CBD--anyone use it? Does it help?

A couple of months ago I pinched my sciatic nerve and have had some pretty severe pains in my hips and down my left leg. I went to a doc-in-the-box in the Phoenix area and he gave me a shot of silicone in my left hip and some HUGE Ibuprofen pills.

Worked a little but not fully.

Went to an ER, got an X-ray and some other pills, worked but not fully.

Went to an MD and got some Oxycodone. Worked for about 4-5 hours but I didn't want to get stuck on those so I quit taking them.

I have an appt with my MD in WA in a week, but between now and then I am looking for something to relieve the pain. Aleve works for a while but not fully.

I've given some thought to CBD, a Hemp derivative. Anyone here have any experience with it? Dosages? Has it helped? It's available on Amazon in many forms and many dosages.

Can anyone help sort this out? Anyone have any experience with it?

Back pain sucks, sorry to hear your in pain. Have you considered a chiropractor?

One of my brothers is an MD, another a chiropractor. Both have their place. MD is about presciption medication, the chiropractor is good at relieving physical pain in the skeleton muscular systems.

I have had good luck with electro stimulation for lower back pain, but not into the holeistic stuff some chiropractor push.

No experience with CBD.

Hope you find relief and soon!

Glad you ditched the oxycodone. Please do not take CBD anything. There are very few approved PROVEN medical reasons to take it. Sciatic is not one of the approved reasons. Please talk with your doctor about antiflamatory drugs (ibu etc), physical therapy, rest and causes of the pain. This can take awhile to remediate Good luck

Have had a bad L4/5 for years. Physical Therapy and a healthy respect to not abuse my back by trying to lift things that I should not have got me by for the last 25 years. I am going to do everything in my power to avoid going under the knife!!

I have 2 bulging disks in my lower back from an initial injury in 1999 then hurt it worse in 2001. Went to Dr who sent me for MRI then to neurosurgeon. Ended up going to PT for about 6 months and been pretty good since then. Occasionally it will bother me but I try to be careful with what I do and the first signs of discomfort and I stop doing what I'm doing. The front of my right thigh has been numb since 2001 from a pinched nerve but no real pain from it. I have a prescription for 800mg ibuprofen but rarely take it. No experience with CBD though

I purchased my wife a Quell unit a few years back, and she has had some success with that. We've subsequently bought one for my mother, and her father as gifts. Its not a be all end all, but it does help. My father-in-law is a transmission mechanic with his own shop. If he's not working, they aren't making a living. His back has been bad for many years, since he's been using the Quell device since Christmas, he's been able to put in more time a day at the shop and has cut back drastically on his pain medications. Can't hurt to review their website.

https://www.quellrelief.com/the-quell-system/

First - sorry for the length in advanced.
Bad back . . . . . . Been there - done that. Here is my experience with bad back and CBD, although non related. First and foremost, try and stay away from surgery if you can. Although I did have surgery back in 2012 with very positive results, all of my Docs did their best to keep me from going under the knife. The problem with back surgery is it is either very successful or doesn't help at all, and can sometimes make things worse. Depends on the procedure. To start with I went to a Chiropractor and took Naproxin 500mg 2X a day. This combination, on and off, got me through about 8 years of discomfort of pain running down my R leg. When things were good, I did nothing other than be careful, when had a flare up for whatever reason (such as bending over to tie my shoe), back to the Doc and back on the Naproxin. Then in 2012 I had a fall on the ice and this compounded my injury. Fought for 4 months trying to get the pain under control and it just got worst, went from a bad limp to a wheelchair due to not being able to bare weight on the R leg as the injury progressed. My surgery was successful, only left with a knumb R big toe. My Chiropractor Doc did a wonderful job until my injury was beyond his ability to treat.
The majority of your pain is most likely from inflammation, try the Chiropractor and Naproxin and see if that helps. The Doc will also order PT to be done at the office and send you home with certain stretches and exercises to do. Do them ALL just as directed on the schedule given.

