Photo: getty
CBD oil has amazing health benefits.
By Nancy Philpott — Written on Apr 26, 2019
It's only recently that the medical community has started to catch on to the widespread benefits of one of the cannabinoids in marijuana, and how CBD oil — the non-psychoactive chemical ingredient — can be used to help heal and prevent a number of traumatic injuries and disabling conditions, like seizures, depression, and chronic pain.
The benefits of CBD oil are undeniable in many cases, and since this particular cannabinoid doesn't contain the psychoactive ingredient found in marijuana (THC), it leaves users with the benefits of pain relief and none of the mind-altering effects of a marijuana "high." So if you're suffering from chronic pain or illness, you need to learn about how CBD oil benefits you and if you should give it a try.
I was sitting on the bed beside my husband of almost twenty years when he announced, “If this is how life is going to be from now on, I’m not sure I want to live anymore.” The stress and trauma of living with chronic back pain had slowly stolen his health and the life we’d dreamed of in retirement which included golfing, fishing, and traveling.
Up until that moment, the essential health benefits of CBD oil were the last thing on my mind.
As his wife and caregiver, it felt like chronic pain and depression had become his mistress, and that mistress had stolen my husband and my life.
If you’re one of 50 million of Americans living with chronic pain, or like me, one of approximately 43.5 million caregivers, providing unpaid care to an adult or child in the last twelve months, you may know exactly how I feel. You probably haven’t had time to explore anything, much less the health benefits of CBD oil.
You’ve probably been too busy working full time, running a business, shuttling kids/grandkids back and forth to activities, cooking, cleaning, and struggling to find time to take yourself in addition to providing unpaid care for a parent, spouse, or a loved one. That was my life.
That is, until my husband made his announcement and my nurse brain instantly shifted into caregiver autopilot, my priorities changed, and saving my husband became my primary focus in life.
Luckily for us, we had a friend who was a hospice nurse who practiced in Maryland. Maryland is a state that allows medical marijuana and CBD as pain management options for patients with a variety of chronic conditions. She advised us that the hospice patients she cared for who chose cannabis for pain relief versus opioids had a very different end of life experience.
She encouraged us to consider CBD oil as an option for chronic pain relief.
Cannabis-based medicine wasn’t an option I had considered. My husband and I grew up in the 70s when marijuana use was common and marijuana prohibition began. We both had biases to overcome before CBD became an option, but suddenly, overcoming long-held biases became important. The benefits of CBD oil required extensive research, and the research generated lots of questions.
There three basic questions I sought answers for initially included:
- What is CBD Oil?
- What are the health benefits?
- How does it work?
I was shocked, confused, and delighted with the answers.
What is CBD Oil?
Cannabidiol — or CBD oil — is one of the many cannabinoids or chemical compounds found in both the cannabis plant and its closely related cousin the hemp plant. Cannabinoids contribute to the therapeutic and medicinal properties of the plant by influencing many functions in the body including appetite, sensory perception, pleasure, and many others.
How does it work?
Scientist discovered in 1988 that the human body's regulatory system operates much like a lock and key system. It’s known as the endocannabinoid system, and has many preventive and protective mechanisms including balancing the nervous and immune systems, initiating pain control, and calming inflammation.
Cannabinoids like CBD are absorbed into the bloodstream, distributed throughout the body to receptor sites, and directly influence the regulatory system to stimulate an array of medical benefits.
What are CBD's health benefits?
More than 22,000 research studies have been conducted over the past twenty years, of which most were conducted outside the U.S. Just a few of the health benefits that cannabidiol (CBD), cannabis and other cannabinoids have demonstrated efficacy when studied include:
- Reducing nausea
- Stimulating appetite
- Reducing inflammation
- Reducing chronic pain
- Reducing seizures
- Improving insomnia
- Reducing anxiety and depression
I’m happy to report that after taking CBD Oil for three months, using CBD oil helped reduce my husband’s pain, insomnia, and depression. It truly had a dramatic and positive impact that made us both more hopeful about his health and our future.
If you or someone you know or care for is suffering from chronic pain, and if their pain and suffering is impacting your life, health, and/or relationship, I urge you to consider the health benefits of CBD oil. It made a difference in our lives, and it might make a difference for you, too.
Nancy Philpott is an RN, pain relief coach, cannabis educator, and chief transformation officer for the Compassionate Care Project who is passionate about helping women caregivers and their daughters connect with cutting edge information and resources to relieve chronic stress and pain and resuscitate health. To schedule a free 15-minute consultation visit her website.