Menopause symptoms, ranging from hot flashes to weight gain or anxiety, can be eased with cannabis and CBD, research finds
Doctors estimate that nearly one million women each year suffer from menopause symptoms. Menopause can begin for women as young as 35 years old or as late as when a woman reaches 55 to 60 years old. No matter when menopause happens to a woman, the symptoms can be life-altering. Women can suffer from hot flashes, night sweats, anger and irritability, sleeplessness, weight gain, and dry skin during menopause.
If you are experiencing the effects of menopause, you may want relief from your symptoms without the use of hormones. Many women don’t want to use hormones, because of possible side effects, such as an increased risk of breast cancer. Just because you may not want to undergo hormone replacement therapy is no reason to suffer in silence from menopause symptoms. There are other options available, such as the use of cannabis products. Here is more information about the use of cannabis to relieve menopausal symptoms.
How safe is cannabis for menopause?
When people think about cannabis, they invariably consider an image of a bearded hippie smoking a large joint. However, the use of cannabis as a medicine has been practiced for thousands of years in indigenous cultures in Mexico, Central America, and the United States. Increasingly, researchers have been touting the effectiveness of some components of marijuana in helping all kinds of health conditions.
Like any other over-the-counter medicine, you need to buy CBD products from a reputable dispensary, and you need to take them at the proper dosage. If you buy CBD products from a regulated dispensary, you know that the cannabis plant has been cultivated perfectly and grown without chemical pesticides.
How women are using cannabis for menopause
Several products exist for women to use to alleviate menopause symptoms. For example, women who are experiencing dry skin or vaginal dryness may want to look for hemp cream or hemp oil products to moisturize skin more effectively. What if you are anxious, irritable, or suffer from sleeplessness? You may want to look for CBD edibles, such as gummies, chocolate, or liquid drops for drinks. These products are easily portable, so you can take them with you wherever you go.
Which menopause symptoms may cannabis treat?
Interestingly, some of the first research about the use of cannabis to treat menopause symptoms came from research on PTSD in female veterans. Many female veterans of Iraq or Afghanistan reported to medical researchers that CBD products helped relieve some of the effects of PTSD, especially anxiety and insomnia. The women in the studies began to use CBD products for relief from irritability and sleep disturbance during menopause as well.
So far, researchers have found CBD products can help with headaches associated with hormonal changes. As well, CBD products have been found to be effective for insomnia and anxiety as well.
What cannabis products are best for menopause?
Which products women might choose to alleviate symptoms of menopause depend largely on their symptoms. For example, if they are experiencing extreme vaginal dryness or dry skin, a hemp cream or hemp oil may relieve dry skin symptoms. Since the majority of women are looking for relief from sleepless nights, anxiety, mood swings, and depression, CBD gummies or drops would be a great choice. What if you need a product occasionally to relieve anxiety? No problem. Because CBD products are over the counter, you can use them daily or as needed occasionally.
Is it legal to use cannabis for menopause in my state?
The use of CBD is not legal in every state. Cannabis in New York, as well as other states such as Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia, have legalized cannabis for medicinal use.
Other states, such as Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Wyoming allow for CBD use but restrict the concentration of CBD in products. There are also states that allow the recreational and medical use of cannabis, as long as the individual is of age. These states include Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. Be sure to check with your state about the requirements for cannabis use.
More research is needed to understand cannabis use for menopausal symptoms
Although some research studies have been done to understand the uses of cannabis in women to relieve the symptoms of menopause, more research needs to be done on the effectiveness of CBD products for menopause relief. If you are suffering from the symptoms of menopause and you don’t want to undergo hormone replacement therapy, using cannabis products may bring you symptom relief, a moderation of mood swings, and less anxiety or insomnia
