CBD For Migraine: Does It Work?

Does taking CBD for migraine help ease the pain and discomfort? Well, according to American Migraine Foundation, the majority of people suffering from migraines have found relief with CBD. However, the foundation also claimed that there is not enough scientific evidence on the connection between migraine and CBD. 

But before we continue on the uses and benefits of CBD, let’s proceed first to what migraine is and how it affects our daily lives. 

What Is a Migraine?

A migraine is a condition that causes extreme pain or a throbbing sensation on a portion of your head. It frequently goes along with vomiting, nausea, and intense sensitivity to light or sound. If you have migraine attacks, it can take hours or days, and the discomfort or pain can be severe that it can hinder your everyday tasks.

For some individuals, a warning indication for migraine attacks named “aura” happens prior to or during the headaches. This warning indication can comprise disturbances on your vision, including blind spots and flashes of light, or other symptoms like problems in speaking, tingling sensation on one side of the arm, leg, or face. 

Furthermore, people with migraines can take prescribed drugs or do home remedies to help reduce symptoms. However, if your sensitivity to noise or light, pain, and other symptoms don’t improve with prescribed or OTC medications, trying new remedies for migraines might excite you. 

Bear in mind that migraine symptoms differ for every person. In some individuals, they occur in phases. These phases include: 

• Aura

In this phase, the symptoms typically begin slowly at around 5-20 minutes, and last for less than an hour. Moreover, a person may experience these symptoms:

• Seeing flashes of light, wavy lines, and black dots 
• Incapable of seeing at all
• Have tunnel vision
• Incapable of speaking clearly
• Have numbness or tingling sensation on one side of the head or body
• Have ringing in the ears
• Changes in taste, touch, or smell
• Have a feeling of heaviness in legs or arms

 

• Prodrome

In this phase, the symptoms usually begin hours or days prior to the headache. A person may experience these symptoms:

 

• Sensitive to smell, sound, and light
• Lack of appetite
• Food cravings
• Fatigue
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Severe thirst
• Bloating
• Mood changes

Suppose you experience any of these symptoms. If you do, go to your doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment. Also, you can ask your doctor about CBD if he/she can give you the right dose for you to manage the symptoms of migraines. 

Triggers And Causes Of Migraines

Experts still do not know the real cause of migraines. They might come from the alteration in the brain that influences the blood vessels, balance of chemicals, and way of nerves to communicate. However, another cause of migraines is genetics. If your family members have migraines, then you’ll probably be able to acquire them. 

Furthermore, the triggers for migraines may vary for every person. Some of these triggers include:

• Hormonal changes
• Anxiety, stress, and depression
• Medications like birth control pills or sleeping pills
• Dietary factors such as chocolate, caffeine, citrus, and alcohol
• Strong smells, loud noises, bright lights, temperature changes, and smoking

There are many triggers for migraines, so you need to avoid these to reduce its attacks.

How Helpful Is CBD For Migraine?

Migraines can stress you out, especially if they transpire consistently. It often goes with various symptoms that last for hours or days and can hinder your daily activities. Though pain relievers are often utilized to lessen the pain and discomfort of migraines, they frequently come with unwanted side effects.

This is when patients try using CBD. Some of them experience the alleviation of the symptoms. However, other patients who tried CBD experienced more intense symptoms. This shows that the effects of CBD vary from person to person. So, using CBD responsibly is needed. 

Even though CBD is taken from the cannabis plant, it will not be able to make you feel stoned or intoxicated. This is because cannabis does not consist of other elements in charge of its mind-altering properties, known as THC. 

If you are one of the risk-takers, CBD for migraine might be a part of your list. However, remember how experts often advise that you must be responsible for what CBD can do to your health and body. Yes, CBD products have their advantages, but there may also be adverse effects. 

How Is CBD Used?

CBD can be used in various ways. It can be used topically, ingested, or vaped. No doubt, the simplest way to use CBD for migraine is by putting a small drop below your tongue or taking a CBD capsule.

Since there are no regulations on how much CBD you can consume for migraines, it is best to ask your doctor to give you the proper dose. It is usually suggested that you start with a small dosage and slowly increase it as needed. This will enable your body to adjust and help you to figure out the correct dosage for your particular condition. But before you start taking CBD, it is crucial to make sure that it is allowed or legal in your place since many states have not yet legalized CBD due to its connection to marijuana. 

Conclusion

Migraine is a condition that includes headache, yet it’s not just a headache. It has a substantial impact on everyday life, making it challenging to execute or work with your normal activities. Furthermore, migraine is hard to treat and handle, primarily if your symptoms don’t improve with prescribed or OTC medications. So, what are your other choices?

If you are curious enough to try CBD for migraine, you must educate yourself first before trying this thing. There are still limited studies and results stating that CBD is a good remedy for migraines and other conditions. Hence, it is important to consult your doctor first before consuming CBD or cannabis-infused products since this concept needs further investigation to ensure the safety of every consumer. 

Moreover, it is made clear that the studies and researches mentioned above in this article need more studies to determine how helpful or harmful it is to the human body. Hence, if you consider taking CBD for any of your health condition without a doctor’s opinion, know that you are taking it at your own risk.