CBD for menopause symptom relief?
CBD & MENOPAUSE
The use of CBD often comes upon the discussions on my private Facebook group. I’ll link the groups below if you would like join our communities.
There seem to be CBD products popping up everywhere at the moment! With the claimed benefits including anxiety relief, improved sleep and pain reduction, many women I talk to are trying these products as a way to relieve their menopause symptoms. Most women ask “Does CBD work?” and they want to know from others if it has worked for them?
We have even had women in the group who tried to sell their CBD products to others, promoting it as a miracle cure. Which I hate obviously, and the members got banned immediately. But I couldn’t help and investigate myself a little and so here is what I have found:
It’s claimed that CBD has the ability to help balance out mood changes, reduce sleep disturbances and lower the rate of bone density loss that can happen during menopause… but what are the facts?
So what actually is CBD?
CBD is the second most prevalent cannabinoid compound found in the much maligned cannabis plant. It is non-intoxicating (so won’t make you high) and has a number of known benefits for humans due to its ability to interact with the human endocannabinoid system.
The endocannabinoid system is a complex biological system of receptors found throughout the brain and nervous systems of all mammals. The receptors are found in the brain, organs, and tissues throughout the body and play an important role in maintaining homeostasis (balance).
Is there evidence for CBD working?
The menopause is known to disrupt our whole beings, it can throw mental symptoms and physical ones at us, these include anxiety, depression, mood swings, and lower libido. In a recent small-scale study it was discovered that CBD helps to relieve chronic pain, reduces inflammation and improves quality of sleep.
Besides, many people have also discovered that hash, a cannabis extract (find it here – wccannabis co), can help with hot flushes, sleep disturbance, mood changes, and vaginal dryness and pain. Hash oil can cause euphoria and can be used to treat nausea, pain, and inflammation. Because hash oil is more potent than other forms of marijuana, its effects are also more potent.
With all the above in mind – and with plenty of positive anecdotal evidence from women I regularly speak to – I thought it would be useful to try a few of the CBD products that are available in the UK and share my experiences here. I wanted to see how they taste, would I take them regularly or would it be a 2 weeks in and then forget about it job!?
I tried out the Goodrays range of CBD Drinks, Oils and Gummies as they have some of the highest doses (25-30mg) and because I like the branding which is much more lifestyle focused than some of the other more medical style brands out there.
Read on if you are interested in my findings or hop onto Facebook and join our communities….
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PERI-MENOPAUSE + MENOPAUSE CHAT HUB: For all people who are looking for a friendly community discussing what is bothering us and what helps.
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Below is a list of the symptoms that CBD can be of used for and a short description of how Goodrays CBD products worked out for me:
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PAIN RELIEF
Women have to face all sorts of pains throughout their life so anything that can offer natural pain relief is worth a try in my opinion. I tried the Goodrays Zen Drops which are meant to be used as a daytime solution by the looks of the packaging – as opposed to their Night Drops which appear to be more sleep focused.
There is some evidence that you need to build up the CBD in your system over a few days. Now, I am not in chronic pain so there is not really an easy answer here, but I could definitely feel my stress levels decreasing somehow – even kept calm during minor disputes with the girls about food and clothes! Or was I imagining it?
Many studies suggest that women suffering from chronic pain such as headaches, cramps, arthritis and fibromyalgia, have shown improvement in their pain levels by using CBD products including edibles (you could click here for more information regarding various CBD products).
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ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION
My life is pretty much anxiety free at the moment, apart from the little niggles most of us get. But in my past, I was riddled with anxiety. I wish CBD had been a thing then, as I would have definitely tried it. This is the area I’m most interested on when it comes to CBD.
Since CBD activates receptors in the brain that produce high levels of dopamine, it’s known to be effective for relaxing the mind and potentially reducing anxiety levels. (7)
So I tried the Goodrays 25mg CBD gummies, I like that I can just have them on my desk when a day feels ‘all a bit much!’, (one of the hardest things is to only eat one of them though as they taste great and could easily just be eaten like regular sweets). I was pleasantly surprised that within 15 mins of eating the CBD gummy, I was feeling calm and the thought patterns had moved on. Again, I’m not sure if there is some element of placebo involved, but either way, it felt like gummies had a positive effect on my mindset. I think that I will buy more CBD gummies and this time I will also try to purchase some Edible Mylar Bags where I can store my edibles to avoid them getting contaminated or degraded by the elements of nature. If the gummies take care of me so much, I should also take care of them, right?
Note: Not 100% conclusive, but they taste good and feel like a nice treat, so no complaints.
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GUT HEALTH
One of the lesser known areas in terms of menopause symptoms but studies have shown that almost 72% of women have suffered from digestive problems, such as IBS within the past year. And for anyone that knows me – you’ll know I LOVE anything gut health related! I even went onto Zoe’s personalised nutrition program to check my gut and all things related to that – but that story is for another day 🙂
The benefits of probiotics are well known and I am an advocate of many of the products in this space, including kombuchas, kefirs and other fermented foods. So it’s good it’s been shown that CBD may also be able to help regulate digestion. The more players in the field the better!
A study found that CBD can alleviate the symptoms linked with digestive issues such as cramps, bloating, and nausea so you could try out the Goodrays CBD Seltzer range.
I’m not quite sure how effective they were for my gut health obviously. But they tasted good and would offer a great, relaxing alternative to drinking alcohol. As a tee-total person, I like that a lot! It’s all about options after all.
My Conclusion
My conclusion is that CBD is definitely worth a try. You might be at the beginning of your menopause journey and not quite ready to see your doctor about HRT yet? Then what have you got to lose? After all, so many people tend to use these products by getting them from dispensaries such as 3 bros to ease their discomfort. You can also try them and give it a shot.
HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) is the first line treatment for managing the symptoms of the peri-menopause and menopause. But it can take a little journey for us to get there. If that is what you wish to do. So in the interim, or on top of HRT, I like the fact that we can add little helpers like CBD.
It’s definitely not a miracle cure for all the symptoms! But it has no known side-effects and is a completely natural way to potentially alleviate some of them. Even if you just sleep a little bit better or it takes the edge off the stress and anxiety of a busy day, replacing an evening drink or snack with a tasty drink or supplement that contains CBD – seems like a good idea to me.
MY TOP TIPS
There are many CBD products on the market, and you can choose from a large variety of cool brands.
The main thing to look out for are:
- mg of CBD. So what’s the strength?
- the % of CBD in the oil. This will often govern the price of the product, so check that!
- Whilst taking your CBD try not to make too many other changes to your diet, or lifestyle or include other new medication. Otherwise you won’t know if it’s working for you and you potentially waste your well earned money!
I hope this article helps a little, and wishing you all the best for your journeys into menopause & beyond.
Dani x
References:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8257923/ (1)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4151231/ (2)https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J175v02n03_02 (3)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7204604/ (4)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5922297/ (5)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6326553/ (7)
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-study-reveals-women-may-suffer-
