50 year old Carl Litwinko had been suffering tremendously with his health since around 2007 when he was suddenly struck down with a variety of health concerns such as peritonitis, chronic kidney disease and Type 2 diabetes

-Which soon progressed into Type 1 due to the peritonitis and also the lack of nerve endings in his stomach which are designed to respond to stress hormones transmitted from the brain. Each one of these diseases are either caused by or a direct effect of each other.

For many years Carl has been taking a concoction of pharmaceutical medication – Loperamide, Ramipril and Insulated to name a few and also more to help control the bladder and kidney issues, but they still didn’t prevent his conditions worsening. 11 years later his gallbladder ruptured, which had dramatic effects on Carl’s declining health. For years Carl struggled with lethargy, mass weight loss, uncontrolled diabetes, kidneys in constant pain and muscle break down, which led to a lot of time in and out of hospital

In 2018 Carl was introduced to full extract cannabis oil, he felt there was no harm in trying it and as his health was causing never-ending issues, he had nothing to lose! He started taking a small dose nightly. Instantly, Carl felt relief from pain and discomfort, which was a Godsend.

Prior to cannabis use, Carl’s kidney disease caused his kidneys to only function at 17% working capacity, within 6 months of cannabis they were tested and back up to 67%. His diabetes annual tests also stated that the illness had improved by a massive 50%.Delighted with the new results, Carl did confidence in his general doctor, nurse and kidney consultant and explained that he was healing with cannabis oil, whilst they could see the remarkable results as clear as day, all three of them advised him not to continue as it would mask any further tests and they also advised if he continued they would have to stop seeing him as a patient!

This didn’t deter Carl and he continued self-medicating! When I asked Carl what he would say to anybody else thinking of using cannabis to heal, he replied “forget the legislations, it’s your life and health so grab whatever you can to help live a long and healthy lifestyle”. Carl also agrees that as a society it seems we are stuck in the dark ages and it’s all about the pharmaceutical industry making huge amounts of money from sick people, the toxic.

Medicines they prescribe don’t even get to the root cause of the issues, they do nothing more than mask the pain and create more illness with side effects. From hearing Carl’s story, I decided to look into how cannabis scientifically helped his illnesses. Firstly, peritonitis is inflammation of the peritoneum which is typically caused by a bacterial infection after a ruptured abdominal organ, the pain associated with this can be very severe and if left untreated can cause severe organ failure, such as kidney and or liver failure.

Whilst the medication prescribed by doctors can handle the infection and the pain, they don’t actually get to the cause, therefore the situation will never really subside. Cannabis oil used to treat peritonitis can work in several ways, firstly cannabis is a great anti-infl ammatory which is one of the major symptoms of this illness, it can also help with the complex array of side effects caused by this very uncomfortable condition, such as pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, lack of appetite, depression and anxiety.

While peritoneal pain is often the primary symptom of a serious infection, it can have other, less serious causes, or can persist after the infection has been treated. The infection could be a never-ending cycle of heal and re-infect and whilst waiting for antibiotics to kick in, the pain will always be present, however cannabis can help not only get to the root cause of the inflammation but also help treat the lingering pain.

In terms of Carl’s diabetes, cannabis has already been scientifically proven to be an effective treatment which works in several ways: stabilizing blood sugars; acting as an anti-infl ammatory as arterial inflammation is very common in diabetes; neuro-protective effects that help thwart inflammation of nerves; antispasmodic agents help relieve muscle cramps; improvement of blood circulation by keeping blood vessels open; contributing to lower blood pressure which is vital for diabetics; improving cardiac and arterial health; helping calm diabetic “restless leg syndrome” so the patient can sleep better.

All of these results can lead to better quality of health while dealing with the everyday effects of diabetes. Obviously there’s always risk using cannabis to treat any illnesses, but in most cases it could help the user feel better, more relaxed and pain free, just as Carl is feeling these days.

Written and Published By Dee Mani-Mitchell In Weed World Magazine Issue 147