Menstruation is usually accompanied mainly by pain and discomfort that prevent women from feeling in optimal conditions during those days, which is why many of them manage to face these problems through drugs, which promise to eliminate all these problems and in the In most cases this does not happen.
In some women, the pain becomes so strong that it prevents them from leading a normal life, and this is where CBD comes in, a medication that in other diseases has proven to be of great help in treating both the symptoms and the the condition itself, so questions arise such as: Can CBD be used to treat menstrual pain? How does CBD affect the menstrual cycle?
With the help of scientific studies, testimonials and other factors, in this article we are going to describe how CBD works to help women with menstrual pain.
Menstrual pains and their causes
All menstrual cycles are unequal, having differences between the duration, abundance, and level of pain they present, which is why each woman must attend a specialist doctor after her first menstruation and regularly thereafter, with the to determine your period type and prevent problems from arising.
Menstrual pain is due to cramps that are experienced during the time that menstruation lasts and has accompanied many women at least once in their lives. It occurs in the lower abdomen and lower back, in sometimes it is accompanied by other symptoms that increase physical discomfort such as headaches, diarrhea and nausea.
These cramps usually appear two days before menstruation or from the first day, in some cases they are mild and disappear quickly, but there are women who experience pain even a week before, these being extremely strong and last for many days after the bleeding has ended.
In most cases, menstrual pain is caused by a large amount of prostaglandin, which, among its many functions, is responsible for regulating the muscular contractions of the uterus, which causes cramps to occur, in turn, this substance is responsible for stimulating nerve endings causing pain.
Then there are women who suffer from pain due to more serious problems such as endometriosis and uterine fibroids, these usually worsen over time and need to be treated by a specialist.
How does CBD act against menstrual pain?
CBD is a cannabis compound that provides great health benefits, and its use to treat menstrual pain dates back many years. There is evidence that Queen Victoria used medicinal cannabis to treat the strong menstrual pain that accompanied her. .
This cannabis compound reduces pain through the PPARγ receptor and decreases the production of prostaglandin, this in turn reduces inflammation, pain, and muscle spasms of the uterus.
This in turn has anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic and analgesic properties that allow it to treat pain and some other symptoms that occur during menstruation in different ways.
Less uterine inflammation with CBD
During menstruation, the woman is exposed to an immunological process that involves chemicals, feedback loops and different cells of the innate and adaptive immune system, causing the uterine area to become inflamed.
CBD, beyond inhibiting the production of COX-2, blocks the body's pain signals, acting as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic, thus greatly reducing the pain associated with this process.
Goodbye to menstrual cramps
During the menstrual cycle, a lining is created on the walls of the uterus. At the end of the cycle, the uterus performs contractions and relaxations in order to remove this layer and menstruation occurs if there is no pregnancy. These contractions can cause uterine spasms or cramps in most cases, these being the main cause of menstrual pain.
CBD reduces these cramps through the Endocannabinoid System, since it is found in the central and peripheral nervous system, so when consuming Cannabidiol, the muscles relax, avoiding these spasms.
PMS and CBD
Premenstrual syndrome or PMS, are all the symptoms that precede menstruation, and usually occur several days before, the main ones being bloating, anxiety, mood disturbances, insomnia, and many others that vary from one woman to another.
Although CBD does not prevent this syndrome from occurring, it can treat its symptoms, making the menstrual process more bearable, acts as an anxiolytic to reduce anxiety levels produced during PMS, in turn regulating the production of serotonin, which prevents the depressive states typical of this phase.
Reduces breast tenderness
Breast swelling, pain and sensitivity is one of the main symptoms of menstruation, this occurs even from the PMS phase, it can be mild or severe pain. In the same way that CBD works to reduce pain in the rest of the body, she does it with her breasts, reducing pain signals that are sent through the nervous system, and therefore reduce inflammation.
What do scientific studies say?
The best way to check if a medication is capable of treating the symptoms of diseases is through studies that verify it.
In Canada, a questionnaire was developed about the symptoms of menstruation, and it was administered to 192 women, of whom 170 accepted that they used medicinal cannabis to counteract menstrual pain and other symptoms.
Although there are no direct studies on the use of CBD for menstrual pain, if there are any regarding the effects it has on pain, you can check it directly in our article entitled CBD against pain and inflammation, as well as studies on muscle spasms in our article CBD as a muscle relaxant and decontracting agent.
Testimonials on the use of CBD
Although the testimonies are not scientific bases, they help to have more confidence in the medications, and as for CBD, there are many women who today advocate its use, stating that it has helped them have a pain-free menstrual period. .
Such is the case of Carrie Tice, who had severe menstrual pains, and the use of opioids was not included in the list of medications she could use, because there are many cases of addiction in her family, so her doctor recommended the use of CBD, this woman says that CBD and other cannabis compounds not only helped her combat the severe pain that accompanied her, but also delayed her menopause.
Today Carrie still sees menstruation, and experiences it in a healthier and less painful way.
Effects of THC on the menstrual cycle
THC has also shown that beyond the side effects that accompany it, it can be good in the treatment of some diseases, however, in the case of menstrual cramps this is not the case, despite the fact that it acts as a relaxant, during In the 70s and 80s, studies were conducted that showed that THC can be negative for the menstrual cycle.
Some of the side effects are:
Blocking ovulation in mammals decreases the duration of the menstrual cycle in women, it can also prevent the implantation of fertilized eggs in the endometrium, which is why it is believed that it can be used to make contraceptives.
The ideal is to consume CBD with low levels of THC, so that together they can better attack menstrual pain.
Concluding the topic
CBD is an important cannabis compound, capable of relieving the lives of many women who suffer from menstrual pain, reducing the strongest symptoms that come with it, diarrhea, nausea, headaches and others, it can mitigate a once you are consuming adequate amounts of CBD.
You should always consult with your doctor before consuming CBD, as well as if you have very strong menstrual pains, because these can be caused by much more complex diseases.
Doses starting at 40mg of CBD oil are recommended, then using the staggering method, increasing by 10mg per week until the desired effect is achieved.