Good Morning Everyone!
I wanted to start keeping track of my progress with CBD, and I figured what better way to do this than to log it here! So on June 6, 2018 I received my first package. Mentally I could not wait to start taking it, but physically I had to wait! I was so busy I could literally not even open the package and begin taking it. I was in the middle of moving houses, packing everything into storage and working full-time nights while taking care of six children. I ended up starting it the morning of 6/7 after my night shift.
Let me start by telling you what I have been through the last ten years, and what led me to try CBD:
Ever since I can remember, probably ever since I was 5 years old, I have had severe abdominal pain. I get gas pain and cramps, but I have never been diagnosed with anything. In fact, I've even had doctors tell me it was just my anxiety and depression causing my stomach issues. Even when I wasn't depressed or anxious! What I know now is that it is the pesticides in food, fluoride (in toothpaste, beverages and water), pharmaceuticals, and vaccines that have most likely destroyed my gut microbes.
I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2008 while in Nursing School. I was actually kind of excited because I always knew I had issues with focusing my attention on important tasks to the point of depression and procrastination. I often struggled with paying attention in school, and now I had a chance to use a prescription that could help me. Fortunately, my grades went up from C's and D's to A's and B's once I started taking Adderall. It helped me focus for extended periods of time and retain more than usual. However the negative to this was that I found myself unable to sleep, and my anxiety started to spiral out of control. So what are pharmaceuticals good for? Taking more and more. I got on Clonazepam to help me sleep and for anxiety.
Nowadays you couldn't pay me to take a Tylenol. I haven't taken a pharmaceutical in 2 years. But at the time, ten years ago, I was not health savvy, and I didn't have a clue what I was doing.
I ended up weaning myself off these medications when I became pregnant with my third child. Unfortunately my anxiety was so severe that I ended up on Zoloft during pregnancy. I could not handle the stressors of life. For example, while pregnant I had a car overheat while traveling across states with two children, and I broke down crying. I also moved to North Carolina and the driveway was so steep I feared driving down it and did not leave the house for over a week. It was things like this that kept me from living a happy functioning life.
I now look back and chalk this all up to leaky gut related to poor diet and lifestyle, but at the time I was really naive of my own wrong doings.
Fast forward to 2015 when I decided I wanted to go back to college and be a Doctor of Nursing major. I found a doctor to put me back on Adderall to help me focus, and I signed up to take my GRE. This was when my eyes really started to open about pharmaceuticals. My ears were ringing, and I couldn't focus during my exam. It was like a wall was up and if only I could get over it, I could think clearly. I should have been able to fly through the writing part, but I just sat there unable to think. I felt pressured from watching the time clock tick down. I actually made the minimum passing score on my writing, but the other parts of the test I did not do as well as I should have.
After a month of being on it I started to notice other side effects from the Adderall. I couldn't remember anything! I actually dropped a whole bowl of packaged lettuce in the car on our travels, and it never got thrown out. It actually made it into the refrigerator because I forgot. Two other times I almost ate that lettuce, and my boyfriend even packed me a salad with the lettuce. I went on my break at work one night to eat it, and it was covered in car fuzz and hair. It was disgusting!
I also noticed my tongue was starting to swell. Tongue swelling can be a sign of liver and gallbladder issues. Adderall is broken down in the liver. This was frustrating to me because I was trying to get better, and I was actually getting worse.
My ears never stopped ringing while taking Adderall. I ended up stopping the Adderall and trying it again near the end of 2016 when I was officially in school to help me study, or so I thought. I again had the same symptoms: ears ringing, tongue swelling, and could not remember anything.
I started researching Adderall more deeply. I learned that Adderall is essentially methamphetamine salts that are legal with the Rx. I also learned that Adderall is full of fillers like aluminum lake dyes. Aluminum causes symptoms of dementia. I spoke with my doc about my concerns and we tried an alternative called Vyvanse. This was no better. Vyvanse gave me diarrhea. It has microcrystalline cellulose, croscarmellose sodium, and magnesium stearate as the main filler ingredients, and the capsule shell contains gelatin, titanium dioxide, and one or more of the following: D&C Red #28, D&C Yellow #10, FD&C Blue #1 and FD&C Red #40.
