CBD oil. Giving it a try

[weekari]

Hi all,

I thought I'd share my experiences with trying CBD oil. If nothing else, I am a trier! I've been using bio identical progesterone cream for 8 weeks, with not a huge effect - some changes but not the ones I'm wanting really. Check my bio for more info on my story as I don't have 'typical endo' (if there is such a thing!).

I've been looking at CBD oil for a long time- probably about a year. My only hesitation has been that I wanted to get to the cause of my problems and not just mask things by relieving my symptoms (which has also been my issue with the medical approaches). But I've run out of ideas for trying to sort out the cause and I think I will need to go down a medical/surgical route (I meet with the endo specialist in 4 weeks). So, I've decided I shouldn't need to suffer and that's why I've turned to the CBD oil. I've really been struggling lately and was about to start the amytriptaline I'd been prescribed but then I thought, this would be a little less harsh on my body, with fewer side effects.

I've done a bit of research and found it all really fascinating. We've apparently all got a canabanoid system, which is involved in EVERYTHING the body does and when it's off, then everything's off. I've not researched it in depth as I'm trying to maintain some level of sanity amongst all this and I'm therefore not letting myself get pulled into a doctorate level amount of research! Instead, I'm just trying to read enough and stay sane. But it seems this system is connected to hormones- so if one's off, the other is too. It's maybe a chicken and egg situation as to which way it works but it seems worthwhile to try balance this canabanoid system. This is done by using canabanoids ie CBD oil (or other formats like vaping, edibles etc). I'm sure there's enough stuff in the media about this just now for most people to know that it's not illegal, it's not got the things in it that get you 'high' (THC) and it's not a drug. It's just an extract from the cannabis plant- the same way hemp is.

There are 2 main types of plants used to make CBD- sativa and indica. Sativa is more uplifting, stimulating- so good for low energy, depression and indica is more calming, so good for pain, sleep, anxiety. I have both low energy and pain, which causes poor sleep (I also have ptsd that I'm currently in treatment for) so I kind of need a bit of both but I felt the pain was probably the key thing to work on as it affects my sleep so much and therefore contributes to my fatigue. So I've started on a CBD oil that's from the indica type. I bought mine through a site I found called We Thrive- it's a small business but if you search 'we thrive cbd tea' it comes up. It was £35 for a bottle of 10% apparently it's best to start with a small dose, in a smaller percentage so to not flood the system.

I just started it last night and it was an easier night than usual. I was advised to have it about 45 mins before bed and again in the morning. Just one drop under the tongue of a 10% oil. I was advised it will take a few weeks to really see the full benefit and it's a bit of trial and error- with maybe needing to increase the dose each week by a drop if the effects aren't enough.

It's been a promising start- I definitely had a longer sleep than usual. Normally, my back pain is waking me up from about 5am and my sleep is really broken but I don't remember waking at all until I eventually got up at 9. I was sleepy when I woke up but not exhausted, like I usually am. My husband also said I seemed a lot more settled during the night (which made me wonder if I'm always waking him with my restlessness when I'm in pain?!). I took it again when I got up and felt fine to function and drive to my appointment. I did feel calmer, but in no way sedated or switched off- I went to my therapy appointment and had an hour of very intense trauma treatment that I fully engaged with.

Hopefully this will help me cope a bit better. I've been lucky enough to get tickets for Strictly at Blackpool this weekend and it's like a dream come true for me. I'm just so hopeful this will give me a bit of a boost so I can manage it.

I thought people may be interested in this- I know I found it hard to get info on the oil and couldn't find many people's experiences of it. Hopefully this helps. x

[Sunflower1968]

Hi I’m on my 4th week using cbd oil and I’m only currently using pain meds on hellish days where previously I was having to take pain meds most days.

I too feel far calmer than usual, but I am still struggling with sleep since having the prostap injection but hopefully that shall pass in time. The effects of the injection are still in my system.

I purchased mine from the cbd brothers and I have to say the taste is vile it also smells awful! But I’m sticking with it as it’s expensive and seems to be helping!

