In the end, not much is known about fibromyalgia, other than that it causes persistent pain that can spread throughout the body and thus prevents those who suffer from it from living a normal life. Faced with treatments that are content to calm the pain but sometimes heavy, CBD appears as the opportunity for a natural solution to restore a little mobility and comfort on a daily basis. Feedback on the interest of taking CBD to help fight fibromyalgia.
What is fibromyalgia?
This is a delicate question, to which the scientific community itself struggles to give a clear answer. For a long time, fibromyalgia was just pain in the whole body, without understanding the origin. What disturb the spirits and even sometimes lead certain doctors to question its existence. Still poorly understood to this day, it now seems fairly clear that fibromyalgia not only exists, but is believed to be caused or encouraged by physiological factors (nervous system dysfunction, hormonal problems in particular), environmental and genetics.
Whatever its origin, the symptoms are particularly problematic for those who suffer from them, with generalized and persistent pain. Literally, fibromyalgia also means “pain associated with muscle fibrosis”. Again, the term is subject to discussion since the pains are not in the strict sense caused by fibrosis …
In short, while the definition issues are being discussed, those who suffer from fibromyalgia continue to find solutions to their pain. And it’s far from easy!
Current treatments for fibromyalgia
As for other pathologies manifested mainly through pain, in particular osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia is not cured yet. The only existing treatments therefore do not seek to eliminate the cause, but simply to soothe the pain: we are talking about symptomatic treatments. Several types of drugs are used:
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, in particular based on ibuprofen.
- Antidepressants: Even without depression, antidepressants can be useful. They act in particular on migraines, digestive disorders as well as on anxiety, three symptoms regularly associated with fibromyalgia.
- Analgesics, including morphine, reserved for the most serious crises.
Although relatively different, these treatments for fibromyalgia have some things in common. To begin, they only soothe the pains, neither preventing the disease from progressing, nor the pain from returning once the treatment is suspended. Then they all present a risk of side effects and are therefore therefore not always well supported.
This is where CBD comes in. Recognized as painkiller and anti-inflammatory, it seems, on paper, to be a perfect candidate for supporting people with fibromyalgia. Especially since it does not present no notorious side effects, no risk of addiction. Two arguments that conventional treatments cannot boast of.
The effects of CBD are increasingly well known. If further studies are still to be carried out, initial studies have shown that medical cannabis (where it is authorized, and therefore not in France) is a sure to effective avenue. [lien en anglais] to dig into the fight against fibromyalgia.
It must be said that it is particularly recognized as a natural painkiller, a anti-inflammatory and one muscle relaxant. By acting on our endocannabinoid system, it soothes our body, but also our mind, by promoting relaxation as well as reduced stress and anxiety. All the conditions are thus aligned to help relieve the pain caused by fibromyalgia. Like conventional treatments, however, a priori it does not act on the cause, but rather on the symptoms. It is no longer not recognized as treatment since therapeutic cannabis is not recognized in France. It can however be used as natural way to improve daily comfort.
Watch out for drug interactions
We recently told you about it in a detailed article: There are drug interactions with CBD. CBD, however, has no noticeable side effects. So that’s not where the problem lies. In combination with certain drugs, however, it can block their effects or on the contrary exaggerate them. The risk is then to limit the benefits of a conventional treatment or on the contrary to amplify its action and / or its side effects, which can have serious consequences. This is particularly the case with certain analgesics but also with antidepressants, often used in the context of reducing pain associated with fibromyalgia. If you are considering using CBD for fibromyalgia, talk to your doctor beforehand. He alone will know how to advise you.
Which CBD products are suitable for fibromyalgia?
All CBD products may be suitable. The choice is rather made in terms of their practicality and the speed at which the effects appear.
- CBD Oil: always at hand, just a few drops under the tongue to enjoy the relaxation of CBD.
- Hemp infusions: effects that take longer to appear but more diffuse, for maximum relaxation.
- CBD and inhalation: the fastest way to experience the effects of CBD. It is possible to vaporize flowers or CBD resin, or use a CBD e-liquid if you are vaping.
- CBD patches: Australian researchers have notably developed CBD patches against the pain of fibromyalgia.
Dosage of CBD for fibromyalgia
There is no such thing as the perfect single dosage of CBD. This statement is true in general, and especially in the case of fibromyalgia since we do not yet have extensive studies on the issue. That being said, certain indicators point us towards quite suitable solutions. To put the odds in your favor, you can count on our full article devoted to calculation from ideal amount of CBD for a given person and situation. If you choose to relieve pain caused by fibromyalgia with CBD oil, our article dedicated to the product tells you how to properly dose a CBD oil.
