If you’re on a never-ending quest for migraine treatment, you’ve come across cannabis and CBD as migraine and headache pain relievers. But can CBD assist with a migraine? Should you consider CBD for headache relief?
To discover answers to your burning concerns, we turned to science and not just some random piece of advice from your college roommate! But, before diving into the nitty gritties of CBD gummies for migraine attacks, it’s essential to know what a Migraine Attack is.
What Is a Migraine Attack?
A migraine attack is a headache that generally affects one side of the head and causes extreme throbbing pain or a pulsating feeling. Nausea, vomiting, and high sensitivity toward light and sound are common symptoms. Migraine attacks can usually last from hours to days depending upon the severity. Its pain can be powerful enough to stop you from doing your daily activities.
A warning sensation known as an aura develops before or with some people’s headaches. Visual disturbances, such as flashes of light, blurriness or blind patches, or other alterations, such as tingling on one side of the body and trouble speaking, can be signs of this ailment.
How CBD Can Help With Migraine
According to research done by the Journal of Headache and Pain in 2018, many laboratory and animal studies indicate the potential use of cannabis and its components, particularly cannabidiol (CBD), for migraine pain relief.
The authors discovered that one-quarter of medicinal cannabis users use marijuana for headaches or migraines in a study of over 2,000 individuals. One Cannabis sativa strain or chemovar, “OG Shark,” proved very beneficial to these individuals. It has a high concentration of THC, the primary mind-altering chemical in marijuana, a low concentration of CBD, and the terpenes beta caryophyllene and beta myrcene.
The studies indicate that CBD is an anti-inflammatory. In addition, it protects your nervous system by being neuroprotective.
CBD, according to specialists, may aid with pain by boosting the endocannabinoid system, or ECS. Endocannabinoids are neurotransmitters that interact with cell receptors throughout the body. This creates a feedback loop that regulates nearly every function in the body, including pain perception, emotion, hunger, inflammation, etc.
In 2001, Ethan Russo, MD, a well-known medical cannabis researcher, postulated that endocannabinoid insufficiency might have a role in migraine and several other difficult-to-treat chronic pain illnesses. Treatment with CBD based on this theory might help lessen migraines by restoring ECS function, commonly known as endocannabinoid “tone.”
How Can You Consume CBD For Migraine?
There are numerous methods to take CBD to get the most out of it. Vaping or smoking CBD is one of several options. CBD is available as an oil that can be vaporized or as a dried leaf smoked like a joint. CBD oil is also used as a tincture by certain people. However, some medical professionals advise against vaping or smoking CBD due to the risk of lung damage.
To gain the advantages of CBD oil in this form, place a few drops under the tongue or swallow it. Others have made CBD oil a regular part of their diet. They cook with the oil and eat it with their usual meals. CBD edible gummies, brownies, and biscuits are some more edible CBD options. If you are a beginner at trying CBD, it is recommended that you begin with lesser dosages and gradually increase to your desired amount.
CBD Gummies Vs. Traditional Medication
Traditional remedies have a purpose in the treatment of particular ailments. As previously said, many people are beginning to choose CBD oil as a standard treatment. However, there are serious adverse side effects harmful to the human body. Therefore, patients are increasingly looking for alternatives to established drugs to prevent harmful side effects.
For individuals seeking pain alleviation, a natural option is more appealing. Patients facing chronic pain and other ailments are increasingly turning to CBD gummies. Traditional remedies have also been linked to the development of addictions, which are undesirable for patients. Natural migraine relief treatments like CBD gummies are effective and do not induce addiction.
Patients searching for a natural way to manage and relieve pain are increasingly turning to CBD oil. Due to the adverse side effects of standard drugs, people are looking for alternatives that would cure pain without causing any additional issues. CBD oil has been studied to help people with migraines, regardless of how they use it.
How Can You Find High-Quality, Safe CBD Gummies?
If you are living in a state where marijuana is legal—which means Cannabis sativa plants having more than 0.3 percent of THC by weight can be cultivated and sold—you should buy CBD gummies from a state-licensed state dispensary, according to specialists. This is because you can be assured that what the dispensaries are selling is clean and safe.
You can buy CBD gummies online if this isn’t an option. Just be sure it’s been tested for purity and potency by a third party and that the results are documented with a current batch-specific Certificate of Analysis.
Our experts also suggest ensuring that the CBD is:
- It is extracted with food-grade ethanol or supercritical carbon dioxide, a high-tech procedure that doesn’t leave harmful solvents behind.
- Pesticides, heavy metals, mold, and other pollutants are not present.
- Hemp is farmed in the United States.
- Organic certification.
- FDA Good Manufacturing Practices were followed throughout production.
Key Takeaway
Migraine episodes are no laughing matter. And the anxiety of the next wave of agony doesn’t exactly help. However, the question that CBD gummies are helpful for migraines is a complex one to answer. Because rolling a joint isn’t the same as taking a prescription medication. What’s your daily dosage? Frequency? What is the product’s quality? Is medicinal marijuana even legal in your state? CBD gummies for treating migraine episodes have shown promise in preliminary trials. But it’s too early to be specific. Consult a medical expert if you’re interested in using medicinal cannabis or CBD for migraine relief. You can devise a pain-relieving strategy together.