In many cases, migraines can be caused by inflammation or be triggered by stress — both symptoms that can be treated with cannabis.
This article originally appeared on Cannabis.net and has been reposted with permission.
Cannabis helps with many ailments. One of the conditions it is said to help is migraines. If you’ve never suffered from a migraine, it can be a living hell. I remember the first time I experienced a true migraine. It’s not like a headache. You feel nauseas, your eyes are sensitive to the light — stuff hurts!
Fortunately, for some, it seems that cannabis helps with migraines and a recent Reddit thread had many people commenting on what works for them, and what doesn’t.
Here’s the original post: Cannabis and Migraine: I’ve found that it helps a great deal. I’m actually starting a weed diary of which strain works the best for migraines. Had anyone else done this? It’s honestly the best thing for my migraines.
This post received a total of 252 upvotes and 157 comments, and many people added in their two cents. But before we read about what the community has to say, let’s quickly do a recap on migraines.
What Is a Migraine?
According to the Mayo Clinic: A migraine is a headache that can cause severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, usually on one side of the head. It’s often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine attacks can last for hours to days, and the pain can be so severe that it interferes with your daily activities.
For some people, a warning symptom known as an aura occurs before or with the headache. An aura can include visual disturbances, such as flashes of light or blind spots, or other disturbances, such as tingling on one side of the face or in an arm or leg and difficulty speaking.
Medications can help prevent some migraines and make them less painful. The right medicines, combined with self-help remedies and lifestyle changes, might help.
RELATED: Another Study Finds Marijuana An Effective Treatment Against Migraines
As you can see, it’s a headache that decided to Hulk out on you. In many cases, migraines can be caused by inflammation or be triggered by stress — both symptoms that can be treated with cannabis.
Now let’s take a look at how the community deals with migraines using marijuana.
The CannaTalks
Monachopsiss had the following to say:
I’ve found that cannabis doesn’t help PER SE, but if I get high I can at least distract myself from the pain so I notice it less. So, specific strain doesn’t make a difference.
The closest I get to getting relief directly from it is when I use caviar/moonrocks. Something about the mix sometimes helps me!
I also found that moonrocks are quite effective in dealing with these kinds of pains. Perhaps it’s the potency of the product or the mix of terpenes and other essential cannabinoids that does the trick, but for me personally – I too found these higher potency products provide the best return.
Hermitess also chimed into the conversation:
I tried this, and I found it to be hit or miss. No one strain worked consistently. Even within the same batch, it was hard to predict what the effects would be. Sometimes one hit would be enough to ease the pain, but then sometimes it would help for only a short time and then I’d get a rebound headache worse than the original. I guess this can also happen with other migraine abortives, but given the other side effects, it just wasn’t worth it for me. I am not someone who can smoke weed and just continue functioning as normal. If you are, all power to you!
RELATED: The Science Behind Marijuana And Migraines
In my personal experience this was also the case. Cannabis didn’t always help me get rid of my migraines. I don’t really have migraines these days anymore, unless I’ve been glued to a screen and my eyes need some rest. Either that, or I started doing breathwork which keeps me very well oxygenated and non-inflamed.
Talvana, who has been suffering from migraines for a while now, also added to the conversation:
I wouldn’t survive this disease without cannabis. Jack herer is also one of my favorites. I tend to try a lot of new things constantly and randomly find products that help. Concentrates in particular help a lot with the pain.
I think a lot of it is actually the mood boost for me. I can ignore the pain more than usual if I’m high and it passes time. I get daily migraines and usually start with weed to see if I can ride out the migraine before I resort to pills. Some days just weed is enough which is great because I only get 10 pills/month and still have another 10-20 migraine days to deal with.
Here, cannabis acts as an accompanying drug to the pharmaceuticals she gets since the pills are only available for 10 days, probably due to the toxicity of the pharmaceuticals. Cannabis on the other hand has very low toxicity and is safe for most people.
In her case, the higher you get, the easier it is to not be focused on the pain.
This article originally appeared on Cannabis.net and has been reposted with permission.
