If you’re living with fibromyalgia, you know all too well what a life of pain and chronic fatigue can be. You also know how misunderstood your condition truly is, and you’ve encountered doctor after doctor who has either treated you like you were making your symptoms up or has struggled to find a treatment that might help you.
So, of course, you’ve considered trying CBD for fibromyalgia in the hopes that it might provide the relief you so deserve.
Diagnostic criteria has changed over time, since the first diagnostic model in 1990 that required 11 out of 18 tender points to produce pain upon pressure. Today, fibromyalgia is recognized as more of a spectrum condition. Current diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia includes:
Experiencing pain on both sides of the body, above and below the waist, for at least three months
The exclusion of other possible causes, including rheumatic diseases, mental health problems, and neurological disorders
Unfortunately, both of these studies involved the use of both THC and CBD. To date, there is no research into the potential benefits of just CBD in the treatment of fibromyalgia.
That doesn’t mean there is no reason to believe CBD for fibromyalgia could work, however. In fact, several studies that suggest CBD could prove beneficial in the treatment of many of the most bothersome symptoms associated with fibromyalgia.
There are so many options available to you if you’ve decided you want to give CBD for fibromyalgia a try. Today you can find yummy edibles like gummies or mints to help with easy dosing and ingestion, or you could try CBD oil for fibromyalgia. CBD oils can easily be added to food or taken sublingually under the tongue for a quicker impact.
TheraOne is a CBD brand that has been created specifically for athletes looking to reduce pain after injury. Fibromyalgia patients may find similar relief from these products, including a full-spectrum CBD oil and topical options to choose from.
Note: full-spectrum products may contain trace amounts of THC. For patients who do not want to receive any THC, broad-spectrum and isolate products are the better choice.
Another topical option worth considering is Myaderm, a line of transdermal products created specifically to reduce pain.
And if sleep and anxiety are chief among your fibromyalgia concerns, you may want to try something from the Penguin CBD line. They offer oils, gels, capsules, edibles, and creams, many of which are formulated to help with these exact issues.
Figuring out the right CBD for fibromyalgia dosage will depend a lot on the type of product you choose and your individual height, weight, gender and needs. We’ve got a CBD dosage chart to help you get started, but in general, you’ll want to start low and slow and work your way up until you experience the relief you are looking for.
Because fibromyalgia patients are often taking several other medications to help treat their symptoms, it is important to communicate with your doctor before adding CBD to that regimen. While CBD is considered relatively safe and doesn’t interact with most drugs, your doctor still needs to be in the loop in case of possible interactions now or somewhere down the line. Your experience could also help them inform other patients they are treating for fibromyalgia in the future.
FAQs
How do I use CBD oil for fibromyalgia?
CBD oil for fibromyalgia could be ingested orally or applied topically—the choice is yours. For ingesting CBD oil, simply add it to food or water, or take your drops on or under the tongue. For topical application, you could add your drops to a lotion or cream and rub the CBD oil into the area you feel the most pain.
What CBD dosage should I use for fibromyalgia?
The right CBD dosage varies greatly depending on a variety of factors. We recommend using our CBD dosage chart as a starting point and then increasing your dosage slowly until you achieve the desired results.
What’s the best way to take CBD for fibromyalgia?
Because there are still no studies into the benefits of CBD for fibromyalgia, no one can definitively say what the best way to take CBD for fibromyalgia is. Given that, you could try oral and topical treatments, either separately or together, to determine which option works best for you.
Living in Alaska, Leah Campbell has a degree in developmental psychology and has written extensively on topics relating to health and wellness. As a single mom with endometriosis, she relies on medical cannabis to function at her fullest and is an outspoken advocate for marijuana legalization and the end of disproportionate incarceration rates against men of color for marijuana related crimes. A writer for HuffPost, Parents, and Glamour, Leah has discussed these issues on national television, to include Good Morning America and The Tamron Hall Show.