Smoking marijuana and hypoglycemia

Hmmm, I have never done it in my life, so I can't say if it would have an effect at all, but in general you should be avoiding such things. There are plenty of herbs you can try that don't have any side effects or are illegal.

I went through a similar phase. No it didn't aggravate my condition at all, since I was following a good diet my blood sugar was perfectly stable to my knowledge.

I would urge you to seek medical advice for your sleeping problems. Smoking to sleep in the long run will do a lot of damage in many ways.

Hi. I'm hypoglycemic myself and I am also a daily marijuana smoker. I'm not sure if pot lowers your blood sugar directly, but I do know that being high makes hypoglycemia feel much worse. The combination of having low blood sugar and having the munchies is really terrible. I get dizzy and my stomach hurts a lot. I recommend eating a little something (I usually eat an apple or some plain yogurt) before you light up.

I'm hypoglycemic, when I first discovered this condition is was actually when I was smoking marijuana. it caused me to lose my hearing, sweat cold, black out, pass out, and during the entire thing my friends said I was gasping the entire time. This was four or five months ago. Since then, I haven't been allowed to smoke if I haven't eaten, or it happens to me every time. I also can't smoke anything stronger than Chronic no matter how much I've eaten. I just now realized my condition after all those months of not being allowed to smoke, and I couldn't be more excited to know that I'm not allergic or something. You may never hear this again, but discovering hypoglycemia was the best thing that's ever happened to me :'D

I am hypoglycemic and I have a difficult time eating as frequently as I should without marijuana. I also have hypersensitivity, so my body can't handle a lot of foods and it's always painful to eat and digest (even raw organic foods). I have an extremely hard time keeping food down and managing nausea and stomach/intestine pain. Pills are too harsh on my stomach and the only thing that's worked for me is marijuana. I prefer vaporizing rather than smoking because my body is so sensitive, and the carcinogens in the smoke can make me feel even worse.

I have gotten very light headed and fainted a few times, but that was due to the mixture of low blood sugar from not eating (or not being able to keep food down) and lack of oxygen from too much THC in my system. Like everything with hypoglycemia, moderation is key.

Thank God I live in a medical marijuana friendly state; I had to get a doctor's recommendation to be able to grow my own. It took a few doctor's visits during the time I was illegally using the drug to prove to my doctor that it could be extremely beneficial. I also grow my own rather than buying from a dispensary because I can ensure it's not grown with pesticides or harmful fertilizers.

I realize not all hypoglycemics have the same set of problems that I do, but without marijuana I wouldn't be able to manage my disease. It helps me with appetite, nausea, pain, and it calms me down quckly if my blood sugar goes too low and I get hypo-crazy.

The main issue I've found is that I do crave sweets while under the influence, but I've had plenty of practice making healthy choices with snacks and foods (just like you all have I'm sure) and it's not hard for me to overcome the cravings.

I see this is a pretty old thread, but I'd like to see if anyone else has experienced this.

About 4 months ago I quit smoking pot cold turkey and started jogging, shortly after I figured out I have hypoglycemia. I figured it was because of the sudden start in running that it manifested all at once.

After I got my diet figured out and started feeling better, I started smoking marijuana again. Absolutely no effect on my blood sugar- even helped the day-to-day because I hate eating so dang often and pot makes that a real joy.

Well a dry spell has hit in my area and I haven't been able to find any pot for a few days. My diet hasn't changed, but my blood sugar has been hovering around 85- even two hours after eating a big package of tuna with nothing else.

It seems to me that I've been having hypoglycemic reactions as a marijuana withdrawal. The obvious answer to this dilemma is quit that stuff for good - I know and am. But I just can't help but be curious whether I'm right about this at all, and if so why? I've yet to have found any evidence (besides the anecdotal on my part) showing a causal relationship between marijuana and blood sugar.

MARIJUANA ACTS LIKE A STIMULANT MUCH LIKE COFFEE OR ANY OTHER STIMULANT. IT HAS SOME BENEFITS BUT ALSO MANY SIDE EFFECTS. IN THE ANCIENT INDIAN HERBAL TEXTS, IT IS MENTIONED AS A HALLUCINIGENIC AND NOT TO BE USED EXCEPT UNDER SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE THERE IS NO OTHER BETTER HERB. THERE ARE BETTER HERBS FOR HELPING TO HEAL HYPOGLYCEMIA.

