How CBD works

[Pillowfight]

For anyone considering CBD for treatment...I came across this tonight on how it works:

"There is one major difference between CBD and all other pain relievers that we feel you should know about: The main difference is that CBD works directly at the site of irritated nerve receptors.

Why not just take Advil? You can, but... CBD can act as a lock and key system with the human body’s existing receptors, sending signals to the specific problem area, and then reducing the pain you’re experiencing. Ibuprofen keeps injured or damaged cells from making and releasing a chemical called prostaglandin. When the cells don’t release this chemical, it means that the brain won’t get the pain message as quickly or clearly. So your pain becomes less severe for as long as the cells aren’t releasing the chemical (and only for as long as you’re taking the medicine). "

Translation: things like Advil just cover up the noise, CBD stops the frayed nerves at the source.

It also has some distinct advantages over things like Tramadol for flares...fewer side effects, no real risk for addiction or abuse, and you won't have to argue with your doctor about getting it.

If you've tried CBD and it hasn't helped (like I did, several times)...the key may be finding a high-quality product that is pure CBD with absolutely NO THC. This not only makes it a little less of a legal hassle in some states, but as I found out, the tiny amount of THC in some blends was the problem (bladder regarded it as an irritant/stimulant somehow). I am mostly sleeping through the night without getting up for bathroom runs for the first time in literally years.

[Pillowfight]

Re: How CBD works

Also worth noting: BE CAUTIOUS about vapes: https://tonic.vice.com/en_us/article...us-ingredients

It’s relatively common to find THC in CBD products, including vape liquids, says Kevin Hill, an addiction psychiatrist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. A paper from 2017 in The Journal of the American Medical Association looked at a variety of online CBD products and found that only 30 percent were labeled to match what was actually in them. Some had more or less CBD than advertised, and some had additional compounds. 21 percent also had THC in them. This could have an important impact, for example, on a drug test taken for employment.

Finding the synthetic marijuana and dextromethorphan was unexpected and alarming, Peace says. “People are going to a website that claims purity, all-natural, nothing synthetic,” she tells me. “People are going on there who are looking for alternative therapies for seizures or pain, so they are health-compromised and they don't know that these products are potentially adulterated. There's no indication. There's no warning about it on the website. There are no reviews from users that say anything."

[ICNDonna]

Re: How CBD works

I'm using the lotion for a sore neck and it works for me. Mine has a lovely lemon verbena smell. I'm really not interested in ingesting the oil, but it might work for some folks. Be very sure to let your doctor know if you're taking it, or any other over the counter treatment.

Donna

[Pillowfight]

Re: How CBD works

Some possibly helpful information about CBD absorption:

CBD is fat-soluble (i.e., lipophilic) and taking CBD with, or shortly, after a meal containing fats can dramatically increase its bioavailability which otherwise may be as low as 6% (Devinksy, Epilepsia 2014). A 5-fold increase in blood levels of CBD occurred when an oral solution of CBD (in an alcohol and oil base) was taken with a high-fat/high-calorie meal (i.e., a large meal containing fats) rather than on an empty stomach. Special formulations of CBD exist that may enhance absorption of CBD. However, comparative data has not been published for these formulations and, moreover, it is not known if any would increase CBD bioavailability as much as simply taking CBD with, or shortly after, a fatty meal. Fatty meals not only provide fats but stimulate bile secretion into the intestine, facilitating absorption of fat-soluble compounds like CBD. After taking CBD orally, maximal blood levels are reached within about 2.5 to 5 hours. CBD remains in the blood for a fairly long time — studies have shown its half-life (i.e., the time for blood levels to fall by half) to be 18 to 32 hours to as long as 56 to 61 hours after 7 days of repeated high-dosing.

[Songbird]

Re: How CBD works

How does one get the name of a good one. When you research it, there’s so much info and you don’t know which one.
Donna- I would love a lotion for my neck too. Currently I either rub arnica gel on it or spray magnesium oil in it. Would love to know the name of yours.
And @pillowfight- any recommendations for a cbd oil without the THC? Did that in the 60’s for real and don’t have any interest in doing that again!
Please let me know of a good one for anxiety, or sleep and @icndonna I’d love some lemon verbena lotion.
Thanks.

[bubbe1]

Pillowfight, I realize that this question is somewhat off-topic.

My husband tried CBD oil for his chronic neck pain, but it didn't help at all.

Do you mind if I ask what brand you use and where you got it?

Thank you,
Laurie

[Pillowfight]

I use Charlotte's Web, which is one of the most respected and trusted brands in the industry--their entire purpose has been formulations for epileptic children. So they are really good about consistency and purity. As I mentioned previously, my bladder really hates THC so I was pleased to find them, because I had many failed experiments with other brands that claimed to only have trace amounts of THC.

