Pain and Anxiety Relief: Readers Comment on CBD

My blog focuses on employment, labor, and immigration matters. I depart from my routine to pass along information you might miss on CBD. It’s a very popular and controversial extract of marijuana.

The New York Times has an Op-Ed piece today from Dr. Richard Friedman. The gist is that CBD is overhyped and lacks enough clinical research to justify its use (it can be bought over-the-counter).

I am reprinting readers’ accounts of their use of CBD. They mostly contradict the medical research. 

Consider this for yourself, family, or friends-- and pets (with arthritis issues).

majordmz

Ponte Vedra, FL4m ago

I recently started using CBD sublingual drops for chronic arthritis pain throughout my body. It doesn't completely eliminate pain; nothing really does. But it lessens my pain considerably and I'd rather use CBD than continue to get steroid injections and take prescription anti-inflammatory medications. Everyone reacts differently to treatments but I'm convinced that CBD and THC based products have a role in treating certain chronic conditions. It sure beats opioids, we can all see what happened when big pharma morphed into pill pushers.

JerryV

NYC9m ago

A number of people here have claimed that CBD is not effective without some additional DHC. However, I have been using CBD oil sublingually with good results for about a year. I get it from "Green Roads" because it is tested by a third part pharmacist and it claims that it contains no DHC. Some of the claims here make me want to try CBD with small qualities of DHC. Where can it be legally obtained from a legitimate outfit through the mail?

T73

USA12m ago

Reading that CBD oil taken sublingually helps with chronic severe pain on the advice from the MD specialist treating me that I should try it I ordered a vial that gives the 50mg dosage recommended for my body mass and severity of symptoms. What I found that within a short time it takes the edge off. At 30 minutes the effect stabilizes and for six to eight hours I have substantial relief with some benefit lasting for close to 24 hours. That is with a product guaranteed to meet FDA requirements for sale as zero THC but with all the other compounds for the so-called entourage benefits. But with sales tax it amounts to close to $170 for sixty doses which is a lot to handle out of pocket. And I wonder if a product with some THC might work better. What seems clear though is that the legal declaration of marijuana as having no medicinal benefits and requiing cannabis to be listed as a Schedule one drug is indefensible today and should be rescinded by Congress immediately if just to permit the studies that should have been done long ago and to permit doctors to recommend it as an herbal supplement for conditions where it is proving beneficial in the 33 states that have already legalized its use.

Mara Dolan

Cambridge, MA1h ago

I tried it, and it definitely made me a little bit high. It also helped a great deal with the muscle spasm in my back. I would like more research on whether it makes people a little bit high, as in my case, but there certainly appear to be a lot of credible people who say it helps them. As long as it isn’t being used to mask underlying causes which should be addressed, that seems like a very good development. I’m puzzled as to why that isn’t more of a cause for celebration for this writer.

Jim R

1h ago

While reasearch is important, the ability for people to use a natural compound for medicinal purposes should not be trivalized. As a survivor of major surgeries to repair aortic dissections, sleeping after weening off oxy was a problem. CBD helped me sleep, and I would hope doctors and scientists would see the opiate connection.

Drew

Santa Barbara1h ago

I have used CBD capsules to sleep through the night for the past year. When I run out, I wake up at 4 am and can't get back to sleep. That's my own anecdotal experience and not a placebo effect.

James D Ritchie

Truckee, Ca1h ago

Chopper crash Vietnam 1969. Fractured cervical spine, subluxed sacroiliac joint, pelvic/hip joint damage. Chronic pain for 49 years. Opiates? No chance. Morphine at aid station before evac made it clear—I would become an addict. Marijuana? Not a chance. Three surgeries—meh. CBD vape with minimal THC? My son bought it for me and said try it, or we’re done. Immediate: Relaxation. 15 minutes: Hip and knee arthritis relieved. 30 minutes: Greater trochanter bursitis relief. 1 hour: Sacroiliac joint relaxed enough so I could self-adjust. After about a month, with maybe 10 self-adjusts per day, significant relief to sciatica—SI joint stays where it is supposed to be. Can you go to a chiropractor 10 times a day? For a month? I had to titrate to find my dose, and son did significant research to find reliable product. I’m not a real doctor, just a retired dentist. Works for me, only occasional use to relieve/prevent spasms. We need the FDA to authorise testing and production standards to provide real data for dosage and medical standards.

Mark

Cheboygan1h ago

I have had terrible insomnia for years. Nothing helped and the stronger drugs had awful side effects( having Trump in office doesn't help either). Five months ago I started taking CBD oil at bed time and it has been a miracle. I sleep long and even dream most nights. Whatever the reason for its effectiveness, I thank the universe and and whoever brought this to market.