I’m waiting for a call back from my gynaecologist as I’ve been left in limbo once again you know how that goes! X

[Charlie-36 in reply to Sunflower1968]

Hi Sunflower 1968 which oil did you get from CBD brothers? I did try the purple one a while back..I currently take medihemp 10 % from CBD sense but it's pretty expensive at £62 I was considering trying out CBD brothers again so would be interested to see which one you have if it's working..thank you

[Sunflower1968 in reply to Charlie-36]

Hi I tried the purple and it’s very pungent and I struggle to swallow it but it seems very authentic and I know there are many other options out there - my friend has tried an oil that’s clear and without a taste and she found it worked really well called Canabidol so I may try that next. Good luck and thank you for your message.

[HellyLlewelly]

Im glad you have tried your own approach and the oil, I hope it continues to work and hope you feel less pain and more relaxed with better sleep.

Im also battling PTSD and due to start counselling shortly.

I dont know if I have any hope left in medical people. Endometriosis is still with me 8 months post hysterectomy, I know it.

It kicks off bad when my period would have been due, Im in bed now because of it.

My GP mentioning fibromyalgia to me seems to have upset me as its another one of those mystical illnesses that they cant do a test for, in cases started off my trauma, is this his way of saying my pain is in my head?

Im really fed up.

Helly.

X

[HellyLlewelly in reply to HellyLlewelly]

*by trauma x

[weekari in reply to HellyLlewelly]

Hey, sorry to hear you're also dealing with the double whammy of endo and trauma.

You're absolutely right to trust your body though. A hysterectomy does not cure endo. Endo is not in the uterus so removing it will not cure it, especially if you have adhesions that haven't been removed. Was any of the endo removed? Have you seen an endo specialist in an accredited endo centre? It may be that there's more options that could help you. I've fought and fought to get assessed and the right care, it's hard but there's help available if you know where to look. I got help fighting my car which was amazing and I'm now getting a second opinion from a specialist.

As far as the fibromyalgia goes, this doesn't necessarily mean the dr is saying its in your head. I really hope that's not what they were saying, I think we know when we're being fobbed off so I don't want to dismiss your experience of that dr but fibro could be a valid suggestion. Fibro is a real illness, there's lots of evidence to show there is physical evidence of it in the body. It's not psychosomatic, they just don't fully understand it but it is real.

Fibro, as with endo and autoimmune diseases all have a link to trauma. It's really such a tough thing to have experienced trauma and then have to have an illness in to of it. Surely after having difficult life experiences, we should be given great health so as to not experience any more bad things! But emotional trauma causes physical changes and this leads to these illnesses. It's real and not in our heads. I've worked in mental health for a long time a psychologist (I don't work anymore) and I have a good understanding of trauma and how it affects us. I believe we need to heal the whole self which includes the physical and the emotional. Unfortunately this isn't really the approach of most drs who try to separate mind and body but they're really the same thing.

I really hope you get some good therapy for your trauma and you get the chance to work through it and heal from it (which is 100% possible). I hope you also get some more help with the physical side of things. It's really not an easy journey but I'm sure you've already survived a lot and are a strong woman.

Xx

[Starry]

A very interesting thread thank you weekari.

I have sadly developed full blown M. E. After my excision surgery and ensuing viral-meningitis. I also have after a further deterioration/relapse developed burning joint pains.

I am sedated by all the mainstream nerve pain anti depressants, though pregabalin does at least take the edge off my anxiety and sleep issues, so been looking into alternatives like cbd or acti-patches.

Also hapen to be another in the club of childhood trauma sufferers, though after many years of cbt, therapy you name it i can't really do much more healing than i have managed already. :(.

[weekari in reply to Starry]

I'm sorry to hear that. That's so much to deal with.

