Migraine
A migraine is a headache disorder characterised by recurrent moderate to severe headaches that most often affect one half of the head. Migraines tend to be 'pulsating' in nature and last anything from 4 - 72 hours (or even longer as some of you reading this can vouch for). Migraines are the third-most prevalent illness in the world.
Symptoms can be disabling (no sufferer needs to be told this) - for example: visual disturbances; nausea; vomiting; dizziness; extreme sensitivity to light, touch and smell; and tingling or numbness in the face or extremities. Physical activity can worsen the pain. In many cases, people who suffer from migraines are unable to focus on anything because of the severity of the symptoms. Depression, anxiety and sleep disturbances are common for those with chronic migraine. Medication overuse is a common reason episodic migraine turns chronic.
Migraines are commonly believed to involve the nerves and blood vessels of the brain, but could also be caused by problems in the cervical spine. However, the exact causes are unknown. You can look into this some possible causes here.
Using CBD
It is suggested that CBD can help with migraines by reducing inflammation and augmenting endocannabinoid deficiencies. It is also suggested that CBD is helpful with other types of chronic headaches.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to dosages, and you will need to monitor the effects. We suggest keeping a diary to do this, since you may need to tweak your dosages. Always start with a micro dosage to check for sensitivity.
You can use either CBD 800 or CBD Plus - there is no cut and dried answer over which one is better and some people prefer one over the other. Some people use both products - CBD Plus is great for day time use and CBD 800 is great for evening use.
If you are using CBD 800 to treat yourself, use the micro to standard dose. If you are using CBD Plus, start with one pump in the morning, and depending of the effect you may want to up the dose to two pumps. If you are using both, start with one dose of CBD Plus in the morning and micro dose with CBD 800 at night. These are merely recommendations.
** Anxiety that develops as an anticipatory symptom is treated with a minimal dose of CBD in the morning. Cervical muscle tension that may precipitate a migraine can also be treated with small doses of CBD.
For the most part, using CBD to prevent symptoms from manifesting is much easier than treating the migraine after the onset of symptoms, since this may require that the CBD is augmented with some quantity of THC. Please note that we do not sell or advocate the use of THC as it is currently illegal in South Africa, and research is still in a primitive stage. Anecdotal research reports that people using THC use a ratio of 20:1 (CBD:THC) to start, and slowly increase to a ratio of 1:1 for extreme pain. Those using THC for extreme pain often use inhalation of high CBD strains such as Swiss Gold and Sour Tsunami - inhalation is the fastest way to feel an effect. Others put some cannabis oil in the inner cheek by the jaw muscle - the spot where the dentist applies anaesthetic to numb the jaw. When using this 'application method', anecdotal evidence points towards sativa-leaning strains being best, but high CBD tinctures can also be effective.