CBD Oil For Migraines And Headaches | What Research Says

Jason Farrell
7 min readNov 19, 2020

One billion of the world’s population have migraines. Thirty-nine million US citizens are affected by this neurological disease. It seems like the migraine epidemic won’t just stop. But it is continuing to affect more and more lives over time. Even sometimes, it can wreak havoc on your entire life. It flattens your productivity, affects your career, and makes your day-to-day life miserable.

There is no wonder why migraineurs resort to trying almost anything for relief. They try almost everything ranging from pharmaceutical drugs to precision-tinted glasses. Whenever there is something new that shows promise to treat this condition, you won’t miss that out too. Here, we will discuss the fact why you should try CBD oil for your migraine. Also, we will help you find the best CBD oil for migraines and headaches.

What Is Migraine?

Migraine is a type of acute headache that may appear with vomiting, nausea, and photo-phobia. Often, it can last for a few hours. In more severe cases, migraine attacks may linger for days. Analgesics, NSAIDs, and caffeine work well in easing the headache. But, most of these medications may cause you to encounter side effects.

If you consider a natural approach, CBD can help. Cannabidiol does not only help with migraines but also with its symptoms like nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and bloating. CBD is a safe compound that is backed by numerous studies. Read on to know why tons of migraineurs are choosing CBD as a remedy and why it is worth it to invest in the best CBD oil for migraines.

Symptoms

Migraines affect people differently. In some people, migraines may appear in several stages. Stages of migraines include “Prodrome, Aura, Attack, and Postdrome.” Symptoms in different phases may vary, and they include: Prodrome, Aura, Attack, and Postdrome

Causes of Migraines

Over the past few years, the most common notion was that changes in blood flow in the brain trigger migraine. However, these days, most think that it is responsible for the pain, but changes in blood flow do not start it.

Currently, researchers have found a connection between overactive nerve cells and trigeminal nerve. The current thinking is that the overactive nerve cells give off signals. Subsequently, these signals trigger the trigeminal nerve. As a result, it causes migraine that starts with a sensation to your face and head. Therefore, your body releases neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide). CGRP causes swollen blood vessels in the brain. Thus, it leads to inflammation and pain.

Before shopping for the best CBD oil for migraines and headaches, let’s learn a little more about this acute condition.

Risk Factors

Certain factors increase your risk of getting migraines. There can be several of them. Here are a few factors that may cause you to develop this condition:

  • Sex: While man can also get migraine, woman are three times more at risk of having it. So, gender is considered a risk factor for migraine.
  • Age: Age also matter in terms of getting migraines. Most individuals have migraine headaches between ages ten and forty. On the contrary, in most woman, migraine gets better or cured after age fifty.
  • Family History: Every four out of five migraineurs get it from their family. Migraine may run in the family. If one or more of your blood-relatives have it, probably, you may also get migraines or migraine headaches.
  • Certain Health Conditions: Although migraine is a health condition itself, certain medical conditions may cause you to have it. In this case, most of the mental health conditions are linked to this neurological disease. If you have depression, anxiety, insomnia, bi-polar disorder, stress disorders, and epilepsy, you may also develop migraine. According to research, cannabidiol can help treat mental-related complications. Using CBD oil for migraines can also help ease your mental illnesses.

What Triggers Migraine?

As we have mentioned previously, “migraines affect people differently,” what may trigger migraine may vary depending on individuals. Here are some familiar migraine triggers:

  • Hormonal changes
  • Long-term mental stress
  • Foods like aged cheese
  • Nitrates and Monosodium Glutamate
  • Sudden weather change
  • Bright light or loud noise
  • Drugs like vasodilators
  • Consumption of tobacco
  • Alcohol
  • Too much sleep

Can It Help?

Results from numerous studies point to the efficacy of CBD in alleviating inflammation. Besides, CBD can also effectively help treat inflammatory diseases. Since migraine has a connection with inflammation, CBD may work for it accordingly.

However, scientific research in this particular area is not sufficient to claim that “CBD cures migraines.” But, studies and anecdotal evidence show promise. It can help ease several symptoms associated with migraines and migraine-related headaches.