Bruce Rozenblit

Kansas City, MO1h ago

I have used CBD balms for treating pain associated with athletic injuries. It works. It definitely reduced the level of pain. It lasts about four hours. Ibuprofen is more effective for treating pain that is deeper in the body and lasts longer, but it has its own problems like gastric bleeding. CBD for me works best for injuries closer to the skin where it can get to the tissues involved. It works very quickly. I have not tried any ingested CBD. Pain management is a real problem in this country. CBD gives us another option. Add it to Ibuprofen or Acetaminophen, and the combination could be enough to keep people off of opiods. Injuries are always best treated with rest. Just leave whatever you hurt alone and let it heal. But sometimes you can't, or the pain makes life extremely difficult. CBD will not hurt you. It is not toxic. Try it. If it doesn't work, throw it out. A small jar of balm will set you back about $30 to $40. How much does a doctor visit cost? Then, how much do the magic pills they prescribe cost? Doctors always oppose anything that doesn't make them money. That's what many of those studies are for.

hris Henry

Missoula, MT1h ago

I produce and sell a topical CBD balm, and I am also a natural skeptic. The panacea effects folks ascribe to CBD is more than enough to make me wonder, but based on a surfeit of personal experience and observations over the last 2 years, I can say for sure that CBD really helps some folks out. In some cases in a life-changing way. I summarize my anecdotal efficacy observations as such - CBD seems to do something for about 75% of people, and that can range anywhere from ibuprofen-like effects, all the way up to "you've changed my life, I'm never taking opiods again" (a piece of feedback I've gotten numerous times). I have seen folks that CBD didn't not help one condition very much (Arachnoiditis, for example) but it helped immensely with an unrelated condition for the same person (slipped disc in the case of the Arachnoiditis sufferer). anybody telling you that CBD doesn't work without THC is confused & misinformed. My product has zero THC by design and multiple health care professionals in the town I live in have started recommending it after seeing how well it works. There's a lot of "full spectrum hemp oil" multi level marketing campaigns out there misinforming folks on that level. CBD works great on it's own, THC definitely helps, but we don't know why or how much. yes, it is amazing for pets. I've never met a dog that didn't like CBD and have seen so many elderly animals gain such benefit, movement, and pain relief from it.

Ardyth

San Diego2h ago

I bought a vial of CBD capsules a week and a half ago when I was in Palm Springs because I was told it would help me sleep better. I took one at bedtime...in that limited time I gained 5 lbs. I became ravenous so it had a similar, while less severe, effect as marijuana. The last time I smoked pot was about 30 years ago when I was at some guy’s apartment and he was trying to seduce me. His plans were suddenly thwarted by the munchies. I ended up eating a wilted carrot dipped in a jar of peanut butter before I frantically left to devour what I could in my own sparsely populated refrigerator...no it didn’t discernibly help my sleep ...and it was a wasted $93.

Virginia Beck, NP

Kaua'i Hawai'i2h ago

I use CBD oil from a reliable pharmacy. Each batch is independently tested by 3 different labs for the correct content and concentration. I tried it on my German Shepherd and adopted dog with abuse history. CBD oil greatly reduced PTSD issues, and threshold for anxiety attacks. (You haven't lived, till a GSD paces wildly unconsolable, when frightened!) I am now using it for central canal stenosis, while awaiting back surgery. I used a few Aleve a week, and manage to stay off any other pain meds. Real CBD oils, when pharmacologically certified have no THC, heavy metals, or other toxic issues. I buy in bulk, dilute with peanut oil for the dog, and titrate for myself at low levels. I am 70+ and high functioning. It is dramatically cost effective, and minimal to no noted side effects.

Cliff

Philadelphia 2h ago

I have chronic pain in the groin area from hernia mesh complications from hernia repair surgery. The pain was unbearable on some days. Acupuncture gave me temporary relief. My surgeon sent me to a pain doctor who was going give me a nerve blocker or prescribe medical marijuana. I wanted neither. (And forget about opioids. They would have been the death of me.) Instead he had me try CBD oil which I take orally, 15 mg, 3 times a day. It has given me remarkable relief. I feel no negative side effects. Unfortunately, none of the cost of the CBD is covered by health insurance, so it’s costing me about $180/month out-of-pocket. But it’s worth it to have significantly diminished pain. For reasons that would take too long to explain, I am convinced that there is no placebo effect involved – but I wouldn’t care if there was. I have an 80 to 90 percent reduction in pain on most days.

ADN

New York City2h ago

Word of caution: before you try CBD, Google it with any pharmaceuticals you take. Recent research shows that it can increase or decrease, in certain cases radically, blood levels of drugs your normally take. In those cases your life could be at stake. Also be aware that not enough research has been done to determine every drug interaction, and that will take some time. Caveat emptor.

Dave

Edmonton 3h ago

CBD tinctures have been very helpful as I await double hip replacement surgery. I sleep much better, have less anxiety and can occasionally skip the anti inflammatory meds that are proven to ruin kidneys. All I can say is I feel better when taking than the times I’ve taken a break from them.