Marijuana, does affect the immune system?

[macbett]

For the las year Iīve been smoking marijuana, on a daily basis. The only way to open hunger, sometimes.
I havenīt told my doctor about it, and was wondering if itīs a real help, or a danger in the long run.
I donīt drive, I do it at home, or around my house...never had a problem with the local police (I happen to live in the same block I work, so they all know me (cops)).
Does anyone know?

[skeebo1969]

  Smoke 2 joints in the morning then I smoke 2 joints at night.....  Smoke 2 joints in the afternoon and then I feel alright...  Sorry little song that was stuck in my head.  I quit once and lost like 250 cd4 in a month... started smoking again and got it back with a little more...

  Really though, it was prolly just a blip... 

  It worked for Bob !

 T

[clarke]

Well, you know the MD is gonna tell you it's addictive, psycho-active (it has a higher potency than it did in the 70's-80's because of bredding now).

I might do a hit in my one-hit-bowl pipe now and again at night to help me sleep better, but to my knowing, it has little effect on what the meds do or don't do.  I live in a state that has serious consequences for getting busted even for a joint, so I have to really stay under the radar.

Kinda funny, less consequences for an underage kid to buy tobacco which is a known addictive drug and cancer causing.

[Miss Philicia]

My first HIV doctor said if you smoke it use a bong.  Less inflammation of the throat or whatever.  I've never been a pot smoker myself though, or not since college, though if someone offers me some I'm not a prude.  I've certainly done things wildly more intoxicating.

[Ann]

Hi Mac,

There was a study a few years back that focused on smoking pot while being hiv positive and the results showed that most had an increase in their CD4 count.

Many positives use pot for pain relief or an appetite kick-starter with no ill-effects. The safest way for us to use it is in food, but this can make dosing tricky. As with anything, the key here is moderation and acknowledgment that any drug can have side effects. Demotivation is one of the most common side effect of heavy pot use, but as Clarke pointed out, the psycho-effects can be a little more troublesome now with the stronger strains available.

As with any drug, be an informed user. Pot really is one of the more benign drugs out there and helps many lead a more pain-free life - but don't take my word for it, there is plenty of information available on the internet.

Ann

[clarke]

Yeh, the biggest drawback on "smoke" is the dependency factor.  I don't consider it addictive, as I don't smoke it every nite and stuff like I used to, but I know one can use it as a "crutch" and get too used to it if they aren't careful.

I like your last sentence philly267 about "done things wildly more intoxicating".  Lordy if I wrote a book!

[Queen Tokelove]

I have been smoking weed for over 15+ yrs. It started out recreational but is more medicinal for me now. I made it a fact to let both my doctors know I smoked weed. I did not want to keep it hidden and then take something they prescribed and land myself in the hospital. My primary doctor doesn't seem to have a problem with it, was considering or wondering if I could get a script for it, simply because it is too much of a gamble trying to get it on the streets. My id doctor wanted me to give Marinol a try, which I did but all it did was make me dizzy and I still was not eating. So, I went back to smoking.

As far as being a burnout, NOT, I can function quite well, but then everyone is different. Not saying I haven't burnt out a few brain cells, I know I have. My id doc has seen my viral load drop significantly and he told me to keep doing what I was doing which I told him was smoke. I do not know if weed does anything when it comes to hiv but to me it has done something and I guess that's all that matters.....

[antibody]

it helps settle my stomach. i have been poking smot, i mean smoking pot in addition to marinol. i do worry about the smoke in my lungs but i have recently quit cigarettes and my lungs do feel freer. plus pot keeps me chill since i get very irritable from the Atripla (A-Crippler)