My theory: | Arthritis Information

After being a member of this site, my research is about finished and I would like to share with all of you what I have come up with. I want to thank each and every one of you for contributing to my indepth research on arthritis. My research has not really been about arthritis, but rather about what this disease does to the human soul. What category to you fit into?

1. The first group are the people who are truly in line with getting help on treating their disease. They look for every available avenue to help them get the disease into remission. These include those willing to be on AP therapy. They are the risk takers who will probably get to where they want to be with their disease. This group probably does not take many narcotics which keeps them alert and open to all the alternative therapies available to them. They use alternative therapies to achieve most of their pain control. This group still uses DMARDS and biologics but would never close the door on a new treatment, even if it was not approved by the FDA.

2. The second group are the ones that sit on line and do nothing to help their disease. They look for reasons why therapies (they are not willing to try) do not work. They want hard core evidence, double blind studies before they are willing to accept this as even a remote possibility for themselves. They see down a very narrow tunnel to enlighten themselves about anything beyond biologics and narcotics. They most likely will never succeed at remission because their scope of possibilities for long term results is out of their scope of vision. They spend much of their days in front of the computer, bashing other members for seeking alternative treatments which most likely would help them in the long term. These people are heavily sedated by the affects of oxycontin, hydromorphone, and hydrocodone. But underneath the opiate induced nastiness, they do not really desire a cure because there are too many secondary gains from this disease. If this disease were truly put into remission, who would cook all their meals, clean their house and tend to the young children? Not to mention, the attention by loved ones and all the medical professionals. To put this disease into remission, would be to end part of their life, similar to chopping off a limb. Who would benefit from that? Who would want that kind of change? This group also sits and smokes cigerettes but critisizes other members for using MJ, which has actually been proven to help the affects of this disease, while at the same time not taking into consideration the number of states and other countries who have medical marijuana laws in place making it perfectly legal to use this life changing alternative treatment.

3. The third group on here are strictly internet trolls....vile and offensive.

Again, thank you for allowing me to conduct my research. I will now be taking questions. Lorster,

You forgot at least one group. The non rheumatoid arthritis sufferers. The people without rheumatoid arthritis that for some reason, many for spamming the roadback and others just for the sake of arguing and fighting with RA sufferers. These non-RAers cannot become a part of this forum. To become a part of this forum, a person has to have ra. They have to live it, they have to feel it. They have to fear it. All our decisions have possible damaging consequenses. Non-RAers don't have to factor in damage or death into their equation or decisions or into their lectures to the RAers on how best to deal with our disease and medical decisions. Most all of these non-RAers are nothing more than troublemakers. Why would non-RAers come to a rheumatoid arthritis forum and try to lecture us on our disease or medical decisions. Tell me that Lorster, that should be a question you should be able to answer with knowledge, right? Hope I have been helpful in your indepth research.

LEV

Lev, you have no idea what is going on with me. I have not shared in my new developments of the past few months. Remember old boy, I'm seropositive, anything is possible at any time. So do not assume you know what I have or do not have. The ones you describe above are probably category number 3. I do not fit into that category unfortunately. Believe me, I wish I did.oh, and Lev dear, what category do you fit into? I thought you had lupus, lorster?I'm not sure your categories are complete. Or is this a joke?

I guess maybe I fall into your 1st category but I've never tried AP because I've had good success with traditional DMARD and now Biologic treatments. I'm not however in the least bit offended by anyone who finds AP helpful to them and I suppose I'd try it at some point if all else was failing. That's never been the case for me though. I don't take opiates...a little tramadol or muscle relaxers now and then; but not that often at this point. I clean my own house with the help of family members who also mess the place up...not because I'm too lazy or unable to do so but because I have an adult husband and 3 older children at home. They can clean up after themselves! I work a full time job and have lots of friends and family surrounding me.

If you have indeed been researching for an article on the human soul as it relates to arthritis; I'd say you've still got a long way to go.

[QUOTE=Lovie]

If you have indeed been researching for an article on the human soul as it relates to arthritis; I'd say you've still got a long way to go.

[/QUOTE]

I don't know but it is an interesing read.it does not take much to figure many people out. 20 years of being at the bedside has provided a foundation for much of my research. Any more questions?Oh Lorster,

What about the group that says that there is a world wide conpiracy that involves all big pharms, all the governments, all the medical institutions and organizations, all the doctors (except roadback doctors) and that all the doctors are corrupt and all the scientists are corrupt and etc and etc. Add that group.

