An online fibromyalgia community is recommending CBD for fibromyalgia to its readers – and it’s by no means the only one. Fibromyalgia is a poorly understood disease, and until relatively recently, sufferers were often branded as “hypochondriacs”.

The disease is characterised by ongoing pain and inflammation and poor sleep which leaves sufferers exhausted and in still greater pain as their bodies’ natural healing mechanisms don’t get sleep time in which to work properly.

Fibro Today gets overwhelmingly positive feedback on CBD for fibromyalgia

Fibro today reports that an overwhelming number of its community members have come forward saying that CBD oil provides relief from pain, leading to better sleep at night, and less intense flare-ups.

The site highlights the fact that CBD oil is not marijuana, and won’t make people who take it high. Based on information from its community, it recommends CBD oil drops for those interested in trying CBD.

However, it adds a caveat: CBD oil for fibromyalgia is not FDA approved and has not been extensively researched. All they have to go on is first-hand reports from fibro sufferers who say CBD has made their lives easier.

Misunderstandings remain

While warning readers that a lot of US produced “CBD oil” doesn’t contain CBD, it goes on to say that “medical marijuana” rather than hemp be used for making it, and discourages the use of hemp products. In this, it is mistaken. High CBD, non-psychoactive cannabis is by definition hemp rather than marijuana.

Ask any hemp growers’ association. Crops are tested to ensure that the THC cannabinoid is low. Which cannabinoid does it contain instead? Among others, it will be high in CBD, because this was once the most abundant cannabinoid in cannabis before breeders started aiming for high THC marijuana, reducing CBD content.

“Donna” gives us the lowdown on her story

A blogger and fibromyalgia sufferer, Donna has published a web page on how CBD for fibromyalgia worked for her. She warns that CBD content is the most important criterion, and we would add that third party certification and testing ensures this.

In her own experience, Donna finds that using CBD oil every day keeps her symptoms under control. Her pain is significantly reduced. She was curious to find out why this should be so, and stumbled on Dr Ethan Russo’s theory that many illnesses are caused by endocannabinoid deficiencies.

Endocannabinoids are the cannabinoids our own bodies produce, but Russo believes they don’t always produce enough. This tips the balance of the body out of kilter, and since the endocannabinoid system seems to play a role in a wide variety of physical processes, the imbalance makes people more susceptible to illnesses.

She notes that this theory hasn’t been proved in the context of fibromyalgia, but believes that her own experience and that of friends who share her problem and who have also tried CBD for fibromyalgia with success, points towards a common thread that medical science should investigate.