Does marijuana really work as an appetite stimulant, or is it just an excuse to eat loads absurdly delicious snacks in rapid succession?
Me and Mary Jane have been dancing pretty consistently for a couple months (cough, years). Recently, I spent a week in the hospital on an Epilepsy Monitoring Unit — so no MJ. How’d it go? Well, I’m still alive, so good for me. But I learned something very interesting about the relationship between MJ and appetite…and how effective MJ has been working to stimulate mine.
Here’s my real life experience…I stopped taking anti-seizure meds on a Sunday morning (doctor’s orders). I smoked a little on Sunday to combat the most obvious side effects of the meds still lingering in my system, particularly anxiety and anger/rage/quick temper. No matter what I’m going through, I still have to be an average mom. And sometimes that is really hard!
Monday I checked into the hospital with a lot of anxiety. I could tell the benefits I was receiving from the MJ had worn off, but the side effects of my prescription meds had not. Note: Marijuana, a federally classified Schedule 1 drug, had no noticeable lasting effects beyond 12ish hours. The side effects of the prescription meds never went away. My appetite was absolutely gone. By Tuesday, nutrition was in my hospital room prescribing me Ensure, like an old lady.
Sadly, a liquid diet (if that sludge can be considered liquid) is basically what I lived on, until I broke free Friday morning. On the positive side, my husband didn’t have to spend much money on food at the hospital. It took a couple hours with my longtime love, MJ, for my appetite to be stimulated, and I was able to eat decently Friday afternoon. I lost eight pounds while I was in the hospital without my MJ, and I left feeling like a frail, 87-year-old.
I did not realize just how much MJ was stimulating my appetite. My goal isn’t to wolf down a bag of Cheetos (although, that has happened on occasion). I just want to provide my body with enough nutrients to have energy to ensure my children don’t go rogue and take control of the house.
Stimulating your appetite is your brain telling your stomach it needs (eh, wants) food. Off of MJ, it was like my brain sent a continuous message to my stomach that it was full. Not everybody needs to be stimulating their appetite. I’ll be honest: I used to be a chunky monkey.
But going a week without weed proved it wasn’t in my head — I wasn’t making excuses: MJ revs up my appetite; without it, my desire to eat was nil.
This was my experience. Everybody is different. PSA: Always be open and honest with your medical team about your marijuana use.