You're welcome,

LEV

I came to this board looking for help and information - I am both shocked and appalled at the posts I've seen here. I just don't get it. No Lev, I cannot do that, my categories are made up already. That would be the topic of a whole new research paper. It would probably be something about...those that lead and those that just believe anything and go along because it is the cool thing to do...I'll try to work on that though. [QUOTE=My3miracles] I came to this board looking for help and information - I am both shocked and appalled at the posts I've seen here. I just don't get it.
[/QUOTE]

We are just playing. Will you join us? It is a great distraction from your pain. Try it. Or are you category 2...The oxycodone type.Well, I don't know if this counts as a "group" because it seems only to consist of one, but how about the one where people in it pretend they've been doing research, but really are just finding a new way to slam some members?Linda. Are you talking about ME??? Oh my goodness. I cannot believe you said that about me. It really is an observation. Think about it. Go to the AP thread and it will all fall into place. oh no..another professor gizmo [QUOTE=lorster]it does not take much to figure many people out. 20 years of being at the bedside has provided a foundation for much of my research. Any more questions?[/QUOTE]

This coming from Nurse Ratched who knows so much more than everyone including the doctors

I know Lori, it's all related to the AP thread and an attack on the people who couldn't get an answer to a simple question. It's just another thread for people to go back and forth on, as if that's just what this board needs. It's all getting so, so tiresome. Aren't you getting tired of it, the same ol' same ol'?

Lorster if your 20 years at beside led to these conclusions you really need to retire because you have lost the ability to think and reason. [QUOTE=babs10] I thought you had lupus, lorster?[/QUOTE] Babs, was not trying to ignore your question. I went to a new RD that came to our town after two years of having no one to go to without driving a long distance. She wanted to run me through a bunch of tests, some of which would have been repeats and not needed.(for example, she wanted to do the Hepatitis panel which I had done two months earlier after a needle stick injury at work which was negative but my doctor could not use because when you go through employment testing, the results are put with a number, not with your name so they are unable to send her actual results.) I discussed it with my husband(because I'm having problems) and I was in the process of going back to her to only have the tests done that would bring me closer to an answer. I called to make an appt and was told she was no longer practicing. She had just left, no reason and never returned. No one knows and the office is being pretty quiet about it. So, I'm at ground zero once again. Not without problems but they say, we have a new one coming in so I'll wait. This is the second RD I have seen only once, the first one died unexpectedely and the other one flew the coop. Other RD's in the state are several months out on appts so what does one do about this? I'm not in a wheel chair so I figure there are people out there that need to be seen first. I will get an answer some day.[QUOTE=Linncn]

[/QUOTE]

LINNCN!!

lorster.. I would put my name on one of those lists for a few months out...... you'd be surprised how quickly the time passes...a nd if in the meantime, someone comes into that other office.. you can always cancel........ I wouldn't mess w/ lupus or RA..... for that I wish you the best.

babs102009-05-12 11:26:26Babs, I do not know what it is with rheumatatologists in my town but we certainly are unable to keep them here. To be honest, when I went to see her, she seemed very distracted, like she was not really in the same room but rather, thinking of something that had upset her earlier (this is hard to explain but just a feeling i got) and unfortunately, it was at that appointment where rapport is born and it did not happen. I felt rushed and i spent 300 dollars and she spent less than 10 minutes with me so I basically said, screw it. I wanted tests ordered to be well thought out (which they weren't) so that there was not duplication and wasteful spending going on. I try to be careful with health care dollars. How do you spend less than 10 minutes with a patient and inform them they do not have RA? I have had it for 4 years now and to be honest, I know there is something wrong but I keep thinking time will work things out. How do I believe someone who met me 10 minutes earlier? So, yeah, that is about it and to be honest, I have not had time to pursue another doctor. I am waiting for the new doc to get here.aaaaah.. now I get it.

yeah.. her DX would not have alot of weight w/ me either......

ETA: I think I wouldn't sit around to see what gets deformed first.........

or see who I could piss off w/ my little games...... seems like you have enough time to act a child, but not enough to maturely handle your disease.

babs102009-05-12 12:04:48Lorster, You've heard of cars right? Don't you have one? Get in it and drive to the nearest place where there is a rheumy, even if it's 5 hours away.

Sounds like a no-brainer to me, but hey, it's your body.

I thought you were leaving, never to return. What happened?

[QUOTE=babs10]I thought you had lupus, lorster?[/QUOTE]

Prickcushion was too, many times, yet here she is.I just want to say that I take an opiate (Norco), and somehow I still manage to take care of my three young sons, clean my own house, volunteer, and enjoy time with my husband and friends. I welcome the pain relief the Norco brings and am grateful that it allows me to do all of the above in a little more comfort. I have had the same prescription dosage for the past two years. I do not consider myself addicted in any way, and I have never felt like I was "high" or whatever you called it.