For childhood trauma, we often store so much in our body. I had about 10 years of talking therapy (CBT, EMDR, Transactional analysis, counselling, psychodynamic...) it helped me with some things but it just didn't get to the root of it. I was a therapist myself so I believed in what I was doing and just kept looking for other therapists or blamed myself (I wondered if I was just being a drama queen!). Earlier this year, I went to an emotional healing retreat called The Bridge. It's a pretty intense program of healing that was unlike anything I've done before or had even heard of. It has changed me to my core. It works on really getting to the core of the trauma and helping you release it through loads of ways, one of which is through the body, using things like shaking. (It sounds weirder than it is.)

After this, I realised that I 'knew' all about trauma and could talk away but I wasn't actually healing the emotional wounds, if anything my nervous system was just getting more and more stimulated rather than calmed. When I look back, I've actually been a lot worse during my periods of therapy.

A lot of my experiences started when I was just a baby- I was basically terrified my entire childhood, so it's quite difficult to access it and talk about that in a typical therapy way and to process it, a lot of things, I can't really remember or when I talk about it, it seems a bit wishy washy. I think this is especially true when traumas are emotional- like emotional neglect or emotional abandonment. But on the retreat, I connected to it fully and I felt the beginnings of the healing and knew what I needed to do. The person I worked with there advised me to focus on my body and try find someone to do trauma focused body work. I've found someone now and I'm about 6 sessions in. I hardly talk at all and it's all about focusing on what I feel in my body, while using little vibration plates that I hold in my hand. It causes deep brain stem stimulation that helps my body release what it's held on to. I'm aware this sounds really odd as I write it but there is a lot of science behind it! It's been such a shift for me- so different to other types of therapy I've had. I've only had 6 sessions and I'm really noticing a shift. I've still a way to go though.

I have to pay privately for this. My therapist is a specific trauma therapist and with me, she uses the comprehensive resource model.

I totally know what it's like to feel you've tried everything and nothing works- I'm a total fixer, if there's a problem, I fix it and throw myself into things fully, doing loads of research etc. I've invested so much time, energy and money in it all over the past 10 years (or longer) and it's so disheartening to feel no further forward and actually feel further back. Medically, things are a disaster with me but I do have a bit of hope in what I'm doing for my trauma. I don't believe this will cure the endo etc that I have but I think it's part of the healing picture (which sometimes feels like a 1000 piece jigsaw with half the pieces missing!).

Feel free to contact me if you want any more info about the therapy stuff.

x

[Sunflower1968 in reply to weekari]

It’s so interesting to me just how much you and I have and so many others have in common and our poor bodies are suffering from very similar chronic illnesses.

I spent the best part of my adult life In some form of therapy and I eventually earlier on this year in fact decided I needed to stop focusing on the past and truly live in the day I am in. I have tried pretty much all forms of therapy and during each process my body seemed to become far worse than when I began.

I’m convinced that the cortisol levels within my body have a big part to play and by constantly reliving numerous traumas I was actually making myself worse.

So I decided three years ago to study and gained qualifications in counselling and NLP and hypnotherapy and coaching.

I have basically through the experience and process of the training realised that to give energy to negative thoughts and by constantly reliving my traumas I was stuck and my body was riddled with pain which was also stuck.

Your vibration therapy sounds very interesting and makes sense.

I too was diagnosed with complex PTSD and although I am grateful for all of the various therapists who tried to help me the only person who has truly helped me to move on is myself. I now practise mindfulness daily and it has helped me to truly stay focused in the moment I am in and to understand that I am in control of my feelings.

I have fibromyalgia and severe endometriosis and I am convinced my body was in crisis for most of my life.

I turned 50 last week and I have to say even though the prostap injection was pure hell it really tested me on every level and I am starting to come out the other side and I do practise gratitude too because I am grateful for so many things.

Having this support on here is priceless and for us all to be able to share our experiences without judgement is empowering.

My only wish is to be Being pain free and at peace with myself and I wish that for everyone on here too x

[poppy75 in reply to weekari]

Sorry to jump in on your conversation but I also have complex ptsd and severe endo. I'm 43 and the events which caused ptsd only happened 8 years ago and I've had endo since I was 18 so not related but really struggling with both these days. I've also done loads of different therapy and although it helped to a point it really didn't have much impact. I find it interesting what you say as I sort of feel at the point where how many times can I verbally go over and over what happened as it hasn't resolved how I feel. I'm now unable to work so I seriously doubt I could afford the retreat you speak of but is it ok to contact you just to find out a bit more? I wouldn't wish physical debilitating pain AND emotional distress at the same time on anyone so I'm so sorry to hear of others in the same boat xx

[weekari in reply to poppy75]

Yes, definitely contact me, I'm happy to pass on more info.

