Did anyone have any positive results with CBD products?
Not too long ago, regulations on CBD changed in Germany leading to a plethora of products containing it. As someone who occasionally needs pain medication, I tried some of the products to avoid regular pain killers (ibu). Especially on days with lighter pain, I wished for an alternative to the sledgehammer meds. But I was left standing in the rain. I didn't feel any effect. That's why I would love to hear from your experiments and experience.
You're getting a lot of answers from Americans. Be aware that CBD oil sold in Germany (Dm, Rossmann, etc.) almost certainly doesn't contain significant levels of THC.
The evidence doesn't seem to suggest CBD alone is effective in pain management:
Only with CBD products bought at a marijuana dispensary. The crap they have at gas stations and the like does absolutely nothing.
My favorite has been Mary Jane's subliminal tincture. It's CBD oil in a 1:16 ratio of THC and unlike the other subliminals I've tried, they put some flavor in it so it's like butterscotch and not gross fish oil like flavor that gives me heartburn.
My wife and I both have lives now because of it. In my case, I have body aches from a bad car wreck, and after ten years of only getting maybe 3 hours of good sleep each night, followed by prescribed meds that left me dopey all day long, marijuana was legalized here. My wife makes CBD cookies for me and after a bit of experimenting to get the right amount, I now generally wake up feeling refreshed and have even been needing less sleep for the last several years.
On the other hand, my wife lives with chronic pain from childhood accidents including one where she was partially paralyzed for a few years (spine injuries suck!). She is now on permanent disability because she wasn't able to sit at a desk for 8 hours a day. Since mj was legalized, she got off the opioids, smokes throughout the day to manage the pain as needed, but is able to get things done around the house when she's having good days (which is most of the time).
If you want to go down this road, you will definitely get a better experience than you have with doctor-prescribed medications, however because there's still not a lot of data on the subject you will want to find what works for YOU. If you do any cooking, learn how to make oil and butter from mj, and use that to bake your own cookies, cakes, or whatever. This way you have control over what strains go in to what you are eating, and you can control how much of it is used. You can get instruments to be more scientific with it, but really once you have some experience with CBD/mj it won't really matter. It also tends to be quite a lot cheaper than buying pre-made edibles from the store.
Now, for what to expect... For my use, the right amount is something that I barely feel, if at all. What I do notice is once it starts to kick in (which is right before bed anyway), I start to drift off and have to make an effort to get up and go to bed. If I eat too much then yeah, things can start to get a bit crazy, and I don't get as good of sleep that night. For my wife managing her pain, she describes it by saying the pain doesn't really go away, she just stops caring about it so it doesn't control her life. Again, the right amount isn't so much that she acts like a stoner all the time (and she consumes a LOT more than I do), but rather it's enough that she can start to function again despite the pain. So it's not unusual for you to not feel anything, but it's also possible you're simply not getting enough.
CBD's apparently not really effective for general pain relief, but there's some data that suggest that it's effective for neuropathic pain.
I take a full spectrum extract specifically for neuropathic pain and it's been moderately helpful, and since it's also immunomodulatory it seems to help some with flare-ups of my autoimmune disease. Not a miracle cure or anything, but it's been better than nothing and definitely doesn't make me feel as terrible as the more, uh, pharmaceutical options for treating neuropathic pain such as gabapentin, so I've stuck with it.
I'm having trouble finding it, but I ran across a study a few months ago whose results pointed to greater pain relief gains when CBD was consumed with THC, and that both substances alone do less to "relieve" pain.
I wouldn't say it helps relieve pain as much as it lets you be distracted from pain.
Also, personally, when I have used CBD on it's own, it never did anything for me at all. It only ever worked in combination with THC.
Finally, people taking other medications need to be careful about taking CBD.
The vast majority of medications are broken down by enzyme CYP3A4, an enzyme that CBD inhibits.
I am taking a life-saving/life-altering medication to manage a severe disease. It is handled in my body by CYP3A4. Meaning I can really fuck up my medication dosage by taking CBD on its own, because it will inhibit the ability of CYP3A4 to ingest the drug.
My wife has chronic neuropathic pain, and the CBD gummies seem to help her sleep. They don't seem to overtly reduce the pain, but maybe make her less anxious about it.
My wife was struggling with anxiety attacks from PTSD. She tried a few different CBD blends before settling on a pure CBD isolate with only flavoring added. She would buy it at a pharmacy that made their own specialty medications in-house. She would take it first thing in the morning and if she felt anxiety coming on later in the day. It really helped make her anxiety a little more manageable.
She eventually found a good psychiatrist that prescribed anti anxiety medication, and she hasn't really needed the CDB since. But it was very helpful for the few months that it took to find a psychiatrist and medication that worked for her.
Yes, they stop my panic attacks and help me sleep at night. But I’m super picky on brand. I use only lab verified, US companies that have been in the business since before it was legalized nationwide. A lot of growers and such are being bought up by corporations and even Chinese companies and quality is going in the pisser. And I’ve even gotten a nightmare experience that had me trapped under the influence of something that definitely wasn’t cannabis based at all.