I think your work experience has left you a bit jaded on this matter Lorster. Perhaps seeing the worst of the worst would leave me that way as well, but I hope not. There are plenty of us who use narcotic pain relief without abusing it, and it isn't fair to blanket everyone into a certain group based upon what your particular experience at work has been. When you make broad sweeping statements that in essence accuse people who use opiods of being heavily sedated while at the same time implying that these people do not want to get better, you really have crossed a line and your words are truly irresponsible.

How many people are scared to take pain medication because they don't want to become addicted to it? I know I was at first. When it got to the point that I couldn't "be tough" anymore and I asked for the rx, guess what happened? Pretty immediately I became more active, more involved, and my life became much more normal. I don't think it is right that someone coming to this forum for the first time, may read your post and decide not to accept the help of pain medication for fear of being perceived as heavily sedated, or a drug addict. This disease is confusing enough to say the least. You yourself especially have experienced that first hand. Perhaps instead of doing your "research" on this message board, why don't you use that time to drive to a rheumatologist that can give you some straight answers regarding your own health. No offense intended to you, sincerely.

I hear that!I was diagnosed by a Urgent care doctor. I went to urgent care with painful hands. He sent me for xrays and blood work, told me to come back in a week and at that time he told me that I had rheumatoid arthritis and he made an appointment for rheumatology. He prescribed prednisone, I think. It was just that simple. I guess things are just complicated in Montana.

LEV

HA HA HA, You may be right about Montana lev, but me thinks lorster is wHaCkEd. Then there is the group that is blessed with multiple painful diseases that are in personnel daily dissapiontments. I would love a solution to learn to live in full body regamortas without taking a mind altaring drug. I suppose I could sit in bed screaming all day. Seriously taking all these medicines just sort of helps part of the day. Try RA, Sjorgrens and Fibromyalgia some time. Add seasonal allergy agravated asthma to the mix. The inhaler totally agravates the muscle spasms. Then the muscle relaxer make you even dryer then dry so you have constant thrush. Imagine being used to having thrush. Not to mention chronic fatigue and you have to take muscle relaxer. None of this is a choice. [QUOTE=lorster]Babs, I do not know what it is with rheumatatologists in my town but we certainly are unable to keep them here. To be honest, when I went to see her, she seemed very distracted, like she was not really in the same room but rather, thinking of something that had upset her earlier (this is hard to explain but just a feeling i got) and unfortunately, it was at that appointment where rapport is born and it did not happen. I felt rushed and i spent 300 dollars and she spent less than 10 minutes with me so I basically said, screw it. I wanted tests ordered to be well thought out (which they weren't) so that there was not duplication and wasteful spending going on. I try to be careful with health care dollars. How do you spend less than 10 minutes with a patient and inform them they do not have RA? I have had it for 4 years now and to be honest, I know there is something wrong but I keep thinking time will work things out. How do I believe someone who met me 10 minutes earlier? So, yeah, that is about it and to be honest, I have not had time to pursue another doctor. I am waiting for the new doc to get here.[/QUOTE]

Maybe it's time to take a road trip. Are there other docs in the general area? Maybe in a town with a nice hotel/spa? Or even a retreat house? Go to the doc (get all your info to his/her office ahead of time; see if there are any tests that need to be run), then spend a night relaxing at the hot tub, getting a massage, having a nice dinner, even just curling up with a good book? You probably won't have to visit the RD more than a couple times per year; hopefully he/she can coordinate care with your local PCP.

I'm going on a retreat this weekend. It's certainly not luxurious (it's a Jesuit retreat house) but it will be blissfully stress-free and quiet. Well worth the 2 hour drive.its rather sad that Lorster would rather critisize the choices others have made to treat their disease than to deal with her own health issues. [QUOTE=buckeye]its rather sad that Lorster would rather critisize the choices others have made to treat their disease than to deal with her own health issues.[/QUOTE]

That's rather typical of healthcare professionals - they are often the worst patients. "Do as I say, not as I do." It's almost like it's taught in nursing and med school.Lorster,

You asked what group I belong to. I used to belong to the "I'm smarter than the Doctors" group. That didn't work out so well. I now belong to a group that realizes that my Doctors have dedicated their lives to making/keeping me well. My group believes that the Doctors are quite good at their professions and are not paid off and corrupt. I remember one time when I mentioned my Mom and her Doctors and I think your response was that my Mom's Doctors couldn't care whether Mom lives or dies. That has been you opinion of Doctors and healthcare professionals and hospitals since I've been reading your posts. Why would you want to research catagories of RA patients? You advocate unapproved drugs and illegal drugs. I think you are a danger to every patient you come in contact with. How many RA patients did you interview during your research? If you had done your research correctly, you would be much more sensitive and knowledgable. You need to reread GraciesMom's post again. You really just can't feel us Lorster because you just aren't one of us. It's just that simple, even more simple than your research.

LEV

[QUOTE=lorster] My research has not really been about arthritis, but rather about what this disease does to the human soul. What category to you fit into?

