How Full Spectrum Hemp Oil Healed my Pain and Anxiety in Five Days
By the time I became willing to try full -spectrum hemp oil I'd been sick with Lyme for more than a decade. Although a mostly raw plant-based diet had brought me tremendous healing I was still experiencing digestive problems, occasional pain and numbness in my limbs and anxiety that could lead to headaches and even panic attacks. I had improved tremendously thanks to dietary changes and various Lyme-fighting protocols but I still wanted to take my healing further.
A few years ago, while on vacation, I met a woman who owned a dispensary in a suburb of Portland. Having been clean and sober for 28 years I was ultra wary of the kind of medical marijuana she sold through her business. Still, I told her about my struggle with Lyme and that I had heard cannabis could be helpful. I told her I was not open to trying any products that contained THC.
She explained that there were new strains of hemp called CBD containing virtually no THC (the psychoactive component of marijuana) and that CBD does not give you the “high” of THC but can help significantly with pain while easing anxiety and pain associated with Lyme and other chronic illnesses.
I was interested but not enough to try it at that time.
Then, a few months ago, someone on my Facebook feed posted about ordering some full spectrum hemp oil (aka CBD) for symptoms like mine. Something in what she said prompted me to order the smallest bottle possible.
It arrived a week later and this is what happened:
Day 1. I place two drops under my tongue and hold it for 90 seconds per the instructions on the label. Within a few minutes I feel a soft warmth spreading through my body, kind of like an ethereal honey coating my nerves. Maybe I'm imagining it? All I know is I'm no longer afraid of this herb. I sense a growing mellowness that I have not felt in years.
Day 2. I put a full half dropper of the oil under my tongue. This time nothing happens, maybe because the CBD from the day before is still in my system and I already feel pretty good. But as I drive through traffic to pick up kids later that day I notice I am not feeing the normal level of stress. In fact, I'm not sure I'm anxious at all. The drive was actually…relaxing. What the heck is this stuff? I have had anxiety and panic while driving since before my son was born in 2008. But now, suddenly, I feel like I did before this issue arose in my life. Driving feels like...no big deal.
Day 3. I try another half dropper under the tongue. I'm able to get through my to-do list with my spa products business without getting stressed out by the workload. The rush hour drive is again uneventful, even placid. It occurs to me while I'm waiting for my kids that it is not what CBD gives me that is valuable but rather what it takes away: The hemp oil seems to reduce inflammation so that pain is reduced. The pain in my joints and limbs seems less pronounced so I'm not so worried about over-doing it at work and I can work longer hours. And it seems to also be taking away the anxiety and the bad moods that come with an inflamed body.
Day 4. The experiment is going well so I decide to increase my dosage and add another dropper in the afternoon. I continue to feel relaxed and upbeat throughout the day and realize I am no longer experiencing the Lyme-induced numbness that I sometimes would get in my right arm and leg, especially if I’ve been working a lot. This is getting more interesting each day.
Day 5. Two droppers again. Still feel good. No manic “high” that you get with some herbs and no herxheimer reaction that you can get with some Lyme killing supplements. Just a nice mellow feeling throughout the day. My digestion is still a work in progress mainly because I'm still tweaking my diet and trying to figure out what approach works best for me longterm. So it's a little early based on the reports that CBD is great for healing the gut. Time will tell.
The rest of the month.
Over the next month I research more. CBD is short for cannabidiol, the name of the active element in cannabis. But unlike the other active element - THC – there is no psychosis involved when it interacts with the body. So CBD, it seems, is the perfect for my particular constitution, which craves serenity rather than the high. And, the article says that CBD is thought to be as effective as a benzodiazepine (think Ativan or Xanax) minus the pesky side effects.
There's even more exciting news related to Lyme. The short version is that CBD oil is thought to be a powerful anti-inflammatory agent that not only reduces pain but also HEALS the nervous system. And I learned there were people who were using CBD as an antibacterial to kill Lyme. And there seemed to be some science to back that up.
The five-day experiment is over but CBD is the gift that keeps on giving. Among other things, I no longer dread driving and I no longer have daily anxiety. And I no longer judge the cannabis!
One of the big benefits that I did not mention above is better sleep. I'm also sleeping like a rock without waking in the middle of the night or the crack of dawn unable to go back to sleep.
So to recap, here's how CBD has helped me in the last few months.
-Vastly reduced anxiety and panic attacks
-Less pain in my limbs
-Less numbness in my limbs after working hard
-Fewer headaches and reactions to foods
-Better moods and a general sense of wellbeing
-Teflon for the emotions
-More productive at work
-Better quality of life overall
-Hopeful about CBD's purported Lyme-killing properties
This particular CBD has turned out to be a perfect fit for Lava Love line of lava-based products due to the fact that the full spectrum hemp plants that produce the oil are grown in in volcanic soil and because there were a huge variety of terpenes (flavors) available from natural plants that happen to be native to Oregon.
I'm so excited to share Lava Love Full Spectrum CBD oil with the world, especially with fellow Lyme sufferers or anyone with chronic illness or conditions/pain.
If you have any questions please send me an email at the address below or LIKE Lava Love on FB and follow on Instagram and message me there.
Many blessings to you on your healing path!
Elisabeth (links below)
CBD for Lyme
http://www.impactcannabis.org/lyme-disease
Healing benefits of CBD from Dr. Axe (click NO THANKS to read)
https://draxe.com/cbd-benefits/
Lava Love CBD oil website