>citing ancient indian herbal texts as scientific fact.
You dunce. Marijuana is NOT a stimulant, it's a psychoactive vasodilator. The Hindus smoke the best hash, what are you even on about?

actually its a stimulant, hallucinogen, and a depressant all in one

Cannabis sends melatonin levels through the roof - even in very small doses. Very small amounts of THC ingested before sleep will, therefore, assist in regularizing melatonin and seratonin cycles. Conversely, using cannabis during the day, will mess up your natural melatonin and seratonin cycles which may cause insomnia.

Melatonin is linked to glycemic response, via its effects on other hormones such as growth hormone - see these articles for example:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9308018
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9660095

I find that eating foods made with the butter help my hypoglycemia immensely. they should not be baked over 290 degrees, if any did not know this. it just takes longer to cook,

First, there is no down side of using marijuana for sleeping or loss of appetite. Its the best medicine for that and far better then anything you can get over the counter. Also, smoking 1-2 joints a day is not a problem as it falls into a domain of toxicology known as hormesis - small doses of poisons (carcinogens in the smoke) impose health benefits.

About hypoglycemia with exercise, that might be the problem if you do it too intensively (i.e. anaerobic) since muscles are build that way so to drain glucose from the bloodstream once glycogen storage is depleted (which happens within a day on low carb or low calorie diet). Marijuana can help you eat more sweets in that case and that is probably the reason for your diminished hypoglycemia with it.

But it also seems that marijuana itself may promote hypoglicemia as it influences energy metabolism toward lipogenesis.

From "The role of the endocannabinoid system in the regulation of energy expenditure"
"In addition to regulating food intake by both central and peripherally mediated effects, endocannabinoids modify glucose and lipid metabolism so as to promote energy storage via lipogenesis and reduce energy expenditure."

Can marijuana cause hypoglycemia?

Also, another question....
So I use to smoke almost everyday and it never bothered me. Even when I stopped for about 2 years and started smoking again occasionally, still never bothered me. But then about a year ago I smoked and started having heart palpitations and feeling warm almost as if I was sweating but I wasn't!! So after that episode I stopped for a little. Ended up trying it again and was fine!! Lol but that was the last time I was fine... every time I tried to smoke again... heart palpitations, warmth and tingling start again!! Not sure what's causing this??? Not sure if it be hypoglycemia or what! Any ideas??

Marijuana makes your body add insulin to your blood stream that lowers sugar levels that can make you feel hypoglycemia if your blood sugar is already low, it's it's too low you'll faint, I know this first hand. Munch out before you smoke should handle it. And keep sweets around if you start to feel funny. And the reason we get munchies when we smoke is because of the lowered blood sugar levels, but Marijuana will only put you in a really really bad state if you're blood sugar is already low, which is not common, and means you never eat sugar or you have a problem somewhere else

I thought these posts were about smoking to eat, not the other way around.

These posts were made about smoking to sleep, and it's effect on blood glucose.

Smoking pot has relatively no effect on your blood glucose. Still, it is a potent drug and needs quite a bit of energy to withstand. For instance, someone whose glucose is low and smokes might faint because chemical processes are happening without proper energy to fuel them. Similarly, one who drinks alcohol and smokes may enter a state of black-out. This is because your body quits producing glucose when you drink an ounce of alcohol, for up to an hour. This is why marijuana is "stronger" on an empty stomach.

As for the hunger. It's nothing to do with glucose. It's your hypothalamus (You know, that part of your brain you're screwing with), that is stimulated and causes you to eat more. This is due to the fact that your hypothalamus is deeply related to your food intake. In fact, for decades people have been trying to form an "anti-pot" that causes your hypothalamus to resist hunger. Which is a stupid idea because people will get hypoglycemia from it.

As stated above, as said to me, as written in books, "Moderation is key". But if you are hypoglycemic, and just dead set to smoke, eat first, raise your glucose levels. Afterwards, snack A LITTLE. And if you're an elderly hympoglycemic, don't try this at all. There is no scientific data on this. Just many bad experiences that I've read about during my internet lurkings.

Have fun.