Thank you! Yes, your response is helpful - your posts have been sincere too. Living this has been a nightmare, not something anyone can understand, even the doctors - except the few others who have had the misfortune of such a bizarre experience. I have ZERO recreational marijuana experience and the NYS dispensary didn’t consult with me about strains - only ratios. I didn’t want to use the vape pen so I opted for the tincture, but maybe that would offer more options that could help. So far I think the 1:20 thc/cbd has done nothing. I really hope society, culture, politics change nationwide to allow medical marijuana at least, then maybe recreational. It seems like a reasonable alternative to opioids.

Thank you and I'm glad to hear it.

It's immensely difficult to live with this illness and all the many forms it takes. We need whatever we can get in the struggle.

Vaping flower might be an option for you if you want to experiment more with different strains and such things. It might also be worth increasing you dose if you're willing. Studies show you need much higher doses than that for pain management and pretty much any benefits. But you will know best what you're willing to do.

If you do vape, you won't need a vape pen, but a dry herb vaporizer, say like a Pax or even better an Arizer vaporizer like the Air or Solo. This will be easy to use for a newcomer. And it goes without saying that it's a reasonable alternative to opioids, a very reasonable one!

Some information on a recent study of CBD and neuropathic pain:

Cannabis pain relief without the 'high' | EurekAlert! Science News

The PubMed link: Cannabidiol modulates serotonergic transmission and reverses both allodynia and anxiety-like behavior in a model of neuropathic pain. - PubMed - NCBI

Hi David!

I want to give you some early feedback regarding my first use of CBD.


First, I am using the "Fully Activated" company's CBD "Full Spectrum" capsules. I am taking a total of 90 mg daily (I was told to take half my weight of 180 pounds for a total daily mg dosage).


Here is an example on the website of the capsules I am taking:


Full Spectrum Capsules – Activated Shipping


After taking 90 mgs daily (60 mg at bedtime and 30 mg midday) for 72 hours (three days), I developed a faily severe headache centered in my forehead by the third day.


I also did not notice any pain relief (and, if anything, my overall pain seemed to be worse in addition to the headache). Indeed, the headache was bad enough I skipped today's dosing completely.


This was a disappointing start, and I would like to get what feedback you can offer (I will also call Nick on Monday).


Many thanks!


David

Thank you for this thread, which has prompted me to experiment again with CBD.

I've tried a number of different CBD/Hemp oil products and have been mostly disappointed (as in no benefit seen despite hundreds of dollars spent). However, I'm trying again, with higher doses in mind.

(GENETICS
I suspect genetics may play a role in sensitivity to CBD; for example, the 23&me test has some cannabinoid receptors tested for polymorphisms; but I've never seen genetics mentioned in any discussions or studies of CBD use).

DOSE
As other posts mention, some suggest the dose of 5mg for every 10lb (or, 1/2 your weight in miligrams).

CONCENTRATION
However, dosing is not so simple, as different products have different "percentages" (of CBD, CBDa, other stuff...).

For example, an Endoca oil looks appealing (organic, high 15%, etc.).
(I can't post the link yet...)

BUT, if I go for that 90mg daily dose, this $130 bottle will last me 16 days, costing about $8 per day (1500 mg / 90 mg/day = 16.67 days. $130 / 16.67 days = $7.79)

Not COMPLAINING (I'd rather put this stuff in my mouth than Lyrica, etc.), but just pointing out an example of the costs involved here, and the complicating factor of concentration.

Most of the CBD options out there are way over-priced. It's the Wild West with the cannabis industry, and greed and fraud are everywhere.

It seems it may take a while to titrate up (at least for me--I guess I was trying with far too little before) and figure out a useful dose.

(One more opinion: watch out for the miracle stories--"one drop and all my pain was GONE!"--they're likely B.S. and irrelevant to anyone else's experience.)

If you read my post just above yours, you can learn about my initial experience using the "Full-Spectrum" CBD oil offered by the company "Fully Activated".

They seem to offer a good product, which "DAVIDHC" here on the forum agrees with (and he knows Nick, who owns the company and was a wealth of information when I called).

Regarding dose, like you it was suggested using a dosage in milligrams that is one-half my body weight. As I weigh 180 pounds, I thus started with 90 milligrams of the CBD oil in capsule form daily.

