Epilepsy Treatments Didn’t Work. Cannabis Did

CBD stops the seizure in under a minute. This was not just unusual, it seemed, to me, IMPOSSIBLE. But, it happened every time. 

Editor’s Note: Any testimonials or endorsements found on this site are for anecdotal purposes only. The information in Rxleaf testimonials is not intended as direct medical advice, nor should it be relied upon as a substitute for consultations with qualified healthcare professionals who are intimately knowledgeable about your individual medical needs.

My name is Jennifer and I had my first SEIZURE at nine-years old. These happened in one huge cluster and I had to be airlifted to hospital. I flatlined twice on the way there. Little did I know I needed Epilepsy treatments.

I was given Tegrotol to get things under control, then slowly weaned off. And I was good until I was 18. That’s when I started having, what I thought were, anxiety attacks. These progressed until I had a tonic-clonic (convulsive) seizure and was rushed to hospital. This is when they determined that the “panic attacks” were actually simple-partial seizures.

I was prescribed meds and sent on my way. This is where things get fuzzy for me..I know I have changed meds at least 4 times. What happens is that I build a tolerance and the seizures then become more and more frequent until they switched me to a new med.

I had bad side effects: tiredness, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, weight gain.

“It Stopped the Seizure in Under a Minute”

I seemed to be building a tolerance to my latest med more quickly than usual. This is why I decided to try CBD oil. Over the past week, I had a period of 4 days with on and off seizure activity. My girlfriend gave me CBD oil each time and it STOPPED the seizure in under a minute. This is beyond unusual. More like IMPOSSIBLE!!

I have a lot of learning to do about CBD– I don’t know how to take it daily (what dose, for example), I don’t know if it actually will be able to prevent seizures. What I DO know at this point is that it stops them VERY quickly.

Cannabis has opened my mind and allowed me to believe in healing my body more than any medication I could ever take.

RxLeaf Explains – Cannabis and Epilepsy Treatments

Jennifer’s seizures evaporated so quickly after taking CBD because the substance has potent anti-convulsant properties.

Epilepsy is a neurological condition in which the body regularly undergoes seizures for reasons science cannot yet explain — seizures that occur from poisonings or other external forces are not epileptic seizures.

Epilepsy encompasses more than just seizures, however. It occurs simultaneously with any of a wide-ranging list of neurological conditions, any of which may be present in any combination. The uncontrollable shaking caused by epilepsy can lead to severe physical pain, such as broken bones, and can be fatal if suffered while operating heavy machinery, swimming, or in the shower.

And, while modern science has produced several pharmaceutical epilepsy treatments, about thirty percent of all patients do not respond to these medicines.

That’s why CBD consumption has skyrocketed among this group. People suffering from epilepsy need drugs that work — their lives on the line.

Epilepsy Treatments

The science behind CBD is so solid it’s undeniable. To this day, the only cannabis-adjacent medicine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is a synthetic cannabinoid used to treat seizures.

Why must it be synthetic? Because the United States’ federal government insists that the cannabis plant is a schedule one substance, devoid of medical benefits. While every scientific trial of using cannabis for epilepsy treatments disproves this claim, the idea stubbornly persists.

The science behind CBD for seizure treatments dates back decades, new research has begun to focus on explaining the mechanism behind the results. A 2020 study ^[1]Lazarini-Lopes, Willian et al. (2020). The anticonvulsant effects of cannabidiol in experimental models of epileptic seizures: From behavior and mechanisms to clinical insights. Neuroscience & … Continue readingpublished in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews provides a comprehensive look at science’s current understanding of CBD for epilepsy treatments.

The research shows CBD not only calms seizures in animal models, it also provides important neuroprotection that makes future seizures less common and less harmful.

When the body ingests CBD, many responses happen at once. Because cannabis interacts with the endocannabinoid system in so many ways at once, it’s difficult to for scientists to discern which mechanism is responsible for effective epilepsy treatments.

It’s important to remember that while CBD has long produced anti-tremor effects in animals with epilepsy, the endocannabinoid system of rats, cats, dogs, and mice is slightly different than the one in humans.

But the consistency of these findings is too strong to ignore. Human studies are harder to do and require much more money, but the animal research has proven that it’s worthy of the investment. Even now, clinical trials in humans are underway.

Taken altogether, the research shows that CBD works well for many people suffering from epilepsy, even though way it works is still unclear.

How to Treat Epilepsy

So, the science indicates that CBD works well for epilepsy treatments — but how much in needed per dose?

Research published in the Journal of Epilepsy & Behavior (2020)

found that no matter how much CBD was taken, it always helped.

That’s great news, but it hardly speaks to guidelines. Because epilepsy can be different for every sufferer, there may never be a one-size-fits-all approach to CBD dosing. Instead, each patient may need to find their own sweet spot.

The common advice for any cannabis-based treatment is to start low and go slow, but there are additional concerns that people should consider when starting CBD as for epilepsy treatments.

While they are rare, CBD can cause side effects. It may change how certain psychological medicines function in the body, the same way that grapefruit can. But more importantly, it can alter the efficacy of other anti-seizure medications. So, it’s important to do research before adding CBD to any treatment regime that includes other pills.

Many epilepsy patients like Jennifer have say CBD is be the most effective treatment they’ve used for their disorder. But it may not work for everyone. Just like the currently available pharmaceuticals, CBD may not be a miracle cure for every case of epilepsy out there.

But it needs to be available for those who need it — and it needs more research. CBD shows too much potential as an epilepsy treatment to cast aside for political reasons. It needs to become part of every doctor’s toolkit to help manage this disorder.

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