[/QUOTE] \

lorster's post... was an attempt to aggravate and incite us.......

that's all she comes here for.....

and the soul searching you should be doing, lorster is inside you...

lorster, heal thyself.

Well, the truth is, I'm really not a nurse either, LOL. Just keeping you all on your toes and free from your pain yesterday. Plus, it really does increase the traffic. Have a great day!Hi Lori

Hope you are well.

WTF???

Cordelia...... Jan,

What part of this thread do you still find so interesting?

LEV

Since it's been brought to the top of the forum I have to ask the same question, what part of this thread is so interesting to you, Jan? It's an inaccurate analysis of people that one has never met and not even worthy of answering. The only reason I'm posting now is out of curiousity. Why would you would consider this interesting or even worthy of bringing back to the top of the forum? You have nothing to say that adds to the the topic. I'm surprised that you would find this interesting. Maybe you find it amusing and if so, just reread it at your leisure and not subject everyone else and the newbies to a topic that is of no importance. I only opened it to read your post, thinking that you had some pearls of wisdom to add but instead I find "nothing" Lindy

[QUOTE=Jan Lucinda]Still find this interesting.[/QUOTE]
How is this interesting? Can you please provide specifics? Tells us what is interesting about being reduced to one of two categories and then all that follows.

I echo Lindy, unless you have something to actually say about the thread or have something to add to the thread your "this is interesting" is neither timely nor is it worthy. If you find it so interesting print it out and read it time and again, but use at least a modicum of discretion regarding just posting an inanity to bump this or any other thread.
[QUOTE=LinB]

[/QUOTE]

Cheers! Lindy and lev.......

I've wanted to say that and more for quite some time.

Thank YOU! for sparing the entire site from a diatribe that would be either long winded or speckled with foul words...........

Lorster's post is the important thing.

[QUOTE=Jan Lucinda]

Lorster's post is the important thing.

[/QUOTE]

IN......... WHAT........ WAY?

why is it an important thing? surely you can state your reasons for believing that

I'm sure you can read it yourself.

[QUOTE=Jan Lucinda]Lorster's post is the important thing. [/QUOTE]

WHY? just because you say it is does not convince many of us. Give us specific reasons why this is important?

Can you do that, or are you simple going to resort to another of your infamous one-liners.

Jan, if you have something to say, do it. But, do it in a meaningful way, provide details and depth.
[QUOTE=Jan Lucinda]

I'm sure you can read it yourself.

[/QUOTE]

sure. I can read it myself..

I think it's a load of malarkey..........

so.. tell me why you think it's important......

[QUOTE=Jan Lucinda]

I'm sure you can read it yourself.

[/QUOTE]

Come on Jan...We can all read and think. To borrow Gimpy's favorite phrase...stop with all this passive agressive BS. Why, in your opinion, is Lorster's post important enough to bump? Obviously you have a reason for interperting her post in a different way than the vast majority...we'd love to hear those reasons

[/QUOTE]

ME TOO! Inquiring minds want to know.....why is a rambling, inaccurate post so interesting? I can give you many reasons why it's not intersting and most of them have been stated before. Lindy

[QUOTE=buckeye] [/QUOTE] I agree.

What category is it that you fall into Jan?

I find Lorster's post insulting and just let it slink on by without a comment. But, Jan, include me in the group who want to know what you found so interesting in it that you needed to bump it to the topJan's in the 4th catagory. Retarded troll. I think Jan sees a bit of everyone in my theory. What do you guys think?[QUOTE=lorster]Well, the truth is, I'm really not a nurse either, LOL. Just keeping you all on your toes and free from your pain yesterday. Plus, it really does increase the traffic. Have a great day![/QUOTE]

I do not follow what the above post actually means...

What actually is the truth?

So I come here for support and to provide support and I have to read this BS.

I really don't get it...

CO_Mel....you don't have to open this thread, it is a simple as that.

nevermind .....so not worth it.

babs102009-05-21 18:37:20[QUOTE=Henrietta]Jan's in the 4th catagory. Retarded troll. [/QUOTE]

And I guess because you are both retarded and a troll we would call you an authority....right.

[QUOTE=TeedOff][QUOTE=Henrietta]Jan's in the 4th catagory. Retarded troll. [/QUOTE] yawn [QUOTE=Henrietta] [QUOTE=TeedOff][QUOTE=Henrietta]Jan's in the 4th catagory. Retarded troll. [/QUOTE]

And I guess because you are both retarded and a troll we would call you an authority....right.

[/QUOTE]

Yep and you are cunnt of the day (lorster is wart-infested asshole of the day)
[/QUOTE]

Your mother must be so proud of you.

Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

Thank you for this one GG

[QUOTE=LisaOnline][QUOTE=lorster]Well, the truth is, I'm really not a nurse either, LOL. Just keeping you all on your toes and free from your pain yesterday. Plus, it really does increase the traffic. Have a great day![/QUOTE]

I do not follow what the above post actually means...

What actually is the truth?

[/QUOTE]

Lorster,

I am totally confused about your above post. What where you saying here?

[QUOTE=TeedOff] Jas, the trolls are hungry. They need food too :)Lorster, what you've posted doesnt sound like research to me just personal opinions.

Are you going to send it to an 'authority' for reasoning? If it is research, what's it for? Your perceptions/views dont have an outcome, your views dont prove anything, there's no beginning, middle, end (so to speak), I'm not being obtuse its just there doesnt seem be a reason for your views. Generalising '3' groups is ridiculous, after 20 years research there would surely be hundreds especially as everyone's disease is personal to them, whilst symptoms, attitudes, pain etc etc are all personal too. What is the aim of your research/post, its completely stumped me?

You seem to have many excuses for why you cant/wont deal with your issues.

[QUOTE=LisaOnline][QUOTE=LisaOnline][QUOTE=lorster]Well, the truth is, I'm really not a nurse either, LOL. Just keeping you all on your toes and free from your pain yesterday. Plus, it really does increase the traffic. Have a great day![/QUOTE]

I do not follow what the above post actually means...

What actually is the truth?

[/QUOTE]

Lorster,

I am totally confused about your above post. What where you saying here?

[/QUOTE]

Lorster?....are you a nurse? Or are you not?....and what does it mean to keep us free from our pain yesterday?....This does not appear to be a lucid statement...wondering why it continues to be ignored..I am just trying to understand..

[QUOTE=lorster]Jas, the trolls are hungry. They need food too :)[/QUOTE]

LOL I guess you're right. [QUOTE=wills08]Lorster, what you've posted doesnt sound like research to me just personal opinions.

You seem to have many excuses for why you cant/wont deal with your issues.

[/QUOTE]

Well said.

[QUOTE=LisaOnline] [QUOTE=LisaOnline][QUOTE=LisaOnline][QUOTE=lorster]Well, the truth is, I'm really not a nurse either, LOL. Just keeping you all on your toes and free from your pain yesterday. Plus, it really does increase the traffic. Have a great day![/QUOTE]

[/QUOTE]

[/QUOTE]

[/QUOTE]

yes, i am a nurse.....for four more years. [QUOTE=lorster]I think Jan sees a bit of everyone in my theory. What do you guys think?[/QUOTE]I am not a guy, however I think that Jan is an adult and should be both willing and capable of answering any, and all, questions put to her based on what she posts.

The problem Lorster is that there are ignorant people that may listen to stupid people like you advocate illegal and unapproved drugs, one of the catagories of your stupid theory. You are a danger to healthcare and certainly to patients that may ignorantly believe your stupid endorsement of illegal or unapproved drugs. You aren't a nurse, you're a whacked out quack, and that's being nice.

Marijuana Use Linked To Early Bladder Cancer

Smoking marijuana appears to be a risk factor for bladder cancer and may even contribute to younger people getting the disease, researchers say.

Smoking cigarettes is the major risk factor for bladder cancer, which is most common among people age 60 and older, says Dr. Martha Terris, urologist at the Medical College of Georgia and Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Augusta.

But a study of younger patients - 52 men age 44 to 60 - with transitional cell bladder cancer at VA hospitals in Augusta and Palo Alto, Calif., showed that 88.5 percent had a history of smoking marijuana, says Dr. Terris, senior author on the study published in the January issue of Urology.

Nearly 31 percent of the cancer patients still smoked marijuana, compared to 20 percent of those in an age-matched control group. "We noticed several younger patients who had developed transitional cell carcinoma were similar in that they all shared a history of marijuana smoking," Dr. Terris says. "The literature has suggesed that marijuana-smoking increases the risk of head and neck cancer and lung malignancies, and that these tumors tend to develop earlier and behave more aggressively in marijuana smokers."

That prompted physicians at the VA hospitals affiliated with Stanford University Medical Center and MCG to look at marijuana use as well as exposure to other carcinogens, including tobacco, radiation, Agent Orange, smoked or processed meats and synthetic dyes used in the textile industry, in their patients. Serving as controls were 104 patients seeking urology care at the VA hospitals for reasons other than bladder cancer.

Bladder cancer patients and controls had similar rates of exposure to all the risk factors except marijuana. In fact, the study indicates smoking marijuana may be as bad or worse than cigarette smoking as a risk factor for bladder cancer.