I started my test with CBD five days ago, and took a 60 mg capsule at bedtime and 30 mg capsule mid-day each day.

Unfortunately, I did not notice any pain relief, but rather developed a pretty bad headache by the third day (dosing at 90 mg daily) that was uncomfortable enough to stop the CBD.

I even seemed to have an enhancement of all of my body-wide pain, too!

I then stopped the capsules two days ago, and within 24-hours (yesterday) my headache was much better.

I am now waiting for feedback from "DAVIDHC" here on the forum, and will also call Nick at "Fully-Activated" on Monday for his feedback.

David

There's lots on here and unfortunately I don't have time to get into lots of details. But I'll make a few points and maybe they'll be helpful to you both.

For starters, I'm glad you're both experimenting. Cannabis is not a monolith and each strain is unique, this includes full spectrum products, each of which contains different ratios and kinds of cannabinoids and terpenes. If one doesn't work or doesn't give you the benefits you like, it doesn't mean they all won't work.

Price is really an issue, and so too is greed. There are companies that have compassionate pricing and then there is isolate. CBD isolate can get pretty cheap, as low as $10-15 per gram if you purchase larger quantities. I use isolate for this reason.

Dosage is complicated and everyone is different. There are some studies and everyone has an opinion. Ultimately you have to find what works for you. The dosage recommendations in the few studies out there are extremely high I find, partly because they focus on oral administration and that has reduced bioavailability, but I also can't speak to the quality of the CBD they're using. Scientific research into CBD is highly limited at this point but is increasing.

David, to your particular experience, it's not abnormal to experience headaches. I would do two things, decrease my dose and see how that goes, maybe even starting at a much lower dose and slowly working up. And second, I would try CBD isolate. You can try other full spectrum products too, but try isolate for sure and see how that goes. I know quite a few people who don't do well with full spectrum but thrive on isolate. You see, what you're taking has many different phytochemicals in it so there's no way to tell what the problem is. If you want to know whether CBD itself works for you, you will need to try isolate. Like I have said, I can't tolerate full spectrum myself when it comes to hemp and even most strains of MJ, but I do great when it comes to CBD isolate.

Many thanks for your insights, David, and I will consider your suggestion regarding using "Isolate" (instead of my current "Full-Spectrum") after I talk with Nick on Monday.

However, from what I have read, it sure sounds like the "full-spectrum" provides the synergistic balance of compounds that really make CBD work.

So, do I try "Isolate" at 90 mgs per day, or stick with my current "full-spectrum" but at a lower dose? And, if a lower dose, then what dose?

It is never easy (grin)!

Again, David, thank you!

David

You're welcome. It takes time and experimentation to figure out what works for you.

Yes, you're right that full spectrum has what's called an entourage effect and can be more effective, at least according to some initial limited studies. However, it can also lead to bad reactions in some people, including myself, because it's not just CBD but a host of other phytochemicals any one of which or the combination of which could be the culprit. If you're having issues with full spectrum, then it's really irrelevant how effective it can be, since you can't tolerate it in the first place. The thing to do in such cases, if you want to know whether CBD works for you, is to isolate the variables. CBD isolate allows you to do this.

90 mg a day is not a lot to begin with, but it is if you're taking it all at once. Maybe try 30 mg 3 times a day. If that's what you're already doing, try 10 mg or 20 spread out in the day. Again, your best bet is to experiment with various doses, kinds of full spectrum from different companies and to try isolate. Isolate from Fully Activated is excellent, clean and potent, not to mention well priced.

Good luck!

Hi David!

I called Nick at "Fully Activated" this afternoon, and the first thing he told me was that he never had any of his customers ever report getting a headache!

Hmmmmmm .... now my BS alarm is going off.

I also asked him about using "Isolate" CBD instead of "Full-Spectrum", and he said that should not make a difference (not enough THC to affect anything, and the other stuff would not cause a headache).

Well, I DID have a clear effect from the CBD (i.e. headache and enhanced body pain) that got better when I stopped, so I now doubt what Nick tells me.

I will try just taking the 30 mg capsule once daily midday and see what happens. If the headaches don't return after a week, then I will bump that up to 60 mg midday.

Finally, if the headaches still don't return at a dose of 60 mg daily after one week, then I will try the 90 mg again daily (in divided doses).

Thoughts, David?

Disappointed in Atlanta