I have in the past reported about my neurotic, narcistic, demanding, unappreciative mother, but you will be happy to know that while that continues and I always wonder how long I can deal with it, this post is not about that.
She, like I am finding out from many that when you are in your nineties pain comes with the territory. A friend of hers has told me she just accepts it as part of life. My mom asked her pain doctor what causes this (in her world there always needs to be a reason and a cure) and the pain doc said it is caused by being lucky enough to have made 91 trips around the sun.
Anyway, my mom gripes and complains about everything so hard to know if her pain is as debilitating as she sounds, but let's assume it is.
She has had those cortisone type injections but they have had limited impact
My pot smoking brother has suggested she try CBD gummies, which if I understand correctly come OTC but not with THC and with THC with prescription. He says it would help not only with her pain but with her sleep problems.
Another issue with my mom she will read every disclaimer and possible side effect and after reading not take then.
But has anyone had any experience, good or bad, with CBD gummies and have any other info I might try to be aware of?
I did talk to her pain doc nurse who did not discourage the idea at all. I will wait till my mom actually sees her pain doc in mid Septemeber.
Before you read the rest of this, I am not in the medical field. I do not nor have any history of using marijuana (one of the unusual ones for my age). I do consider marijuana a drug and I have quite a few friends who use it (and a few friends who like mushrooms better).
CBD is mostly unregulated. That means that there are no federal labelling standards and there are no assurances that what is under the wrapper is really what it is. One is dependent upon the company's goodwill or people's recommendations or the web or written publications, for the information about CBD.
Because gummies are eaten, the time it takes for a drug to take effect is highly dependent upon the metabolism of the person. Older people generally have a lower metabolism. It takes 1.5 hours for my Mom to start to feel the effects of a prescription pain pill (I found that out in the rehab hospital where they only give you pain pills once you start having pain.)
My Mom has arthritis in her lower back, really bad arthritis. Cortisone shots provided no relief. I have friends who have various types of arthritis who regularly use CBD and it provides them with enough relief to take the edge off their various issues. However, they live in another state. I have another friend who has MS, and using pot helps him to get out of bed in the morning.
I found a reputable person (he only sells CBD derived from hemp), and he suggested I try the cream where my Mom hurt. He also said it was systemic, wait 2 weeks before a verdict. My Mom did not like the smell of the cream. In addition, there was nothing written that controlled the dosage. Predictably, it didn't help the pain.
He then suggested the oil drops however warned me that it was very bitter tasting. I have since found out that this is the most reliable way to get the CBD into your system.
I rejected the drops as my Mom has very sensitive taste buds, so we went to pills. He suggested I start with 25 mg 3 times a day (total of 75 mg). In about 3 days, my Mom started to feel the difference. After about 2 weeks, the pain was still there, so I changed one of the 25 mg for a 50 mg and about a week later, she claimed the pain nearly disappeared. During this time, for all of it, she was taking OTC Tylenol and Alleve where the the Tylenol dosage is higher than the recommended 2000 mg max. My friends in the other state all use CDB dosages higher than 100 mg for their issues. Some use CBD with THC and some use CBD without THC (but still derived from marijuana) and some use CBD derived from hemp (no THC).
As it turns out, I'm glad that we are using the pills. If she had smoked to get the CBD and got the THC also, I would not have been able to find a managed care facility for her. Having a bottle that actually has the mg of THC really helps because the doctor can actually identify the dosage. Now that her dementia has progressed, I cannot imagine putting drops under her tongue.
The downside is that the pills are quite expensive, and are still considered an illegal drug therefore not a medical expense that can be deducted on the tax return. The CBD derived from hemp, is considered an OTC drug, therefore also not deductible as a medical expense.
My BIL gave my sister some gummies with 500 mg of CBD and I don't know how much THC, and she said it helps her power through her daily exercise. Whereas she used to be in pain toward the middle of her 1 hour of intense exercise, she now has no pain. (Yes, that is 5 x the amount that I give to my Mom).
I do believe CBD is helping my Mom. However, it took a bit of trial and error. My Mom's pain doctor would not help me with dosages, however, he did verify that it would not interfere with my Mom's other medication
Note… the symposium was a few years back and things may have changed… but I still would never consider buying through internet sources.
Like anything else, there are caveats so be sure of the source, the purity of the product, the fillers, etc. and see how it goes.
On CBD usage, I’ve found what’s available is very much dependent on your states laws and regulations on CBD. If you’re in CA, CO or WA States, it’s pretty much state of the art in clearly readable and defined packaging for ingredients and it’s regulated. Other states totally Wild West and lots of snake oil type of products.
if you can get legit products, there is one that is really nice general “chill” so less anxiety, less pain: GreenRevolution water based tincture, per dropper 6.25mg CBD, .3mg THC, .125mg CBN, dissolves instantly into any liquid. Personally I find it awesome, if pain flares add Tylenol PM at bedtime for solid sleep. GR makes abt 6 different tinctures. There are CBD & THC transdermal patches. Mary’s Medicinals makes patches, are the size of a smaller bandaid. I know couple of folks who think they are great on pinpointed hand & knee arthritis flare ups.
Ask her docs in a bit more depth next visit what their thoughts are on trying something for her.