How Cannabis Can Help Manage Endometriosis: An Essential Guide for Women

Endometriosis is a disorder affecting millions of women globally. It results in extreme pain and can change and affect the lives of these women. Many women find traditional means of managing endometriosis ineffective and are turning towards alternative means of treating it, including cannabis treatment, to pursue meaningful relief.

What is endometriosis pain?

Endometriosis is when tissues resembling those of the uterus grow outside of the uterus. This causes inflammation, adhesions, and pain. Endometriosis is chronic and debilitating. Women suffering from endometriosis can experience pelvic pain, heavy menstruation, digestive issues, infertility and more. A significant portion of women try to manage their endometriosis pain with medications, or incorporate alternative therapies, and are left feeling as though they are not managing their pain effectively.

Understanding how cannabis can relieve pain

Cannabis contains cannabinoids that influence the body’s endocannabinoid system. For our purposes, we will focus on THC and CBD. These cannabinoids are significant in the body’s pain perception and inflammatory response. THC will relieve pain directly, while CBD provides relief from inflammation, with no psychoactive properties. Both qualities make cannabis effective when treating the complicated symptoms associated with endometriosis.

What can cannabis do for endometriosis?

Although research is scarce on Endometriosis and Weed combinations, studies have shown endometriosis and cannabis can provide an abundance of other therapeutic benefits including; reducing intensity of pelvic pain, limiting inflammation in the endometrial tissues, or aiding sleep for women who are sleep deprived due to their chronic pain. Many women have also reported massively reducing their reliance upon opioids, when women with endometriosis incorporate cannabis treatment options into their therapies.

Ways to consume cannabis and dosing

There are a variety of methods in which cannabis can be consumed, each has various benefits when managing endometriosis. As an example, vaporizing cannabis in a vaporizer provides quick relief for acute episodes of pain; edibles can provide longer lasting assessments for chronic symptoms, and topical options or patches can help alleviate localized pelvic pain where you are not planning to experience side effects. Establishing a starting point for dosing is important. Start with low doses and gradually and consistently increase the dosage until you have found an appropriate therapeutic level of dosing with your desired response.

Discussing with your healthcare provider

When you begin the process of discussing cannabis as a management option for your endometriosis, it will be important to have your health care team integrate Endometriosis and Weed options into your overall treatment plan. Many gynecologists are becoming increasingly educated around cannabis therapies and may help you establish a combined, your unique combo of treatment plans with your standard medications. Keeping detailed symptom journals as you recognize a meaningful response to cannabis treatment options will be beneficial when reporting back to your doctor to help when making adjustments to your overall treatment protocol.

Combining cannabis treatment with dietary changes and stress relief practices, and appropriate medical treatment can provide the greatest symptom relief.