Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which the immune system attacks healthy cells by mistake and causes painful swelling in the affected joints. Rheumatoid arthritis commonly attacks hands, wrists, and knees, causing inflammation of joint linings that leads to common tissues damage. This tissue damage becomes a long-lasting cause of chronic pains, deformities, and unsteadiness of joints. In addition, Rheumatoid Arthritis can affect other body tissues in organs like the eyes, heart, and lungs in rare cases.
For people suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis, coping with chronic pain and inflammation is crucial and, at the same time, hard to achieve. In some cases, medications prove effective, but many people still have to turn to opioids for help. The latter undoubtedly help to get rid of the pain, but they have an enormous harmful effect on the body and mind of the patient. So, it has become of utmost importance to find a natural and decent substitute for the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis, which can replace ineffective medications and harmful opioids.
In this whole background, CBD turns out to be a blessing in disguise. It is naturally effective, more powerful, and with fewer side effects. According to anecdotal studies and evidence, many people with Rheumatoid Arthritis who have consumed CBD oil claimed to have experienced noticeable pain relief, sleep improvement, and anxiety reduction.
What Is CBD? How Does CBD Work?
CBD is the second most famous extract of the Cannabis Sativa plant after THC, which works like magic in treating chronic health conditions such as arthritis and inflammation. However, unlike the infamous THC, CBD does not cause “high”. Also, CBD creates no addictions like most opioids will cause. So, instead of localizing the pain, CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid system after its consumption and naturally triggers the latter to produce more cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are essential for streamlining our body functions routine. These naturally produced cannabinoids get attached to CB1 and CB2 receptors and play a vital role in maintaining our homeostatic balance of the human body.
Moreover, CBD is non-toxic, so it does not harm our critical organs like kidneys and liver, due to which no need to worry about kidney and liver failures.
But how safe is CBD is a difficult question to give a conclusive answer. Though the research evaluating the safety of CBD is still underway, we can say with complete certainty that even the most potent dose of CBD will not produce serious safety concerns.
What Forms of CBD to Use?
So far, the most common way to consume CBD is through oil drops. In contrast to capsules and edibles, these are pretty easy to use and enable CBD to enter your bloodstream most directly. Besides, it is easy to choose the most effective dose of CBD when you take CBD oil. Yet, there is a disadvantage, which is their earthy taste. So it is easy to understand why so many people avoid using CBD oil. Instead, they prefer to use capsules, gummies, etc.
Gummies may be effective for those with Rheumatoid Arthritis. However, they take a few hours to reach their full potency, but the effect will last for only 4-6 hours.
Topicals can be a good choice for applying them on the skin, joints, and muscles.
The choice of the method to use to get the desired CBD quantity is essential. Of course, you can choose the method of administration to your taste, but deciding on whether a higher CBD dosage or lighter CBD potency is needed can sometimes become complicated.
What to Consider when Figuring out the Right Amount of CBD
There are some factors to consider before taking CBD to help with Rheumatoid Arthritis. These include:
- Your body weight
- Medical indication
- Your body chemistry
- The concentration and form of CBD you are going to consume
As you can see, there are many considerations to go into before starting to take CBD.
As for the most potent dosage, I must mention that before turning to CBD for reducing the pain in joints, it is essential to talk to your doctor about the dosage and any potential risks that CBD use may pose to your body functions.
The typical recommended dose is 20 to 40 mg a day. After a week, you can continue to increase this amount by 5 mg per serving – until you start getting the desired result. However, for Rheumatoid Arthritis, you should start with 40 mg and increase it after the first week, working your way up to reach the dose of 50 mg a day until you feel the relief.
Some patients take the entire dose at once, while others break it up throughout the day. But, again, this is a matter of trial-and-error approach. So, you should monitor the effects and sensations daily and adjust the dosage according to it.
If CBD alone does not help, you should consider taking CBD with a shallow dose of THC. These two, along with other cannabinoids, will work in sync to help you with Rheumatoid Arthritis. But do not get amazed if you feel high or experience some impairment in your balance and cognition. These are some of the side effects of THC.
To make sure you are on the right path with CBD, try to set initial goals that you should reach within a reasonable time. For instance, be prepared to feel the slightest improvement in your state, monitor the reduction of pain every week, and only after a couple of weeks adjust your goals.
Finally, when preparing to take CBD oil, keep in mind that the CBD extract is mixed with a carrier oil. It means that you will consider two measures from the first day, which are the dose of the product and the amount of CBD in each dose.
How to Calculate the Right Dosage
If you are preparing to use CBD oil to relieve pain in the joint linings, you should be aware of its highlights. First, it will surely come in a dropper bottle, making it easier to calculate the correct dosage. A single drop is about 1ml, which means a 10 ml bottle of CBD contains 100 mg of CBD, each drop containing 10mg of CBD. So, you can calculate your CBD dosage using the following formula.
(Total CBD in the bottle) ÷ (Number of milliliters in the bottle) = mg of CBD in a dropper.
So, the high potency of CBD oil for those with Rheumatoid Arthritis will most probably be at least 50 mg of CBD per 1 ml serving.
But what refers to capsules?
You should know that the packaging on the bottle usually indicates that, for example, there is a 5 mg of CBD per capsule. So, in this case, the most potent dose will be consuming 6-8 capsules a day.
However, keep in mind that CBD acts differently with different people. So, what is the most effective dosage for you may not be the same for others. That means you should experiment with the dosage until you find the most potent one to help you with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Drug Interactions
It is worth mentioning that CBD can interact with some Rheumatoid Arthritis medications, including corticosteroids, tofacitinib, naproxen, celecoxib, tramadol, certain antidepressants citalopram, fluoxetine, mirtazapine, and certain medications for fibromyalgia. So, if you are taking any of these, you should consult your doctor first. Otherwise, it would help if you are alert of any side effects to stop CBD use immediately in case of any side effects.
CBD can potentially increase symptoms of other medications in the same way as grapefruit juice does when taken with cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart, and organ-rejection medications.
What to Consider When Buying CBD Oil for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Nowadays, it is pretty easy to be misled by the great variety of CBD products online because of the unregulated market. You may blunder on some frauds concerning mislabeling, the presence of THC undeclared on the label, and lack of quality control. Therefore, you should pay attention to all these indications. In addition, you must check the brand reputation of a CBD seller, which involves checking customer reviews (both positive and negative) and FDA warnings if there is any.
However, there are also some other no less important factors to consider when choosing the best CBD oil for Rheumatoid Arthritis:
- The potency concentration of the product
- The ingredient list, together with those ingredients that may have a positive effect on rheumatoid arthritis
- The type of CBD you want to consume
- The company’s manufacturing processes
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