Now for the CBD. My daughter suffers from Epilepsy and has been on medications since birth. She is now 32 years old. Her meds had BAD side effects although they did control her Seizures. She has been on every Seizure med imaginable, including several blind study trials as her Seizures were difficult to control. I recently learned of CBD oil and its place in the treatment of Seizures. She has been on CBD for over 8 months.

CBD oil comes in MANY forms. It is derived from the Cannabis plant. Hemp oil comes from the Hemp plant. They are sister plants, but have different properties. It is very important that if you go this route you purchase your oil from a registered dispensary. There are way too many internet sources out there that are not pure and have varying concentrations along with other crap additives. Its the internet for heavens sake. My daughter has done well on CBD and has come off of 2 of the 4 meds she was on prior to the CBD. These were the meds that had the really bad behavior side effects. She is now totally seizure free and 90% of the poor behaviors are gone. She is also more alert and social. CBD does certainly have its place in medicine, when properly managed. I also have an Uncle that has just started CBD, (3 months ago) who suffers from Parkinson's. He was shaking so bad he could not go out in public without getting the uncomfortable stares from people and the anxiety that comes along with the decease. After 3 weeks on the CBD, his shaking has decreased to just a small tremor in his R hand and he is now able get back out in public with the quality of life he once had before the Parkinsn's.

CBD does also have its place in the pain management arena. There are many oils that are extracted from the cannabis plant. They each have their respective medicinal purposes. Anti inflammatory as well as pain management. But it depends on the formulation. This is why you need to go to a dispensary, so that you get the correct extract for your particular needs. There is no generic extract. I have attached a chart that very briefly shows the different oils and their uses. I strongly suggest to anyone considering CBD to find a reputable dispensary, preferably one you can physically go to. Do your homework and get educated. We have a dispensary near our home here in Maryland and their staff is extremely educated and helpful. Without their professional guidance, this route would probably have not been as successful as it has been.

Best of luck to you.

I'll ditto what Korkie says. The "advertised" cbd is a scam. It's from hemp and not all that effective. If you're in a medical majuuana state, they'll have the "good stuff" available at dispensaries. Does it work? Admiral has had success with it. She uses "pills" -- like tic taks. Good luck.

Good timing, had appointment with doctor tomorrow for physical and to discuss lower back & hip pain. He is more of a pill pusher, I prefer PT or Chiropractor.

CBD is NOT a scam, but you have to get good quality, preferably organic, and from a shop that has docs showing product analysis.

I had extreme sciatica pain from bulging disc. On the floor for 6 weeks.

Now largely over. I can say the topical CBD cream worked wonders for my pain. The CBD sublingual oil didn't do much that I could see.

Other things that worked are: chiropractic, cortisone epidural, physical therapy, inversion table, gabapentin.

Best of luck to you.

Never discount the "placebo effect". Until large scale (meaning large populations of patients) in randomly selected, placebo controlled, double blinded studies have been scientifically conducted to FDA standards and acceptability, everything else is either for financial gain at some level, conjecture, hyperbole, hope, or an anecdotal story. This is certainly NOT meant to discount those who feel they have benefited in one of these ways.

But how many drugs are later recalled after "Until large scale (meaning large populations of patients) in randomly selected, controlled, double blinded studies have been scientifically conducted to FDA standards and acceptability"?

Then there is this to consider about medical research:

Richard Horton, Editor of Lancet

A shocking admission by the editor of the world’s most respected medical journal, The Lancet, is saying that medical research is UNRELIABLE AT BEST IF NOT COMPLETELY BOGUS! Lancet editor, Richard Horton “… states bluntly that major pharmaceutical companies falsify or manipulate tests on the health, safety and effectiveness of their various drugs by taking samples too small to be statistically meaningful or hiring test labs or scientists where the lab or scientist has blatant conflicts of interest such as pleasing the drug company to get further grants.”
http://www.drugawareness.org/editor...-unreliable-at-best-or-completely-fraudulent/

As always, caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware.

