CBD is an exciting and pretty new product on the market for chronic pain. Here are a few things to know about CBD.
CBD, or Cannabidiol, (CBD) is a compound known as a cannabinoid, which is found in hemp and cannabis plants. CBD doesn’t contain the intoxicants found in the marijuana plant, so it doesn’t make you “high”, doesn’t show up on drug screens, and isn’t a controlled substance. The chemical THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is what is associated with cannabis and is a controlled substance in certain places, but is not found in CBD.
Since CBD came onto the market, lots of people with chronic pain have found that it helps them with their pain. Oral and topical CBD is offered to the public in a multitude of different preparations. Over the past few years, it has become a very popular remedy, especially for people who prefer “natural” pain relief over pharmaceutical pain relief. It has been said to relieve inflammation, pain, and hard to treat discomfort associated with chronic issues.
There is some indication that CBD might be useful in the treatment of seizure disorder, but there is no solid scientific evidence to safely make that claim. CBD products are not approved by the FDA, but the public’s response to them is positive, and it is likely that there are current and future studies in the world to establish scientific connections to CBD and the perceived effects that faithful users claim to experience.
Researchers believe CBD interacts with endocannabinoid receptors – the same receptors that react with THC to relieve pain, increase hunger and decrease nausea. These key THC proponents are what makes marijuana useful and popular as a drug and a cure for certain issues, like the side effects of chemotherapy. It is thought that CBD interacts with these receptors to decrease inflammation, ease pain, and generally help break through the chronic pain associated with arthritis, cancer, neuropathy, and tough to treat autoimmune problems like fibromyalgia.
There are few or no side effects associated with CBD use, and in a world that is ravaged by an opiate epidemic, that is good news.
There are few studies available about CBD, but the few that have been done have focused on CBD’s effects on anxiety and inability to sleep. In one limited study, a single 600 mg dose of orally administered CBD caused a decrease in the anxiety of test subjects that were put in the position of thinking they were about to give a public speech. It is unknown how this stacked up against a placebo, however. Those who took an oral dose of 25 mg of CBD every day for a month in a January 2019 study, reported a reduction in anxiety and reported better sleep, and that they felt those effects for several months. It should be noted that these trials were not controlled, so the information they provide is encouraging, but limited in its usefulness to scientists, physicians, and to the public.
Oral preparations of CBD seem to have the most optimistic uses so far, based on most of the information available. Topical creams, such as hempvana pain relief cream, are popular with the public, easy to use, and pose even fewer risks of drug interaction or allergic response than an oral dose. More studies on the effects of these exciting products is seemingly wanted by an enthusiastic public, and hopefully, the money and the knowledge to do that will become so in future months.
CBD products are economical, and they pose little or no risk with use. Give some CBD a try if you have reached a ceiling in your pain treatment that has left you unable to find adequate pain treatment, and see if CBD can help you, as it seems to have helped many others so far.