much more. Beyond cannabis-specific schools like Oaksterdam University and THC University, aspiring cannabis professionals have many options to…
When Piper Lindeen’s son Zach began showing medical issues at just three years old, no one suspected a rare, severe form of epilepsy. Doctors initially didn’t recognize his symptoms as seizures. Eventually, they diagnosed Zach with epilepsy—but by then, his condition had worsened from a few seizures a week to several each day. As it…
The statements made regarding cannabis products on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Cannabis is not an FDA-approved substance and is still illegal under federal law. The information provided on this website is intended for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It is not intended as medical advice and should not be considered as a substitute for advice from a healthcare professional. We strongly recommend that you consult with a physician or other qualified healthcare provider before using any cannabis products. The use of any information provided on this website is solely at your own risk.