"Marijuana-smoking might be an even more potent stimulant of malignant transformation in transitional epithelium than tobacco smoking," they write, noting that marijuana metabolites have a half-life in the urine about five times greater than nicotine metabolites. Studies of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the main psychoactive substance in marijuana, have demonstrated both anti-tumor and tumor-promoting properties. Either way, THC hangs around a long time in the bladder and urine.

Marijuana smoke also has many of the same carcinogen-containing tars as cigarettes and may get even more into the body because marijuana cigarettes are unfiltered and users tend to hold the smoke in their lungs for prolonged periods, researchers say.

The combination of smoking cigarettes and marijuana may have an unfortunate synergy. "The differences and interactions between marijuana and tobacco use also merit further scrutiny," they write. Also, larger-scale epidemiologic and basic science studies are needed to confirm the role of marijuana use in development of bladder cancer. For now, when doctors find blood in a young patient's urine sample, they may want to include questions about marijuana use in their follow-up and more strongly consider bladder cancer as a cause, says Dr. Terris.

And, bladder cancer patients considering marijuana to treat chemotherapy side effects, may want to reconsider. "If they are getting chemotherapy for their bladder cancer and smoking marijuana to increase their appetite, they may be undoing the benefits of chemotherapy," she says.

She noted it is likely that, as with cigarettes, risks of marijuana-smoking diminish after patients stop but never go away. "The safest move is to never start smoking anything," she says.

The Medical College of Georgia is the state's health sciences university and includes the Schools of Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Studies, Medicine and Nursing. MCG is a unit of the University System of Georgia and an equal opportunity institution. http://www.mcg.edu

Question Loster? What effects of RA has MJ been proven to help? That is where is the studie on RA and MJ?

Thanks Lev for your informative post.

Lev, Medical MJ is not illegal in my state. People carry cards and I must honor their rights to use LEGAL MEDICAL MJ. It is not my thing, but if it helps someone with pain or off sets a side effect, then, go for it. Who am I to know if it works and why it works but there are many ppl out there that swear by it. Lev, have you tried MJ for your RA? Is Med MJ legal in your state? If not, maybe you should. It can't hurt and may improve your attitude. Your article is interesting and it is worth a second thought before considering it as a therapy when undergoing chemotherapy. It is not something I would use but if it helps someone else, then I say, go for it.

Loser,

You really have some balls, suggesting that Lev (or anyone else for that matter) smoke MJ to improve his "attitude". You are a piece of work. You have absolutely no credibility on this board anymore. Besides, I thought you were leaving????????????

Phats

After 10 years without using any pain relief and through months of my docs trying to get my pain meds right, I definitely considered all possible options available to me. When you're crying all the time from pain...anything that may even work a little is worth investigating.

I do believe that medical MJ can be very useful for particularly cancer patients sometimes but I also believe that it should be monitored by a doctor.

I asked my GP openly about the possibility of medical MJ. She had the following concerns:

Cost. She could give me something equally beneficial at a fraction of the price.
It is illegal here so I could get myself into trouble that I don't need.
There is another medication I am on which could easily spark a psychotic episode in combination with the MJ. Was that worth the risk with all I already deal with?

I thought what she mentioned was practical, logical and sensible. And at the time I was happy to continue on the regime I was then currently doing. It took a while, maybe 6 weeks to get the combo's of sustained release and fast acting medications to stablize me, but they now do work well and I am happy with the decision I made.

I do think that we need to be cautious when using a drug without monitoring. We may simply not know what interactions it can have with medications we are currently taking. may mix with other medications we are taking
It's one thing for a aged pot smoking hippie to come to this forum and advocate for the use of medical marijuana use and a totally other thing for someone that claims to be a healthcare professional to advocate for a non fda approved drug only because it is legal based on voting, not medical data and scientific findings. All of science shows that smoking marijuana is harmful. Altho their may be good uses for thc in medicine, they haven't been developed or studied. Even as marijuana may help those with disease to help eat, the same marijuana depletes the good cause of the chemo treatment, where is the good?

Testicular Cancer Risk Linked To Marijuana Smoking

A new US study suggests there is a link between marijuana use and elevated risk of the most aggressive form of testicular cancer, with frequent and long term users having the highest risk.

The study was the work of researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, and other centres in the US and is published early online in the journal Cancer.

The study results show that being a marijuana smoker at the time of diagnosis was linked to a 70 per cent higher risk of testicular cancer. For men who smoked marijuana at least once a week or who had been smoking it since their teens, the risk was about double that of a man who had never smoked it.

The results also showed that the link with marijuana use might only be with the most aggressive, fast growing form of testicular cancer, nonseminoma. This type of cancer usually develops in younger men between the age of 20 and 35, and accounts for approximately 40 per cent of all cases of testicular cancer.

The rate of testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs) has been growing by about 3 to 6 per cent a year for the last 40 to 60 years in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and coincides with a similar rise in the use of marijuana in North American, Europe and Australia.

