Apparently I did something bad in a previous life, because in this one, I get to live on the merry-go-round of intractable pain and depression. I know the depression started well before the pain but now they are taking turns interfering in my daily life. I don’t know if the pain exacerbates the depression, or the depression exacerbates the pain, but I now live pretty much continually with both of them.
My two health issues are Addison’s Disease and arthritis, both progressive, both getting worse, and both with limited mainstream treatment. I’m on prescription meds for the depression, take prednisone daily, and use Vicodin “as needed” for paid. “As needed” is getting more and more frequent. I am allergic to thc, so do not use marijuana, but my doctor suggested I try cbd oil.
I did some research and ended up purchasing a tincture of 300 mg cbd oil from Purekana, with less than 0.02% of thc. Directions say, take 1/2 of a dropper, once or twice daily. Place under tongue, hold for 60 seconds and swallow. I had no idea what to expect. I’ve read have cbd oil with so little thc will not have a psychotropic effect (but if that’s true, why is is said to relieve anxiety?)
First time I used it, I experienced – not pain relief, exactly – more like, muscle softening, like they were releasing from being braced against the pain. Not a bad result, but not the relief I get from Vicodin. The effect lasted no more than two hours. I was underwhelmed.
I’ve had a bad couple of days recently: pain, lethargy, anger, sadness, unable to more than one small activity (like feed the cat) before having to sit and rest. This morning I was better but still physically hurting. I took 3/4 of a dropper of the cbd oil and, again, in about an hour, felt the relaxation. Went to the office. About an hour later, I suddenly felt fantastic. Energetic, focused, patient. Made long neglected phone calls and appointments, took care of a bunch of stuff on the computer, ran a couple of errands; it was wonderful. Now, five hours later, I still feel pretty good. Is it the cbd oil? Other than that, I have done none differently today. Is this a normal/expected reaction? Is it safe to take more? If so, when? How much is too much?