Yes, and so are a lot of boats recalled despite well engineered and thoroughly tested systems and components...including our beloved Sea Rays! To begin with this was found in an article by woman who is selling her books and CD's!! Anecdotal stories such as Mr. Horton's should be avoided at all levels my friend. You'll also note that Mr. Horton's "insights" have gained no traction whatsovever? The quote was published in 2015!!!! Hmmmmmm, I wonder why?

Too true......
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replication_crisis

Gofirstclass said:

A couple of months ago I pinched my sciatic nerve and have had some pretty severe pains in my hips and down my left leg. I went to a doc-in-the-box in the Phoenix area and he gave me a shot of silicone in my left hip and some HUGE Ibuprofen pills.

Worked a little but not fully.

Went to an ER, got an X-ray and some other pills, worked but not fully.

Went to an MD and got some Oxycodone. Worked for about 4-5 hours but I didn't want to get stuck on those so I quit taking them.

I have an appt with my MD in WA in a week, but between now and then I am looking for something to relieve the pain. Aleve works for a while but not fully.

I've given some thought to CBD, a Hemp derivative. Anyone here have any experience with it? Dosages? Has it helped? It's available on Amazon in many forms and many dosages.

Can anyone help sort this out? Anyone have any experience with it?

Click to expand...

Hope it wasn't silicone

I have a bottle of CBD gel. It works great for muscle pain, not sure how well it would work for a pinched nerve. I've been getting a sharp pain in one of my neck muscles, I rub a little CBD gel on it and after a short time it's gone.
One more thing to consider is medical massage, a good massage therapist can do wonders for the body.
If you go the CBD route, there are three pot shops not too far from your house.
There's one down the road from my house in Finley, one in Prosser, and one in Walla Walla.
I've been in the one here by my house, don't really care for them. I've heard from several people that the one in Walla Walla is the best.

Sorry to learn about your issues....I think it's great you are staying off Oxy and looking for alternatives...I have no direct knowledge of this issue...Drugs and pot, etc aren't something in my wheelhouse...

Though, I do think CBD is something to explore and see if it helps you. I think you will find people on both sides of the fence but until you try for yourself, you won't know.

I will say, I was speaking to someone in the industry and he mentioned that CBD oil has to have a low percentage of THC to be allowed. Now they test it before they concentrate it and it's a little known secret apparently... My point in bringing it up is Korkie's point of being careful what you use and where you get it is important....

I will bring up another point... Have you tried "yoga"? (My GF is a yoga instructor)... What I mean by yoga is gentle flexibility / strengthening... I want to caution you that yoga can do more harm than good if you over do it or use improper form...But, gentle practice has helped a lot of people with sciatica to the point of correcting the issue. -- Don't be one of those guys that says they're not flexible enough for yoga, blah-blah-blah.... Yoga isn't about how flexible you are...In fact it's more for the mind than the body, but that's another thread...


Best of luck...

There isn't really a secret to the THC vrs CBD. How it works is, the CBD is extracted at about 175 degrees and the THC requires a temp of 225 degrees before it becomes activated. You can physically eat the plant and get no "high" from the ingestion. That is why it is smoked and if some remember, added to brownies. Smoking heats it obviously by the burn. When added to the brownies and bake them at 350 til done, the baking at the 350 activates the THC. The CBD oil you get has THC in it and you will test positive for THC, but it is inactive as it was extracted at a lower temperature. Hope this helps a little. I have a good amount of knowledge about this and if anyone has any particular questions, please feel free to PM me.

You can get CBD with and without THC.

CBD that claims to be THC free still has THC. It is an inactive ingredient as the plant has not been heated to the point it activates the THC. My daughter is on CBD and it is marketed as THC free. If you work for a company that may require you to have a screening done, you will test positive for THC. So you need to also keep good records. As this could also become a problem in a liability situation such as a car accident.

My honest advice is: If you are considering the use of CBD oil, be it Cannabis or Hemp Oil. Please seek out a QUALIFIED person that has the knowledge to educate you about it. It is quite complex and there is a ton more to know than meets the eye. Do Not go by what you are seeing on the internet as those sites are only interested in one thing - YOUR MONEY.