There are two types of TGCT: the aggressive, fast growing form, nonseminoma, that generally strikes younger men, and the more common, slower form, that generally strikes men in their 30s and 40s.

Previous studies have already shown that regular and frequent use of marijuana affects the human endocrine and reproductive system, and in men this has been linked with reduced testosterone, lower sperm quality, and impotency. Male infertility and poor semen quality has also been associated with an increased risk of testicular cancer, so the researchers decided to investigate if there was a link between this type of cancer and use of marijuana.

Study author Dr Stephen M Schwartz, an epidemiologist and member of the Public Health Sciences Division at the Hutchinson Center, said in a press statement that:

"Our study is not the first to suggest that some aspect of a man's lifestyle or environment is a risk factor for testicular cancer, but it is the first that has looked at marijuana use."

Known risk factors for testicular cancer include family history of the disease, having undescended testes, and problems with testicular development. There is a widely held theory that the disease starts in the unborn fetus, when fetal germ cells (the ones that go on to make sperm in adulthood) don't grow properly and become vulnerable to becoming cancerous and that this is further exacerbated by male sex hormones later in life.

As senior author Dr Janet R Daling, another epidemiologist and member of the Hutchinson Center's Public Health Sciences Division explained:

"Just as the changing hormonal environment of adolescence and adulthood can trigger undifferentiated fetal germ cells to become cancerous, it has been suggested that puberty is a 'window of opportunity' during which lifestyle or environmental factors also can increase the risk of testicular cancer."

"This is consistent with the study's findings that the elevated risk of nonseminoma-type testicular cancer in particular was associated with marijuana use prior to age 18," she added.

Daling said she first got the idea for the study when she heard a talk eight years ago that showed the brain and the testes both had cellular receptors for tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the main psychoactive component of marijuana. Since then, she said, other studies have found other sites for these receptors, which are also located in the heart, uterus, spleen and immune system.

The reproductive system of men naturally produces a cannabinoid-like chemical that is thought to protect against cancer tumors, and Daling, Schwartz and colleagues suggested that perhaps marijuana interferes with this protective process.

For the population-based, case-control study, the researchers interviewed 369 Seattle-Puget Sound-area (in Washington State) men aged 18 to 44 years who were diagnosed with TGCT from January 1999 through January 2006 and asked them about their lifetime use of marijuana. Their responses were compared to the responses of 979 age-matched healthy controls who lived in the same area.

The men were also asked about other lifestyle habits such as smoking and alcohol consumption.

The results showed that even after ruling out the effect of these other lifestyle habits, and other risk factors such as family history of testicular cancer and undescended testes, use of marijuana was significantly and independently linked to higher risk of testicular cancer.

However, the researchers said they do not claim the results are definitive, the link is just a link, and does not prove cause. They want their findings to open a door to further research, as Schwartz explained:

"Our study is the first inkling that marijuana use may be associated with testicular cancer, and we still have a lot of unanswered questions."

One question for example is why is marijuana use linked to only one type of testicular cancer? Schwartz said more studies were needed to examine whether the link appears in other populations, and whether it might be possible to find molecular markers that show the pathways through which the marijuana might be helping testicular cancer to grow.

The researchers' next step is to look at the expression of cannabinoid receptors in both seminomatous and nonseminomatous tumor tissue from the patients in this study and look for genetic variations and signalling molecules that might suggest the underlying mechanism of cancer development.

In the meantime Schwartz said that young men should know that we don't know enough about the long term effect of marijuana use, especially heavy use, but this study suggests there could be at least one serious consequence, and therefore, his message is:

"In the absence of more certain information, a decision to smoke marijuana recreationally means that one is taking a chance on one's future health."

"Association of marijuana use and the incidence of testicular germ cell tumors."
Janet R. Daling, David R. Doody, Xiaofei Sun, Britton L. Trabert, Noel S. Weiss, Chu Chen, Mary L. Biggs, Jacqueline R. Starr, Sudhansu K. Dey, Stephen M. Schwartz.
Cancer Early View, published online 9 Feb 2009.
DOI: 10.1002/cncr.24159

Yeah, I'm now a pot smoking hippie. I have tried it ONCE and never again, made me sick. If that classifies me as a pot smoking hippie, then so be it.

MJ is not for everyone but each person must make a decision based on his or her own needs. I took care of a man diagnosed with ALS (death sentence) in the late 80's. Dr told him he had 3 years and to get his life in order. He started eating mJ and then vaporizing it. He says he feels that he has stayed alive this long because of the MJ. Who knows if that is really the case or if he just has an unusual case of ALS that maybe advances very slowly. Either way, he looked great and stated he was in better shape than when he was diagnosed. And then, there is much to be said for attitude.