If you're taking any other meds, speak to a doctor before you try it.
I have a chronic illness that led to organ transplantation, and cannabis would interfere with one of my rejection meds. That would have caused me much bigger problems than the pain that I was trying to stop.
Unfortunately, cannabis has an almost cult like mythology around it. There are lots of people who will tell you that it cures everything, from mild pain to every type of cancer, and will even clean and polish your car 😉
Chronic migraine sufferer here. Like 25+ days a MONTH, over 5 on the pain scale, plus all the other fun symptoms.
I had tried literally every other drug on the market for migraine, even some off label, except Botox. The newest class of migraine drugs wasn’t on the market yet. History tells me I likely will not do well with Botox, so as a last ditch effort, before trying it, I decided to experiment with weed again.
Life changing is an understatement. Went from most of the month, where I felt like I was slowly dying, to having MAYBE 2 relatively mild migraines per YEAR.
Certain strains work better for me as an abortive, than others, but just having it in my system daily gave me my life back. It doesn’t seem to matter whether is a 1:1 (CBD:THC) or just a regular old mostly THC strain, it just works for me.
the most important thing you must understand is that QUALITY MATTERS. Even the stuff I got at dispensaries could be hit or miss.
I use AlliantHemp for my CBD, CBG, and CBN supplements and it truly changed my life in regards to replacing other medicines
The Reddit CBD sub was a big help for me on finding reputable sources. If the sub still exists check out their sidebar (and then leave so you don’t give Reddit more engagement)
the problem is the legality of other cannibinoids where you live …
from the states in the US where cannabis has been legalized – neither CBD nor THC will show their full effects in isolation, they each help to augment the other – so even something like a tiny amount of THC added to CBD (ex. 20:1 CBD to THC) will drastically enhance the CBD effects
there are two primary (and a lot of secondary) pain systems within the body – one of them responds better to opioids, the other responds better to cannibinoids cannabinoids – everyone’s different and responds differently so it requires a knowledgeable medical professional who hasn’t bought into US’s “reefer madness” propaganda that’s been foisted off onto the rest of the world
This is a tricky question. I'm inclined to have a positive opinion about CBD, but if I'm completely honest I don't feel much of anything from it solo. I've taken CBD by itself multiple times and it always just seemed like a placebo. I think CBD and THC together have a great synergy, but it really misses the mark when I only have the one without psychoactive effects.
On the other hand, I've had friends swear by CBD tinctures. They were doing large doses (like 50mg+) daily and claimed it had all sorts of benefits for their chronic pain or upset stomach. I never tried doing doses that big regularly just because of the cost and my previous experiences leaving me dissatisfied.
For what it's worth, Extract Labs is one of the sources I've had recommended to me by a trusted friend.
I think you need to find your dosage and stay on it to help with inflammation which can also reduce pain. I took a lot when I lifted weights regularly. But I ended up making it myself to make it affordable.
I'd use a reputable company. Some seem to try to keep costs down--I sometimes would buy theirs for convenience. (I would use an decarb/infusion machine and eventually bought an extraction machine. Basically cold alcohol wash hemp then evaporate the alcohol back out).
I recently got a medical card for cannabis. during the call, the doctor said to use a CBD:THC combo for the best results on pain relief. seems to be working well for me.
Yes, I used CBD herb (hemp) along with a dynavap to quit smoking: It worked great! I still vape dry herb partly to relax and partly to quell any urges for cigarettes since a dynavap is very similar in shape and use. I have been cigarette free for 5 years now!
It has an effect but the price for that effect is insane (at least in the UK) . It isn't an instant thing you need to keep taking it for at least a few weeks.
Definitely made me much calmer but like I said not at that price.
CBD is wonderful if you’re not purchasing it from a gas station or something.
I recently got some CBD flower from WNC CBD and I definitely notice an effect when smoking it, albeit not as strong as actual bud but it’s still nice, especially when on T breaks.
With that said, cannabis has never helped me with pain (outside of distracting me from it when I get high enough), so I can’t speak on the capabilities of CBD there.
I tried it and it did absolutely nothing for me I don't think that enough CBD gets absorbed into the body. When I was a teenager I tried marijuana a few times (the second time was years later and with different people) this was back in the 1980's and it also did nothing. I thought everyone around me was faking.
Me, personally, I noticed an effect. However, I've never been a potist.
I used it for when I was sick. I got some flavored oil and put a few drops under my tongue occasionally.
Yes, it helped calm me down. But, I was hungover after I stopped taking it. But I get hangovers very easily because my liver has lived a few lives at this point - I was a bit of an alcoholist.
Well I bought CBD a few times now and roll it like a cigarette. It relieves stress very well and calms down - that's basically all CBD does. I can not handle THC but I have great experience with a CBD cigarette once every 6 months or so.
You can't think about what you feel; you have to think about what you don't feel. What's gone or lessened - anxiety, irritability, general discomfort, insomnia, etc.? Also, you have to be careful where you get it. For oils i like Lazarus naturals and Hoku Seed Co. Not sure if either so outside the US. It may take a bit for youto get max benefit from it - almost the inverse of thc tolerance.