What Patients Should Know About CBD for Peripheral Neuropathy

The pain associated with peripheral neuropathy symptoms makes everyday life difficult for patients. And the medication needed to treat the underlying physical symptoms of familial amyloid polyneuropathy can prove too costly for those on a limited budget.

Alternative methods for managing neuropathic pain are available. CBD is an emerging alternative treatment that allegedly has significant pain-reducing qualities.

What is CBD?

Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the most abundant compounds in the marijuana plant. CBD products come primarily in the form of oils, topical ointments, and infused food items. However, with the exception of one prescription product to treat rare forms of epilepsy, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved any other CBD products.

Recent clinical research, including a study by researchers at Scotland’s University of Glasgow, looks at CBD’s effects on anxiety, movement, and pain. The study found that a “meaningful proportion” of patients exhibited improvements in sleep quality and pain when administered CBD.

Is CBD for real?

CBD’s impact could be a placebo effect, though the results of the study at the University of Glasgow appear to show otherwise. The emergence of clinical studies corroborating CBD’s pain-relieving qualities and a surge in CBD-based retail stores may offer peripheral neuropathy patients a solution for foot pain.

The plausibility of CBD being a reliable treatment may be subjective. Many peripheral neuropathy patients, including my mother-in-law, find THC products are a suitable method for alleviating neuropathic pain. THC’s alleged calming effects may benefit patients with chronic tingling and burning sensations of the feet, but these effects may not necessarily be true for everyone with peripheral neuropathy symptoms.

Not every patient with polyneuropathy will be quick to adapt to CBD as a solution for pain. My mother-in-law struggles with the side effects of gabapentin: drowsiness, dizziness, and fatigue. This has led her to use prescribed marijuana. Her medical marijuana use has helped alleviate the pain, burning, and tingling in her limbs.

Ultimately, CBD may provide temporary relief from pain with potentially fewer side effects than medicines such as gabapentin.

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