In a 2017 review, researchers found marijuana to help in treating migraines. But that review examined the marijuana plant as a whole. However, we need more research, especially on CBD’s effectiveness in treating migraines.

In early 2018, a group of researchers examined the medicinal effects of CBD. They looked into the neuroprotective, antipsychotic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and analgesic effects of CBD. For the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect of cannabidiol, CBD oil can also be used to help treat headaches.

CBD has already been researched extensively as a treatment for health conditions, such as diabetes, arthritis, mental health conditions, and other common ailments. This miraculous naturally occurring compound has shown promising results. It may not be a “cure to all diseases,” but it helps people with so many health complications caused by those illnesses.

Based on the evidence of its ability to modulate the endocannabinoid system, quite a few academic research and reviews point to the effectiveness of CBD oil as a therapy for migraines and migraine-related headaches.

After all, more research and human trials are required to understand the effectiveness of CBD in treating neurological conditions like migraines and headaches. But, you can use it to ease migraine-related symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, bloating, headaches, pain, weakness of muscle, anxiety, mood changes, and many more.

How to Use CBD for Migraines & Headaches

Simply put, your experience with CBD largely depends on the way you take it. There are a variety of options. Also, CBD oil comes in many forms such as CBD gummies, tinctures, capsules, salves, and vape. Each type of CBD product requires a specific consumption method.

For instance, if you take CBD gummies, capsules, beverages, or edibles, you can ingest it. Although the oral administration of CBD seems straightforward, it comes with drawbacks. Firstly, these forms of CBD oil usually take a longer time to work. On the other hand, oral administration of CBD provides lower bioavailability. Moreover, despite those drawbacks, CBD taken orally can give you a long-lasting effect.

On the contrary, some other methods of taking CBD offer quick relief from discomfort. Besides, when you use CBD oil in forms, such as tinctures and vapes, you get more effective results than using it in any other way.

However, we do not encourage vaping CBD. It is because of the unfortunate vape-related incident in 2019 that killed many people. Also, hundreds of people fell sick. According to several probes, most of those people used THC-infused oil that contained other deadly additives. Also, people bought those oils from the unregulated black market.

Therefore, if you are willing to get immediate results using CBD, you can try CBD oil tinctures. The sublingual administration provides instant relief from several conditions, such as pain, inflammation, anxiety, stress, and insomnia. Besides, it also offers higher bioavailability. It means the amount of CBD you take, most of it will reach your bloodstream. Which is in the case of oral and transdermal administration does not happen.

How Much Should You Take?

Although there is no guideline regarding the dosage of CBD oil for migraines, it is found safe even in higher dosages. Moreover, an efficacious amount of CBD for you may depend on some crucial factors. Your body-mass index, biochemistry, metabolism, and your health condition influence the effects of CBD on your body.

Although CBD at a higher concentration is well-tolerated, starting with a large dose may give you a shock. We are not intimating that it is obvious to occur, but it can happen. You may encounter mild side effects like dry mouth and diarrhea. Therefore, before starting your CBD regimen, consult with a doctor who is also a cannabis expert.

The other way around, you can tune the dosage by yourself. In this case, the first step is to start with a smaller concentration. It will not only help you avoid side effects, but will also help you find the sweet point conveniently. It is because, you might need a smaller dosage than the one you are taking.

Therefore, be mindful of the fact that starting from a lower concentration is an appropriate approach to discover the most effective dosage. Keep track of your symptoms. If the dosage you are using does not work, go a little higher, not too much. However, it may seem a little taxing. But a perfect dose of CBD can make a big difference. Is not it worth it?

Conclusion

As migraineurs are searching for an alternative to pharmaceutical drugs, CBD can be an excellent pick. While it comes with numerous therapeutic benefits, the side effects (if any) are negligible. People who have used CBD for treating migraine symptoms reported experiencing relief.

On the other hand, although research and data are limited in this area, existing ones show promising results. When you are ready to try anything for that unbearable headaches, why wouldn’t you give this miraculous compound a chance? If taken regularly in the right dosage, you are going to experience an exquisite journey with CBD. It is not just what we say, but thousands of CBD users won’t deny it.

Originally published at https://cbdhempguru.com on November 19, 2020.

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Jason Farrell

Dreamer, wanderer, finding beauty in the everyday.