If you know anything about ADHD and artificial dyes it's that the two do not belong together! Also, microcrystalline cellulose is not good for anyone with gut problems like I have. Magnesium stearate is terrible for us, as it is not really magnesium at all but a chemical anti-caking agent. Do you want to know what's scary? According to this document from Vyvanse uploaded to the FDA website, the effectiveness of Vyvanse for long-term use, i.e., for more than 4 weeks, has not been systematically evaluated in controlled trials. See page 4 of the article here. That's terrifying to me. They put children on this stuff when no long term studies have ever been performed!
So to bring my story to date, I have not taken anything for anxiety in 8 years, and I have coped naturally with mental and physical exercise, yoga and meditation. I have not taken anything for ADHD in 2 years. I have tried to clean up my diet and use amazing supplements that are known to help people focus above their wildest dreams. I also quit taking Zoloft 7 years ago. I will never take a pharmaceutical again unless my life literally depends on it.
Fortunately, my daughter that I was pregnant with when I took Zoloft is okay. After she was born, the commercials and lawsuits starting rolling out about "If you or a loved one have taken Zoloft while pregnant, and your baby was born with a heart defect, please call this number." However, she has anxiety herself and vague abdominal issues. She used to get sick every other month and vomit with no real reason why. Otherwise she's a perfectly healthy child. The cycle continues from mom to baby. She takes the CBD Oil occasionally but when she is taking it consistently, I will update!
This brief synopsis of my anxiety, depression, and stomach issues are just the surface of my issues. I also suffer from extreme chronic fatigue and neuropathy ever since I was a child. My joints have always popped ever since I was a child, and I have had signs of arthritis and fibromyalgia in the past. I chalk those up to vaccines, more than twelve Rhogam shots, a copper IUD laced with nickel, poor diet and lifestyle.
My CBD Journey Begins Now:
I have been doing research on the endocannabinoid system for a few years now! I am proud to be a member of the American Cannabis Nurse Association. I believe cannabis is a medicinal plant that has been deprived of the American people by our government for more reasons than what they lead us to believe. Before the prohibition, everyone was forced to grow hemp. Then the studies and science began on cannabis and boom, it was made illegal. The pharmaceutical companies took over and statistics prove we are the sickest generation ever. The science is coming out that we need cannabinoids to feed our endocannabinoid system- a system connected to all our organs and nervous system!
I waited a long time to try CBD oil because they are not all created equal. I finally found one that had the proper extraction method, was organic and USA grown, and I could not wait to try it once my friend told me about it. My order came in, and I finally tried it one morning after my shift! I am one of the lucky ones that was able to benefit from it immediately. I had a stressful night at work, and I immediately felt a sense of relief over me after taking the oil. I slept like a rock after only a few short hours of sleep.
Over the next few weeks I really challenged myself and the CBD Oil! I was able to pack and move everything into storage, keep my sanity together while working nights full-time and not getting the sleep I desperately needed. My anxiety has never been better. All at 20 weeks pregnant and with six kids from ages 13 to 1. My neuropathy is gone when I take the CBD. I rub the peppermint THC free oil on my legs and take a full dropper of the 500 mg internally twice a day. I also use the relief cream to give instant relief to sore muscles and achy bones. My body doesn't nearly ache as much!
In fact, my stomach doesn't feel as gassy since starting the CBD either. My ears don't ring. My tongue isn't swollen. My memory is clearer than ever! I am focused and driven to do the things I want and need to do for myself and my family.
I finally feel like I am gaining my quality of life back. I don't sleep for endless days anymore. I can actually get up and function after a few short hours of sleep now. Every time.
I can't wait for my kids to jump on board with this oil consistently. They all have been taking it here and there, and I look forward to reporting about their progress as well. They each have a unique story, and I could see them benefiting from CBD Oil long term.