Phats, I do not appreciate you calling me Loser so please grow up and call me Lorster or Lori. I do not care if i have any credibility left here. I'm not here to make friends. I'm back because of I0, you can thank her. Lorster...you are posting because you chose to post...take responsibility for your own actions. I0 did not turn your computer on and force your fingers to type, you made the decision to react to her postings.

thanks again, buckeye..as always injecting the obvious with intelligence..

babs102009-05-24 15:26:59I am not trying to be smart. I seriously looked up medical mj. Different states have different laws. I saw some states said for chronic dibilitating pain and chronic muscle spasm as in ms. I do not know scince my state it is not legal. I am just asking for the sake of knowing. Do they prescribe medical mj for RA? I do not myself wish to go threw life stoned. I like myself just the way I am. I try to stay as clear headed as possible. I would not want to trade my brain for pain relief. Of course I do not have the right to tell others what to do. I am courious as to the studies on alshiemer patients. I don't think I would want to spend the end of my life stoned either. I am going to read more on the subject about mj and alshiemers. I noticed it was legal in some states for that and not others. This leads me to believe that it does not work that well for alshiemers.

AMEN! Buckeye, you sure called this one. Loser is incapable of taking responsibility for her actions, par for the course.

[QUOTE=babs10]

thanks again, buckeye..as always interjecting the obvious with intelligence..

[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=levlarry]All of science shows that smoking marijuana is harmful. Altho their may be good uses for thc in medicine, they haven't been developed or studied. Even as marijuana may help those with disease to help eat, the same marijuana depletes the good cause of the chemo treatment, where is the good?[/QUOTE]

Lev, I couldn't agree more. Obviously you have done more research than I into the subject. I didn't know that although it could help with cancer pain, it could also cause other symptoms that could become issues.

Personally, I have seen the negative effects that MJ can cause in sparking off mental illness.
I can count maybe six young men, I have known throughout the years that now have bipolar (manic depression) or schizophrenia which has been directly linked to their MJ use.

And once either of these mental illnesses are triggered, it can't be reversed. The symptoms can be treated but it is then something they will have to manage for the rest of their lives. And neither bipolar or schizophrenia are easy to manage.

Watching this happen to people I know, has made me feel very sad at times when quite possibly without the MJ use, neither of these serious mental illnesses may not have been triggered.
My husband smoked MJ daily for many years. Then one day, like flipping a switch, he turned psychotic. He was admitted to the hospital. The doctor said it was the MJ. I didn't believe him until I met another young man, around 20, who experienced the same psychotic symptoms from the MJ. My husband is fine now, but must take anti-psychotics.

Yes, MJ can be dangerous.

Wow, I knew it was bad for you, but didn't know about the psychotic breaks. I'm angry that Loser is advocating for MJ, as a health professional, she should know better. She is reckless and I hope everyone on this board will do their own research and take Loser for what she is....a Loser!

Phats

[QUOTE=kweenb]My husband smoked MJ daily for many years. Then one day, like flipping a switch, he turned psychotic. He was admitted to the hospital. The doctor said it was the MJ. I didn't believe him until I met another young man, around 20, who experienced the same psychotic symptoms from the MJ. My husband is fine now, but must take anti-psychotics. I don't think MJ should be illegal; I think more research is sorely needed; and I think that smoking it is probably not the best way to reap its benefits, at least health-wise. Just wanted to add - for patients with terminal disease, I really don't see any problem with allowing them to use marijuana if it brings them some relief (from pain, nausea, appetite, depression, anxiety, etc). So what if they catch a buzz and get the munchies. How is that any worse than the prescription controlled substances we give them now? Found this interesting. And no, I don't advocate MJ use, but really don't see that it causes any more side effects than some prescription meds.

The Mayo Clinic stated in their Aug. 25, 2006 article "Marijuana as Medicine: Consider the Pros and Cons," published on its website: "When smoked or ingested, THC and other cannabinoids in marijuana attach to two types of receptors on cells in your body — like keys in a lock — affecting the cells, once attached.

CB1 is one such receptor. CB1 receptors are found mainly in your brain, especially in areas that control body movement, memory and vomiting. This helps explain why marijuana use affects balance and coordination and impairs short-term memory and learning, and why it can be useful in treating nausea, pain and loss of appetite.

The other type of receptor, CB2, is found in small numbers elsewhere in your body, mainly in tissue of the immune system, such as your spleen and lymph nodes. The function of these receptors is not well understood. They may serve as brakes on immune system function, which may help explain why marijuana suppresses your immune system.

After you smoke marijuana, its ingredients reach their peak levels in your body within minutes, and effects can last up to an hour and a half. When eaten — the plant is sometimes mixed with food — the ingredients can take several hours to reach their peak levels in your body, and their effects may last for hours."