BTW therapy for trauma shouldn't be just talking about the event and going over it. There are amazing trauma focused therapists out there but they are also people working beyond their capabilities.

X

[poppy75 in reply to weekari]

Unfortunately as I spent 3 years paying for counselling, person-centred therapy, psychodynamic and CBT and it wasn't until the end of the last one where any of them picked up it was ptsd and not solely bereavements and I haven't been able to work since due to that and endo I don't have the money anymore to afford therapy. Now finally diagnosed by a psychiatrist and on an extremely long waiting list for EMDR on NHS but it takes place in a type of hospital where the trauma happened plus I'm housebound often with endo which they say they can't be flexible about so it's unlikely I'll be able to make myself attend. Anyway, I'll get in touch as it would be interesting to hear about the retreat, thank you xx

[weekari in reply to poppy75]

sorry to hear that. It's such a tough situation to be in- like a vicious cycle of not being able to access the help because of your situation but how can you get out the situation?!

If you PTSD relates to the hospital you would get the treatment, the person doing it should be able to offer you some sessions in an alternative location until you can get yourself to the hospital. If you let the service know this once you're nearing the top of the waiting list (I'd put it in writing though).

In the meantime, there might be some things you could do to help, have you ever tried EFT (tapping)? It sounds weird if you've never come across it- you basically tap along certain points in your body (meridian points) while bringing certain things to your mind. This is a great way to release things, it's quick, takes little energy and you can just follow free videos on youtube. It's got scientific back up too- it's not as whacky as it seems. If you fancy trying it, I recommend Brad Yates on youtube. There are some great ones for releasing emotions, health problems and any issue you can think of. It might be worth a try. It helps me loads.

xx

[poppy75]

I wonder how many of us are working towards our PhD in CBD? Similar here. I've been experimenting with it since August. Love CBD balm has been extremely helpful with my back pain and moderate days endo. I really recommend it. I started on Love CBD 800 entourage oil before I thoroughly researched how to start cbd. I had palpitations with it. I then discovered you're meant to start low and slow to wake up the system and the one I'd bought was way too strong. I'd kinda given up on it but when I got immediate relief from the balm I knew this was something I needed to persevere with and research more. I then started Simply CBD Green 250. Within 2 weeks I felt more grounded and able to cope with things (I have ptsd), a month later when I got my period and endo hit severely I managed to get through it with the cbd drops (after taking them 3 times a day for about 5-6 weeks), cbd balm, paracetamol and nurofen medicated transdermal patch. I'm usually on NSAIDs, 30mg codeine, tramadol, anti-sickness drugs. My period was lighter and brighter and I had NO heavy contraction pain. I still had loads of other pain but it was a noticeable difference. The crap thing is I have so many health issues going on so many medications and you need to take cbd orally 2 hrs away from most meds and 4 hrs away from antidepressants, blood pressure drugs, anything that interacts with grapefruit so I'm now struggling to fit more than 1-2 doses in a day. The balm you can use whenever thank god. I've got Simply CBD Moon vape which really helps with relaxation and sleep but unfortunately it's not helped me with pain relief so far. The good thing about Simply CBD is that there is a Users group on Facebook with 24,000 members so even though the company can't recommend or advise due to the stupid law stating cbd must only be advertised as a dietary supplement you have all these people who can and people discuss other brands too so no worries about that. Really recommend it. I planned to do an update on my cbd journey but due to other health issues (mainly caused by medication used for endo which is an extra slap in the face!) I've had to stop and start recently which is infuriating as I was clearly starting to benefit xx

[Starry in reply to poppy75]

Brilliant to know there is a balm. Thats sort of what I am after for my joint pain.