If you're good at parsing medical terminology, there's a really terrific summary of studies with CBD and "difficult pain" (IC certainly qualifies): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2503660

Really, really quick translation of the endocannabinoid section: The human body has lots of cannabinoid receptors. One of them, CB1, "is more pervasive throughout the body, with particular predilection to nociceptive areas of the central nervous system and spinal cord." So for IC patients, if nerve pain is your issue, CBD may be worth trying since it tends to target these receptors. CB2, "commonly reported as confined to lymphoid and immune tissues, is also proving to be an important mediator for suppressing both pain and inflammatory processes," and my understanding is if you have issues like fibromyalgia or migraines for example, then it may be helpful for that as well. If you can tolerate it, THC also has specific dopaminergic blocking actions that may be beneficial. (Cannabinoids also have a relationship with Substance P, which is thought to be a process involved in IC, though I haven't had a chance to explore that). More on the receptors here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocannabinoid_system

Also worth noting from the article: "Phytocannabinoids are lipid soluble with slow and erratic oral absorption." Unfortunately smoking/vaping does not solve this problem. I have read that suppositories tend to have a much greater rate of bioavailability, for what it's worth. But I have had marked improvement with just oral consumption of oils so far.

As reported by another IC research foundation, there is a related cannabinoid fatty-acid compound called Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) that has been shown to help cystitis in some limited studies. It works on some of the same receptors mentioned above. I found some PEA supplements on Amazon and am trying it this month to see if it can give the CBD I am taking a boost.

Last note...I have noticed that CBD has made my prescription drug tolerances change somewhat, so you may want to watch out for that if you try CBD...it may change how you need to dose yourself for other things (I had to triple my Atarax dose for example). In my case that was a good thing, because it meant my normally crazy low-tolerance and sensitivities are starting to approach normal dimensions, and THIS is ultimately one of the biggest ways I can tell it's doing something for me. I feel much less hair-trigger sensitive in general. Anyway...as ever, you should consult with your doctor about all this.

Hope this helps!

[LoraL]

I use Charlotte's Web, which is one of the most respected and trusted brands in the industry--their entire purpose has been formulations for epileptic children. So they are really good about consistency and purity. As I mentioned previously, my bladder really hates THC so I was pleased to find them, because I had many failed experiments with other brands that claimed to only have trace amounts of THC.

If you're good at parsing medical terminology, there's a really terrific summary of studies with CBD and "difficult pain" (IC certainly qualifies): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2503660

Really, really quick translation of the endocannabinoid section: The human body has lots of cannabinoid receptors. One of them, CB1, "is more pervasive throughout the body, with particular predilection to nociceptive areas of the central nervous system and spinal cord." So for IC patients, if nerve pain is your issue, CBD may be worth trying since it tends to target these receptors. CB2, "commonly reported as confined to lymphoid and immune tissues, is also proving to be an important mediator for suppressing both pain and inflammatory processes," and my understanding is if you have issues like fibromyalgia or migraines for example, then it may be helpful for that as well. If you can tolerate it, THC also has specific dopaminergic blocking actions that may be beneficial. (Cannabinoids also have a relationship with Substance P, which is thought to be a process involved in IC, though I haven't had a chance to explore that). More on the receptors here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocannabinoid_system

Also worth noting from the article: "Phytocannabinoids are lipid soluble with slow and erratic oral absorption." Unfortunately smoking/vaping does not solve this problem. I have read that suppositories tend to have a much greater rate of bioavailability, for what it's worth. But I have had marked improvement with just oral consumption of oils so far.

As reported by another IC research foundation, there is a related cannabinoid fatty-acid compound called Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) that has been shown to help cystitis in some limited studies. It works on some of the same receptors mentioned above. I found some PEA supplements on Amazon and am trying it this month to see if it can give the CBD I am taking a boost.

Last note...I have noticed that CBD has made my prescription drug tolerances change somewhat, so you may want to watch out for that if you try CBD...it may change how you need to dose yourself for other things (I had to triple my Atarax dose for example). In my case that was a good thing, because it meant my normally crazy low-tolerance and sensitivities are starting to approach normal dimensions, and THIS is ultimately one of the biggest ways I can tell it's doing something for me. I feel much less hair-trigger sensitive in general. Anyway...as ever, you should consult with your doctor about all this.

Hope this helps!

Hi there, Do you use the Charlotte's Web CBD Isolate? That's what I came up with when I took the quiz on the Charlotte's Web website and clicked on the choice "as little THC as possible". Or do you use a different one of theirs? They have so many choices I don't know what to try first (for severe IC and Fibro pain, and anxiety). Also is the one you're using flavored or unflavored?
Thanks!!

[calihelp]

Yes I highly recommend CBD having IC can make somebody go crazy.... I use it for depression but I have never heard of it to help neuropathy

[Lecoffee4life]

Hi, just wondering how long you need to take this to know if it works? I tried medical marijuana oils once and I hated them because they burned my throat! They also did not help what I was taking them for at the time, I think nausea and pain.
does the Charlotte's web oils burn when you take them? They are expensive so I am hesitant. Thank you for all of the information!

[marysa]

Thanks for the useful information. I've used CBD by https://berkshirecbd.com/ for 5 years for my back pain. I also join up to their affiliate program http://www.shareasale.com/join/96443 and have a 10% discount on all products.

[ICNDonna]

Thanks for the useful information. I've used CBD for 5 years for my back pain.

to the IC Network!

Thank you for posting your success --- it helps to learn of other people's successes. Have you used CBD for bladder pain?

Warm hugs,
Donna

[marysa]

Thanks. Not yet...